Daemons

IV

A loud knocking woke Aura from her nap. Looking over to the solitary clock on the bedside table, she realised that the time was already ten past one. Which meant she was ten minutes late for 'training', whatever that meant. Great.

Stumbling out of the bed, she desperately tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. The knocking persisted as she padded through the rooms, her bare feet barely making a sound on the cold wooden floor.

   "I'm coming," she shouted, so that the knocking would stop.

Pulling the door open, she was met with Caden's amber eyes, which soon turned disapproving as he took in her rumpled appearance.

   "Read for training?" He asked, at which Aura rolled her eyes.

He handed her a bundle of black clothes, the same ones he was wearing, and she retreated back into the house to get changed.

The initial hallway was completely empty, blank white walls contrasting with the wooden floor. It had a few doors branching off of it but they were all locked, dust had accumulated on them suggesting that they had remained that way for some time. There was a grand staircase branching to the left which Aura had yet to explore. Instead, she walked straight forward towards the only open door.

It lead to a large sitting room, sparsely filled with a few plain sofas and chairs all surrounding a grand fireplace. Aura could imagine it appearing in one of those interior magazines along with the labels 'minimalist' and 'fashionable' but the only label that Aura thought was suitable was 'lonely'.

The only part Aura liked were the large windows which showcased the sea repeatedly lapping on the shore in the distance. It created a calm atmosphere which she wouldn't have felt otherwise.

The bedroom she had slept in lay just to the right. The only pieces of furniture in it was a plain white bed, the sheets now rumpled, and a bedside table with a small clock on it. A large window covered the far wall, with another soothing view of the sea.

As she changed, she was careful to place the bead and string from Evie on the nightstand and equally careful not to look at it for too long. She had no idea what this 'training' would entail, but she didn't think that starting it off by balling her eyes out would be very useful.

The clothes fit perfectly, even the shoes, and Aura tried not to think about how they had gotten her measurements. The material was extremely tough and thick, as Aura had predicted, yet surprisingly they didn't make her feel hot at all.

As she walked back towards the front door, she swung her arms around to test the mobility. Surprised again to find that the thick material didn't restrict her movements whatsoever.

Caden gave her the once-over and must have been satisfied with whatever he saw since he immediately began to walk in the opposite direction, presumably to where they would train.

Once they stepped through the arch that sat between her house and the Layth house, Aura got her first unobstructed view of the Island. The half she could see was massive, yet because the island was one large hill and the houses were built right on the top of it, she could still see the sea.

To her far left and right were thick forests with paths snaking through them that Aura could only just make out. As she watched, a bird flew out of the forest on her left hand side, swooped over their heads and disappeared into the woods on the other side.

She followed a little behind Caden, being careful not to trip on the stony path which he managed without fault. She noticed the dark shadow of sweat which darkened the back of his top, meaning he must have already completed his training for today. Aura didn't know if that was good or bad.