52 Weeks
by Wizardtho
Chapter 27:
Once we’re all sitting on the patio outside the library, I look at Dom. After studying him for a second, I say, “By Major’s little comment in the dungeon, I guess you weren’t expecting me to be there?”
He nods, then asks, “May I speak freely?”
I assure him, “I’d have it no other way, Dom. You’ll find that as long as you’re respectful, I’d rather you give me the full truth than any sort of lie or padding of the truth.”
He nods, then states, “You are literally less than 24 hours old, in vampire terms, My Queen. Yet… beyond all reason, you entered a dungeon that smells of thousands of years of death, both human and vampire. That dungeon creeped me the hell out, and I dealt with pits full of the dead while under Major’s command before. So no… I didn’t really expect to see you down there, queen or not.”
I smile and shake my head, “Mind over matter, Dom. Yes, the scent set my nerves on edge, but my mind kept a handle on my instinct, reminding me that I was not in danger of anything in there. This is MY home, and I will not let anything stop me from going where I want, when I want. I’ll tell you the same thing I told my mate. If I can’t face my own attacker, how can I help save Didyme from hers? I know my shield plays an integral part in this, but if I don’t have the nerve to do what’s needed, my shield isn’t going to mean squat. I have to be able to go out into the unknown and face the danger lurking out there. I can’t back down; doing that means I’ve failed before I’ve even gotten started. Backing down means I can’t shield Marcus enough for him to find his mate, my future sister, and that’s something I refuse to accept.”
Dom silently looks at me for a long moment, then does the same to Major. When his eyes reach mine again, he asks, “The terms in my contract state that my power will only be used to help you train, or to defend you in an emergency while I am here. I am not becoming a guard. Once you leave to find Marcus’ mate, my contract will be fulfilled. Does that sound right to you?”
I nod with a smile, “That sounds exactly right, Dom. My intent, when I presented the offer, was never for you to join as a guard.”
Dom looks around the table, then pulls an envelope from his back pocket. He opens it, unfolds the papers, then signs and dates the bottom of each page in the proper spots as he says to me, “Queen Isabella, it looks like you have a new training buddy. When do we start?”
I nod in the direction of the half-empty carafe, then promise, “As soon as I finish that, and make sure my energy is topped off. The order of my training, however, is all up to the Major, so you’ll have to talk to him for your orders.”
Major chuckles, “You’re in for Hell durin’ trainin’, little Darlin’. Gonna put ya up against Char, to get a feel for what ya naturally got. Once we find out where your skillset is, know that we’re gonna push ya. We’re gonna push ya every which way we can think of, so we can find all your hidden triggers and weaknesses. We need to know ‘em, ‘cuz ya got no chance in Hell of bein’ cleared to go on that kinda mission without us exhaustion’ every possibility. We gotta find ‘em, bust through ‘em, and teach ya ways to fix ‘em… with and without those shields of yours, Little Miss.”
I shake my head, “You know I can’t turn my mental shield on and off, Major. We tried that before, and I needed almost a week to recover from the backlash.”
He chuckles, “Human Bella tried that. I coulda sworn I heard more than once today that human Bella was dead. That means she ain’t you, now is she?”
I let out a breath, then nod, “That’s true. I’m not human any longer, and there’s a lot about vampire Bella that we don’t know yet.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing on one of the many training fields, squaring off against Char. Major is having Char mock attack me, to find out what I instinctually have as defensive skills. After 10 rounds of proving I can take down Char if she doesn’t counter when I find an opening, Major tells her, “Phase 2.”
I find out what phase 2 is when I find my next opening. I make my move to take her down, but Char counter-attacks. It throws me off for a split second, which has me flying back through the air. I twist and flip mid-air, landing perfectly as I eye Char, “Alright, I see you. Again.”
Officially, phase 2 is us full-out sparring. Funny enough, my physical shield lays calm and quiet underneath my skin, not sensing a threat in my sparring partner.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when, but at some point, Major takes Char’s place. I’m getting my ass handed to me pretty frequently, but as soon as it happens, Major is quick to show me exactly what I did wrong, then take me back through it so we can practice how to fix my mistake.
It doesn’t take me more than once or twice to absorb what Major’s teaching me, especially when I feel his breath against my neck. No, he’s not a threat to me right now, but at some point soon, that could be an enemy ready to take my head off. I understand the severity of the ordeal and really would rather keep my head attached.
I spin away from Major’s fist coming at my face, but in doing so, I spin too far. I feel Major’s boot to the back of my knee, and I hear the heel of my own boot break as my knee gives way. I spin back around and slug him in the gut, then growl, “What the fuck, Whitlock! I liked these boots!”
Dropping down, I pull them off, then frown at my right boot, the heel hanging on by only part of the sole. I huff, “Over 3 hours without destruction, Jasper! Three fucking hours! Do you know how hard it is to be a newborn and NOT break shit when you’re focused on whooping someone’s ass?”
He laughs outright, so I throw my boots at his head one at a time, “Fucker! You get to buy me new boots for that.”
He raises an eyebrow at me, then I look over to see Char’s fingers tapping double-time on her phone as she says, “Already done, Sug. They’ll be delivered to the castle within 48 hours.”
She looks up and gives me a triumphant smile; I can’t help but grin and laugh at the incredulous expression Major gives her, “Seriously?!”
She rolls her eyes and shrugs, “Ya know your ornery ass was gonna do it, and it’s not like I can forget the number, since ya handed it to me once already today.”
Major looks back to me, then states seriously, “Ya get the boots… this time. For future trainin’ sessions, let’s keep to workout clothes and sneakers. I don’t want ya focusin’ on whether or not you’re gonna break shit. Ya will… it happens to everyone, and it’ll happen to you. Your focus needs to be on your sparrin’ partner and keepin’ your weak spots protected like we went over.”
I nod while promising, “Of course, Major. No more boots. Keep my focus on the right things.”
After another 2 hours of training barefoot, I start to feel thirsty, so Caius calls a halt to training for the rest of the evening. We all head our separate ways, but I see Major and Dom talking as they head toward one of the other training fields meant for powers. I guess Major is about to make sure Dom is fit for the task ahead.
Once we’re all sitting on the patio outside the library, I look at Dom. After studying him for a second, I say, “By Major’s little comment in the dungeon, I guess you weren’t expecting me to be there?”
He nods, then asks, “May I speak freely?”
I assure him, “I’d have it no other way, Dom. You’ll find that as long as you’re respectful, I’d rather you give me the full truth than any sort of lie or padding of the truth.”
He nods, then states, “You are literally less than 24 hours old, in vampire terms, My Queen. Yet… beyond all reason, you entered a dungeon that smells of thousands of years of death, both human and vampire. That dungeon creeped me the hell out, and I dealt with pits full of the dead while under Major’s command before. So no… I didn’t really expect to see you down there, queen or not.”
I smile and shake my head, “Mind over matter, Dom. Yes, the scent set my nerves on edge, but my mind kept a handle on my instinct, reminding me that I was not in danger of anything in there. This is MY home, and I will not let anything stop me from going where I want, when I want. I’ll tell you the same thing I told my mate. If I can’t face my own attacker, how can I help save Didyme from hers? I know my shield plays an integral part in this, but if I don’t have the nerve to do what’s needed, my shield isn’t going to mean squat. I have to be able to go out into the unknown and face the danger lurking out there. I can’t back down; doing that means I’ve failed before I’ve even gotten started. Backing down means I can’t shield Marcus enough for him to find his mate, my future sister, and that’s something I refuse to accept.”
Dom silently looks at me for a long moment, then does the same to Major. When his eyes reach mine again, he asks, “The terms in my contract state that my power will only be used to help you train, or to defend you in an emergency while I am here. I am not becoming a guard. Once you leave to find Marcus’ mate, my contract will be fulfilled. Does that sound right to you?”
I nod with a smile, “That sounds exactly right, Dom. My intent, when I presented the offer, was never for you to join as a guard.”
Dom looks around the table, then pulls an envelope from his back pocket. He opens it, unfolds the papers, then signs and dates the bottom of each page in the proper spots as he says to me, “Queen Isabella, it looks like you have a new training buddy. When do we start?”
I nod in the direction of the half-empty carafe, then promise, “As soon as I finish that, and make sure my energy is topped off. The order of my training, however, is all up to the Major, so you’ll have to talk to him for your orders.”
Major chuckles, “You’re in for Hell durin’ trainin’, little Darlin’. Gonna put ya up against Char, to get a feel for what ya naturally got. Once we find out where your skillset is, know that we’re gonna push ya. We’re gonna push ya every which way we can think of, so we can find all your hidden triggers and weaknesses. We need to know ‘em, ‘cuz ya got no chance in Hell of bein’ cleared to go on that kinda mission without us exhaustion’ every possibility. We gotta find ‘em, bust through ‘em, and teach ya ways to fix ‘em… with and without those shields of yours, Little Miss.”
I shake my head, “You know I can’t turn my mental shield on and off, Major. We tried that before, and I needed almost a week to recover from the backlash.”
He chuckles, “Human Bella tried that. I coulda sworn I heard more than once today that human Bella was dead. That means she ain’t you, now is she?”
I let out a breath, then nod, “That’s true. I’m not human any longer, and there’s a lot about vampire Bella that we don’t know yet.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m standing on one of the many training fields, squaring off against Char. Major is having Char mock attack me, to find out what I instinctually have as defensive skills. After 10 rounds of proving I can take down Char if she doesn’t counter when I find an opening, Major tells her, “Phase 2.”
I find out what phase 2 is when I find my next opening. I make my move to take her down, but Char counter-attacks. It throws me off for a split second, which has me flying back through the air. I twist and flip mid-air, landing perfectly as I eye Char, “Alright, I see you. Again.”
Officially, phase 2 is us full-out sparring. Funny enough, my physical shield lays calm and quiet underneath my skin, not sensing a threat in my sparring partner.
I can’t pinpoint exactly when, but at some point, Major takes Char’s place. I’m getting my ass handed to me pretty frequently, but as soon as it happens, Major is quick to show me exactly what I did wrong, then take me back through it so we can practice how to fix my mistake.
It doesn’t take me more than once or twice to absorb what Major’s teaching me, especially when I feel his breath against my neck. No, he’s not a threat to me right now, but at some point soon, that could be an enemy ready to take my head off. I understand the severity of the ordeal and really would rather keep my head attached.
I spin away from Major’s fist coming at my face, but in doing so, I spin too far. I feel Major’s boot to the back of my knee, and I hear the heel of my own boot break as my knee gives way. I spin back around and slug him in the gut, then growl, “What the fuck, Whitlock! I liked these boots!”
Dropping down, I pull them off, then frown at my right boot, the heel hanging on by only part of the sole. I huff, “Over 3 hours without destruction, Jasper! Three fucking hours! Do you know how hard it is to be a newborn and NOT break shit when you’re focused on whooping someone’s ass?”
He laughs outright, so I throw my boots at his head one at a time, “Fucker! You get to buy me new boots for that.”
He raises an eyebrow at me, then I look over to see Char’s fingers tapping double-time on her phone as she says, “Already done, Sug. They’ll be delivered to the castle within 48 hours.”
She looks up and gives me a triumphant smile; I can’t help but grin and laugh at the incredulous expression Major gives her, “Seriously?!”
She rolls her eyes and shrugs, “Ya know your ornery ass was gonna do it, and it’s not like I can forget the number, since ya handed it to me once already today.”
Major looks back to me, then states seriously, “Ya get the boots… this time. For future trainin’ sessions, let’s keep to workout clothes and sneakers. I don’t want ya focusin’ on whether or not you’re gonna break shit. Ya will… it happens to everyone, and it’ll happen to you. Your focus needs to be on your sparrin’ partner and keepin’ your weak spots protected like we went over.”
I nod while promising, “Of course, Major. No more boots. Keep my focus on the right things.”
After another 2 hours of training barefoot, I start to feel thirsty, so Caius calls a halt to training for the rest of the evening. We all head our separate ways, but I see Major and Dom talking as they head toward one of the other training fields meant for powers. I guess Major is about to make sure Dom is fit for the task ahead.