hex |jinx [on hold]

ii.

hex | chapter two
unedited

Nova, aged seven

Silence.

Complete silence. Not a single sound was heard around the room where Nova stood, gripping a dagger in her left hand. Her eyes were covered by a harsh material -some kind of fabric her mother had found to bring to their classes.

'Classes'. That's what Nova's parents called these sessions where the child was thrown into endless dangerous scenarios to prepare her for the real world, as they said. The things she had experienced in her short seven years of existence would terrify any grown adult into shitting their pants.

But it was necessary. Nova needed to understand what people could do to her, someone out there could take advantage of her innocence and her parents wanted her to be prepared.

Prepared to defend herself. Prepared to turn and run away as fast as she could. Prepared to break noses, twist arms, and dislocate kneecaps.

Prepared to kill, if it ever came to that.

Just in case her parents wouldn't be there for her in the future, just in case something terrible were to happen to them.

Oh, the irony.

"Listen carefully." A voice echoed through Nova's ears, the girl positioning herself to lean towards the sound. "We are going to throw rocks at you and you must dodge them."

Rocks weren't exactly as bad as some other stuff her mother had already thrown her way. Perhaps she would move to heavier objects as the session progressed.

Nova let out a trembling sigh as she straightened her back and squared her shoulders. Having to pretend that her mother was an enemy trying to end her life wasn't a piece of cake, yet it wasn't the hardest thing she had done. The longer they had trained their daughter to fight them and endure their exhausting lessons, the more she detached herself from the precious child she had once been.

And the easier it became to fight them without holding back, as feelings of fear and hatred quickly overcame her and replaced the love she had once felt for her parents.

"Your final goal is to throw your dagger at the target I set up." Nova's mother spoke from the left. "While avoiding the rocks. Whatever you do in between that goal, is up to you. Be clever."

That last sentence took a jab at Nova's heart.

Because she had never reached the level of perfection her mother had set up for the child. She was nothing in the eyes of such a great fighter.

Sighing, Nova let her senses overcome her. She wasn't weak or a bad fighter. But Nova was a child and the constant need to please her parents took a great toll on her confidence, as harsh words of disapproval were constant in her daily life.