Destined Assassin

Chapter 3

Introductions
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The gym was amazing. There were machines for exercise, mats for combat training, punching bags and practice dummies for conditioning. There were targets and weapons for practice, trampolines and pits to dive into for free running training, and to top it off, complex platforms and beams ran above the entire gym for parkour and aerial training. I was walking in circles admiring it all.
"Amazing" I breathed out loud. Raven laughed as she watched me. She was twenty years old. I felt more comfortable around her than anyone else. I could relate to her. She was also more welcoming and understanding. I'd gotten nothing but looks of hatred since I'd been allowed out of my room. I was their enemy as much as they were mine. Our two creeds had been fighting for centuries. Things just escalated when my mother got deeply involved.

"Where do you wanna start?" Raven asked me. I glanced around me, trying to decide.
"It's overwhelming" I admitted. She nodded her understanding.
"Let's start with something that you're familiar with" she suggested. My gaze instantly flicked to the target practice area. I missed my bow. I loved practicing and hunting. She followed my gaze and smiled at me.
"Let's go" she nudged me. I followed behind her, glancing around me as I went. I got harsh glares and whispering in greeting. I sighed and kept my gaze focused ahead of me. I picked up the nicest bow I saw. It was beautiful. It was made of metal rather than wood. Perfectly sculpted arrows were arranged in a quiver beside it. I slid the quiver on my back and held the bow in my hands. I stepped onto the mats and looked at where the targets stood across the room. I slid an arrow from the quiver and notched it, aiming at the target furthest from where I stood. I could see it easily. My senses had heightened over the many years of training.
"Okay, now don't be discouraged if you-" I let the arrow fly. The loud snap echoed around me. The entire room fell silent. There had only been a few people training, the rest were still at breakfast. I looked at where the arrow stuck out of the target, directly in the bullseye. I glanced at Raven and found her staring at me open mouthed.
"Wow" she smiled. I glanced around me and found people staring. I wanted to hide from the attention.
"Can you do that again?" She asked. I nodded and notched another arrow. I watched it fly. I silently praised myself when it hit the centre of the target again. I heard quiet whispering coming from the gathering group of people. Raven cheered me on and urged me to try the moving targets. They had a simulation set up. Holograms of animals and trees glowed around me. I moved through the fake trees and let my arrow fly, hitting the fake deer with a clean shot.

"Let's try dangerous situations" Raven called. The scene changed. The trees disappeared. Suddenly a fake person came running at me. I let my arrow fly, knocking him to the ground. I spun around just as another one jumped at me from above. I rolled out of the way and let another arrow fly. Soon I was running, sliding and dodging as I hit my targets. I never missed. When I finished I finally noticed the gathered crowd that was watching me. Twenty people were now watching me train. Some were whispering to one another. My first thought was that my skills were nothing in comparison to theirs. I chewed my lip awkwardly and set the bow down.
"Can we do something else?" I asked Raven hopefully. She glanced at the crowd and nodded at me.
"No problem" she said and started leading me across the gym. I followed behind her quickly, eager to get away from the judging eyes.

Raven lead me to the combat conditioning area. I eye'd the punching bags and dummies that were set up. I accepted the gloves that Raven handed me. I slipped them on and studied them. I'd never used them. I'd never had anything but my body and skills. I stepped between the many hanging punching bags, taking my stance as I moved around them. I swung testing punches. I'd never used punching bags. I kept my arm straight and put my weight into the next few punches. The bag swung back a few inches, encouraging me further. I decided to turn my attention on the dummies. They were set up in different positions. I scanned over the positions and planned my route out in my head. I took off at a sprint. I punched the first dummy twice, knocking it off the wooden stand it had been propped up on. I flipped over the second one and sent it flying with a quick kick. I landed quickly and rolled into a tumble, taking out another dummy with a low blow. The last dummy stood near the wall, making it harder to hit without injury. I ran at full speed and stepped off the wall at a side ways run, knocking the dummy down and shattering the wooden stand. I was breathing heavily when I stood up and turned back to face Raven.