The Atlantean Chronicles: Call of the Sea

Chapter Twenty-Five

"That was great, you've really come a long way Di!" Arielle called encouragingly as Diana broke away from Jacin and Reith.

Sweat ran down Diana's face and she squinted as it stung her eyes. She refused to take her eyes off either of the princes panting before her,  but she managed to flash a thumbs up to her sister who was watching off to the side. 

Diana had been training hard over the past week and a half; that two weeks had quickly dwindled down to three days. Diana pushed away the thought, three days until they marched on Atlantis with a rebel army. She'd been training with Jacin and Reith's help, though she'd continued to train in secret as well, accepting early on that two hours of training twice a day would not be enough to get her strong enough to take on Meison. She was beginning to feel strong again, feel more herself again. She hadn't brought her weight or muscle mass back up to what it had been before, but she did notice a significant difference.

Today, when she'd met up to train with Jacin on the beach, as had become their regular morning routine, he'd suggested they try multiple opponent combat. She'd been holding her own moderately well against both princes for over an hour and as time had passed, they'd gathered an audience. Kaftor and Asherah had arrived first, followed by Callista and Arielle. Diana didn't dare look to see who all watched her, but judging from her peripheral vision, the entire household was standing off to the side, watching her.

Diana hadn't beaten Jacin in any of their combat training sessions, though it had proved to be increasingly more difficult for him to beat her each time. She had to admit, she was surprising herself for lasting this long against both him and Reith.

Reith and Jacin exchanged a knowing look, drawing Diana's attention back to the matter at hand. She eyed them both, trying to discern what silent conversation had just passed between them. Reith turned to her first and winked.

Before Diana could fully register what was happening, Jacin was rushing at her. She gasped, diving to the side and rolling to ease the impact. She leapt to her feet without hesitation, whirling around the face them, sand spewing in her wake. She paused as she scanned the shoreline and saw only Jacin standing there. Where is Reith? She wondered, growing on edge.

Suddenly, Diana's knees were buckling and her face met with sand. She whipped her head up, sputtering as sand clung to her lips and face. She growled in frustration as Reith pinned her to the ground, his knee planted firmly in the center of her back.

Diana writhed uselessly beneath him, trying to ignore the panic rising in her chest, her heart threatening to race uncontrollably. She was trapped. Images of the arena flashed in her head; how many times had this happened to her? How many times had she found herself weak and defenseless, pinned beneath someone twice her size —the citizens of Atlantis looking down on her in disgust and disappointment.

Diana stilled, rage suddenly overpowering her panic. NO! A voice roared in her head... never again would she be so weak, so scared. Determination coursed through her veins as Reith grabbed her arm, intending to hold it behind her back until she surrendered.

Never again... never again would she surrender to any man. Never again would she allow herself to fall victim. Never again...

Every muscle in her body tensed as Diana prepared herself. She felt Reith's hesitation, as he realized she was planning something. Diana took advantage of his confusion. As soon as she felt his grip on her wrist slacken in the slightest, Diana wrenched her arm free, elbowing him hard in the gut, while she pushed herself up with her other arm.

Reith grunted in surprise, his weight shifting away from her. Diana bared her teeth in concentration as she pushed him off of her. She spun on her knees, ignoring the biting pain of sand grinding into her skin, and grabbed Reith by the shoulders. He blinked at her, looking utterly dumbfounded. Diana didn't hesitate to bring her knee up to his gut. Reith doubled over and Diana wrapped her leg around his neck, using the momentum to swing around onto his shoulders.