Queen Of Shadows

5. Favorites

One month later

Over the last month, Alex and Arabella had about ten more missions. At the end of each one, Ares would give them their share of the reward, and each time, Alex would get more.

Arabella was getting fed up with Ares's favoritism. He had known Alex for a few months and had known her for over two years.

"Mist! Don't forget we have training tonight." Ares broke her train of thought. "Ah yes, how could I forget having to get up at the crack of dawn." She muttered to herself. "Two things: one, don't give me additude. And two, Alex will be joining us, so be that 'Queen of Shadows' that they call you, also that reminds me. You need to work on your acting. You seem to be softening up."

Arabella just rolled her eyes, nodded, and walked off, knowing that if she talked, she would be saying things that she would definitely regret saying later.

《°•○●☆●○•°》

Arabella walked down the dark hallway, puffy eyed and sleepy. She was not looking forward to training.

The hallways were boring and bare. On a very rare occasion, you could find a picture or a quote from previous, current, or future mentors, but nothing too interesting.

At the end of this hallway, however, there was a what looked like a vase with a plaque below it. What was written on it were the words "He said I could never best him. This is where he lies now."

The plaque did not have any credits to the person who wrote it. Which evidently made it more creepy.

Arabella started to walk back in the direction of the training room, trying not to think about what she had just read. Seeing as she was planning to get there an hour and a half before it started, the fact that there was now only an hour left before it started.

She was now at the doors to the room and could hear two voices talking to each other. She recognized both at once.

"You're late," one said as she opened the door. "I'm an hour early, Ares!" He just shook his head and motioned toward Alex."We have company. Keep the attitude at bay, if you please."

She could not believe it, Ares, of all people, had invited someone else to train with them. Granted, it would supposedly be more fun with someone there. But after every practice, she would come out, exhausted, yes, but feel much more in control of her magic. However, with someone else training in the same room, that could definitely distract her.

"Alex, what I want you to do is focus all of your energy on one spot on the floor and have it go up in flames. Mist, do the tsunami thing."

After countless times of the same area of the floor busting into flames, Arabella had decided that whatever Ares was trying to teach Alex, it was undoubtedly too easy for him.

"So, Mist, what is your favorite thing you've seen in Athens?" Alex asked.

"Oh, umm, I haven't really been out that much -"

"No talking, Mist!" Ares interrupted.

"He was asking a question, Ares. It would be rude not to answer him!"

"That does not mean that you can talk! Also, when did you become Miss Nice?!" Alex had slowly started walking out of the room, knowing that a big argument was going to emerge. "When someone started to actually be nice to me!" She yelled.

"I'm plenty nice to you. Right, Alex?!" He looked back, expecting to see him there, but seeing as Alex had backed out of the room by now, Ares just rolled his eyes and continued to shout at her.

"Yeah, ok." She said sarcastically. "You. wouldn't talk to Alex like this, so why do you get to yell at me?!"

"Leave him out of this!"

"No! How come he is allowed to get away with anything, but I'm not?!"

"Go to your room, Mist." Ares said calmly.

"Im sorry, what?! You don't get to say that to me."

"Go to your room," He said a little louder.

"No! You wouldn't say that to Alex, so why are you yelling at me to do so?! And also -"

"Go to your room, Arabella!" She immediately when dead silent. He had never used her real name when he knew someone might be close by. For all he knew, Alex could still be right outside the doors. "And take these books on behavior! They might be able to teach you to watch your mouth." Arabella said nothing and just picked up the books.

All she did was walk over to the doors, say, "You don't control me," and walk out.

Holding back tears, she decided to take a walk around the building instead of going straight to her room. She took turns at random.

Right, left, straight, right, left, left, and straight right until she bumped into someone, dropping her books.

"I'm so sorry," she started. "No, no, it's my fault, I was...it was my fault." The stranger said. "Here, let me get those." He bent down to get her books.

He was a tall and muscular boy with blond hair and green eyes who looked about her age. Give or take a few years.

"My name is Ethan, by the way. What's yours?" He asked.

After some hesitation, she answered. "Mist." Taking back her books, she quickly glanced at the lonely clock on the wall behind him, and seeing that it was already 20 minutes after her argument with Ares, she said goodbye and started to walk off.

"Wait!" He called after her."Do you want me to walk you back to...wherever your going?" She stopped and thought about it for a few seconds and decided,"Sure, why not?" Figuring that if Ares gets to control what she does on a day-to-day basis, he does not get the right to control who she talks to.

"So what has been your favorite thing to visit here?" He asked. She rolled her eyes, for what seemed like the millionth time that day, and said in an annoyed tone. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?! I mean, you obviously have been here long enough to know your way around this maze of a building. So you know that, unless you're really special - like, oh, i dont know, the head of the organizations son - you don't get to go out and about as you please!" He looked at her and nodded silently. Almost as though she had offened him in some way.

After walking in silence all the way back to her room, she apologized for going into a rant, said goodnight, and closed the door.

She started getting ready for her mighty three hours of sleep, smiling the entire time. She was reminding herself that she had met two kind souls in the span of one month. Which is more than she had met in two years.

Falling asleep proved rather easy that night, even though she had gotten yelled at 30 minutes prior. She still had a semi good day.

After around 10 minutes of laying face up in her bed, thinking about her day, the highlights of it, and the embarrassing parts of it, before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep.