Chapter 28: The Bargain

The next minute was unexpected. I was running very fast and my consciousness was back to full alert mode. Yes, that crazy Gerard was again forcing me to run with his horse like the first day.

There were many times I yelled at him to stop and shouted an apology, but there was no change. Gerard covered his ears tightly like a deaf person. I can't go on like this, while running, I think of a way to get out of the riding arena. I noticed that each section of the fence was the same height, which meant there was no section I could jump over in one try. So the other option I had was to pass underneath. The ground inside the arena was flat, with no high mounds or holes. It's intentionally flat for beginners to practice on. But there was one part of the ground that was more concave than the rest at the locked door. The door was the same shape as the fence. I assumed it was more concave because it was often stepped on by people or horses entering.

With only a ten percent chance of success, I wanted to give it a try. I accelerated my pace to increase the distance with Gerard still on a random path. Seeing an opportunity, I ran towards the door and deliberately threw myself down and rolled over.

Snagged! I was stuck because my ass and chest were more prominent than my legs. My head had already made it out so my position was slightly tilted. It was hard for me to pull out or get back in. I was stuck. My breathing was getting tight because my chest wasn't inflating and deflating to its maximum.

I could hear the horse's footsteps stopping behind my head because my face was facing outward. It was followed by the sound of footsteps hitting the ground twice and now Gerard was squatting in front of my face.

"You always have a way of getting yourself into trouble, huh?"

I closed my eyes and grimaced, "Help me, captain."

The first thing Gerard did was try to open the door. I whimpered as Gerard tried to push the door open, my body being squeezed in. The door snapped back into place and Gerard looked at me confused.

"Looks like we only have two choices. Cut the door off or cut you off.", He said casually, as if they were just two ordinary choices like having toast or fried bread for breakfast.

"Captain!"

"What? I'm just trying to be realistic." , Gerard said defensively.

"Didn't you think of digging the ground?"

I saw his hand scratching his chin then he squatted in front of me, "I thought about that, but it would take a lot of time. Unless you want to get a lot of attention from the other troops."

"How about then? My neck is starting to ache." I said with a grimace.

"Can you suppress them?"

"They?", my eyes squinted in confusion until I finally understood what Gerard meant after realizing he wasn't looking at me, but at my chest.

The next minute both of my hands, which could move freely, were holding my protruding breasts as flat as possible and then holding them flat. Gerard planned to kick the door in, while I tightened my ass to keep it from protruding too much.

"You ready?"

My eyes closed, catching my breath before finally nodding and doing as Gerard instructed. Gerard approached the door and stretched his right hand forward, as if measuring the distance between the door and his fist. Gerard backed away slightly until he was within an arm's length of the door. He pulled his hand back and caught his breath.

Not willing to see such a small possibility this way, I closed my eyes and before I could count to three, the sound of a large metal pipe being struck sounded loudly near me, along with the door moving from its place. I was free.

I couldn't contain my joy and my smiling face was clearly depicted on my face.

"When did you learn archery?", Gerard asked, his back to me.

I held back my smile and leaned against the iron railing, "You must be wondering how I got so good at archery, right? It's all thanks to my Dad."

"Your father taught you archery?", Gerard asked and I nodded in agreement, "Why didn't your father teach you to ride a horse?"

To that one question, I didn't answer right away. My lips curled into my mouth, searching for lubricant until they finally came back out after coating my entire lip with saliva.

"I'm not like those of you who train in archery and horse riding as a sport and hobby in your spare time. Me, my family, we do archery to survive. If I couldn't do archery, then I wouldn't be this big.

"My father taught me archery at hunting sessions and of course why he didn't teach me riding was because we didn't have horses. It's only our feet that are the only vehicle wherever we go."

Gerard didn't make a comment and just listened silently, leaning on the railing not far from me, "What's all this? Why aren't you saying any words? You're making me look pathetic, you know?", I protested while kicking the ground.

"What? You expect me to say 'geez your life is so hard', is that it? Is that going to make you feel better? I don't think your life is miserable at all. In fact, it sounds very harmonious and happy. You must spend a lot of time with your family, huh?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yes, your right, captain. What about you, did you get all that from training or life experience like me?"

Gerard turned to me, "What if I told you that this is my natural talent? It's like a gift you were given at birth. Would you believe me?" , he asked with a smirking smile.

The look in his eyes played with my focus. I wanted to look for any hint of a lie in his eyes, but all I found was nervousness. My mind went blank. There was no analysis and only an inner scream asking me to focus and keep thinking.

"Maybe if you say so, I'll believe it." I said, not taking my eyes off his.

That sentence just came out of my mouth. Or you could say, I spoke without thinking. Damn, I felt like I was being hypnotized by him.

He chuckled a little while looking down then looked at me again, "Wait, Why?"

I blinked my eyes a few times trying to regain my consciousness from the influence of his gaze and then turned to look ahead. It was better to keep my sanity and also alertness of course.

"I don't know either," I said with a bitter smile, "It's just that my heart feels that way. I have a feeling you're not a bad person who likes to lie. Although sometimes your attitude confuses me, I believe you're like that because you are. Not pretending."

What am I talking about? Why is it hard to understand even for myself. I'm sure she was looking at me confused, trying to digest my sentence. I haven't heard his voice again. When I turned around, he was still looking at me but with a more serious look in his eyes. Looks like I really misspoke this time.

"My attitude confused you?" he asked.

I nodded and pursed my lips before speaking up, "I don't know if you do it to other people too, but you can behave very differently in just one day. In the morning you're so nice to me, then in the evening you're rude as if I've done something wrong to you. Wait- did I do something wrong to you?"

Gerard straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest, "I'm not sure. I'm sorry if I've confused you," he said, "Then I'll make you understand."

"Okay." I crossed my arms in front of my chest, making me equal to him.

"First, I'm not your personal trainer that you can manage at your will. I have the right to choose."

"Okay, the second?"

"I don't like your attitude." , he said, "Somehow, whatever you do, it looks disturbing to me."

"You mean, you instinctively dislike me?"

"Uh-huh, it might be like that. Please don't take offense, because I hate a lot of things and you're just one of them."

I nodded a few times, "That's fine. I'm glad to hear that because I don't like you either." I ended my comment with a smile, "Instinctively."

"Third, I've probably said this a hundred times, I'm only helping you to increase your stamina. I don't want to train you to ride. You have to do it yourself even though I know I'm a great teacher."

"And I'm a great student." I said.

"Yes, you are. You're very good at getting yourself into trouble."

I squinted at him, hoping that a lethal ray would shoot out of my eyes and shoot him.

"Maybe that's it." He said, ending his explanation and leaning back against the iron railing.

"I want to make a deal." , I said suddenly and firmly.

"No, you don't. I don't want to teach you to ride."

"You're saying I'm bothering you a lot, right, captain? Then I promise not to disturb your morning training time anymore, not to talk to you, trying not to appear in front of you again, as long as you teach me riding for the next five days. How about it?"

"No." , he replied without even thinking.

"Then four days. That's already the best offer. Just four days and I'll disappear."

"No."

"Alright, alright. Three days. Just three days and there will be less disruption in your life."

"No."

Damn, he's so determined. There was no way I could lower the offer again. How can I train a horse in just two days? It took me three days to catch a chicken.

"Why are you so insistent? You'll be able to ride eventually with the classes that are already on the schedule." , snapped Gerard.

"I want to go out as soon as possible."

Gerard moved to face me, "Why? People complain and want to be in here because it's safer. Why do you want to go out and risk it?" he asked.

"What about you, captain?", I took a step forward and faced him, "Why practice harder than everyone else when you can just take it slow like everyone else? Why work so hard?"