Chapter 18 Eighteen.
"Again," he said simply, and I groaned in frustration before lining up the bow to the target. Releasing it, I watched in anticipation as it rippled through the air.
Miss
"Again," Kael let out again, and I rolled my eyes before letting my gaze settle on him.
"Wouldn't it make more sense if Ayla helped train me with this?" I questioned curiously, putting the bow down tiredly. I flexed my fingers slightly to ease the growing pain, but to no avail.
Kael raised an eyebrow from his place on the bench before leaning back on his palms.
"Is that your way of saying I'm not a good teacher?" he questioned jokingly, and I shook my head with a smile.
It had been around three hours of grueling training, in which Kael had tried to teach me to use a bow.
The keyword being tried.
Now, three hours in and I still couldn't reach the target. I sighed, feeling frustrated.
"No, you're great; I'm just not a good student," I said truthfully, placing the bow and arrow back in their rightful places.
Kael sighed at this before getting up and picking the bow and arrow back up. He handed them to me expectantly, a firm look on his face.
"And how do you expect to ever learn anything if you give up this soon?" he challenged, and I huffed at his words before backing away to wipe my face with the small towel on the bench.
"You can't say I haven't tried, Kael. It's just too difficult," I explained with my back to him, knowing that I had given up too soon, but the pain in my fingers was just begging me to stop.
Kael pulled me to face him, his honey eyes glimmering with hope.
"The prophecy doesn't just try; she succeeds," he finalized, his voice filled with passion, and my shoulders sagged at his words. Kael watched me intently.
"And..and what if I still don't want to be this 'prophecy'?" I blurted out meekly, avoiding his gaze. I heard the sound of Kael walking back and looked up to see his gaze looking vaguely into the distance.
"It's not a matter of want anymore," he replied ambiguously, and I opened my mouth to argue against his words, but stopped when he slapped his hand against what looked to be a dummy.
"Back to your training, Aeryn. Focus on the dummy. Analyze it. Tell me, with the arrow you're using, where should you shoot?" He almost demanded an answer, his tone making me tune in and turn my attention onto the dummy.
The dummy was bigger than I had expected a dummy to be, the size of a six-foot human to be exact. It was faceless and was propped up on a metal pole and stand of some sort.
My eyes flitted between the dummy and the bow and arrow before I turned my gaze to Kael. He observed my movements before folding his arms, awaiting a response.
"The arrowhead I'm using is obsidian-based, not the worst but definitely not the best. I'd say, with this composite bow though, I could go for the kill and shoot the heart or lungs," I answered, regurgitating some of the information I learned in the past few hours about the history of bows and arrows.
Kael smiled at this before pushing the dummy a bit further away from me and in front of the target.
"See, you're not such a bad student after all," he praised before moving away from the dummy and near the bench yet again. He gestured towards the dummy.
"Now, let's put it into practice," he instructed, and I huffed at his words.
"Kael, I've tried a hundred times. How is it going to be any different this time?" I questioned, giving him a pointed look.
He waved his hand as a sign of dismissal before moving closer and tapping the dummy, a small smile on his face.
"What's different is giving you a purpose. Imagine this dummy as the person who has done you wrong and is now in your line of sight. What are you going to do?" he questioned darkly before moving out of the way, and I closed my eyes and took a sharp breath. When I opened them, I felt a new sense of vigor as I looked at the dummy. Only it wasn't a dummy anymore.
It was all of the people who had wronged me.
The people who made me toil after them day and night; the ones who called me worthless and took advantage of my silence and the ones who bullied me into misery.
Steve.
Debra.
Sierra.
The dummy switched from face to face and I felt the blood rush to my ears, the sound of my thumping heart too vivid now. I raised and drew the bow, my eyes never leaving the dummy. I sucked in a deep breath before releasing the arrow and watching it flail before hitting off the far shoulder of the dummy.
My mouth flew open at this and I laughed in shock before turning my gaze to Kael.
"I hit it! I actually hit it!" I exclaimed, not caring that I was aiming for the lungs.
Kael let out a small laugh before pulling the arrow out of the dummy.
"I knew you would eventually," he reassured me, and I smiled at his words before turning and pointing to the dummy.
"How did you know it was going to work? That strategy you used?" I questioned curiously, to which Kael shrugged, the glimmer in his eyes deepening.
"Thinking of Anouke is enough to get anyone angry, especially you, Aeryn. Your beginning and her end are entwined," he explained, handing me the bow, and I took it numbly without so much as a nod. Here, he thought I was envisioning the woman that had slaughtered innocent people, but instead I chose to envision the man who had deducted my pay. I was pathetic, and I chose to keep quiet so as to not let it show.
It was just more proof that I most definitely wasn't who they thought I was. Before Kael could sense anything was up, I placed the bow and arrow back on the equipment rack before turning to him, a small smile on my face.
"What next?" I asked before leaning down to the bench and grabbing my water. I drank a bit, watching as Kael shook his head.
"We're done for today and I like to end on a good note. Plus, they'll be needing us for the festival preparation," he mused before clearing away all the other equipment we had taken out during our training session. I nodded before placing the water back on the bench and turning to move the dummy back into its rightful place. Only, try as I might, I couldn't move it. I grunted as I tried leaning my entire weight against it, only to start sliding across the floor.
I heard Kael laugh before feeling his warmth, indicating he was behind me.
"Need some help?" he questioned, and I turned to see him smile.
"It's not me! He's just really heavy!" I let out as a whine, but it was true. The dummy was heavier than the ones I had previously encountered.
"It's filled with 300 lbs of sand. It makes it more sturdy," he explained, and I nodded my head before eyeing the dummy with a flat stare.
"It's fine, Kael. I'll try again. I can do it myself," I said, moving forward to push the dummy yet again, but Kael put an arm in front to stop me. I looked to him and he shrugged in response.
"Why do you have to? I'm here now," he said simply before grabbing the dummy around the waist and picking it up effortlessly as though it was a rugby ball. I stood speechless as I watched him as he walked unfazed over to the storage room, his biceps flexing with each movement.
"H-how?" I muttered out despite knowing exactly how he did it. It just wasn't something I could come to grips with.
Kael walked back out of the storage room and I shook my head in disbelief, my eyes still replaying what he had just done.
"I still can't believe you can do that," I muttered more to myself than him, but he heard and frowned at my words.
"I couldn't believe it either when I first used it," he said simply, to which I nodded slowly, gaining a better insight into this phenomenon.
We walked slowly to the exit of the training hall and I glanced at Kael as he opened the large oak doors.
"How does it work then? How do you use it the first time?" I questioned, muttering a small 'thanks' as I walked through the doors with him following after.
He bit his lip in thought, a hand brushing back at his hair.
"It's hard to explain how it feels," he stated after a short hesitation. We made our way past the courtyard and I smiled at the sound of chirping birds.
"Try to explain," I encouraged half-heartedly, admiring the lush greenery, but I was curious as to what feeling incited the powers; maybe it could help me.
We then walked past and towards the stairs. I halted at this, looking towards Kael.
"Aren't we supposed to be going that way if we want to leave?" I questioned, gesturing towards the courtyard with a finger.
Kael nodded at my words before pointing to the stairs.
"I just need to grab something important and then we can go," he answered, and I nodded in understanding before following him up the stairs.
Kael then chose to speak, his deep voice echoing against the walls.
"I was seven when I first experienced my power. I remember playing in the courtyard of the house along with other children my age. We had spent weeks making this leather ball and were about to play with it. I could still remember the feel and the weight of the ball in my hands," he recalled, and I listened intently as we made our way up a second set of stairs. I stayed silent, listening keenly, and Kael took this as leeway to continue.
"It happened fast for everyone else, I think, but to me it felt like an eternity. I caught the ball and I was about to throw it when I was hit with this feeling. It was like I was suddenly scared but excited at the same time, and my blood was pumping faster. My hands were shaking and a white-hot warmth was running through me. When I threw the ball, I remember just hearing a crack, a scream, and a loud bang before closing my eyes and shaking on the floor."
I turned to him, shocked and slightly scared as to what occurred next.
"What happened when you threw the ball?" I asked, to which Kael shook his head, a small reminiscent smile on his face.
"Nothing fatal. The ball had flown and hit a boy's arm and broke it before breaking through the stone wall of the courtyard," he explained, and I shook my head in disbelief at his words. We made our way into the bedroom quarters and walked through the now-familiar hallway. I looked through the sun-lit windows as he spoke.
"I ran inside, crying to my mother and father about what I did. I thought they would scold me, but instead they rejoiced. My father went outside to take care of the child and my mother immediately took me upstairs to pack my things."
He smiled fondly as he continued.
"I still remember what she said when I asked what she was doing. She said, 'Do you remember those stories we told you of your father and what he had to do? It's your turn now.'"
"Stories?" I questioned, confused, looking his way, and Kael shrugged.
"Stories about how my dad was considered a great warrior who had woven his thread into the cloth of destiny. You see, the powers pass down a bloodline, so after my father had it, it was inevitable that I would have it too. These defender powers are considered so honorable here in Aurelion. I was seen to be a blessing of the Gods," he explained, and I smiled at his words about honor and blessing. It was strange to hear such words be coveted; this was most definitely not the way it was on Earth. I turned to him before asking another question that was on my mind.
"What if someone had more than one child? Who would have the powers then?" I probed, to which Kael shook his head, his eyes gazing forward. The sunlight that streaked in made them look a deep hue of yellow.
"If a defender becomes a parent, they almost always have one child. It's like an unwritten law. The Gods had blessed us with four defenders, so having one child helps to distinguish which child is to be the next defender, as there can only be one from that particular family," he explained, and I felt as though I was now slowly piecing it together.
"But still, seven? That's a young age to give up your whole life?" I questioned, to which Kael let out a small laugh.
"My whole life is for this purpose, Aeryn. I'm glad to have been appointed that early and got an advancement in my training. Abrax joined four years ago at twenty and he too wishes he could have begun earlier," he said, and I thought about how I probably would have felt if I was raised here. Maybe my thinking would be different.
Kael opened a door right next to Rhydian's room. He glanced at all the doors across the hallway with a small smile before pointing to one that we had walked past.
"When I had just come at seven, that was the only occupied room. Maya was twelve around that time and helped me with my studies. We both knew how much this cause meant," he said, and I looked to the doors across the hallway. They were now all occupied, Ayla, Rhydian, Arun, Abrax... me.
"It's both odd and relieving to have seen the rooms slowly become occupied," he commented before walking into the room, and I followed slowly behind.
The room layout was not much different to mine, although there was a desk with various books and scrolls scattered across it, as well as some weights on a table in the corner.
I watched as he walked to his bedside before picking up his sword and scabbard that hung from a bedside post. He hung it around his hips before resting a hand almost subconsciously on the hilt of the sword. I gave him a pointed look and he shrugged with a smile.
"You'll never know when you'll need it.”
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A/N: Hope you guys liked it...
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