The Last Unicorn Warrior

VIII

"Wake up!" I hear a voice shout. Jumping up, I open my eyes and look frantically around my room. My heart beats fast; it could jump out of my chest. I look at Hades, who has his arms crossed.

"Don't ever do that to me," I say, clutching my heart.

"Sorry, I forgot." He says, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine, but why did you wake me up so early?" I ask him looking out the window. The sun is barely rising.

"To train you. Hurry up and change into this." He says, throwing clothing at me. "I'll see you outside!" He walks out of my room, leaving me speechless.

Getting out of the comfort of my bed, I look at the clothing he gave me. I've never seen anything like these. Stretchy trousers? And a shirt with no sleeves and a warm jacket? "What is this?" I whisper to myself.

"Exercising clothing from the Firm. They are known for using futuristic items." Ulla says, explaining.

Nodding, I slip into the clothing. The brown trousers hug my lower body tightly. The tan shirt is loose and airy. Putting on socks, I see weird shoes with laces on it near my bed. Putting them on and tying the laces, I slip into the warm jacket. I pin my hair up and walk outside. Standing in the cold weather is Hades, who's wearing a brown jacket that covers his neck and tan baggy trousers. On his shoulder is Hamlet, who stares at me as I get closer to Hades.

"I'm ready," I say, announcing my presence.

Hades looks down on me. "I need you to take Ulla out." He orders.

Lifting the sleeve of the jacket, I close my eyes. I open them when I feel Ulla is out. I glide my hand on her back. "Stretch out cause we're going to go for a run." He says, balancing on one leg. I bend down to touch my toes, but fail—I can only reach my ankles.

"How is this going to help me become a strong warrior?" I ask him.

He stops and gives me a stern look. "It's not. This is just a warm-up." He said, grinning. "But it will help build up your endurance, and if you beat me, I'll go easier on you in the ring."

"When are we starting?" I ask him.

"Right now." He says as Hamlet flies off in speed. Hades starts to run, leaving my behind.

"Hades!" I shout after him as he enters the forest. I run after him. I see him up ahead, dogging fallen tree branches. Ulla runs near me, and I can tell she's holding herself back. "You can run faster," I tell her.

"And leave you alone? We'll reach him together." She says. With that, I gain speed and find myself right behind him. He turns around while running.

He smiles, "You caught up."

I smile back at him, "Of course."

He turns back around and looks at me. "For now." He playfully taunts.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask him. In a second, he sprints off. I chase him and come closer to him with each passing second. I trip myself on purpose. Lightly falling on my face, I loudly yelp. I see Hades stopping and running to me. He helps pick me up. With my feet firmly on the ground, I thank Hades.

"What happened?" He asks.

"I fell," I say. I felt wrong lying, but I need to win.

"Be careful." He says, looking concerned. I nod. I was readying myself to sprint off. "If you fall again, Hazel might-" I sprint off, cutting his sentence. Laughing, I see the small brown cottage in the distance.