"The sound of the impact echoed through the air. I stand frozen in place, staring at the boy's broken body lying just feet from me. Others in the square rush to his side, but I could tell from the amount of blood pooling around him and the way his b...
Breakfast seemed to pass by far too quickly. I picked at my bacon and oatmeal to appease Micah, but my stomach was in knots, and the food had no taste.
It seemed like I had just sat down when Micah said it was time to leave. He escorted me away from the central part of the town to an area of the city I had never seen before. We walked away from the barracks and cafeteria, past a cluster of trees and into a clearing where Sage stood with her arms crossed, waiting for us.
"Patrick, the educational trainer, will meet you up here at 11:30. Until then, do me a favor, and listen to Sage. She's strict, but she knows what she's talking about," Micah said. "And stay close to her in case anything happens; I may not be able to sense you this far away if something goes wrong. Sage may put on a tough front, but she's been trained as a protector, the same as the rest of us, so she will do her damndest to keep you safe. But you have to be willing to work with her. Can you do that?" Micah asked.
I gave a small nod, glancing at Sage warily from my peripherals.
"Stop worrying so much. You'll do fine," he said with a smile. Then he turned and walks back through the trees toward the main sector of Tueri, leaving me alone with Sage. I wanted to run after him, to beg him to train me instead, but instead I grit my teeth and walked to where Sage stood, her eyes narrowed.
"Just us girls then," Sage said bitterly. I could tell that she was no more happy about our arrangement than I was. She sighed. "Well, no point in wasting time. We've got to begin by building your stamina. You'll need it for both the physical and magical exercises, so we're starting with cardio. Start by giving me twenty laps around the perimeter of this field."
"Twenty?!" I stuttered. The area had to be at least the size of a football field, maybe larger.
"Is that a problem?" Sage asked, glaring at me with a small smirk hidden beneath her tough façade. I sighed and shook my head. "Alright then get to it."
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That was the most miserable morning of my life. Worse than the days staggering through the forest, worse than the hours dehydrating in the desert, worse than any of the terrible injuries I had inflicted thus far. It was torture, though Sage seemed to get a kick out of my misery.
I was exhausted before we started, the scarcity of food from the last several days leaving me with no energy. This, combined with my lack of athleticism, left me drained right away.
Sage didn't help matters. She tended to jog alongside me, shouting obscenities at and telling me I would never amount to anything. It reminded me of boot camp, which was fitting, considering we were going to war.
Within the first ten minutes, I was doubled over as we jogged, trying to catch my breath, whereas Sage made it seem so easy. At one point I begged for a break, Sage's response to which was, "Do you think the King is going to give you a break when you're fighting him?" Then she gave me a shove to move faster.
