I had told myself that I was ready for training, but I was totally not prepared to be forced into training arena’s where I was made to fight other men. Ash had said that I would be in the beginner’s class, and I was totally appalled to find myself along with ten year olds. I had freaked out, scared that I would hurt someone. But the next couple of days eased my fears, showing that the youngsters shouldn’t be taken for advantage. They were crazily strong and I found out later that I was training with vampires when I accidentally cut myself on my chain mail. The young girl had snapped her head up, blue eyes dark and her lip curled up with blood lust. Ash had snatched me away, but Sirene told him that this was going to be a lesson. So I was made to fight a vampire who had my blood on its mind. I had surprised everyone, including myself when I had pinned her to the ground, my blade at her throat. The girl’s eyes had cleared in realization, and she promptly apologized. Everyone had thought that I had done well and moved me to private training since they all thought that I now knew a little something about the arena. Ash was sour about it at first, not wanting to work with me. Actually, he didn’t want to work with me at all, saying that it wasn’t good for his reputation. Sirene had actually smacked him upside his head, telling him to suck it up and that he would have to deal with it. My first day of training with Ash consisted of me running around the camp. Ash had said he refused to even attempt training someone who was slow. I think he had something against humans or something. Every once in a while he’d turn to look at me and mutter, “Slow.” I didn’t mind running, I really didn’t. In fact, it gave my mind the time that it needed to process everything. I was here, being made to use swords, axes, knives, bows and other strange weapons all because of some prophecy. Surprisingly, I found out that I wasn’t too bothered about that factor. What bothered me the most was the fact that I had a sister. And not to mention that she was a Queen. But an evil Queen at that. I slowed down as I made the turn towards Sirene’s tent. I knew that both she and Tailyn would be outside, washing clothes and sweeping their tent out. Looking over towards the tent, I saw a blonde little Tailyn beating out one of the fur rugs. She turned towards me and smiled. I gave a wave and stopped by her. “Hi Ivory,” she said, rolling the pelt up in her arms. “Hey,” I gasped, my hands on my hips. I was dressed in a black long sleeved shirt with a pair of matching black pants. I wore a pair of leather boots that Ash had kindly gotten a dwarf to craft for me. It was a rather comfortable outfit, great for keeping me warm, but cool as well so I wouldn’t get too hot as I was running. Tailyn faced me, her bright hazel eyes trained on me. “Mama said that if you came around she was going to beat you with the broom.” I laughed, shaking my head. The past couple of weeks, I had gotten really close to Tailyn and Sirene. They reminded me when I was a kid, hanging with my mother. “Well, what she doesn’t know won’t kill her.” I winked at Tailyn. The little girl giggled and dropped the bundle of pelt, raising her arms up. I happily obliged and picked her up. I saw the flap of the tent move and I quickly pressed my finger to my lips. Tailyn froze and nodded. I slowly lowered her to the ground and backed away. I waved as I turned and took off, making sure to be as silent as possible. Looking behind, I saw Sirene walk out, looking at Tailyn. Every day when I ran, I stopped by their tent and spent a few minutes with Tailyn. I was had grown quite attached to the girl. Smiling to myself, I finished my lap and jogged to where Ash stood by the bows. He didn’t turn around as he inspected each one. “Hey.” He removed a slim wooden bow that was smooth from its rack. He tested the weight and then replaced it, shaking his head. I had caught my breath and I was now watching him as he picked up another. “What are you doing?” Ash finally acknowledged my presence, turning to me. “I’m trying to find a bow to fit you with.” I blinked with surprise. “My own personal bow?” I asked, a little in awe. Ash nodded while turning and heading to his own tent. “Where are you going?” I said, running to keep up with his long strides. Ash ignored me once again, which was perfectly normal. Half the time he just ignored me totally. Ash stopped in front of his tent and sighed. “I’m going to visit some good friends of mine to have them make you a good bow.” I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. “Really? For me?” Ash looked down at me, a slight smile making his mouth twitch. “Yes, just for you. I’ll be gone a few days, maybe a week if the snow’s deep. I want you to stay at my place, keep it clean and organized.” I was nodding eagerly, glad that I didn’t have to stay with the other trainees. “That sounds great to me!” I said, excited. I guess Ash trusted more than I had ever thought. Maybe this was some type of test from him as well. Pushing that aside, I allowed myself to enjoy the amount of freedom and leeway that he had given me. Ash studied my face for a few moments then said, “And I want you to work with Sirene and help her to hunt while I’m away. Of course, you can’t train without me anyway. You are to help bring in food and game for the camp.” I nodded, still happy. “Aye aye captain!” Ash made a face and then gestured to the rack of bows. “For now, choose one of the bows to use and improve your skills. Bows are great to use in a long distance battle. You’ve done very well with the swords and small knives. Now work on bows and maybe throwing knives. Sirene will be able to coach you on that while I’m gone.” I was rather excited, I was still rather in shock that he was leaving me alone and that I wouldn’t have to do all those bloody laps. “Okay, I’ve got this.” I told Ash as he ducked into his tent and grabbed a bag. He started to where he kept his horse, and leaving me standing there, smiling and excited. I watched as he mounted the large black horse, bags attached to the saddle. He slung his own bow over his shoulder along with a full quiver of arrows. He started towards the woods, and I found myself still watching, suddenly feeling like I needed to say something. “Ash!” I yelled. He slowed the horse and looked back to me. I moved my mouth, not sure what to say. “Stay safe.” I called out. Ash smirked and nodded. “You too.” With that, he turned and took off. I stood there a few seconds before a familiar voice called out, “Oh! Ivory likes Ash!” I whirled around to see Tailyn standing behind. “I do not!” I exclaimed. The young girl put her hands on her hips, looking at me. “Oh yea?” She asked cockily. “Then why’re you blushing ?” I snorted and started towards her. “I’m not blushing.” I said, drawing closer. Tailyn started backing up slowly. “First one to Sirene’s tent gets the extra biscuit!” I yelled, taking off. Tailyn turned and took off, snow flying up from her small feet. “I shall win!” She yelled, dashing past tents and towards Sirene’s place. “I want that biscuit woman! I will be the winner!” Huffing and puffing I ran faster, searching for the blonde who was darting between the tents at surprisingly fast speeds. I ran around one of the tents and tripped, hitting the thin covering of snow, hard frozen ground meeting my jaw. I cried out in pain, turning over. I sat up, already knowing that Tailyn was at Sirene’s place. I pushed myself up, rubbing my jaw. Checking myself for any other injuries, I headed towards Sirene’s. I was about five tents away when I heard an earsplitting scream. Icy cold fear traveled down my spine as I whirled towards the sound, more screams following suit and a loud roar. “Attack!” I heard a man yell. I stood frozen as people dashed out of tents, heading towards the weapons. Someone slammed into me, knocking me down. Realizing what this meant, I leaped up and sprinted to the bows, grabbing the one that Ash had inspected earlier and swinging a quiver full of arrows on my back. Running out, I snatched up a few knives and shoved them into my belt, a huge double bladed dagger went into my boot as I took off. I stood still, shell shocked as a massive black beast covered with fur lumbered around with surprising grace. An older man battling with a grey-skinned, weird looking dog that stood up on two legs was in the way of the black beast. I watched with horror as it grabbed the man up with long clawed hands and bit into him. Blood squirted from the bite in the man’s side, the beast taking another bite, its muzzle getting blood all over it. The man was screaming and thrashing around, making the beast even more enraged. Throwing the man to the ground, the beast stomped on it, staining the snow. The whole time, I watched with my mouth open. The monster turned to me, and I realized for the first time what a demon was. Its black eyes watched me for a moment, and then it turned and ran towards the center of the camp. A loud screech came from my right, making me turn to it. A ball of fire flew out, hitting tents and engulfing them in flames. The animal ran around spitting fire everywhere, running people out and setting things on fire. A hard steely realization had sunk in. We were under attack, and it was my duty to help defend and protect everyone. Notching an arrow, I waited until the fire-breathing culprit turned and I had a clear shot. Not waiting a second longer, I let the arrow fly. The animal fell to the ground silently as the arrow sunk into its large black eye. Not wasting another precious moment, I locked another one in and started running to where the most commotion was, letting the arrow fly towards the grey dog creature. A screech of pain told me that I had hit my mark. I was moving so quickly, my adrenaline pumping that I didn’t see the red streak coming at me. A large bird creature drove its talons into my shoulders, ripping through my flesh. I gasped in pain, hitting the ground. I turned around, letting the arrow go. The bird dodged it, great red wings and black beak heading towards me. I tried sitting up, but the pain was too much. A sword with a gold hilt lay on the blood stained snow, a few feet from me. Sucking it up, I rolled to it and swung the blade upwards, a bright light bursting from the bird as it turned to ashes. Gasping, I fell back, dropping the sword and picking up the bow again. My shoulders were throbbing, blood pouring out. I wanted to see the damage, but I knew that now was not the time to inspect my wounds. I took off again, this time much slower towards where everyone was fighting. I let another arrow fly, hitting a frog-like creature as it came towards me. People everywhere were being slaughtered. I saw the girl vampire that I had fought with battling a grey like mist shaped like a human. I shot at it, but the arrow simply flew through it. The girl was fast, darting around it and slashing through its vapors. Grabbing one of the knives from my belt, I threw it, the mist disappearing in a flash of light. My knife fell to the ground, the girl turning to look at me. Her eyes went to my shoulders, the iris turning red. She clenched her jaw and he eyes cleared. “Tha-” The black beast from before slashed threw her neck, her blood spraying all over me. I screamed as her eyes turned glassy and she hit the ground. My hands shook as I snatched up the knife and threw it at the killer. It buried into its shoulder, the animal roaring. I quickly notched an arrow and drove it into its neck. The brute staggered a little and tripped to the ground. Snatching my knife from its shoulder, I slashed it threw its neck, black blood splattering. I curled my lip in disgust and rage, looking to the young girl. I ran to her, and kneeled down next to her. Blood was still pouring out from the wound and creating a puddle up under and around her. She was dead, no doubt about that. Looking at her blonde hair stained with blood, I was reminded of Tailyn. Jumping up, I ran to Sirene’s place, fear for the little girl and her mother driving me forward. I leapt over dead bodies, slipping in blood puddle and kicking weapons out of my way. Where the tent was supposed to be, charred ruins were there. I let out a strangled scream, my fear blocking its way. “Tailyn! Sirene!” I screamed, turning around, the sounds of battle dying away. “Tailyn!” I screamed again, tears starting to flow down my cheeks as I thought of the little girl being killed by one of these black-blooded demons. I sunk to the ground, the ashes from the tents swirling around and mixing into the snow and blood. Hearing my name being called, I looked up. Tailyn was running through the training area, blonde hair flying out around her and hazel eyes wide with fear. I scrambled up, dashing to her. “Tailyn! Oh, I thought you were dead.” I was about to scoop her up when a dark green creature smacked her away from me and scurried over to her. “No!” I screamed, the demon looked to me, black teeth dripping with venom and yellow slitted eyes looking at me. I already had an arrow notched and aimed at the animal. I stopped just before shooting it when the creature picked up a screaming Tailyn. My hands shook with fear and tension as the creature inspected her. Its head snapped up, looking up. I didn’t need to glance upwards, a huge shadow moved over me. I made the split second decision and shot the arrow up at the strange bird and dove forward as the flash of light came from it. I dropped the bow and pulled the dagger from my boot. I sprung up, ready to kill anything that got in my way from saving Tailyn. She was screaming even louder now, and I could see why. The demons black claws were dug into her pale white skin. Blood trickled from the wounds and fell to mix with the other blood on the ground. She stopped screaming, and just looked at me sobbing. I felt helpless. The look in her eyes, defeat, scared me the most. “Ivory I love you.” She cried, trying to move out of the demon’s grip. Its claws dug deeper and she threw her head back and screamed. The demon’s black fangs ripped into her throat, cutting off her scream. Blood sprayed everywhere. My own screams echoed in my ears as I watched the black fangs rip into her again. “No!” I screamed running and diving towards them. One black clawed hand swung out and slashed into my side, ripping through my clothing and skin. I ignored the fiery pain and drove the dagger into the demon’s chest, pulling it out and stabbing again. Tailyn’s body hit the ground, but I didn’t quit. I stabbed into the demon’s scaly chest again and again, feeling the black blood fly up and hit my face. Only after the demon had disappeared in the flash of light, stopped stabbing. I turned to Tailyn, a sob ripping through me when I saw her body. Bile rose up and I moved backwards and retched into the snow. With my eyes streaming, I turned to Tailyn again. My fault, I had failed to save her. I turned and dry heaved, having nothing left to give up. I wiped my mouth and looked to where her body was. I fell onto her still warm body and cried. I didn’t care that her blood was getting all over my face or that I was freezing cold. I lay there crying until I had nothing left to cry out, my eyes dry and my body shaking with cold, I slowly crawled away, darkness consuming the once lively camp. I crawled up into some scattered pelts and closed my eyes, more tears leaking out. “I love you too Tailyn.”
