The Annex

Chapter 7

I awoke to a warm and wet unidentifiable object being dropped right below my chin. I felt a brush of feathers against my arm and groaned. Even with my eyes open, the warm and bloody mess was still unidentifiable.

"Good boy, Torr," I could never bring myself to berate him for bringing me back presents. I grimaced as I picked up the scrap of fur and flesh and held it out to him. "Eat up." He happily flew to his perch and began tearing into his kill.

The sun had yet to rise. I remembered Lady DuPonte's schedule. I was to meet my trainer at the break of dawn. Shit! I was suddenly grateful to have been woken by Torr. I quickly clambered into a pair of pants and a shirt and flew out the door with my boots in hand. Halfway down the stairs I remembered Torr's gift. The blood was now drying on my neck and chest. I passed a small fountain. I paused briefly to splash water on myself to try to remove the blood. The sun was just about to breach the horizon. I swore again and slid my boots on one at a time. I flew into the courtyard of the barracks to find four dozen soldiers all lined up.

"Ms. Vos, how kind of you to finally join us," Grim's stoic face found mine. "Royal blood does not allow you any privileges, understood?"

"Understood," I lowered my head. I couldn't belive that Lady DuPonte had selected Grim as my trainer. I groaned inwardly, my life was about to become a living hell.

"What do I say about tardiness, boys," Grim called out sharply to which he recieved a unified response from the soldiers.

"To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is to have consequences."

"You will run an extra ten laps around the barracks when we are finished," Grim called out. I felt my soul begin to whither. "Boys and Vos, you'll start with the normal jog around the palace walls. Anyone cuts and they run laps with Vos." With that, the soldiers took off.

"Hey," I heard a familiar voice over my shoulder.

"Tomas," I was surprised.

"What are you doing here," he asked, his strides falling in place with mine.

"Apparently, Grim is my trainer."

"Yikes, you drew the short straw."

"Yeah, but hopefully it'll make me a better fighter," I mused.

"Stick with me, I'll take care of you," Tomas said. We finished our lap and were paired off. We were tossed a blunted sword and told to assume ready positions in designated squares.

"One step out of the training square and you're eliminated. Fatal blow and you're eliminated. If you've been eliminated, you can give me one hundred pushups and think long and hard about it while you run two extra laps tomorrow morning. And then pay attention to the victors and how they win." Grim bit out his instructions.

I picked up my sword and tested out the balance. It was a little heavier than I was used to, but I didn't know if it was sheer weight or bad balancing of the sword. I tossed the sword into my right hand and grinned. Swordplay was my ground, I could do this. I entered my training square against a man built with muscle, every inch of him screaming brute strength.

I assessed the training square, sand covered arena, it was not large but it wasn't small either. I readied my grip and waited for someone to declare a start. My opponent did not. He charged me and body slammed me. I landed on the ground bare inches from the line. With the wind knocked out of me, I stared up at the sky and my surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Commander's stony gaze trained on me from a distance. I bent over and coughed, gasping for air.

"In an actual fight, no one declares a start," Grim kicked my sword to me. "Get up, girl. You're an embarrassment." The humiliation ignited a fire in me and I gripped my sword before launching myself forward. I swung at my opponent, and he was almost too late. He was shocked and his expression was mirrored on Grim's face. The power of my swing knocked the man back a bit but he furrowed his brow and readied himself for my next attack. I struck again, feeling the vibrations as our swords met in a fantastic clang. He made a bid for my side but I tucked and rolled before leaping onto his back and drawing my blade against his throat.