Claimed by Twelve

26. Lesson One

"I said don't let them hit you! This is pitiful!" Pax yelled at me as I hefted the wooden sword again. We had stopped for lunch an hour before but the short break hadn't helped. The sword was starting to become heavy in my hands. Pax stopped his assault as the sword slipped from my grasp.
Pax studied me. I'm sure I looked awful. I had bruises everywhere and sweat was pouring down my whole body. Pax sighed in annoyance as he threw his sword to the ground. "You're no good at this."
      "I hadn't noticed." I sneered at him as I panted.
      Pax rolled his eyes and scowled. "Something different then. We'll practice the sword more tomorrow." It took everything in me not to groan. We had only been here an hour and my body was already covered in bruises.
My mood lifted a little when Pax pointed at a target toward the end of the room. "I want you to hit that target. But not the middle. I want you to make a ring with your arrows around the center."
      I nodded, already unclipping the bow on my thigh. "How many?"
      "As many as you can."
      "How fast?"
      Pax studies me. His arms were crossed and his hair tickled his forehead, which was had a light sheen of sweat on it. "No time limit." He focused on the target.
      I grabbed an arrow from the holder as my bow expanded. The target was roughly thirty yards. No big deal. I smiled as I let the first arrow go. It landed with a soft thunk on the very outside of the center ring. I grab another. Thunk. A third. Thunk.
      Pax's face never changed. Even after I had a good fifteen arrows buried around the center ring, Pax didn't move. His eyes were still on the target. He let out a sigh as he let his arms hang.
      "Enough of that. You're good enough. For now. Knife sparring." Pax produced a dagger from behind him. He handed it to me, handle first. I took it carefully. I glanced at Pax to find him already in motion. I let my instinct take over as I moved right. Pax's dagger barely missed my stomach.
"Good." Pax straightened. "Follow your instinct. That's what will keep you alive. And not letting them hit you." Pax slashed at me again. My hands moved up and I caught Pax's dagger with my own. I pushed down and moved in, forcing Pax to step back.
"Good! Now you got it!" Pax smiled as I lunged forward. Pax caught my wrist but that didn't stop me. I rammed my shoulder into his chest, causing him to fall backwards. Pax smiled as he got up. He dropped the dagger as he raised his hands.
      "Better. You've got a ways to go but you've made progress." Pax glanced at dagger in my hands. He stuck his hand out to take the dagger back. I handed it to him, handle first.
      Pax didn't take the dagger. He grabbed my wrist and twisted. He twisted it until I had dropped the dagger and was on my knees. I gasped as pain flooded my body. My arm was pinned behind my back. I felt Pax's hot breath as he whispered in my ear.
      "Never think the battle is over." Pax stood as he released me. I slowly got to my feet, rubbing my wrist. Pax glanced at me as he opened the door to leave. "Tomorrow we'll go over lesson two." His blue eyes bore into mind. "Know who to trust."
      The door shut behind him. I mumbled as I made my way to the door. I paused by my previously discarded wooden sword. After a slight hesitation, I picked up the sword and carried it back with me. Once I got back to the room, I walked straight to my bedroom. Pax's door was closed and I could hear someone talking behind it.
      I glared at it as if I could burn it down before I slammed my door shut.