"Rise and shine, New Girl."
It was Ace's voice in my ear, and I jolted up, not even realizing I had fallen asleep. The last thing I remembered was lying down on a blanket. I must have been so tired. I didn't even remember closing my eyes.
When I stood up and stretched, I saw Matthias turning a dead fish over the fire, and Pierce and Damon getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
"What are they doing?" I asked, plopping back down next to the fire.
"They're going out to practice their bows. They always do before lunch," Matthias said.
"Before lunch!" I gasped. "How long did I sleep!"
"It's okay, New Girl. You were really tired. Want some fish?"
I gladly took some, and gobbled it up in seconds. Matthias told me they found a lake near here, and that was where they got most of their food. The fish was bland, but it filled me up.
"What now," I asked.
"Now we do what I said last night. We test you. Are you good with a sword or a bow? Are you a fighter or a planner, an intellect? Are you in the front line or the reinforcements? Basically, where will you stand when the rebellion finally does happen?"
I thought for a second. "Okay."
"Step one," he said, standing up. "The dress has to go." He walked over to a piece of wood used as a makeshift shelf, and grabbed an old pair of denim pants, and a flannel shirt. "You can just throw that old dress in the fire," he said, handing me the new clothes.
We stood there and started at each other for about five minutes.
"Oh yeah, sorry," he said, turning around and planting his head into the other wall. I laughed and changed as fast as I could.
"Done."
"Okay. Now let's go."
