Obliviate | JSE

Fifteen- Training

~Day One~

Your POV
"No, Y/N. Concentrate!" Mark says firmly for the fifth time today.

"I can't do it!" I whined like a little child.

"Yes, you can. You just have to believe in yourself." His harsh tone drops to a more gentle one. "Again," he raises the stick he holds in his hand and I begin to jog on the balls of my feet in the small space around me. "Stupefy!" He pretends to cast with the stick and I dodge out of the way. "Expelliarmus!" I roll across the floor to avoid his cast. "Confringo!" He casts low to the floor and I jump up off the ground. "Good, Y/N. You're getting there."

"Really-"

"Avada Kedavra." Mark unexpectedly casts with his pretend wand which catches me off-guard. "Oh look at that, you're dead again." Mark says sarcastically.

"That's not fair! You didn't give me-"

"Stay alert at all times, Y/N." He points the stick in my face as though he was telling off a naughty schoolchild. "Let's go again."

"No, I need a break." I say, moving to the side and taking a swig from a water bottle. Beads of sweat dripped from my forehead and the back of my neck felt sticky. We must have been training for at least a couple of hours without a break.

"Fine but don't be too long. Remember, this is all for your own good. If you can't cast like Seán and I, then you can at least learn to dodge curses and basic combat. Right, Seán?" Mark turns his attention towards my husband who had just returned with firewood for tonight's fire.

"Right." Seán responds as he places the wood on the ground. "It just ensures that you're not left completely vulnerable."

"It's just a bit hard when you're the unfittest woman on this earth." I retort.

"It will take time but if you keep at it, you'll get there." Mark encouraged me. "Oh, by the way," he walks over to his tattered rucksack, "have these." He hands me a few items of clothing; a white, short sleeved shirt, a pair of brown trousers and some black shoes. Wasn't quite what I was used to but it will do. "Wearing these instead of that dress might make things a little easier. They should fit."

"Thank you." I say appreciatively. "Where did you get them?"

"I 'borrowed' them from the town nearby."

"Mark!"

"What? They obviously didn't need them if they just left them lying around."

"But still."

"But still nothing. Go and get changed."

"It wouldn't hurt to say please and thank you every once in a while." I mumbled. I walked into the corner of the cave and turned around to see Seán and Mark still looking at me. "Excuse me?" I cleared my throat.

"What?"

"A bit of privacy is appreciated." Mark turns his back but Seán doesn't oblige. "You too."

"What? It's nothing I haven't seen before." He smirks. I don't say anything, just give him a look with my eyes as though to say, 'do as you're told'. Reluctantly, he eventually turns his back.

I discard my dress, feeling very paranoid about the two pairs of eyes which could be staring at me. I slip on the trousers, pull the shirt on over my head and take off my sandals and replace them with the black shoes. Overall, it wasn't a bad fit. The shirt sleeves were perhaps a couple of inches too long and the shoes weren't that much bigger either. I tie my hair up into a high ponytail and remove my bracelet but leaving my engagement ring, wedding ring and the gold and ruby necklace.