Ring of Power

Chapter 6: Training

     Emerald was sitting in the giant oak tree by the path, looking up into the night sky at the bright, twinkling stars. She noticed a movement to her right. It was Xavier looking for her no doubt.
She knew she should have told him not to come back, but a promise was a promise. she discovered early in the night that the Guard Patrol was in the forest searching for her. She could still train him, even on the nights when the Guard Patrol was in the forest, right?
She quickly got down out of the tree and into her nearest fort. When Xavier was close to her, she quickly reached out and pulled him into the fort. It seemed like this was becoming normal for her when he was around.
     Once inside the fort, Xavier calmed his beating heart and looked at Emerald, angry that she scared him for the second time.
     "You need to be more careful" She said.
     "That's why I'm here, to learn things like that from you." He said with a bright grin across his face.
     "Come on, we need to get to a clear, but safe place. Keep an eye out for the Guard Patrol, they are around here somewhere." Emerald said looking out from the fort before she exited into the dark.
     They pushed through the trees for some time before they came across a clearing far from her main fort.      Emerald knew she had a fort somewhere nearby in case they needed it. She put her weapons down and turned toward Xavier, looking him up and down.
     "First we are going to work on your silence." She said reminding him of earlier that night.
     "Silence?" He looked confused.
     "Yes, silence. I am going to teach you how to walk around on the forest floor as quiet as a mouse in all seasons. Fall is the worst because there are many leaves and twigs that can give away your position if you aren't careful and happen to step on one. No one can know you are there, as in following them or just simply sitting in the bushes eavesdropping on their private conversations. It's not easy so don't be too hard on yourself if it takes you a couple of weeks to get it down pat."
     She taught him how to crouch in a certain position so that if he were in one place for a long time he wouldn't cramp up too fast, how to crouch and stay hidden from viewers, how to use the trees and shadows to hide his body, how to walk quietly even if when stepping on a twigs or crumbly leaves, and how to quickly hide from sight without making hardly any movement.
     "These tricks will take practice, but now you need your rest. Come back in four nights, we will continue for four nights on, and four nights off from now on. See you then!" She said flashing a smile, while the sun was starting to rise in the sky behind her.
     They quickly set out for the tree line and when they arrived, Xavier entered the city prepared for a long day at the farm.

     After the four nights he had for rest, Xavier was ready for another few nights of practice on his 'silence' skills. He quickly got ready and made his way to the forest.
     When he got there he walked around on the path, half expecting Emerald to pull him into a fort. When she didn't he started to get a bit worried. Then he heard a thunk behind him. He turned to look to see what fell and noticed it was a quiver of arrows. Each arrow had three purple feathers on the end, which was how he knew they belonged to Emerald. Purple, he had learned, is her favorite colour.
     He looked up just in time to see Emerald smile and jump out of the tree. She landed lightly next to Xavier, not making a sound and landing on her feet.
     "How do you do that?" Xavier asked, amazed.
     "Practice, lots of practice." She replied while giving him a mischievous grin.
     They practiced hard and the next morning Xavier went home with every muscle in his body sore from crouching and jumping. He was glad she was teaching him, but his body didn't agree.

     The next night Xavier went to the forest prepared for a hard lesson. His muscles were still sore from the night before and he was becoming more and more tired. Work during the day, practice all night. It was exhausting!
Emerald saw Xavier coming, but her sixth sense was telling her danger was near. She couldn't risk getting down out of her tree to get his attention without the possibility of getting caught by the Guard Patrol.
     She decided she would try and scare him off so he wouldn't come this way, but before she got the chance she heard a rustling in the bushes on the other side of the path. She knew it wasn't Xavier which could only mean one thing... it was the Guard Patrol. They had seen him and they knew he was coming their way.
     She got out of the tree and headed for the path. She saw one of the men draw his bow and aim it at Xavier. They thought he was Emerald distracted and off her guard.
     She jumped out from the brush and pushed him to the ground just as the man let go of his arrow. Xavier heard the thunk as the arrow hit the giant oak behind them. He looked up and saw the arrow's feathers protruding from the tree trunk.
     Emerald jumped up and grabbed his arm, yanking him to his feet and running in the opposite direction. The Guard Patrol quickly followed the two youth through the forest in earnest.
Emerald knew her way around the forest extremely well, which was a good advantage for them. She had to keep tugging on Xavier's arm because he kept slowing down. When they were far enough ahead that the patrol men wouldn't see where they hid, Emerald pulled Xavier into a fort.
     They sat down and caught their breath. Emerald looked out and saw the Guard Patrol run past not knowing they hid. She smiled to herself, amused.
     Once Xavier's breathing went back to normal, he asked, "Why did they shoot at me? I didn't think they knew I was out here."
     "They didn't. They thought you were me." She replied still looking out onto the path to make sure they didn't return. When she thought the coast was clear, she turned back to Xavier.
     "You should not have come back." Emerald said, glaring at him.
     "You told me to come back!" He replied, becoming angry.
     "I know. I'm sorry. It was a mistake." She said, looking the other way.
     "I still want to learn—" Xavier began, but she cut him off.
     "No, they know you have been coming out here. You can't come back. I'm sorry. You should go, before you get caught with me and make it worse for yourself." She said, worry in her expression.
     He looked at her, pain in his eyes, but he understood why she turned him down. She was trying to protect him, keep him out of trouble. But why?
Emerald slowly emerged from the fort, making sure the path was clear. She waved for Xavier to follow. They made their way quickly down the path toward the edge of the forest.
     Once they got to the tree line, Emerald stopped, refusing to step into the clearing this close to the village like she always does. Xavier turned and looked at Emerald, worry now replacing the hurt on his face. She waved, she knew this was the last time she would see him, Xavier couldn't come back without paying the price.
     "Well, I guess this is good-bye," Emerald said to him.
     He looked at her confused.
     "You can't come back. They know you're out here and they will make sure no one leaves the village, especially at night, trust me." She gave him a reassuring smile.
     He looked to the ground, heartbroken and not wanting this to be the end. He knew she was right but he wanted to learn so much more from her. Without a word he finally turned and made his way into the village.

     The next morning, Xavier woke up to shouting. He got up and quickly got dressed. He left the house to find one of the men from the Guard Patrol rounding up teen boys. The boys were standing in a line in front of the patrol, scared. Some of their mother's were crying; they didn't know what was going to happen.
     A women quickly walked by Xavier and he tapped her on the shoulder.
     "What's going on?" He asked, frantic.
     "The Guard Patrol caught one of the village boys last night, he was in the woods. They say he was with the... the outlaw." The woman replied. She had a worried but angry look on her pail face.
     She quickly turned and scurried away.
     "This is not good," He muttered to himself.
     He saw a guard heading his way and he hid in an alley close by. He had to get out of here before he was caught.
He turned and ran down the alley. When he got to the end he ran toward another alley close by and turned down it, knocking into one of the Guard Patrol.
     "Where do you think you're going, boy?" He asked in a deep voice. He reached down and grabbed Xavier's arm. Xavier tried to twist and turn to get him to let go, but the man's grip was to strong.
     Xavier was taken to the line with the other boys. They all looked like they were about to pass out with fear.
     "He was trying to escape, Captain." Xavier heard the man who was holding him say. He looked up and saw that the man was staring straight at him.
He quickly lowered his head and hoped Pyramus wouldn't recognize him, but he did.
     Pyramus grinned and walked over to Xavier. He looked him up and down, then he grabbed his chin and pulled his head up so that he was looking straight into Pyramus' gray eyes.
     He nodded, "This is the one."
Suddenly, two guards were behind him. One grabbed each arm and started carrying him away. He fought and struggled but it was no use. They were much stronger than him and they both had an iron grip, so he gave up.
​They took him to the guard house and threw him into a small, dark room. There was a table in the centre with two chairs, one on each side. One of the chairs had leather straps on the arm rests and legs and it didn't have a back.
​     After a while, Pyramus came in accompanied by two other guards. They forcefully picked Xavier up from the floor where he was sitting and sat him in the chair with the leather straps. They pulled the straps tight around each of his wrists and each of his ankles. The two guards were standing on either side of him, and they both drew their swords.
     Pyramus sat down in the chair across the table from Xavier. He had an evil grin on his face.
     "Let us get started, shall we?" He said with an evil look in his eyes.