Shards of Silver

FIVE

Whatever Isren was expecting for training, she didn't believe it would have been the first day until Aerelle had to hold back her hair as she vomited her dinner and they hadn't even started real training yet. Omar wasn't kidding when he said he was going to put them through hard training. He also didn't say they were going to begin training the day they get to the castle either, and here they were with their bellies filled with too much food or the amount of food was reducing. They were in a small training field under the dim lighting of the clouded moon. Those born under Moon like Isren wouldn't have a hard time seeing in the dark even without their heightened vision.

Anyway, despite the foul stench of her breath and the stickiness of her sweat against her skin, Isren welcomed the pain as a form of leaving her thoughts behind. They had each been given a specific rule: run but no heightened running. They could only run at their normal speed and if they were caught running faster than what was considered normal, Omar would stop them and make them run the laps again and again.

Isren did her best to keep her breath steady, but she couldn't. She felt the nasty bile rise in her throat again, so she closed her eyes as she ran, trying to take in the crisp air and calm herself. She tried not to slow down as she did, Omar would make her run a lap by herself.

Aerelle, who ran beside her the entire time, wasn't doing any better. The red-haired girl gave her a weak smile before turning her attention to the path in front of them. Her skin, under the dusted freckles on her cheeks, was pale and made the freckles look even darker than they actually were. Isren couldn't tell how Calvan was holding himself up. Though, by the sound of his heavy breathing as he ran in front of them, he wasn't in the best of shape either.

"Run faster!" Omar yelled and stomped his cane against the ground, even if it didn't make the booming noise he wanted when it hit the soft dirt. It seemed to irritate him more. Isren willed her feet to run faster but she couldn't. She had to stop in between the trees again, wipe her mouth with the end of her tunic, and keep running.

"Stop!" Omar shouted and they did. Each of them were heaving for air. Aerelle sat down on the ground, wiping at her face. Calvan joined them, his nostrils flaring as he tried to breathe.

"All of you are weak," Omar spat with distaste. "From now on, the three of you will run ten laps around this clearing in the morning and night until it seems natural. If it starts getting easy, add another five laps." He said no more for a few moments. Only observed them and gave them a cruel and wicked look. Isren didn't like how he met her eyes the longest.

"Running starts an hour before dawn and during dinner. The three of you will be getting leftovers and cold dinners after everyone else. The better your training goes, the warmer your dinner will get. See it as motivation." He picked up his staff and began walking away. "I'll see you at dawn tomorrow."

Aerelle groaned and mumbled something under her breath. Isren couldn't catch it but it wasn't a wild guess for her to know that Aerelle was cursing the man. Isren would do it too if she wasn't going to have to deal with him for so long.

Training was going to be a pain--that was for sure.

When Isren opened her eyes, it was still dark and not even the sky was ready to begin the day. Groggily, Isren sat up, rubbing at her eyes and groaned at her sore muscles. She tried to stretch but it didn't help her much. Neither did the bath that she took the night before after stinking so badly. Her stomach churned.

Right. I lost my dinner last night in the clearing.

Reluctantly, Isren got up from her bed. She folded her thin, gray fleece blanket and set it on the corner of the bed. She pulled on a new set of clothing left outside her door late when she had gotten into her room. It was the same standard tunic and pants. As she was taking off her shirt she stopped. The necklace that her aunt had told her to keep wearing had caught on the fabric and for a second, Isren forgot she was even wearing it in the first place. She tried to take it off but it only burned her collarbone when she did. She decided to leave it be and finished changing, braiding her hair as she walked out of her room (after making sure she had her key hidden in the pocket of her pants).