Chapter 109: Codename: Aconite Chapter Fifty-Nine

Topaz eyes watch me with hesitation as Athena and I circle each other slowly, the plastic mat beneath our feet crunching under each slow step we take. I twist my hands around my staff, tightening my grip as I assess Athena’s poor hand positioning.

Quickly I strike to the right, and although her body language is tense with apprehension, she successfully blocks my strike, the sound of our two weapons colliding resounding around the room. Without pausing I strike to the left, but she quickly manages to block me again. She has better reflexes than she thinks, but she doubts herself. She’s so focused on anticipating pain and being overpowered that it’s keeping her on the defensive.

I hold both ends of the staff and thrust forward, aiming for her torso. She scrunches her eyes tight, pushing her staff out to block me, and though she’s successful her relying on luck to get her through is starting to aggravate me. I shift my hands, grasping the centre of the staff as I swing it down towards her with all my strength. She angles her face away, shutting her eyes as she holds her staff up to block me, only frustrating me further. I quickly flip the other end of the staff upwards and land a brutal jab to her gut.

She grunts in pain, clutching her stomach and I take the chance to sweep the staff under her, knocking her off her feet. She falls on her back groaning, her staff dropping on the mat with a thud as she curls up in the foetal position. I spin my staff around and hold it behind me as I look down at her with impassive eyes.

“Get up,” I command.

She looks up at me, her expression submissive, timid, and fearful. “I need a break, Dasha, that really hurt,” she says meekly.

“Get. Up,” I say slowly and forcefully, each word cold, cutting through the air like shards of ice.

“Please, Dasha, I need a moment,” she pleads, tears pooling in her innocent eyes.

I step forward, squatting in front of her as I lock eyes with her. “When those men took you and beat you; when you begged them to stop, did they?” I ask in a detached tone.

She gulps, paling as she looks up at me, the memories of her torture now playing over in her mind as my words act as her trigger. The pools of tears in her eyes grow until they fall over her lashes and drip down her cheeks, her lips quivering and her chest rising as panic starts to set in, but I don’t back down.

“When they brutalised you over and over and over again, and you screamed for them to stop, screamed for them to let you go, did they?” I say a little louder.

She shuts her eyes, shaking her head, trying to will the images away. “Please, stop,” she begs in a pained whisper.

From the corner of my eye, I see an enraged Dimitris standing in the gym’s doorway, stepping forward to intervene but Silas is quick to grab his arm, shaking his head as he holds him back, for which I am grateful. Uncle Dimitris agreed to let me train Athena, but I never said I was going to go easy on her. He treated her with kid gloves her whole life and look what happened to her.

“You’ve experienced firsthand that there is no limit to how far people will go to hurt you if they want to. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired, if you’re scared, if you’re broken and bleeding or even dying. No one is going to stop just because you ask nicely. They will keep pushing, and pushing until there is nothing left of you.” I clasp her face in my hand, forcing her to look at me. “You want to get stronger? You want to stop anyone from ever hurting you like that again? Then you take all that pain, all that fear and you push it so far down until you forget it’s even there. You push it to the furthest recess of your mind, and you keep going. I don’t fucking care if you’re at death’s door, it’s not over until you’re dead. Are you dead, Athena?”

She frantically shakes her head, eyes wide as she hangs on my every word.

“Then get the fuck up and show me you are done being a victim,” I say with authority as I get to my feet and step away from her.

She sits there for a moment, staring at the mat in deep contemplation until, suddenly, I see it. A spark alighting her topaz eyes. It’s small, but even the tiniest spark can ignite a fire, and I want to see that fire burn in her. I want to see her take all that pain, all that suffering and turn it into strength, turn it into her greatest weapon. I want her to be able to look in the mirror and not see the weak girl who was victimised, but a woman whose pain has turned her into a fearsome and unbeatable force.

She reaches out, wrapping her hand around her staff, clutching it with more force than before as she gets to her feet. She steels herself, straightening her back, holding herself with determination instead of fear. She stares me down, doubt and hesitation swirling in the depths of her eyes, but instead of letting it take over, she takes a breath and tightens her grip on her staff.

She spins her staff and brings it down on me with all her strength. I raise my staff to block it, so she brings it down harder a second time, but I block it again. She swings the other end of her staff aiming for my legs, so I lower my staff and block her move once again. I see that fire starting to burn in her eyes. I see single-minded focus taking over as she sets her sights on her target. I’m no longer her friend Dasha in this moment. I am the embodiment of all those who hurt her, and now she wants them to hurt as much as her.

Strike right, block. Strike left, block. Strike right, block. She swings her leg out, aiming a kick towards my head, so I duck down and strike out the back of her legs, causing her to fall flat on her back once again. I rise to my feet, looking down at her with more kindness now, proud to see her finally starting to break through her fear.

“How about we take a break now?” I suggest, holding out my hand to her.

She looks up at me, contemplating my offer, but her newfound determination burns in her eyes like wildfire.

She shakes her head. “I want to keep going.”

I quirk my eyebrow, surprised by her change in attitude. She quickly slips her staff between both my legs and twists, causing my feet to be knocked out from under me as I land hard on my ass.

I chuckle and smile over at her, “Looks like someone’s catching on.”

She beams at me proudly, the vestiges of her innocence returning and lighting up her face. “I have a good teacher.”