Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 14 - The Maiden's Curse

Amazing picture of Rena by @46Kibahime ~ Check out their Deviantart for more *-* pictures! Seriously they're amazing go look at them now. 

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Chapter 14 - The Maiden's Curse

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The next week passed by in monotonous repetition, and as far as Rena was concerned, it was utter hell. 

Her days were filled with training, both physical and mental. The group classes at the training grounds left her body aching and sore the next day, which only made that session worse. After the appearance of the glowing white blade during her lackluster demonstration of her combat skills, the djinn had demanded she be specialised in the sword, though she'd kept the carved sceptre anyway. 

She dreaded the moment a messenger would come with the summons to the temple's heart. Every step towards the djinn's sanctuary would be heavy and pulse anxiety through her, but it was that same anxiety that kept her sharp as he put her through her mental paces and tested the limits of her ley based abilities, even though it always ended the same way. The djinn's expression would simply deepen, his thoughts enthralled with unwravelling the mystery of her kitsune before he released her, either back to the training grounds for additional pummellings or to the dining hall she'd taken to calling the dais stand with the rest of the Unbounds depending on the time. 

And every second, with every breath, she had to keep up the act. 

Breakfast. Training. In the halls. At dinner. Pretend to be Qariinn's little kitsune, apprentice, heir, whatever the hell he was grooming her for in every situation and trust no one but Cayden with her true self that was slowly being smothered under layers of deception. 

If she were being honest with herself, if it hadn't been for the djinn and his constant, prying eyes that didn't miss a thing, Rena would have been enjoying herself, despite the muscles that screamed at her every time she sat down. 

She found it easy to form bonds with the Mythics she trained with, particularly Allegra and Kiou, but any joy she found in them was overshadowed by the fact that everything to leave her lips between them was a lie. Even with the people she felt the closest to, the nearest thing to friends she'd had in a while, she couldn't trust them without risking Nazine's life. 

The only time she could scavenge to let her guard down and relax was after she and Cayden retired to their shared room. 

Even that became stressful before long. He wanted to know what she'd said, what she'd done, and nothing about the other Mythics -- particularly the djinn -- was off limits from Cayden's questions. They ranged from abilities to personalities to timetables to what colour she suspected their undergarments were. She tried to give him the answers he needed, the answers that she knew would help him form the plan that would end this nightmare and save Nazine, but getting through each day was proving a challenge in itself. 

She'd figured this wasn't going to be easy. Embraced it, in fact. To have a purpose, to be useful was something she'd never thought she'd have. But Rena was quickly reaching the end of her mental rope before she lost her grip and tumbled into the pit below. 

And the worst thing about it was that Cayden knew she was cracking. 

Rena caught the glint of pity in his eyes every time she rubbed her temples and strained herself to remember, but he never breathed a word of it, and neither did she. 

Take a break, he'd said last night after she'd slammed a curled fist into her thigh because she'd been unable to remember which Mythic matched which name of the more experienced Mythics and where they were usually assigned.