Woodbridge Recollection : The Hidden Kingdom

Chapter 10: The Nemesis.

  The training hall, like any part of this place, was fashioned out of stone walls and marble floor. The difference here was the size of the room and its contents. It was like some kind of midlevel gym to me; separated into sections that tended to different things. One section was packed out with neat lines of gyming equipment; treadmills, weights and other kinds of modern equipment. Another consisted of targets, the next was filled with sword training dummies, one was empty except for what looked like a boxing ring and the last consisted entirely of one massive wall of which hundreds of different weapons were hung up on.

The people around me gathered into an ordered line before the opposite wall. This wall behind us consisted of coat hooks. Each hook had a golden plaque above it, bearing names that I didn't know.

I noticed the line become still and straight when several men stepped in front of it. I knew that they were our captains. They all looked older than the people standing at my sides within the line – the odd ones out. I knew the feeling myself, I felt older amongst these people. If I looked at them, they were still just kids. Twenty year olds who appeared strong and disciplined. Most of them were boys, but there were a good handful of girls too.

I stood at attention as the line quietened down.

I breathed in deeply as I looked between them. One difference that I noticed were the medals pinned to their white tailed coats. Each of them wore three. One for each training year, perhaps?

One in particular stood closer, a strong and tall dark skinned man with a shaved head.

"We have some new initiates," one of them said aloud. "Welcome to the order. My name is Corvin. This is the beginning of your official training within the order. For the next three years, you'll be perfecting the very skills that brought you into this place, your intensive warrior training.

"Each year, your duties and training become more difficult, more drastic and more intense. At the end of your third year, your expert duties start and you will begin going on quests and you will call yourself a captain officer. Those of us who rank higher than ten years of service are captain warriors.

"The training you did in high school, as well as your high school education will be widely used within this order. As you know, the training was different depending on what position you were aiming for, and what position you chose. I'm glad you three chose warriors and joined us here." His eyes found me. "Zelena, welcome back."

Great. Just what I didn't need; an individual reference.

"The first thing to know, warriors work mostly with privateers and spies," he continued to speak. His voice was deep and loud. It boomed throughout the hall. "Spies find information, privateers mission out to collect it, and warriors provide extra protection and fighting power while they are on their quests. However, all three fields must know combat.

"First to third year warriors take care of the kingdom, as you aren't advanced enough to take on quests as of yet. While you take on this role, you will be supervised by us; the captains who are currently not on any quests. When we aren't venturing out on missions, we are posted here to protect the kingdom, and believe me when I tell you that the posts are plentiful.

"You'll be working in shifts. When you are not on shifts, you are here in the academy doing training. First to third years don't get as many shifts as the captain officers, so relax. You'll be working your way up to that. You're work hours are from seven to five."

I looked along the length of the captain officers when I noticed one whisper something to another. That's when a spike of familiarity touched my brain. One of them was that man; the one I had seen in the mess hall last night. The one that was my apparent ex-boyfriend. Mathew.