Sector 21

Chapter Ten

Octavia had not eaten that much during lunch as she suspected her stomach had shrunk due to her eating a small amount of potatoes and then being unable to eat any more. Her clothes hung off her body as she walked across the busy court yard to Xavier.

"I hope you aren't too worn out from working this morning" He grinned like a fiend and mounted Hasufel.

Octavia did not answer, instead she mounted Firefoot and followed Xavier out of the courtyard gates once again. They headed left up the path that climbed further up the mountain, Xavier carried what she assumed to be his own sword and a dagger across his back. Octavia didn't have any weapons, she didn't know how to use one. They continued up the path until they reached a ruin of some sort, the rocks were all fallen and weathered but they kept on riding. Past another ruin until they reached a field that was over grown on the edges.

She followed Xavier and dismounted, tying Firefoot to a tree and walking into the middle of the field.

"Bella tells me you know nothing about combat," He sneered "I'm not surprised, you are a pathetic excuse for a fae"

"I'm fae?" She asked in shock, completely ignoring Xavier's remark

"Of course, your Father Marcus was a fae- the head of the Warriors in the North but you Mother was a witch and a good one at that" He said in a bored tone.

"What?" She asked in shock and disbelief

"I know its surprising isn't it," He sneered again "especially since you're as useless as you are"

He used her shock to knock her off her feet with a simple swipe at her ankles with this sword. She tumbled to the floor but managed to save herself by putting her arms out to save her falling flat on her face. She scowled at him and stood up. He went to swipe at her ankles again but she dodged by jumping sideways.

"Good" He grinned and then swiped at her with a wooden staff.

It hit her in the arm, she immediately grabbed the stick out of his hands and swung it at his head, with ease he dodged it and knocked her feet out from underneath her. He allowed her to get back up on her feet but immediately had her back down of the floor. This cycle continued until Octavia had a cut across her cheek from not dodging his sword well enough and she got Xavier on the floor.

She had kicked his feet out from underneath him and then as he staggered she hooked her foot around his knee and yanked forward. He fell to the floor but immediately got up and added another cut to her cheek.

"The aim of today's lesson is to move," He said through clenched teeth "not to get me on the floor"

She couldn't help but grin at the fact that she had gotten him on the floor but in the back of her mind she reminded herself it was too easy. As the hours passed she successfully dodged some of his attacks, but then he still was not satisfied. He sheathed his sword and reclaimed the wooden staff on the word 'go' he used the staff as a sword while she attempted to dodge the swings. Every time she was struck by the sword a bruise was left behind.

Again and again she was hit by the staff but he did not let up once. She assumed he needed her to dodge the wooden staff enough times to earn his peace, but how many times did she have to dodge it? Although she successfully managed to dodge the swings aimed at her head and stomach she still ended up on the floor as a result of tripping over a stone sticking out from the surface of the flat field. Her head hit the floor straight after the rest of her, she immediately saw stars and everything began to spin.

She lay on the floor with the world around her spinning. Her feeble attempts to stand up caused her to stagger until the world stilled. He began his assault again. Octavia's rise and falls became almost methodical, at most she managed to dodge five of his attacks but was soon back on the floor. She got up and stood ready for him to swing at her but he didn't

"We are done for today" He said, sheathing his sword and making his way over to Hasufel and Firefoot.

To say Octavia was relieved would be an understatement, she stretched her back out and walked shakily over to Firefoot. They both mounted the horses and left the field the same way they went in and walked their way back to the fortress. As they entered the main gates of the courtyard Maliki and Renn rushed out of the stables to retrieve the horses. Xavier dismounted and walked straight to the main building without saying a word to Octavia.

She followed Maliki and Renn to the stables and rubbed Hasufel down while Renn and Maliki sorted out Firefoot. She caught a glimpse of her face in a bucket of water- her cheek had two cuts on it and her lip was split. She didn't have to take off her shirt to know that she was covered in bruises from Xavier's wooden staff.

"How are you kid?" Maliki asked Octavia who was sat on a wooden stool.

"Sore, very sore," she laughed "and exhausted"

"Xavier doesn't let up?" He asked passing her a piece of bread

"Thanks," She mumbled "not at all, apparently today's lesson was about moving and dodging"

"And I'm guessing so will tomorrows" He smiled sadly, taking in her busted lip and the bruise forming around her wrist.

"and probably the day after that as well" She laughed quietly, unsure if it was the right thing to say.

"We'd better get to work now" Maliki said gesturing to the rope halters that hung to the left of them. "I need you to get Bella's horse from the other barn for me"

"What ones that?" She asked grabbing a halter

"The all white one at the back of the barn" He said then busied himself with sweeping out a stall.

She retrieved the horse, swept the stables, filled water buckets, fed the horses, retrieved the newly exhausted horses from the courtyard, swept again and accepted Renn's offer to help her train whenever they had spare time. She was fed up of being humiliated by Xavier.