Curse - Septiplier

17: Realizations

Mark's POV

My thoughts were enough of a mess that navigating through the town the next morning was more than difficult. I wondered how Jack was doing, if he hated me for snapping at him yesterday. I had left to go talk to the General, who brushed me off as if nothing I was saying he wanted to hear, and I hadn't seen or heard of Jack's whereabouts the rest of the day. Now I was on my way back to train with him, and I had no idea if he hated me, never wanted to see me again; maybe he demanded a different trainer to help him. These thoughts plagued my mind and dragged my feet as though they were bound by heavyweight chains. I dragged myself up the stairs and found myself face to face with the General, who wore a smile that told me whatever he was about to say I would not like.

"General Matthers." I stated absently, unsure of how to speak to him without sounding angry still about our one sided conversation the day before. My jaw locked as he looked down on me, and I knew that I was still cross that he had ignored me and told me off. I straightened up in his presence, and he still wore his grin, the twinkle in his eyes telling a thousand horror stories about what was next to come. "If you'll excuse me, I'm on my way to help the prince train." I tried to push around the man, but he only stepped in my way, preventing me from advancing any further towards the castle. I blinked, trying not to allow myself to lose my temper, before stepping back and looking up at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Fischbach, that won't be necessary." The General spat off to the side, a condescending look shadowing his face as he smiled down at me. "You see, Prince Jack has several meetings to attend with his father today, mostly about the upcoming wedding between him and the princess across the bay, so he has a lot of planning ahead of him. Which means you're training with the rest of us for now." The way that the General leaned forward and rested his arm on my shoulder sent a shudder of fear through me, and I closed my eyes; I could feel his anger and frustration through his weight and my armor. "If you don't mind." The General whipped me around and marched me towards the training field. I could feel my upper lip twitching in anger, but said nothing as the General walked directly behind me and followed me out into the empty grassland.

"Where is everyone then?" I demanded, and the General laughed, taking the lead now as he turned and headed towards the bluffs that guarded the backside of the Kingdom. I walked beside him, despite his obvious discomfort at me doing so, only to slow once I realized what was going on. Down on the beach below us were the other soldiers, and they had all been stripped of their armor and clothes until they were in the undergarments. A couple of instructors sat on boats out in the water some 40 feet, and they were all in a line, shouting and waving directions at those on the shore, who stood in lines and went in an orderly fashion. They dove into the water, swimming out and touching the boats only to turn back and swim to the shore again. Once on land, another man went and they strode, shivering, to the back of the line. I felt fear plummet through me, and the General leaned close to me.

"Normally we would have you out on the boats out there, but since you seemed to spend all day with Jack on a boat recently, and your biggest weakness is the water, well I figured you'd better get some practice." The General gave me a sharp slap on the back and started down the stairs leading to the beach. I felt fear take over my mind and my senses, and I knew that this had been planned by the General himself. Walking away meant walking away from my job, and I knew that taking this on would put me into a world of terror, a place of fear that I kept hidden in a dark corner of my mind and refused to think about. I closed my eyes, hard, and kept them squeezed shut. I drew in some deep breaths and let them out slowly.

"Do it for Jack." I told myself, and felt a shudder run up and through my whole body, shaking me completely. "I know he might not be the happiest to see you right now, but if you don't do this you might never see him again." I felt a small twinge of hope run through me, and I swallowed. My eyes opened, and I walked down the stairs, hurrying to catch up to the General. My breathing was already heavy, and just the salty smell of the ocean was making me lightheaded. When I got to the beach, I made my own pile of armor, clothes, and threw my sword on top. I was a little uncomfortable being half naked, but knew I could do nothing about it. I joined at the back of a line, and the General laughed behind me.