The Rise Of The King

Chapter Five

I don't know what I expected from the training Claw would give. He started out calm and made me do breathing and focusing on exercises. Then he started showing me the anatomy of my opponents, focusing heavily on taking out the eyes or simply slashing the throat. When he'd mentioned it, I felt the rage swirl within me. He had no idea that I knew what he did. He started becoming more and more aggressive, demanding more of me every moment he got. I was bruised and beaten every time I didn't do it right.

We'd gone to the clearing one early morning, the same one where he'd killed my mother. I try to not let it get to me, but sometimes it does with a gut-wrenching guilt and hatred.

"Battle stance," He said, as he sat down on the far side of the clearing.

I got into position, making sure my legs wouldn't tremble. He stood and started looking over my entire body.

"Keep the underbelly lean." He grumbled.

I adjusted and made sure my belly was tensed. He walked around me a little more before backing off.

"Practice slashing, keep your posture perfect."

By the time I was done, I was exhausted. Claw was towering over me as I panted. My tongue stuck out between my jaws as my breath shook.

"Everything again."

I stared up at him with disbelief.

"Wha-"

"You said you wanted to learn, Saber. This is how you do it."

He nudged me and I almost fell over. My eyes were heavy and the back of my skull throbbed.

"Stand up!" He snapped, getting inches from my face.

I could see the exhaustion in his darkening eyes. There was something wrong with him, I just couldn't place it. He backed off after I stood up again. My shoulders and back were aching. He stared at me with a mixture of disgust and irritation. I inhaled deeply and attempted a slashing move, and ended up falling face first into the dry earth. Claw snorted and walked to me, getting in my face again. This time I didn't see it coming.

He raised a single claw and slashed my face. My snout exploded with pain as hot blood trickled into my opened jaws. Tears started rolling down my face as I processed the sudden wound.

"W-why?" my voice shook.

He stared at me with a coldness that froze me to the ground.

"Punishment helps one learn." He said.

It took me a few moments for the shock to dissipate. I started losing focus on what I was doing, the iron taste of the blood making me feel something that made my body feel like it was burning, but it wasn't pain. I didn't hate the feeling it brought.

Claw's cold expression softened a little as he let out a breath.

"Go wash up in the stream, we can be done for today."

He turned away from me and walked back to camp. I inhaled, the breath getting caught in my throat. I went to the stream and sat, feeling the tears grow cold on my jawline and chin. I sniffled a little as some of the blood dripped onto the mossy shore of the stream.

"Saber?" A voice said I jumped, bristling in case of danger.

I looked up to see Fern. She was staring at me, with concern furrowing her brow.

"What happened?" She asked, hopping over the small waterway and coming to my side.

"Nothing," I said, splashing water into my face.

The water made my snout sting, I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes forcefully.

"He scratched you, didn't he?" She asked.

I opened my eyes and looked at her, crimson water dripped into the water and stream bed.

"It was an accident. I did my move wrong and he'd run into me."

She looked at me, her ears laid back. She sighed and ripped some moss from the ground and gently washed it in the water. Before I could ask her what she was doing, she pressed the moss to my cut.

"Stay still, this needs to be cleaned."

I didn't argue as she washed everything on my face, my hair was crusty with blood so she made me dunk my head slightly in the water so she could fix it. She was incredibly gentle, it felt off to me, the last kindness I'd been given was from my mother before she died. Fern had been avoiding me since Claw started constantly making me train. She could see the darkness in my eyes after my mother died.

"Your father is becoming angrier lately." She commented.

"Don't call him that," I said, she paused at my words.

"What happened? You've been off since your mother died."

I backed away from her, slightly irritated.

"I miss her. Her death was so sudden, and I don't trust the circumstances." I said.

Fern inhaled for a second, then licked my cheek.

"If you ever need help, I'm here."

She left me by the stream, my cut clean and my stomach in knots. Then a twig snapped, and Claw's scent drifted into my nostrils.

"Good. She found you."

I turned to him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He smiled a bit.

"Females love scars."

I stared at him with shock.

"You better hope it scars really well."