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Chapter 16: Training

Okay I decided to upload early since the chapter is written and because I didn't upload last week. I am warning you now, school is about to start and I am taking a big class load so sorry if the uploads are farther apart I will try to not let that happen. AND please VOTE and COMMENT, I am trying for the watty awards and love seeing the reads rise as well as comments and votes. It makes me smile, and when I saw I'd reached a 1000 reads so quickly I was jumping with joy! So other than that enjoy!

                                                                                                   ~Rose

Chapter 16: Training

Twinkling lights filtered through my eyelids rousing me from my dreams. My eyes slowly fluttered open; a candle was being held over my eyes causing the twinkling effect. Blinking my eyes I pushed the person’s hand whose candle was irritating my eyes.

“Ariya; thank goodness you are awake. You were worrying us.” A fatherly like voice breathed. I rubbed my eyes sitting up. Looking around I met the eyes of my worried gypsy family. But what truly surprised me was to see Elijah standing in the shadows his eyes boring into mine.

“What happened?” I asked running a hand through my hair but as it grazed my temple a sharp pain traveled down my head. Snatching my hand back I saw fresh red blood on my finger tips.

“You’re body collapsed. It’s not used to you using your powers; this is why we need to train.” Elijah spoke up walking from the shadows to sit on the edge of the cot I was on.

“I never knew I could summon fire like that; I knew I could create heat but not that.”

“The extent of your powers isn’t known to anyone but yourself; each heir’s power varied by their strength as well as their dragon’s ability.”

“Oh,” I replied my voice meek. So much was happening in the course of only a few months. Everything I knew and held dear had been ripped away. “Then let’s start training.”

After a few days of recovery I was off to Elijah’s cabin to begin my training. He had set me up a small cot in the corner covered in a well worn quilt. I sat amongst its soft threads my eyes gazing blindly across the cabin my hand absently stroking the quilt.

“Ariya?” Blinking furiously I saw Elijah waiting at the door. Taking a deep breath; starting now I was truly leaving the realms of where my knowledge extended. Whether I was ready or not it was happening.

Getting up I laced my boots tighter and grabbed the wool sweater Dimitri had given me. I followed Elijah out to the pen that had housed his horse. I ran a hand through my now tightly French braided hair my fingers snagging pulling lose some of the unruly curls.

I was nervous to begin my training; everything would be so foreign so new. No one in my generation even knew that dragons existed. We knew of the possible magical creatures that liked to dwell in the Red Wood but I had never encountered them before so my belief was optimistic.

“Sword work, have you ever held a sword?” Elijah asked turning to me looking me in the eyes. I could sense his eyes probing mine searching for something.

“I’m a blacksmiths daughter, yes I’ve held and sword and know a little. I wield a dagger and bow better.” I said shaking myself from my stupor.

“Alright show me what you know.”

Stepping away I grabbed my bow and the quiver of arrows. There was a battered training dummy to my right about twenty feet away. Setting down the quiver I knocked an arrow pulling the bow up and the string back. Taking a deep solid breath I focused on the arrow and the arrow alone. My fingers toyed with the string rubbing it between them. I let the arrow fly; it whizzed through the air embedding itself into the dummy’s head.