The Broken and the Rogue ✓

Ch. 7: The Spirits' Forest

The day of the first trial came faster than I expected it.

After several weeks of training I thought that I would at least have a little more confidence than the first time I heard about the test, well, I was wrong.

My nerves jumped early in the morning when Lion came to pick me up to take me to the isolation room to get ready. He explained to me that it was a tradition that the candidate spent the hours before the hunt alone preparing his mind.

My mental preparation was nothing more than trying to reassure myself with pretty lies. I told myself how strong I was, how easy hunting was going to be after practicing so much with Artec. I even tried to repeat the gamma’s praises in my mind to remind myself that I could do a good job.

The problem was that I couldn't believe my own words, they were all meaningless, a speech that I had learned by heart but that my brain was not able to assimilate.

When the first two hours had passed I started pacing the room, shaking my trembling hands, and trying not to throw up my breakfast.

Waiting instead of helping me made me more anxious. I had nothing to distract myself inside a room that only had an armchair, a clock, food, and a bathroom. They could at least have left a book or a board game.

Who was the idiot who invented the rule? Probably Zaziel, I'm sure he did it to put even more pressure on the candidates.

A knock on the door put a temporary end to my mental torture.

"It's me and Darla, we’re going in." Artec's voice came from outside the room.

I ran to sit on the armchair and fixed my hair, I wasn't going to let them see my deplorable state. They had been more than kind to me during training and I could consider them the closest thing I had ever had to a friend, but I still wasn't ready to let my guard down with anyone.

"Ready to take the first trial?" Artec asked me, his smile was brighter than usual. "I can't wait for you to come back with the deer."

"You're overconfident in my beginner skills," I replied and winked.

Darla stood next to Artec and grabbed his arm. "He spent the whole morning promoting your victory with the rest, it's been a while since I've seen him bet so much on a candidate."

I stood up from my seat, surprised. "You bet on my favor?"

Artec pushed me and sat down. "Of course I did, what kind of trainer would I be if I didn't have faith in my little apprentice?" He grabbed Darla's waist and pulled her so she was sitting on his lap. "You're going to hunt that deer without any problems. You already managed to hunt others during training, it's the same thing, you only have to be more careful of the place.”

My stomach behaved strangely again at the mention of the Spirits' Forest.

"How dangerous is the forest?" I asked them, sitting on the ground in front of them, to hide my shaking legs. "No one knows much about it unless they've been in there and I've never met anyone who survived the trip."

Artec and Darla shared a look, the kind of look that made it clear that they had a secret they couldn't share with me.

"We can't tell you much about that," Darla said, looking away from me to the security camera. "The rules do not allow anyone to help the candidate unless it is to train them."

"Zaziel wanted to make sure no one had an advantage when taking the trials, but we can give you some general advice." Artec gave my leg a gentle kick. "Don't worry, Rosie, I know you can do it."

I gave them a smile. "Alright, I accept all the advice you can give me."

"I'm sure you already heard the rules for interacting with nature spirits when you were younger, always keep them in mind, they're not lying when they say that spirits can be very picky," Artec began.