mouth, you look a fool," Aleena said when she realized he was stricken senseless and unlikely to move. She sighed and lowered her arms as she turned away. She grabbed her shirt and pulled it on, and then tied the laces to tighten it and added a belt around her waist.
When she turned , Durak was gone. She smirked and put her boots on, and then hurried back out of the barracks and down the hall. The other recruits stared at her in utter silence as she passed them. Durak was focused on his own trunk, keeping his back to her. It didn't matter what they thought of her anymore. Her task was to pass the test. The other trainees could only help her work towards that. Either they would try to make it difficult and thus make her stronger or they would work with her and help her become stronger.
But for now, with her body drained and trying to recover, there was only one thing she could think of to do. She was going to run that obstacle course again.
* * * *
True to his word, Sir Amos set Celos to make her life miserable. The very first day of training, the recruits were tasked with striking straw dummies with their weapons. They were not given armor to wear for the exercise.
"Aren't we beyond this?" Aleena hissed to Durak while they grabbed swords and maces.
"Every testing cycle they start over. They believe a gifted recruit can learn it in one pass, but they allow four if you don't make a fool of yourself," he answered.
"Durak!" Celos pointed at a dummy near him. "Be silent and take this practice dummy. Perhaps it can teach you how to wield that sword where everyone else has failed."
Aleena opened her mouth to protest. She'd been the one to ask him a question. Durak saw her and shook his head, silencing her. She relented but shot a dark glare at Celos. There was no cause for him to act that way towards his friends. They'd shared sweat and blood. Together! Now that he was a squire, he was suddenly that much better than they were?
"Recruit Aleena, take this dummy beside me. It's fat enough even you shouldn't be able to miss it."
Aleena stiffened at his jibe. She narrowed her eyes and walked over to the appointed target and waited for the command to begin. All the while she imagined Celos's smirking face on the dummy.
The bell rang a few moments later, announcing that they were to begin practicing thrusts with their swords. Aleena ground her teeth and went through the motions and thrust at the dummy. She buried the point of her blade in the target four times before Celos slapped her sword aside with his own.
"Recruit, why are you wasting our time?" Celos barked at her.
Aleena glared at him. "I'm stabbing the target, as ordered, squire."
"That's what stabbing means to you?" Celos asked. "Looked like you were poking him to see if he'd been cooked long enough. You tickle a man in a battle like that and he's going to know you belong in a kitchen! Now do it again!"
Aleena took a deep breath through her nose that made her entire body shake. She wanted to throttle the squire. Aleena turned her anger on the wood and straw target and raised her sword. Her next three lunges punched the training weapon through the densely packed straw but left her winded and weak. She reset herself for a fourth and risked a glance at Celos.
He shook his head and showed a sneer of disgust. "You'll be feared by all the unarmed peasants in the north with strikes like that."
She turned her attention back to the dummy and clenched the grip of the sword tightly in her hand. With her arm all but locked in position, she lunged forward, intent on striking through the dummy's chest. The momentum of her lunge twisted her thrust and brought it down so that she barely grazed the target at the hip.
Celos turned away. He looked back at her and said, "Do yourself a favor and quit to avoid the embarrassment of a second failed testing."
Aleena realized a moment later that she was staring at Squire Celos with her mouth hanging open. He thought she should
When she turned , Durak was gone. She smirked and put her boots on, and then hurried back out of the barracks and down the hall. The other recruits stared at her in utter silence as she passed them. Durak was focused on his own trunk, keeping his back to her. It didn't matter what they thought of her anymore. Her task was to pass the test. The other trainees could only help her work towards that. Either they would try to make it difficult and thus make her stronger or they would work with her and help her become stronger.
But for now, with her body drained and trying to recover, there was only one thing she could think of to do. She was going to run that obstacle course again.
* * * *
True to his word, Sir Amos set Celos to make her life miserable. The very first day of training, the recruits were tasked with striking straw dummies with their weapons. They were not given armor to wear for the exercise.
"Aren't we beyond this?" Aleena hissed to Durak while they grabbed swords and maces.
"Every testing cycle they start over. They believe a gifted recruit can learn it in one pass, but they allow four if you don't make a fool of yourself," he answered.
"Durak!" Celos pointed at a dummy near him. "Be silent and take this practice dummy. Perhaps it can teach you how to wield that sword where everyone else has failed."
Aleena opened her mouth to protest. She'd been the one to ask him a question. Durak saw her and shook his head, silencing her. She relented but shot a dark glare at Celos. There was no cause for him to act that way towards his friends. They'd shared sweat and blood. Together! Now that he was a squire, he was suddenly that much better than they were?
"Recruit Aleena, take this dummy beside me. It's fat enough even you shouldn't be able to miss it."
Aleena stiffened at his jibe. She narrowed her eyes and walked over to the appointed target and waited for the command to begin. All the while she imagined Celos's smirking face on the dummy.
The bell rang a few moments later, announcing that they were to begin practicing thrusts with their swords. Aleena ground her teeth and went through the motions and thrust at the dummy. She buried the point of her blade in the target four times before Celos slapped her sword aside with his own.
"Recruit, why are you wasting our time?" Celos barked at her.
Aleena glared at him. "I'm stabbing the target, as ordered, squire."
"That's what stabbing means to you?" Celos asked. "Looked like you were poking him to see if he'd been cooked long enough. You tickle a man in a battle like that and he's going to know you belong in a kitchen! Now do it again!"
Aleena took a deep breath through her nose that made her entire body shake. She wanted to throttle the squire. Aleena turned her anger on the wood and straw target and raised her sword. Her next three lunges punched the training weapon through the densely packed straw but left her winded and weak. She reset herself for a fourth and risked a glance at Celos.
He shook his head and showed a sneer of disgust. "You'll be feared by all the unarmed peasants in the north with strikes like that."
She turned her attention back to the dummy and clenched the grip of the sword tightly in her hand. With her arm all but locked in position, she lunged forward, intent on striking through the dummy's chest. The momentum of her lunge twisted her thrust and brought it down so that she barely grazed the target at the hip.
Celos turned away. He looked back at her and said, "Do yourself a favor and quit to avoid the embarrassment of a second failed testing."
Aleena realized a moment later that she was staring at Squire Celos with her mouth hanging open. He thought she should
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