Red Queen Fan Fiction - Red Huntress

Chapter 5

Clara and Willis Farley had trained together for weeks when Diana joined them. It wasn't frequent or regular. On average, they sneaked away once a week, although some weeks passed without a session while other weeks offered occasions for several lessons. They tried to remain inconspicuous, regarding their other occupations, Clara's as master butcher and Willis's returning to hunting. Mostly, Diana's father passed on the standard skills he'd learned as a Red soldier in the army – officially and unofficially. As it was, the Red soldiers had tricks of their own to stay alive, apart from what Silver officers taught them in the few months before they sent the Reds to the choke.

At first, it was these basics Diana learned from her father as they were easy enough for a 12-year-old to perform. At least they should've been, but despite her years filled by running, hunting and farm work, Diana struggled to unite these skills into a capacity for battle.

Unlike her mother who was a natural. Even taking Clara's head start and Willis's blind eye into account, it was obvious Mama was the best fighter among them. Sparring with her soon became a challenge to both Diana and her father.

Often, when Diana repeated the basic stances once again to engrave them into her body's memory, her mother sat aside and scrolled through an old book, one looking unusually well-preserved and rich in making. Diana hadn't noticed it at first, lost in her moves and Papa's coaching. Then she assumed Mama had another secret hobby. Nothing would've surprised her at this point. When she finally asked about the book, Mama shrugged but grinned over her whole face.

"Papa brought it home," she said. "It's a manual for Silver training. How they learn to duel one another and such."

Papa, similarly amused, shook his head. "I just grabbed it by accident. A Silver wanted several of her books disposed of and I picked up a few on a whim."

Mama kissed his cheek. "The best booty you've got."

Diana, intendedly ignoring their show of affection, went for the book. After a few glances, she looked at her parents in confusion. "I can't read ... can't understand it."

Mama nodded. "It's written in the language preferred by the noble Silvers. Papa and I had it in school for a while. Haven't you?"

Diana tried to remember. "Now that you say it ... it was years ago, only for a few months, I believe."

Mama took her by the shoulder, suddenly serious. "You should refresh your knowledge. Many official documents and forms are written in this language, and you should be able to read them."

Diana sighed, hearing the implied demand to pay attention to school in general. But as she started to delve into the book and figure out the language and fighting techniques both, she rejoiced at the notion that she learned the tongue of the Silvers through instructions to best them.

"To defeat an eye despite their ability of precognition, bring them into a situation out of which they can't escape, for example, employ attacks from two sides ..."

Yet there was no use to be made of her secret lessons, not for years. Diana hunted and butchered, went to school, worked at her mother's family's farm, did the occasional job in the village and trained with her parents to finally make a breakthrough in her lessons when she won against her mother three times in a row.

But when she asked about the Scarlet Guard again, voicing the forbidden name, her parents basically froze and couldn't hush her fast enough.

There is nothing to be done here, she heard when she was lucky, and more often, you're too young for this. Which in turn made her wonder there was something to be done; if not for her, then for her parents. Her mother happened to be away on her own for several days every now and then, something she hadn't done before, and the same applied to her father. Nonetheless, their silence persisted and Diana went along with it. Save for the one time she requested to know how Madeline was involved – not at all, as she didn't wish for fighting lessons – Diana stopped speaking about the Scarlet Guard or rebellion to begin with.