The Unforeseen [EDITING]

Chapter Eleven

Days went by without so much as a word from Clara, giving Timena time to mull over their conversation. She'd been reluctant to confide in her from the very beginning and with good reason; she wished Clara had never introduced herself or explained her past because the familiarity only made the situation harder for Timena to move past.
It seemed that Aldus had gotten through to Silas somewhat, the number of guards had decreased significantly since they'd last spoken which had put Timena slightly at ease. She'd been able to return to her usual duties, under the watchful eyes of the guards which hadn't been all that unpleasant as she'd become fairly acquainted with some of them.
Before reaching the threshold, her eyes suddenly met with Delacroix's. She came to an abrupt halt before quickly averting her gaze—brushing past her, Timena stepped forward only to feel Delacroix tightly grasp her arm.
"Timena," She murmured, her voice filled with apprehension.
Without so much as a glance in her sister's direction, Timena took another step only for Delacroix to grip her arm even tighter before moving to stand before her.
"Please." She pleaded softly.
"What is it that you want?"
With a shaky breath, Delacroix looked around, almost frantically. "To, to talk to you."
Eyes alight with amusement, Timena's brows came together in confusion. "About what exactly? About how you betrayed me?"
With her head bowed in shame, Delacroix nodded. "Yes, I want to apologize Mena. I-I'm so sorry for the part I played in helping Silas capture you. I was so full of envy and jealousy and I know that's no excuse, but I need you to forgive me because it hurts." She trailed off.
Timena's expression remained blank, waiting expectantly.
"It hurts knowing that I did that to you, you didn't deserve it, you've always been the best big sister. I j-just..." Words failed Delacroix as she looked to her sister, eyes glistening with tears.
Timena's chest ached at the sight of her sister's sadness, but she remained visibly impassive.
"So you want me to absolve you of your guilt, is that it?"
"I just want you to forgive me, I want things to go back to how they were."
"How do you expect things to go back to how they were?" Timena's gaze narrowed as she felt her irritation growing. "Haven't you been paying attention?"
"You've had some resentment towards me for a while and I suppose it was bound to rear its head eventually—I just wish it wouldn't have been like this." She added.
"I'm sorry," Delacroix said desperately.
With a bitter smile, she released herself from Delacroix's grip before stepping around her and continuing outside and onto the court.

Timena groaned inwardly as the next face that was waiting for her was Silas', he smiled warmly as she stepped onto the court. Vassar sat toward one side, gesturing for Delacroix to sit next to him as he saw her come outside.
Her sparring partners, Ulric and Leo gestured for her to come to the middle of the court. She stood before the two burly men—Ulric had a mane of amber hair as Leo's black hair was streaked with gray. As intimidating as they appeared, they had always been good-natured men as well as fatherly figures for her throughout her childhood. Both men had trained her since she was a young girl and they would offer no restraint or mercy as she went against them both.
"Why is he here?" She referred to Silas.
"Pay him no mind, focus." Ulric said sternly.
"Guard up." They demanded in unison. She followed immediately.
They began to circle around her, and she paid close attention to their movements. Holding the sword in her hands, Timena gripped it as tightly as she could, trying to ignore the eyes watching her. Her chest rose and fell steadily underneath her breastplate as she anticipated who might move first, if not both.
A sword came at her suddenly and she moved back only to duck as another just nearly missed her head from the side. She jumped backward as they moved to stand before her and all too swiftly their swords were jutting out in her direction. The blades clanged against each other loudly and she kicked at Leo's chest before turning her attention to Ulric. Timena felt herself doing a series of maneuvers as she narrowly avoided being sliced by the blades.
The sounds of their heavy breathing were all she could hear, everything else had been drowned out.
Running forward, she went for Ulric first and their blades connected before sliding down against one another and from Timena's peripheral she could see Leo's large frame nearby and very easily she blocked an expected attempt with her blade facing sideways before kicking one of Ulric's knees from underneath him. Running backward, she focused on her next move. His sword jutted forward and she just barely moved over before ducking her head underneath the blade then trying to connect it with his abdomen.
Just as Timena stood up and turned her head to the side, a sword just swiftly passed by her face. Her eyes bulged in shock and she moved backward, and before she could grip the hilt properly, her blade was knocked out of her hands. Her elbow connected with one chest while her fist met a hard face, she immediately shook her hand around momentarily as she ran in the direction of her sword.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Timena bent down to place her fingers around the sword. With one knee on the grass and the other still bent, she quickly turned around and all three swords met with a loud clang, the reverberation sending shivers through her entire body.
The men looked at one another before nodding, clearly pleased, before retreating slightly. Timena's body sagged as she let herself fall to the grass. They both chuckled lightly before helping her up.
"Good work." Both men ruffled her hair before walking away.