To All Their Own

Chapter 2

~A.J Pov~

Today was the same routine as always. Wake up before sunrise, sneak out the dorm, and scale up the castle tower to watch the sun settle itself in the sky. As I sat with my legs swinging off the side I thought about how today would go down. The tournament starts around noon today and almost every high-class noble will be down in the arena watching us.

'Do you think I should visit my parents before going down to fight? Or should it be after breakfast?' 'I say we should go after eating something. A reminder for why we're doing this, plus I hear fighting on an empty stomach is not enjoyable.' I nod and watch the first light of day twinkle behind the clouds. A peaceful way to start the day.

Or so I thought before hearing the door open. I look down to see three people wearing training uniforms. One female, one tall lanky male, and another short one. 'And here I thought we would start our day off calmly like always. There should hardly be anyone awake at this time anyway.' 'Should we leave early and go have breakfast?' I look down at the three before closing my eyes. 'Leave them be, as long as they don't see me I'll be fine.' I enjoy the small morning breeze as I return to my thoughts.

"I just don't understand why you're even here? I mean look around. There aren't a whole lot of female trainees or guards, they all end up being servants or cooks." Alright, obviously today is not meant to be a quiet day. Annoyed, I lean forward and watch the three with more interest since they interrupted my morning. 'Although he's right he doesn't have to be so insensitive about it.' 'Those types of guys just can't handle a female being in the same position as them.'

"I proved myself and made my way into the ranks without having to flaunt my family name." Oh, feisty. "If that's all you want from me I'm leaving." I try to remember her name from when I was still working the kitchen. 'I think her name is Lucy Rymne.' 'What about the other two?' 'Unimportant to me, they're arrogant and cocky. Besides, there are way more male guards than female guards so you tend to remember them more.' She tries to move past them but is pushed back by the smaller one.

"The only way you become a guard these days is by having a good family name. Just ask Davy here," The tall one points to the shorter one who acts smug about. "That's right, Marco and I have a good family name while you have nothing but your sick daddy in the hospital." That seemed to strike a nerve on the girl as she punched the short one. 'In hindsight he deserved it.' 'Should we do something?' I shake my head. 'She's a trainee for a reason. If she can't handle these two it proves she doesn't belong here.'

I take note of the tense air around them before pulling my legs up and getting ready to scale down and exit quietly. 'I shouldn't get involved-' I stop as I watch her backing away from the two, avoiding their hits. 'Hard landing, cushion it.' I jump off the tower as I land where my shadow ends without injury. I hear her scream as she falls over and waste no time in running over to them. As I rush past the two frozen males, I don't hesitate jumping off the balcony going after her. 'I'll try to slow her falling, find a way to stop.'

I look to my right and see the incoming flag pole. I position myself to take her arm as she comes closer and when she's within my grasp I take her and bind my shadow to the flagpole. As I stay suspended in the air I bring her closer to my body and adjust my hold on her. 'I will bring you to the flag pole so you can grab onto it to avoid suspicion.' I bring one hand to grab the pole and look down at the girl in my arm. 'She's unconscious, probably due to the fear of the fall. Luckily binding the shadow makes everything light.' I let out a sigh, totally not how I wanted my day to go. We're on the second floor of the castle, that's where all the flags are positioned.