Chapter 3: Chapter 3 - To the Training Grounds
I'm almost to the training grounds when I realize I'm still holding the juniper bundle in my hand. I carefully tuck it into my shoulder bag and just catch the sound of shifting dirt and a flash of movement in my periphery. I react automatically, deflecting the attack with my forearm and crouching low to kick my leg out for a sweep. I'm rewarding by the thud of my attacker as they hit the ground hard, gasping for the air that I have knocked forcefully from their lungs. I quickly scan the area for other assailants, and finding none, finally take a good look at the person on the ground. It's Henry of course, that busking prick! Henry is one of my fellow trainees and set to take his trial on the first of the month, same as myself. He hates me. Well, most of the trainees hate me. Surprise attacks like this are so common, they don't even bother me anymore. In fact, I've come to regard them as a special kind of bonus training. It's also been a long time since any of them have gotten the better of me this way. Henry is the most persistent. I might admire his determination if I weren't so busy being annoyed by his very existence. I hear a familiar laugh and don't have to look up to know who it is. "Henry, when are you going to give it up. Aggie's too fast and smart for your half-assed sneak attacks" says Lorn, my only actual friend amongst the trainees. He approaches casually and offers a hand up to Henry, which is pointedly refused. "Busk you and your gangly girlfriend, Lorn!" I have to smile at this because everyone must look gangly to Henry. He's just over five feet tall, barrel chested, and covered in a stubborn layer of fat. He's slimmed down considerably since he started training years ago, but lacks that lean muscle most of the other trainees have. Many of the guys in town, including his own friends make fun of him for this, but I've never had the heart to. He's worked hard and even though I can't stand him, it doesn't sit right with me to make fun of something he has no control over. I look over my should at Henry cursing in the dirt as Lorn and I fall into step together. We quickly make our way to the main training circle.
It wasn't always this way with Lorn and I. He used to be part of Henry's group. They'd call me names. Exclude me. Ignore me. Trip and shove me every chance they got. This was until about a year ago, when Henry convinced his lackeys to ambush me on my way home from training. Lorn was among them. I can still remember how it felt. The rough hands of the twins, Ben and Bert, as they pulled me down by my shoulders. I fought hard, and got a few good kicks in before Lorn pinned down my legs. Then Henry did his worst, alternating between kicks and punches. It wasn't until Henry pulled out his knife that Lorn grew a conscience. "Come on, that's enough!" yelled Lorn, loosening his grip on my legs. It was all I needed. The twin's grips had been slack for a while already. I twisted quickly until I was on all fours and kicked my right leg into Henry's jaw. Then, I grabbed the knife and sent it hard into the nearest tree so that it couldn't be sent after me. I was pretty bloody, but my legs seemed fine so I sprinted all the way home, looking back just once to see who might give chase. The only one who might have been able to catch me was Lorn, but when I looked back they were all just standing around Henry. He was curled up on the ground, clutching his face and wasn't even trying to get up. I made it all the way home without stopping, before passing out on my porch. I didn't wake up for a few days, which meant I'd missed the worst of my mother's hysterics.
After I was recovered enough to tell my parents the whole story, mum seemed almost relieved. She wrongly believed this would turn me off of my current path and quit the training program for good. I never did name the boys who did it, even though mum asked me every day for months. Most people had a pretty good idea who was involved though, since I'd actually managed to break Henry's jaw with that kick. He was laid up much longer than I was. When Henry finally rejoined training, I noticed Lorn was no longer eating with his group during break. That same day, Lorn caught me after training and asked if he could talk to me. Unafraid but still suspicious, I suggested going to the square. There, we'd always been in sight of people and he would have to be an idiot to attack me in public. We sat on a low stone wall in silence for a bit before he blurted out "I'm sorry, Agnes. I really am. Henry said we were just going to rough you up a little and scare you mostly. I didn't know he was going to take out his knife. You're just so good, you know? And we were being stupid and jealous and I don't know…trying to even things up? I feel like shit about it. All of it. I can't believe I let it get that far. You don't have to forgive me. I don't deserve it. I just wanted you to know that I'm done with those buskers." I didn't say anything to him that day. I just walked away, not knowing if he was telling the truth.
It wasn't until Lorn showed up to training a week later with a black eye and busted lip, that I started to believe him. Henry's smug expression every time he walked by Lorn was practically an admission of guilt. Still, it took a while for me to take a chance and sit down next to Lorn during breaks. The first time I did it, Lorn looked surprised but didn't object. He didn't say anything actually, but did looked quite pleased. I even caught him smiling at me a few times which I mostly found confusing. After a while, I finally looked at Lorn properly and realized that he was quite…handsome. He had rich brown curly hair that was almost red when caught in the sunlight, soft brown eyes with flecks of gold and a full smile that had just the right amount of cockiness. He was not quite as tall as me but we were mostly eye level to each other. He also proved to be a good sparring partner. We started spending more and more time together, until one day I stopped questioning his motives altogether. He seemed to have truly cut ties with Henry and the dipshit twins. I was so grateful back then and still am. It wasn't until Lorn and I became friends that I realized how lonely and isolated I'd become. Most of the girls I used to call friends had already gotten married and started having kids. I had nothing in common with them anymore. With Lorn, I've gotten to the point where there's very little I wouldn't tell him. He always seems keen to listen, too. Recently, I've started to wonder if maybe he sees me as more than just a friend and sparring partner. I sometimes catch him staring intensely at me, and it makes my stomach flip. Thanks to my dark skin, I'm not much of a blusher so I feel certain that his affect on me doesn't show. I turn to him now, and catch that same piercing gaze for a moment before he breaks into a smile that threatens to melt my insides. I shake off the urge to overthink this interaction, and we start warming up together while we wait for the others. Master Obun soon enters the training circle with a long, controlled stride, hands clasping behind his back. We assume our active rest position: legs shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, arms to our sides with relaxed fists and eyes toward our master.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone