[On Hold] The Assassin's New Beginning

14

"Archer?" Geoffrey asked as they practiced at the target station.

"Arobynn said I should work with him." Celaena shrugged, tossing the dagger in the air before catching it and throwing it at the far wall, hitting the bulls eye with undeniable accuracy.

"Not to mention, he's here." Celaena turned around when she heard the faint slam of the main door. They both exited the training room to meet the charming courtesan.

Geoffrey raised his eyebrows at the sight of Archer, before clapping Celaena's shoulder and bidding her good luck.

After he left, Celaena turned around to face home, who was looking around. She pulled her face into a grin. "Hello again."she said. "I hope we can skip introductions."

"And get down to the training?"Archer rolled his sleeves up. "How could I possibly deny the opportunity to robe taught by a pretty young lad. Not to mention a girl."

She blushed, but was still furious about their first encounter. Arobynn strode into the front hall and glanced at the two. His lips curled at the edges.

"Celaena," he ordered. "Take him to the guests room. The first one. There'll be spare clothes there."
He can't train in that, his eyes said. Celaena nodded.

Of course he couldn't. Archer was wearing leather pants and a tunic that was made out of some kind of stiff fabric. There was no way he could even hold a sword properly with that on.

"You heard him, let's go." Archer followed Celaena to what would be his chamber for the next three weeks.

~~~~~~

Celaena lied against the wall, kicking the wall with the back of the heel. She knocked on the door before she crossed her arms again.

Finally, Archer opened the door, after taking what seemed like forever to get a change of clothes.

"I don't have ages to waste," Celaena grunted.

"I wanted to be well dressed." Archer said, with a sly smile.

"You'll be drenched in sweat once it's done." Celaena said. Though it was true. He did dress well in the clothing. It fit snug on his body and elongated his arms and legs.

"It's worth the effort," Archer sighed.

Once they were in the weapons room, Archer received a few glances, but he acted like he didn't notice them, or he just didn't notice them at all.

That made things easier. No distractions, the faster they finish.

Celaena grabbed a sword and threw it at Archer, and yelled catch as the weapon was in the air.

Archer reached for the hilt, and juggled it in his hands before finally getting a grasp on it. He swore loudly, but Celaena shrugged it off. She got used to hearing foul language from the men. It took a lot of restraint for them not to, but in the end they gave up, and Celaena gave up cringing as well.

"How do you expect me to catch that without you warning me first?" Archer asked

"I did."

"Just before it scarred my face."

"But it didn't and you caught it, so stop complaining." Celaena rolled her eyes.

"Women," He muttered, and Celaena glared.

Celaena taught him the stance and arm positions. Surprisingly, Archer learned quickly after a few stumbles and misses.

Within an hour, she got him to successfully do drills with her. They danced around the training room. After parrying his sword and disarming his sword, Celaena twirled the sword around and planted it against her shoulder. She turned around to face Archer, who squatted on the ground.

"Get up," Celaena said. "We still have more to do."

"Aren't you overworking me?" he huffed.

Celaena shrugged. "Not tired. Let's do one more drill."

Archer side-glanced at her. Then he shook his head.

"What?"

"Is it because I said that girl's couldn't be assassins? Well fine, you're right. You could kick my ass a million times and I wouldn't stand a chance."

Celaena smiled. She almost forgot about it, just almost. As she sighed, she offered Archer a hand, which he gladly took. He planted his arm around her shoulder. It's amazing how he still looked decent after all the training.

"You know," Celaena went. "You sure are good at talking your way out of things."

"Hey, whatever it takes to get you to like me." He shrugged, and Celaena pushed him off, laughing.

 As they exited, Damian passed them. He shouldered Archer and glared at Celaena, who returned it equally.

"What's his problem?" Archer hissed, plainly annoyed.

"I don't know." Celaena glanced at the retreating figure. "I don't know."