Shadows

Training

I had hidden the jewel in one of the many vast cupboards that scattered my room. The only thing I prayed was that my mother did not spot it. So many questions would be asked and I was sure that I would not have the answers for them.

  It had been a week since then; I had met all of my aunts and uncles but could not seem to bond with any… it was still early days though. One of my uncles, Daniil learned that I wished to fight. He didn’t know what to make of it at first and even judged me on account that I was a ‘mere Dhampir’. Dixy, his mate was fast to straighten him out however and reminded him about thirty years ago. He blushed, swallowed the lump in his throat before then suggesting that he train me. I agreed to it right away, being taught by a Vampire was good… but having one of the royals teach me was much better. I knew that although he was shy and conserved, he had a record for being one of the best fighters in the realm… it was an honour to me that he had offered and I might even get a chance to bond with him.

  The morning that we were due to train I had a message from Aurora that stated I meet her out in the grounds as she had something that she wanted to give me. Making my way down the stairs I took note of the fine details that plastered the walls. Everything about this place was so wonderful, yet it craved to be filled with laughter, love and attention… this side of my family didn’t seem to grasp that. I thought at least Adrik and Daniil would have understood, they seemed to only show that kind of emotion when their partners were strapped to them. Maybe being here would change things… maybe my outward judgement would change.

  Aurora paced the pavement outside, she looked restless and agitated. Upon seeing me approach she stopped pacing and the frown that creased her forehead lightened as she beamed a smile toward me.
“How did you sleep?”
“Like a babe” I replied “What did you want anyway?”
“I wanted to give you… this” she reached in her pocket and pulled out a  wide braid silver cuff bracelet that held a small, white gem placed in the centre. I could not take it upon myself to snatch it from her, so instead I remained fixed to the ground and stared. Giggling to herself she grabbed my wrist and fastened the bracelet to it “There, now that looks just perfect on you”
“Thanks” I muttered under my breath.
“I’m sorry there isn’t more I could give you to make up for…” she started, but instead of listening to her apologise I ran into her arms and squeezed her tightly. Knowing I had a mother that loved me was more than enough. The only thing that made sad was that my father wasn’t here.

  After spending, what felt like an eternity hugging her, I released and took a step back. My face was a bright scarlet but she smiled and laughed which in turn made me laugh. She urged me to head inside whilst wishing me luck before informing me that she would be in the library all day should things get too rough. Pretending like I didn’t hear the last part I rushed toward the house and made my way to one of the halls where Daniil was probably waiting impatiently for me.
“You’re late” he groaned as I barged inside the hall, stumbling over my own feet
“Sorry”
“Come over here and stand so that you are facing me” I did exactly how he asked
“Now. I hear that you know how to dance ballet no?”
“Yes that’s right… but what about it?”
“Well surely you must know that in order to perfect ballet you must have a lot of stamina and strength?”
“Yes”
“Then this should be no problem for you”

“What should?” he didn’t answer me but began to swing punches in my direction. The first punch surprised me so I let out a small squeak, in response he scowled which only frustrated me… yet it seemed to motivate me to dodge them and want to hit him back. As soon as I tried to hit him however, my response was a blow to the stomach. Falling back flat on my ass and clenching my stomach, I scowled at myself for being so naïve to think he wouldn’t expect that.
“You’re good. Just don’t get cocky during battle. As you just seen… you get hurt.” He offered a hand out to me which I accepted. Once back on my feet he bit his lip and frowned… must be a family trait, every one of the members so far seem to do the same thing “Sorry” he mumbled
“Don’t apologise. It’s a good way of training. And I’ve taken worse blows in my life…. Now let’s do that again” he stared at me blankly “What? I need to learn don’t I?”
“Yes you do… but what do you mean about taking blows all your life?”
“Well…” I sighed “I’ve been abused my whole life by this bitch Serena, but I don’t want to go into it. All you need to know is... I have experienced true pain over and over”

  We trained doing the basics for a few hours before moving on to some more advance techniques. He complained a few times that I was sloppy and getting slow, it motivated me to try harder but truth is… I was exhausted and just needed a hot bath… more than anything I just wanted Dante. I was forbidden by Aurora to call him. She said that he didn’t need to know anything. I found it totally unfair and unreasonable… but it’s not that I could anyway, where we were staying there was absolutely no signal whatsoever. Finally Daniil eased up and told me that we were done for now and that I should freshen up and join the family in the dining hall for lunch. Taking no time to consider I made my way back upstairs. I was so tired that I was barely able to stand, there was to be no prince charming to help save me from fainting should I fall, so I trudged on.

  The idea of a nice warm bath made me smile; it would be the only warm thing in this place. Once near the door to my room I let out an over exaggerated sigh… it felt good to be near my own personal space with no intrusions. The smile didn’t falter once I saw that the room was empty, as much as I missed him it was very much welcomed after today’s events. When Daniil said he would push me I didn’t think he meant brutal punishment…. I did tell him to carry on though… so really it was my own fault. To be asked about the ballet? How the hell did he know that? I didn’t tell a soul here, curious. Shaking my head I made my way to the en-suite that was situated at the far end of the room. It smelt like peaches and was lightly decorated in a cream colour. As the bath run I searched the shelf for a razor, foam and bubble bath. I needed to relax as much as I possibly could.

  Once the water had run and my bath was filled to the brim with bubbles I stripped of my sweaty, dirty clothes and dipped one leg into the scolding water, letting out a sigh of pure contentment. The water enveloped my body in a warm, silky and caressing manner, wiping all the pain and sweat away. Sinking down I let the water completely cover me, eyes closed I felt sleepy and in sort of a dream state. The water felt heavenly, I didn’t want to lose an inch of warmth. I knew that I shouldn’t be repeating old habits, but it was odd to not do them… I must have been truly messed up.  I rose from the water feeling out of breath and exhausted, I stayed under too long. Brushing the hair from my eyes I reached for the foam and cocked a leg over the side so that I could lather it. It was time to prim and trim.

  I looked like a prune when I finally emerged from the bathroom, it was funny though. I never stay in a bath for more than half an hour, but tonight I guessed I stayed in there either an hour or two. I didn’t bother looking for a change of clothes yet, but sat in my robe with my hair lightly twisted in a towel. I needed to fully absorb what was going on… which was very hard to do considering that I was in some made up world that was actually a reality! A knock on the door startled me to attention
“Victoria, its Au… its mom”
“Just a second!” I shouted in reply as I scrambled around for some underwear, once on I grabbed the sash for my robe and tied it tightly “Come in”
“Sorry to..” she glanced over at me but shook her head and continued “Disturb you, but I thought I should inform you that there is a specific dress code to dinner”
“Formal dress right?”
“You’re familiar with the vampire dress code then” she spat; I don’t think she wanted to particularly go either, but if we dared to defy it would be seen as rude as we would probably never hear the end of it from Roman. She shook her head and scowled something in another language before speeding over to my wardrobe to root for a dress… not like I couldn’t have done that myself or anything.

  After a few minutes of rooting she finally decided that black would complement my eyes so well… I’ve heard that a dozen times too. She insisted that she help me with my hair and makeup but instead I practically threw her out the door, informing her that I was perfectly capable of dressing myself. Once I was sure she had left I walked over to the vanity cabinet, sat down and began to ‘doll myself up’. I settled for some liquid liner and a light touch of burgundy shadow… it was simple yet effective. My hair was thrown into a messy bun before I began to root in one of the draws for my mother’s necklace, if they didn’t want me to wear it… well it was called tough shit. Once dressed I grabbed a pair of heels and made my way downstairs, stopping several times to admire the décor and ponder through my thoughts, I had hoped that I wasn’t over or under dressed for this meal, they had seen me several times now… but it was always good to make an impression.

 The dining hall was lowly lit with candles but was clear as crystal to see thanks to my new senses. Everyone was already sat and discussing business, family… or even just making casual conversation, which undoubtedly included gossip. Upon my arrival however I noted straight away that Aurora, Roman and his wife Morrigan were nowhere to be seen… and I had no idea where I should sit or whom I should talk to.
“Pssstt” I looked around to see Tristan waving at me “Come. sit next to me” I smiled at him gratefully and made my way over to him. He stood up and held the chair back for me in a gentleman like manner. Once I was sat down and tucked closer to the table, he sat himself back down but turned to face me “How was training with Daniil?”
“It was… tiring” I admitted to him
“Ahh I see” he chuckled “he was always one for being pushy” I gazed into his eyes and noted that they somewhat resembled mine but a slightly darker shade, he cleared his throat and I took that as a sign that I had stared at him for far too long.
“Sorry” I mumbled
“Don’t be. It must be strange being in a house with a family you knew nothing about until a few months back”
“It is… but I feel so guilty… I feel like I am on edge all the time”
“You’ll feel like that for a while… it just takes time that’s all” he smiled gently at me and I could not help but feel safe… well safer than I had been. Everything about this place spelt danger. Everything about this world said misery. Everything about me spelt loneliness.

  Aurora arrived about ten minutes before the Roman and Morrigan did. She was dressed in scarlet and her hair was lightly curled and pinned to the side… it suited her but on anyone else it would have stated mutton dressed as lamb. Roman was dressed in a fine silk, black tuxedo whereas Morrigan was draped in a fine Emerald colour, floor length dress which had hundreds upon hundreds of intricately sewn golden swirls that spanned from the hem up to her breasts… it looked beautiful. Once sat, the meals began. It was a mixture and variety of meat dishes and salads, which were served with jugs of blood. I took it upon myself to skip the meat dishes and eat the salads with a glass of blood… which gained me an approving look from my mother.  Once the meals were finished, there was a discussion about the pending attack before he took it upon himself to end dinner and excuse us all. As I rose I was pulled to the side by Daniil who stated he wanted to finish the training for today and that I should be prepared to be in a lot of pain.

  Clearing the lump in my throat I raced up to my room to get changed and scrub the makeup off my face. I was both excited and terrified about this training session… but what did he mean about me being in a lot of pain? Taking a deep breath once changed I made my way down to the hall where Daniil was pacing anxiously for me to arrive.
“Are you ready?” he asked me
“As I’ll ever be”
“Good”
“So what’s the…” I didn’t even get a chance to finish my sentence when he sped toward me with unprecedented speed, lunged at me with fangs bearing proudly. I dived out the way and began to roll along the floor, dodging cascades of punches and swings. Each miss left a crater in the floor, a true display of the sheer power he built up over time. I finally managed to get back on my feet by swinging a leg under is which resulted in him tumbling to the floor, a move that he did not expect. Growling and baring fangs he lunged at me, grabbing my throat with his hands and… well growling really. I urged a knee up and booted him off my chest, swinging around I was once more back on my feet but darting away.

  He chased me along the hall like a child in a playground, the only difference being that my uncle was recreating an actual attack and should I mess up I would be left seriously hurt. I turned to face him and lunged at him with pure blood boiling anger, frustrated at the fact he never informed me when he was going to start the training. I swung punch after punch at him but he dodged them all with sheer ease… typical of a vampire. The only time I seemed to get advantage was when I was defending… if I ever attacked then he would simply dodge and mock me by stating I was far too slow, that I was only a Dhampir… id show him. I jumped to the side, spun so that I was facing him sideward and swung my arm so that it would hit him in the back of the head, much to both our surprise… it actually worked. He stopped the training session after that.

“Well that was unexpected” he mumbled as he rubbed his head
“I surprised myself too to be honest” I panted, slumping to the floor.
“You’re a good defender, there’s no doubt about that. Your mental state is purely defensive, which is most likely because of your past. All we have to work on is your attack. It’s still weak but it will do” he muttered as he joined me on the floor.
“I’ll take that as a compliment”
“You should. But thanks to the blood you drank… I sense that you’re a little stronger”
“I do feel it” I admitted, he smiled at me before ruffling my hair in a so called approving manner “But why did you have to be so rough?”
“It’s the only way I teach to begin with. It’s to judge what you know and what you do not. You know how to defend and take pain… yet you do not wish to dish it out. I will change that. You need to fight little one. You may resemble my sister but you have much to learn. I’ll get you strong… but don’t worry I won’t be like this for the next session” a few minutes of silence passed between us before he rose to his feet and offered a hand to me, which I gratefully took. There seemed to be a hell of a lot of bitterness whenever I was resembled to my mother. That wasn’t my fault… they should be blaming the vamps or humans that made this damned prophecy.

“Thanks for today.”
“No need to thank”
“There is actually” I mumbled
“Oh?”
“Yes. I need to become strong. I need to protect those I love and care for. I had to leave the one I love in order to fulfil this bastard of a prophecy… with becoming strong I can help everyone” the last part came out as nothing more than a sob, in response he placed a hand on my shoulder in a soothing and calming manner
“You will be strong… love conquers all little one”