Chapter 42

Dawn POV:

Today Monk Elijah is supposed to watch over our practice which is good because I was planning to pay him a visit. We just finished our beginners training, and I was really impressed by Rosaline’s swiftness. She is fast on feet. Rob is all about brute force, but he is also quick on his feet especially considering his big muscular body. Archer has style in his moves, he moves like a fluid while Skye is rough at the edges. He has never fought someone I guess, and this is not certainly a teenage brawl we are getting into. But he is a sportsperson and has a lot of endurance. Damien is a shooter and Krista is fierce specially with knives. One way or another they are better at something while in my case I have got no clue. I may have some tricks up my sleeves, but I have only learnt to save me from attacks, not attack anyone else. I have yet to find out my forte which makes me more nervous. Still I think we make a good team but good is not enough against Harken this time. Monk Tuzi starts pairing us and to my dismay I am paired with Krista. I have no issues with her personally, but things have not resolved between us. I know she hated me, and I also know that she tolerates me now. She comes and stands before me her blue hair flipping in the air. Then she charges at me quickly and within a second I am on the ground with her elbow at my neck. I am aware of everyone watching me and so I do what I used to practice with Rob. Her knees are on the sides of my torso, so I thrust my hip up and she loses her ground. That window is enough for me roll over, but I don’t pin her down. Instead I get up and make a safe distance between us. I want to be a fighter, but I don’t want to lose as I understand my shortcomings. She makes a cool flip move and is up one her feet instantly. I don’t wait for her to regain her full footing and balance and swoop my leg into make her fall again on her butt.

“Wooo! That was harsh” Damien hoots from a distance. I notice that they have stopped their practice to enjoy watching ours forming a line. Krista notices them too and I can tell that she is furious. Oh no! She comes in a flurry, and I haven’t got any advantage over her. She tries to lunge, and I try to dodge but her palm hits my shoulders hard enough to knock the breath out of me. I stumble but I held my ground. My braid unties and my hair is free now which annoys me. I cannot out win her on a face-to-face battle, but I got one advantage over her and that is her anger. She is smoking with fury and that can cause her to falter. I just have to act on the right timing. She attacks me again and I keep blocking her with my arms like I remember in my practice. Rob was heavier and stronger than her, so her strikes are not supposed to hurt much but the opposite happens. She is very precise in her moves, and I struggle to keep up. She keeps coming and coming at me and I sidestep dodge and block her moves. She tries to push me with both her hands and before impacting with my body I lock my hands to terminate the push. The next part is only about strength and we both push from respective sides. I can tell she is getting tired because of the constant aggressive attacks. With all the force in my body I push back and the contact breaks. That’s when I see the window, she comes for a straight punch directed at me and I grab her wrist to pull her towards me and get under her guard to pick her up on my back and then drop her to the ground. That’s called a slam and although I was never successfully able to execute it with Rob but she being petite and lighter I slam her perfectly.

“Oh my god!!!” All of them gasp and I look at them immediately to stop them from cheering. Things are bad enough between us and with the upcoming battles I don’t want our relation to worsen. Fortunately, Monk Tuzi steps in and calls for an end. She is still lying on the ground, so I extend her my hand. She looks at me with anger but eventually takes my hand and gets up.

“Are you hurt?” I ask.

“No. How did you learn to fight?” she asks.

“I wasn’t really fighting I guess”

“Well you beat me”

“No. It wasn’t a real battle if it were I would have been dead in first few seconds only. You just needed your knife” I say as sincerely as I can.

“But you are strong, and I believe I won’t call you a princess anymore” She says and surprisingly a smile breaks on her face. “Umm I wanted to tell you something. I was horrible to you and misjudged you. I apologize for that” I am shocked to the core listening her apologize, so much that I can’t even form a proper reply. So I just ask, “Can I hug you?”

She looks at me for a second like I have grown two horns but then nods and we hug. It feels so good because she is Archer’s sister and I want to feel the connection with her which I thought was impossible given the history.

“Will you teach me how to fight with knife?” I ask breaking the hug.

“Yes” she says, and I smile at her.

“What was that hug about? Trying to console her for the loss?” Damien says coming closer along with Archer.

“Shut up!” Krista says rolling her eyes “He is just excited because he never to this date had been able to beat me”

“Well I got my champion now” He makes an exaggerated hand gesture pointing me.

“Stop moving your hands like that, the salve you got is working I see” I tell him.

“Oh yeah that helped”

“Then get back to your practice” Krista says dragging him by the arm away from us. Archer was silent till now and constantly looking at me. I feel my cheeks heating and ask “What?”

“You looked amazing when you fought” He says.

“I look amazing doing a lot of things” I say flirtatiously.

“I bet you do” he chuckles which makes me want to cuddle him. “I want to practice with you” he says.

“You want to fight me?” I ask.

“No. I want to fight with you.” There is so much in that one statement that I feel my heart melting all over again. “Okay. Let’s practice then”

After we have cleaned up the dirt from the day’s practice I ask Archer “What do you think Harken must be up to now?”

“Can’t tell. I mean he is treacherous and therefore unpredictable, but he also has a social reputation to uphold. I think that was both a right and wrong move for him, right because it helped him to grow and build this parallel world for him with different roles to play. I mean you have two different businesses running so you have double the amount of workload but double amount of money too. And he uses that money to buy people and shut mouths. But now he has to know that other gangs are trying to cut him down. So any normal person would ask for legal help, but he isn’t normal, so he can’t take any help legally. He is now in a problematic situation because he is in limelight now”

“Is it weird that he hasn’t taken any step?”

“It is a little bit. But you know this is not a battle between two kings where they would respect each other’s honor. This is downright dirty and only winning matters. So we have to be nasty too” He says.

“I want to speak to Monk Elijah” I confess.

“Why?”

“I need to know more about all these, and I feel he has the answers”

“I believe he has but will he give you?” He asks which is a valid question indeed.

“I will have to try and its better I try alone” I reply.

“Okay. Just be careful” He says.

I finish my dinner early and ask the nearby monk about Monk Elijah’s whereabouts. He points me in a direction which leads me to a dark deserted hallway only lit periodically by thick candles. For a moment I deliberate not going but I know time is running out and I have to start knowing things. So I walk down the hallway trying to make out the doors. I am almost halfway through the corridor when...

“You should not wander around like this after sun sets.” I flip around and there at a distance Monk Elijah is standing with her usual poise but giving me a vibe of a predator out to hung.

“I wanted to talk to you” I say “I am sorry if I broke some rule”

“Come with me” he says and then turns. Not wanting to be stranded in this passageway I follow him. Just around the right corner he opens a room and as soon as I walk in fear grips my innards. The room is a very big one, bigger than even my room back at the manor and it literally looks like an old creepy haunted place. There is absolutely no color in the room other than grey, black, and white. On the wall facing the door, there are scriptures written in ancient text which are completely indecipherable to me. The king-sized bed is pristine and clean. What scared me instantly is the weapons and the skeletons hung from the bed side wall. There are so many weapons of so many shapes that my eyes swim looking at them. Next to those swords and metal skeletal heads and other bones are also hanging casually like they are any normal home decor.

“Like what you see?” He asks.

“I don’t know to be honest” I answer.

“I appreciate if you are honest to me Dawn. Sit” He points at the black leathered armchair and he himself sits opposite to me. “Why were you searching for me?” he asks.

“I need some answers. How can I earn them?” I ask in return. He gives me a smile at the same time scrunching his eyebrows. “I am glad that you asked me about earning you answers” he says. “Well I did watch you fight today, and I must admit that I very much like your wit. You are an intelligent fighter and that is a rarity. I plan on teaching you some more skills from tomorrow if you allow me to”

“I will be honored” I say while feeling stupid about saying that.

“Based on today’s picture you can ask me your questions”

“It is more of a request. I want to know more about the Goliath, I think it’s fair that I know about him as he knows about me already.”

“Why? You want to impress him?”

“No. Honestly I am not here to impress anyone; I am just here to keep the bargain my friend made in exchange of saving me and the only thing in my mind now is survival. You have to agree that we are not friends, and I am not related to the Goliath too. So I need to know something before starting on my quest”

He looks at me for a while and I start feeling conscious, but I try not to avert my gaze. I have to be honest and genuine with him.

“What it is like to know Harken Speller as your father?” he asks. This is the type of question I don’t want to face. This is something very personal and I am not comfortable in sharing my emotional side to anyone. It is hard for me to accept the fact that I am planning for my own father’s downfall but in the back of my mind I know I can’t kill him easily. I won’t be able to until he triggers something himself. These scenarios run in the back of my mind all the time, but I don’t want to acknowledge them now.

So I tell him the truth “I don’t know. I mean I just know he is my father, and I am going against him. Is it against the principles of the medieval era?” I form the question intentionally so that I don’t have to go on with the description of my feelings about my father.

“Not necessarily. It depends on the nature of the relationship”

“Then I have nothing to regret being here and plotting against him” I give him my answer and he understands by nodding.

“You are clever child. I am convinced” he says and then gets up to walk towards a charcoal wooden cabinet sitting at the corner of the room. He brings me a book whose binding is rusting and fragile and hands that over to me. “This is a manuscript. Our cult is inspired by the medieval era lifestyle and the Krakens joined our cause almost five decades prior. The other gang leaders were reluctant to submit entirely to our cause, but the Goliath had some impressive compulsion in joining us. Although I know he tries to bring modernization in, and we clash in opinions but still I admire his devotion. We have monks who are our memory preservers. They study the history and write them down for saving the events and important historical signs for us to follow. I think this might help you. Read it but return it carefully in time”

I look at the fragile book and try to channel Jenny from inside “Thank you so much” I say.

“I will escort you to your chamber.” He says and before leaving I take another look at the wall. This place is strange there is no question about it but there are darker truths that we cannot even fathom. Some things are better left unknown.