The Low-Class Prince Charming

Chapter 12

Although Mason had talked to Sky about her final words to him the day before, Sky wasn't taking no for an answer and made sure that he would definitely attend the lessons with her courtesy of the money her mother had left for them – or, more likely, for him.

Sky's next lesson turned out to be that very day, so although he'd relented and decided to attend and have a go, he was still far too sore to participate and hence he went to observe instead. As he watched the class, who, it turned out, existed only of Sky, he realised there was a whole other side to her that he hadn't seen last time through the darkness. She seemed to almost thrive as she threw around her punches and kicks; Mason was both in awe and a little afraid of this version of her. The instructor, on the other hand, seemed completely used to it.

It was a number of days after that when Mason could finally move again that he finally had his first go with her trainer.

"Tested?" he repeated; Dean nodded.

"Before I teach you anything, I need to check your physical aptitude," he explained further.

"I see..." Mason said, looking from Sky to Dean; with both of their arms crossed, they looked like a terrifying duo. Knowing how incredible Sky was when it came to fighting, he knew that her trainer was likely a force to be reckoned with too, even if those days were long behind him now. "So where do we start?" Mason asked, self-consciously pulling on the new sports shorts that he and Sky had bought for him.

"The first test is relatively easy. I just need you to run around this room about 20 times – and without cutting corners; I'll be watching."

"Easy?" Mason almost squeaked, looking around at the enclosed space they were in. He looked at Sky for help, but her face was unmoving; all she did was raise her eyebrows questioningly when he didn't start.

With a groan, he set off.

Dean was relentless; every time Mason threatened to slow down or cut a corner, he was right there breathing down his neck. Sky, on the other hand, more or less ignored this stage of his torture as she fought with a punching bag at the edge of the room. It was only when he stopped that she came over.

"I don't care what you do to me, but I can't run anymore," Mason huffed, sitting half-collapsed on the ground.

"If you can still talk, you can still move. Come on, get up." Dean didn't move as he stood over Mason, showing Mason that he wasn't going to threaten him but also not babying his weak test outcome.

Sky frowned as she made her way over and for a moment, she and her trainer seemed to talk through their eyes, leaving Mason out of their conversation.

"Tsk," Dean said, looking away from Sky and back down at Mason, clearly not pleased with how their unspoken conversation had gone. "Tell you what, we'll leave the running here and move onto the next test then."

Mason slowly got to his feet as the other two made their way closer to the edge of the room. "What's the next test?" Mason asked, still breathless.

"Next is the jump test," Dean responded as they reached the edge of the room and turned to look at him.

"Jump test?" Mason reiterated, breathing heavily. "Really? After running? Come on..."

With a deep breath and a sigh, Mason started jumping on the spot.

"Um, Mason...?" Dean asked, perplexed. Since Mason's body was working too hard to respond verbally, he made an effort to look over at the two who were watching his torture to find Sky with her head in her hand – a literal face palm, if you will – and Dean with a skipping rope hanging loosely in his hand.