To the Stars | Throne of Glass

10

Celaena went to find Ben after breakfast - but she found Sam instead. Good enough. Celaena averted her gaze and strolled past, swinging her arms freely. One of them happened to meet Sam's stomach. He grunted, and glared daggers at her, furious eyes saying all the words his mouth didn't. But she merely stuck her nose up and turned the corner.

Celaena found herself at the end of a long corridor. Since it was adjacent to the younger-apprentices' hall, this must be where the older assassins resided. A young boy, older than her, though, was swinging on a door frame at the opposite end. The door was wide open, revealing a plain bed and a desk piled with weapons. She walked up to him. Rivers of sweat were running down his tan face, and his brows were scrunched together in strain as he hoisted himself up to bring his chin above the bar. Celaena watched, curious.

With a final hiss of breath, the boy dropped to the ground from his dangling position. The lintel was rather high up, but the drop seemed smaller with the boy's gangly limbs.

'Hello.'

The boy didn't smile. 'So you're the girl. You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be.'

'How old are you?' she asked.

The boy wrinkled his nose. 'Thirteen. And from the look of your puny figure, you must be quite the baby.'

The first thing she felt was hurt, before a wave of anger rolled through her. Celaena tensed, and she balled up her fists, fingernails digging into her skin. Before she could move, though, a large hand clapped her on the shoulder. 'Gregori. There's no need to wind Celaena up. Trust me. You don't want to get on her bad side.'

Gregori snorted. 'What could she possibly do?'

And with that, Celaena whipped her leg up, and struck him hard in the manhood. Gregori's smug expression instantly froze, and he dropped to the ground, clutching his injured parts. Celaena stuck her tongue out at his wheezing figure. Ben looked slightly worried. 'I wouldn't do that to you, Ben,' Celaena promised earnestly.

Ben visibly relaxed, and ran a hand through his hair. He chuckled. 'Good.'

~

In the training room, Celaena claimed a mat. It was rather busy today, and the hall was filled with gentle murmurs. Men of all ages were present - some were shirtless, chests gleaming with sweat. She ignored them and their incredulous looks entirely and began to warm up. First reaching her hands to touch the floor in front of her, then slowly sliding into the middle splits. She rolled her hips and and leaned backwards to hold the back foot, pivoted, and repeated the same thing on her other leg.

Standing up, she arched back, brung her feet in a swinging motion over her head and landed back on her feet in a smooth movement. Then she placed her hands on the ground, and straightened into a handstand. Steadily, she brought her left hand up to grab the opposite foot, and balanced there till rivulets of sweat ran down her arm and her breathing became laboured. With a soft groan, she placed her left hand back onto the mat, and her legs came down. After she repeated the same thing on her other hand, she stood up, rubbing her arms and brushing down her tunic. Then she drew her sword and started practicing.

About an hour later, Arobynn appeared. The room instantly quietened, and everyone, Celaena included, bowed. Sam walked in behind him, something similar to ire and exasperation flashing across his eyes.

Arobynn just stepped to the side, and Sam took a few steps forward until he was directly opposite Celaena. For a few heartbeats, they just stared at each other, daring one another to move first. Arobynn said almost lazily, 'Hurry up. I haven't got all day.'

Celaena lashed out, and her palm made to strike Sam's face. But he grabbed it, and yanked her in with a quick tug. His other hand shot out for her neck. She leaned backwards, and Sam lost his balance, tumbling forward. As he fell, Celaena twisted, snatching his arm, pushing it behind him and shoving his arm forward. Sam cursed. Arobynn didn't even blink. 'Again.'

The moment Celaena released Sam's wrist, he sprung up, and whirled, ramming his elbow into her stomach. The breath whooshed out of her, but she managed to keep her footing. Grabbing his elbow, she pulled him in towards her, hooking her leg round the back of Sam's and stamping down behind the knee. Sam collapsed, slamming the side of his hand onto the inside of her thigh as he did so. A hiss escaped through her teeth, and she buckled towards the ground where Sam's knee was waiting. As she fell, he rolled, pinning her underneath him. Her wrists were held on the ground by Sam's hands, and legs pinned down at the thigh.

So she did the last thing she could think of.

Celaena slammed her head into Sam's, and he tumbled back, arms reeling. And then she was on top of him, forearm against his throat, pressing. Sam choked, and frantically tugged at her arm. 'Stop.' Arobynn's voice rang through the hall. Sam looked relieved as Celaena removed her grip on him.

But Arobynn shook his head. Fixing his gaze on Celaena, he said, 'Apply pressure here.' He placed a foot on Sam's elbow, and pushed until Sam was hissing through clenched teeth, and Celaena was sure his arm would snap backwards-

'Stand up.' Arobynn removed his foot, and hoisted Sam up by the shoulder, fingers digging into his flesh. 'If you're both still upright, hit the neck here.' His hand shot out, striking two points in Sam's neck in quick succession. Sam's eyes rolled back into his head as he crumpled to the floor.

Arobynn's lips curled into a smile. 'He'll be fine.'