Gold Blood

Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - Phoenix

Groaning Phoenix rolled out of bed and onto the floor. He hit the cold ground and shrieked as the cold floor hit his bare skin. He scrambled upright and glanced over at the clock. He had to eat breakfast and be down at the training center with Acelynn in half an hour. Shuffling over to the close the threw on the first black shirt he could find, with a pair of baggy grey pants. Phoenix shoved his feet into his boots and yawned loudly. Stumbling to the bathroom he patted down his hair and his eyes widened as he saw it in the mirror. His blonde hair was standing up facing every direction. He sighed and tried to fix it giving up as it all just moved back to the way it was. Phoenix threw open his bedroom door and stumbled across the hallway. His closed fist found Acelynn's door and he knocked softly. The door slowly swung open and Acelynn was standing there. Her hair was in a messy braid and she was yawning. She was in an outfit similar to his own, her shirt was white and her pants were black. She held out an apple for him and took a bite out of another. Acelynn tripped as she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her.

"Don't even think of laughing," she hissed. Acelynn was not a morning person. This was their fourth morning in a row getting up at 5:30 to be in the training center by 6:00 and he could see the toll that it was taking on her. Dark circles were around her eyes and he couldn't remember the last time he saw her hair in anything but the braid from the day before.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he cooed at her taking a bite out of the red apple. She shook her head and took a large bite of her apple. They walked down to the training center in silence.

"3 hours of training this morning?" Acelynn asked although he knew that she knew the answer.

"You bet, after that we have to finish some school work. Then we have training again from 1:00 to 3:00, and finally we are back with Professor Jones until 5:00," Phoenix replied yawning again. Acelynn groaned and fell into Phoenix.

"I think I'm going to die before this day is over," she told him dramatically. He laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders.

"If you're dying, please take me with you," he joked back. She laughed at him and nodded her head.

They flew through the first 3 hours of training. Acelynn was laying on the floor panting as 15 soldiers stood around her. They shook their heads in confusion and glanced down at a watch. She had been holding them for at least 2 minutes. Phoenix wandered over to her and sat down beside her.

"Is it getting easier?" He asked passing her some water.

"It was until they added 5 more people," Acelynn responded snatching the water from him and guzzling it. She sighed in content and set the empty water container down beside them. "What time is it?" Acelynn asked.

"8:45, we should probably head over to see Professor Jones," Phoenix answered pushing himself off of the ground. He held a hand out for Acelynn and she gladly took it. He pulled her up and took the empty water from her. He threw it out as they left.

Phoenix could hardly focus as Professor Jones rambled on about the history of the palace. He probably wouldn't have noticed if he had fallen asleep, but he was to busy chuckling to himself as Acelynn's head bobbed up and down for the fourth time. Her eyes sprung open and she tried to keep them open before her head bobbed again and her eyes slowly shut.

"That's it for this session," Professor Jones concluded turning back around to face them. Quickly Phoenix stuck his foot out and kicked Acelynn's chair forcing her awake. She smiled sheepishly at the Professor and mouthed a thank you to Phoenix. They slid out of their chairs and picked up the stack of papers they were giving.

"One more training session. We're almost done for the day," Phoenix muttered opening the door for Acelynn. She stifled a yawn and stumbled through the open door. Groaning they both entered the training center together. General Scott and Jule were already there talking in the corner. Acelynn dropped her papers in the corner and she started over to where Jule waited for her. Phoenix watched her as she went. Even when she was tired and kind of looked like a mess, she was still beautiful. Shaking his head he walked towards General Scott who was waiting with a scowl on his face.

The training session seemed to drag on. Phoenix's body ached and his head felt fuzzy. General Scott smacked him on the hand with the sword.

"Pay attention!" He snapped. Phoenix scowled at him but focused on what they were doing anyway. He went through the motions and every so often he glanced at the clock. They were almost there. Glancing over at Acelynn he watched as she sat down on the floor in exhaustion.

"Scott, I think that's it for today. She can barely stand up," Jule called across the center. Gruffly General Scott nodded his head and he motioned for Phoenix to leave. Quickly he put his sword away and walked over to where Acelynn laid on the floor.

"I'm so ready to go to bed," Acelynn wheezed. Phoenix stuck his hand out for her and he pulled her to her feet. "Please just carry me," she whined. Acelynn's eyes were closed and her stray hairs stuck to her forehead with sweat.

"Alright, I'll give you a piggyback," Phoenix replied turning around so his back was facing her. Clapping her hands she hopped onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Phoenix didn't understand how she was so light. She had put so much muscle on and yet it still felt like she weighed nothing. Phoenix left the training center and carried her towards her room. When he reached her door she reached her hand out and twisted the handle. Phoenix kicked the door open with his toe and confidently walked inside. He walked towards her bed, turned around and allowed her to flop backwards onto the bed.

"Want to get some supper brought here and eat together?" Acelynn asked her blue and gold eyes wide. Phoenix nodded his head in agreement and walked out the door to go find someone to get them supper. As fast as he could he found the young maid who was always with Acelynn and politely asked her if she could possibly bring them supper. With a knowing smile on her face she nodded her head and scurried off. Phoenix dragged his feet as he walked back to her room. He was exhausted.

"Someone is going to bring supper right away," Phoenix explained walking back into Acelynn's room. While he was gone she had changed into pajamas. Her pants were a light pink and her top was a grey long sleeve. Yawning she nodded her head and half heartedly unbraided her messy hair. She expertly tied her hair into a knot on the top of her head and flopped onto the bed. Moments later there was a knock on the door, Phoenix stood up and opened the door. He took the tray from the maid's hands and brought it over to Acelynn's bed. They both took some food off of the tray and sat down to eat. Acelynn said nothing as she laid down on her stomach on the bed. She lazily put food in her mouth and then rested her head as she chewed. Phoenix sat on the couch and slowly ate. His eyes started drooping and his body felt heavy. Glancing over at Acelynn he saw her asleep and he soon followed suit. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on the back of the couch and fell asleep.