Order Of Confessions

Chapter 7: Blood Oaths

"We found her eavesdropping, sire," said the man who dragged her in, finally letting go of her.

"How long has she been there?" asked Dad.

"For the most part,"

"Well, looks like we have a contestant for our mission. We just need a trainer and we'll be on our way. It'll take about 3 or 4 years of training and nobody would suspect a girl could do the job eh?" Dad explained, looking over at Mom.

"I'm not going to be a part of your sick games Dad!" Lara yelled, with a tone of anger in her voice. She didn't think she would have the guts to yell like that but after she did, she felt a bit better.

"You think I'm doing this for myself?" said Dad, in an interrogative voice. "I'm doing this so we can get rid of Elliots killer. Do you not want that?"

Lara knew more than anything that he wasn't doing it for Elliot, he only wanted to show his power and threaten whoever did it so they would back down. Family reputation. That's all he wanted to uphold. She wanted to get revenge but not this way, not in a way that would include her going on a hunt. But she had no other choice.

"I do, Dad" Lara said, in a low voice.

"Good, we will start your training from tomorrow. Whatever skill you choose to learn, you use that to kill. Got it?"

"Got it," Lara spoke, her mind already racing with potential skills she could learn. She was grateful she had an option and she knew exactly what she wanted.

Archery.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Keep you arm straight and legs in front of the line," the trainer instructed. "Aim higher than the target" she added, per usual.

Lara was already beginning to dread practice everyday. She'd been training for almost 2 years now and felt like she was good enough but Dad wanted her to practice more while he sent out his men to find that girl. They had searched all around North Aztan but couldn't find her family name anywhere. It's like they'd disappeared after crossing out Elliot on their list. 

Dad had told her that the war had bought about a lot of change in the North Aztan, many families suffered and starved or had their houses burned down because they couldn't pay the increasing amount of taxes on their houses. Those who survived formed a coalition and attacked the rich families thinking they were a part of this whole mess and also the ones who started it.

Some rich aristocrats did burn houses in order to claim land power but failed miserably and paid the price later when their whole family was murdered, ours being one of the targets before they realized we did nothing. But the question is, who was the leader? Who spread out the false information? That's exactly what Dad wanted to find out and he had a hunch they were the Merizons. But where were they?

Lara shot the arrow to the board and it hit the center. Her trainer seemed impressed but showed no sign of celebration or even a smile, just a nod meant she did well.

"Alright, you're done for the day," she said. "Just a few more months of practice and you'll be shooting spiders every time the arrow leaves the bow."

Lara couldn't wait for a few more months to get revenge, she wanted to do it now. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days but she was sure she would leave this week to hunt down that girl. She went back to her mansion for dinner and passed by a series of hallways until she reached the enormous dining hall.

The crystal chandeliers shone brightly against the light pink walls and the silverware lay on the table side by side in a neat parallel fashion. An enormous plate lay in the center with a two layered cake decorated with light pale pink frosting. Lara couldn't wait to devour her meal and head straight back to her room to work on sneaking out and going on the mission.

"Place the napkin on your lap, Lara" Mom said just as the waiters came out of the kitchen with hot plates of food.

Dad had already started digging in the warm food but something itched Laras brain. She knew what the answer would be but she wanted to try anyway.

"Dad, I'm going to find that Merizon girl on my own. I think I'm ready now," said Lara.

Dads silverware crashed onto the plate sending a sharp ting in the air, followed by an eerie moment of silence. 

"You're not ready unless I say so," Dad announced. "You have to be the best at your craft. Your mistake is our families humiliation, you did that two years ago but I won't tolerate it this time"

Lara dropped her silverware onto the plate in frustration. "I'm not hungry anymore," she said as she made her way to her room.

"That's it," Lara thought to herself. "I've made up my mind now".

Lara packed her backpack and included a picture of her and Elliot. She was going to need that to keep her grounded and not get distracted on the mission.

She made her way towards the window and sneaked out. She felt an awful presence of someone watching her. She kept looking behind her to check if anyone spotted her but she found no one. A lingering figure stood by the porch unbeknownst to Lara and followed her as she left through the forest pathway through the back.