The b***h Mafia:Another Chapter

Chapter 8: Training

8

 Training

"You have a good spot," 

Margaret said when we entered the training room. We are now inside the Minotaur's Palace, the headquarters of Ariadne's organization. 

"But where are you members?" Red asked. 

Xian and I also looked around. Right, there are no people here except for us. 

"This is my personal headquarter." Ariadne announced. 

"Spoiled," Hector said and laughed. Ariadne just rolled her eyes and walked away but she stopped not pretty far from us. 

"There's no training room in the villa. That's why I brought you all here to train," 

It's the first day of the three-days before the day of the Battlefield. We planned to train so there are no loopholes. In that sense, we can all win the battles and be able to choose the organization we'd like to belong with. 

The whole training room is carpeted. The walls are all white, I almost thought I'm in the hospital. But I actually liked it, the training rooms look clean however, it really looks empty as there is no equipment here. 

Ariadne walked towards this wooden coat rack. She pulled down one of the racks and the walls turned around, revealing it's hidden equipment. There are so many variations here. There are different types of swords and guns that we can use to train. 

"That's the washroom. You can change your clothes in there," Ariadne said while pointing out the only door in the corner of the room. 

I didn't really care about the washroom and went straight to the guns section. 

"Hey, isn't this the gun we used to use to train back in London?" I asked when I saw a familiar revolver. 

"Yes, it's the Smith and Wesson Model 60 of 1965." 

We really liked this model. It is the first revolver that was produced in stainless steel. We like that it looks old yet modernized as it is made with stainless steel. It looks classic and it is easy to use. The only downside, it is only a six-shot revolver. 

"You still have this?" I said while holding the Ruger Blackhawk. 

Ariande went to me and picked up the gun on my hand. 

"I just couldn't throw it away," She put the revolver back in the case and stared at me. "Aren't you going to train?" She asked while her arms were crossed. I chuckled and raised both of my hands, sign that I surrender. 

"Fine. Fine. I'll change na," 

She just sighed and let me walk away. I saw Jasmine and Nicole walking out of the washroom and already wearing their training clothes. I went inside the washroom and saw Margaret and Shyna changing their clothes. Heracles and Elissa just also entered the room. 

I changed my clothes into comfortable training clothes. It's black high-waist leggings and white sports bra. I also tied my hair up so it wouldn't bother me. 

Margaret and Shyna wait for us to finish changing. I sat on a chair and changed my shoes into white running shoes. I saw Heracles and Elissa changing their shoes. When we're done, we went to the washroom and everything changed. 

When we reached the middle of the training room, everyone was there. They all changed into training clothes. Where the hell did Ariadne change?

The guys were running and Ariadne was doing her own stretching. 

"Where the hell did you change your clothes?" I asked Ariadne while stretching my arms. 

"I have my own washroom," She just simply said.

I didn't bother to ask where and just continued with the stretching. 

Some of us trained using guns, swords, but I decided to train in archery. 

I traced the edge of the bow before I positioned the arrow. I also positioned myself before I aimed. 

One: Aim

Two: Lock

Three: Release

You shouldn't think of any other things except your target or else you'll lose your concentration. Concentration is a vital skill to use in archery. Your breathing should sync with your hands. The moment you exhale, you release the bow. The breathing could greatly affect the direction of the arrow. 

"Bulls eye," I winked at Ariadne who has been watching me. 

"Her skills aren't fading even for a bit," I heard Xian say to Ariadne.

"That's the result of her years of training," I just listened to them talking. 

I actually like that they are talking with each other. Ariadne is my cousin and Xian is my fiance, it's good that they are knowing each other. 

"How long did you two trained?" Xian

I continued training with the archery while listening to them. I just can't help but eavesdrop. 

"Believe it or not, we are still under training. Our training doesn't stop after we are crowned as the ruler. For Angel, she first held a gun at a very young age," Ariadne

"At what age?" Xian curiously asked. 

"I think she was nine when she first held a gun and pulled the trigger," Ariadne

"That's a very young age. The first time I held a gun, I was thirteen," Xian said. His voice sounds worried. 

"Yes, usually when a child started their teen life, the parents would allow them to train with guns and stuff. But in our case, we need to start as early as possible. The whole organization was depending on us,"

I was silently listening while remembering what we had gone through. 

I just turned ten when our parents died. After mourning for months, our grandparents had no other choice but to train us. My brother took all the heavy responsibilities. He was training to become a Mafia and a businessman at the same time. It was hard growing up, we all had our grudges to hold onto. 

I stopped thinking of what I have gone through and went near the gun section. 

One: Aim

Two: Lock

Three: Release

Bulls eye!

I stopped when Michael tapped my shoulder. 

"Walang mintis," 

I chuckled when he said that. 

"Aren't you going to spar?" I asked. Sparring with each other is a great opportunity to develop our skills. 

"Who will start?" Mnemosyne

"Xian can start," Michael volunteered Xian. I chuckled when Xian looks confused. 

"Syne can spar with him. After all, Syne needs to train." Ariadne joined the conversation. 

Xian and Mnemosyne didn't say anything but positioned themselves in the middle of the sparring mat. 

I think Syne likes to do the offense. He was the one who attacked first. Unlike Xian who likes to always defend. Xian is always patient, just like a predator waiting for his prey.

Sumuntok si Syne direkta sa mukha ni Xian kaya naman iniwasan iyon ni Xian at sinalo ang kamay nito gamit ang kaliwang kamay habang ang kanang kamay nito ay sumuntok sa mukha ni Syne. 

Kahit sabihin ay alam kong may pag iingat sa bawat galaw ni Xian. Marahil ay ayaw nyang masaktan ng husto si Syne. 

"Dude you'll be needed to attend a derma session," Hector chuckled when he said that. We can't help but to also chuckle.

Ngumisi lang si Syne at sumuntok na iniwasan lang ni Xian. Pero namali nga kalkulasyon si Xian. Hindi man tumama sa mukha nya ang suntok ay tumama naman ito sa kanyang tagiliran. 

Sumipa si Syne pero sinalo iyon ni Xian at sumuntok gamit ang kanang kamay habang ang kaliwang kamay nya ay nakahawak sa binti ni Syne.

Napangisi ako ng lumapit si Ariadne para pigilan ang sparring ng dalawa. Hindi na iyon laban sa pagitan ni Syne at Xian. Laban na iyon ng ego at pride nila bilang assassins.

"Chill. You're both too hot," Ariadne said. 

Yumakap sa isa't isa si Xian at Syne at magkaakbay na lumapit sa amin. Sinalubong ko si Xian ng yakap at binigyan sya ng towel para makapagpunas dahil pawis na pawis sya.

I've always dreamed of doing this to him. After an intense sparing, I'll be the one to take care of him.

Natigil ang pag iisip ko dahil lumapit sakin si Ariadne.

"I wanted to spar with you. Not as Inigo's fiancee but as a Queen's reaper," I smirked when Ariadne said that to Jasmine.

"It would be my pleasure to spar with you," 

Natatawa silang dalawang at pumwesto sa may gitna. Nang nakapwesto na sila, unang sumugod si Jasmine. A Mafia reaper indeed.

Mafia reapers are like assassins. Ang kinaibahan lang, mas notorious pumatay ang mga mafia reapers. They don't wait patiently like predator. They always attack.

Iniwasan lang din Ariadne ang suntok at sumipa naman bigla ito kaya hindi agad nakaiwas si Jasmine at tinamaan ito sa hita.

Ariadne was supposedly the first council of the Red Assassin Organization. But things turned around and she left our world only to be left by her own world. 

Nagulat na lang ako dahil nasa lapag na si Ariadne habang nasa ibabaw nya si Jasmine at hawak hawak pa ang kamay.

I should've made Jasmine a member of the council.

Napatayo silang lahat.

I laughed seeing Jasmine pining Ariadne down. 

"What happened Ariadne?" 

"I missed the calculation okay," She pouted and looked away. She looks embarrassed. 

Ariadne must be trying to be nice. She may sound cheerful but you'll never know what kind of devil things are running in her mind. She's notorious!

"Another thing, in the battlefield, there's one great rule. No mercy or you'll die." paalala ni Ariadne habang nakangiti.

I felt the chill on my spine when she said that.

Tumalikod ako at naglakad papalapit sa mga bows at arrows at kumuha ako ng isang bow at mga arrows.

I pulled the string then I released the arrow.

Bulls eye.

"I guess my cousin has no problem with the rule," Ariadne said. "She's raised to rule not to follow rules,"

"I know," I just said and continued practicing my archery skills. 

"I suddenly remember, the first time she got mad she al--" I cut her sentence when I released the arrow to her direction. 

She didn't blinked when the arrow passed through her head. The rest gasped when I did that. 

"And just like that, she still hasn't moved on."

I put back the bow and arrow and left them. I went inside the washroom and took a quick shower. 

My head hurts thinking what happened in the past. 

Don't. Stop. Don't touch me.You're not an Angel like your name. You're a... You're a Devil. Get lost devil.

She's the first person who ever told me that I'm a Devil. She's the first person who made me realize how complicated my life is.

I wore my new pair of jeans and shirt. I almost jumped when I saw Xian sitting on the chair. He's already wearing his casual clothes and looks like he washed up too.

"Why are you here?" I asked while drying my hair with a towel. 

"Ariadne asked me to follow you. She must really feel sorry." He uncrossed his arms and stood up. "They already left. Ariadne also wanted to say sorry,"

I just nodded. Xian and I went back to the villa. The villa was silent when we got there, they are probably resting. 

I removed my shoes and dropped my body in the bed as Xian and I went inside our room. 

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked and laid his body beside me. I crawled and hugged him. He hugged me back and caressed my hair. 

I hate pondering things like this.

"Fifteen years ago I had my very first friend," I started telling the story. 

Aside from Ariadne, I had a friend before. 

"You can keep them to yourself if you don't really want to tell them," Xian whispered. But instead of responding to him, I just continued the story. 

"One day, we were hanging out in the park. She always likes to hang out in that place until midnight. She's somewhat miserable and has lots of problems. As a friend to her, I like to accompany her until she feels better." I paused a bit and felt my eyes getting watery. "A Black Mafia reaper appeared in front of us. I thought it was just a robbery but I confirmed it was black mafia reaper. I had no choice but to kill him. I thought she'd thank me but no she didn't. She ran away like I'm sort of sick." 

I laughed bitterly. Xian tightened the hug. 

"You don't need to always dwell on the past mi love. I'm here and we're here for you," He kissed the top of my head before he continued his words. "We won't leave you. Never."