Chapter 6: Puppet
1245 Words
MYRA/SELENE
No way on earth did I expect anyone to step up for me.
The crowd fell silent, then murmurs spread like fire. Frakas’s mouth dropped open, stunned, before he clenched his jaw shut.
The two young warriors stepped forward.
I stared at them, heart pounding and all I could think was Why? But I was grateful.
"Talon, Nia," he growled, "you're making a mistake."
"We've made our decision." Talon said and Nia nodded firmly beside him.
I was filled with happiness as I was so desperate for help. They approached me, and I studied them more carefully. The girl looked pretty smart, her green eyes sharp and assessing. The boy looked strong enough too, lean but muscular, with broad shoulders.
"I'm Talon," he said, extending his hand to me. "And this is Nia."
I shook their hands firmly. "Myra," I replied, "I promise not to make you regret this bold step."
Nia gave me a wry smile. "Let's just focus on surviving, shall we?"
Frakas observed our exchange with narrowed eyes. "If you're done with the introductions," he snarled, "training begins now. You have two days, well, less than that now." He glared at me. "Time's wasting."
All three of us went ahead to the training ground, it was a wide open space surrounded by tall oak trees. Wooden training dummies stood around the field, and weapon racks lined one side.
By mid-morning, I was sweaty and my clothes were all wet. My muscles burned from exhaustion. I couldn't catch my breath, and my hands were getting blisters from gripping the practice sword. I realized that I had underestimated the young girl, Nia.
She was really strong and a tough competition, moving so swiftly that showed years of training. She was small but quick, and every move she made was flawless.
"Keep your guard up," she instructed as we trained, easily dodging my attacks. "You're leaving your left side exposed." She tapped my ribs with her wooden sword, not hard enough to hurt but enough to make her point.
I smirked a little bit as I watched her try to train me on how to fight. Gosh, this is ridiculous. If I had been reborn with the strength of my old body, I wouldn't have had a problem capturing a rogue leader.
I adjusted my stance, remembering my past training. With each hour, the movements became more familiar, and I started to improve.
"Better," Nia said when I finally blocked her attack. That small bit of praise made me ridiculously proud.
We trained from dawn to dusk, only resting for short breaks to take some food and water. Talon was patient, teaching me fighting styles that worked better for someone my size.
"Use your opponent's weight against them," he demonstrated, flipping Nia onto her back with a quick move. She laughed as he helped her up. I noticed how they looked at each other, they clearly had something special between them.
"Your turn," Talon said to me. "Remember, it's about timing, not strength."
I nodded, my body responding better. My clumsy attempts from the morning slowly turned into something that actually looked like fighting.
I was able to use this weak body to my advantage. The flexibility made me faster, allowing me to dodge blows that would have hit me if I'd tried to block them with strength.
"Not bad," Frakas admitted grudgingly after watching me take down a practice dummy. "For a rogue."
The sun was setting, and every muscle in my body hurt. Still, I kept going, determined to prove myself worthy of Talon and Nia's faith in me.
When it was getting dark, I saw Gray enter the training ground out of the corner of my eye. He stood by the far corner, staring at me. My heart started beating faster, though I wasn't sure if it was from fear or something else.
He sat down in the chair, eyes still fixed on me. Watching. Why was he staring like that?
I took advantage of the opportunity and intensified my energy. I practiced harder with my sword, trying to show him that I'm worth something.
The wooden target cracked under a particularly hard hit, my sword finding just the right spot where previous attacks had weakened it.
I looked back again, eager to see his reaction, but he wasn't there. The spot where he had sat was empty, like he'd never been there at all. My shoulders drop "Fine," I lied, picking up my sword againped. Such a waste of energy. I felt disappointed in a way that surprised me.
"You okay?" Nia asked, noticing my change in mood.
. "Just tired."
Why the heck did I think he would care if I am skilled or not? I'm just a puppet, doing his bidding just so I'll live. That realization made my heart ache. When will I not be used anymore? Jace used me to become Alpha, playing me with false promises and fake affection. Now Gray was using me as a pawn in whatever game he was playing. Just a tool to be thrown away when I wasn't useful anymore.
The thought was like a bitter taste in my mouth, making me angry. I decided to use that anger on the dummy. Each blow became a target for my frustration, at Gray, at Jace, at myself for caring what either of them thought.
"Whoa," Talon said, raising his eyebrows as I attacked the dummy viciously. "Save some energy for tomorrow."
I nodded, forcing myself to slow down. My body felt heavy, my mind foggy. Two days wasn't enough time to prepare for whatever was coming, but it was all I had.
Not long after, Frakas came up to us. "The Alpha said you have trained well and should continue tomorrow." He sounded surprised, like he'd expected us to fail.
Instantly, I beamed in joy, I felt a big caress on my ego. I couldn't hide my reaction. Gray had seen me, and he had acknowledged that I did well. Despite everything, his approval mattered, and I hated myself a little for caring. Why should I care what he thinks? Yet knowing that he had watched me and thought I was worth training made me feel warm inside.
"Get some rest," Frakas instructed, his stern face softening just a bit. "Tomorrow will be even harder."
Talon and Nia gathered their things, talking quietly together. Seeing how comfortable they were with each other made my chest tight with a feeling I didn't want to name. I returned the weapons I had borrowed to the rack, arranging them neatly.
I was about to leave when Talon blocked my way, stepping in front of me so suddenly that I tensed up. I raised a confused brow.
"Someone wants a word with you," he said quietly, just for my ears. His face gave nothing away. "The rest of us are dismissed, but you should stay."
“Who would want to talk to me alone, at this time? Was it Gray?”. My fingers went sweaty as I nodded my head and sat on a bench, waiting while Talon walked off.
Who the heck could it be?
Then, my eyes caught something beneath the bench, like it had been planted just for me. My hands trembled as I reached for it.
A letter. I unfolded it slowly.
“I'll help you escape this nightmare.”
My breath hitched. What was this? A trap… or hope?
- Writer
