BLAZE

TRAINING GROUNDS

Abria

As the sun started to rise in the blue sky, the cottony clouds were moving as fast as they could along with the force of the wind. The partly conflicted clouds looked nothing appealing but they definitely carried a sort of vengeance in them. They wanted to pour it down somewhere. I was envious of the cloud because, at least they can put it somewhere but I have nowhere to pour my anger.

The dew in the morning spread on the green grass as the shining transparent pearls placed gently on a delicate surface on the velvet. The fog around the palace was scattered like a cover sheet of mist, enveloping it like a protective barrier. The nature around this place is possessive of its roots. It will never let it down, and never let it go out of control.

The screaming Ravens were sitting at the top of the legendary clock tower. Running away from it when the sunlight shines on the top of the tower. The blinding rays hit the most intricate corner of this place. Everything seemed like a new normal day.

I was watching everything from the balcony of my room, and I wondered why I did not try to run away. Well, there is no way I can outrun them. Even if I wanted to leave this hell forever, I have the intention of making them suffer along my side. Next, I can't pretend to like this place when I hate it so much. I have a reason to stay here and that will be enough. I closed my eyes and let the memories scrap my wound to bleed it. I wanted to feel the pain to make others feel it too.

Since the day has begun, I have had this strange feeling of autocracy around the boundaries of this place. Of course, there is no doubt that the queen has the hold of everything… so, what does it mean that my father and queen were together when they conceived me, but at the same time, my mother was hoeing around another man to conceive Dwyn? Uhhh… this is so complicated… I don't even want to start it again when I have plenty of work to do.

Without wasting more time, I have to start collecting clues about Carmen. And for that, I need someone by my side who will guide me to my destination...

I recalled Dwyn's offer about getting trained with them. Though I am least bothered to know about the offer, but to formulate a plan to destroy this place, I have to go deepers to the roots. And the only way to find more information about this place is to be friends with the prince's here. The knowledge I can gather from them is emerging and it will be beneficial for my strategy. So, now i have incremented my plan into short goals and it will not only ease me to get to my mentor but to get to know the weakness of the queen as well.

I was smiling internally thinking about my perfect plan when there was a knock on my door. I rolled my eyes and went up to open it. No surprise that Dwyn was standing there and he frowned after noticing me from Head to toe.

"Why aren't you ready yet? Don't you want to get trained with us?" He was yelling at me. What the hell is wrong with him? The way he just acted all the way.

"I haven't thought about it yet…" I scrolled my eyes at him.

"Are you serious? You said you will train with us and I have talked to our mentor as well. Now you can't just say no like that…" he was mad, really mad.

"I did not say anything like that, apart from that, it's a sunny day so i want to relax a bit…" I went back to the balcony and bathed under the sun.

Dwyn followed me to the balcony and leaned on the doorframe, while his eyes were set on me, "You said that you get bored around here and need something to kill your boredom… that's why I suggested the best plan to you, now you are just rejecting me?"

"Well, I can… but okay… I will come with you to the training ground but if I do not like it anyhow, I won't get trained there and there is no option for staying a bit. No matter how much you say or try to force it, I won't." I was glaring at him.

"Fine… now get ready…" he nodded his head.

"Ready like what?" I scrunched my brows at him.

He looked at me with a surprise, "where is your training suit?" He asked with furrowed brows.

I looked at myself in the mirror and asked him, "this tracksuit won't work?" It was really a stupid question but still..

"No… I guess you don't have any.. just leave it.. and follow me to the grounds.." he suggested and i sighed deeply before stepping out with him.

This whole damn place appears as a labyrinth. No wonder what route you take, you will end up in a dead end. So many turns and stairs, it will confuse me too much. Sometimes, I really consider having a small house like one we had in Vancouver… I laughed internally at the fact that I was living in a hut… now I think it was the best place to live. Maybe, I feel this way because I haven't been raised in this palace.

I was curious to know what life would be like if I had been raised here instead of Vancouver…

Glad I was following Dwyn blinding because I was lost in my thoughts and totally forgot about reaching the training grounds. I was curious to see this place… I need to know what strategies they imply, what kind of weapons they use… this information will be useful to me.

As soon as we stepped on the bare ground, I noticed the area was occupied by men, mostly. There were hardly twenty percent females which was really a shame. It was a disgrace to see that discrimination still persist in a place like this.. a place where a woman is a ruler.

"Why are there so few women here?" I asked Dwyn.

He was shocked by my question but replied calmly, "that one is tricky but most of the girls are afraid to get trained. Most of the female trainees here are coming from the village to get trained and to serve in the army."

"But still it did not clarify my query.. and where are the female residents of this palace. Aren't there many royal ladies living here?" I objected to the residential females around the place.

"They are not interested or you can say they don't want to leave their comfort zone. They are happy the way they are now… women are allowed to join armies but no one can force them to join, unless it's their decision…" he said while pressing his lips in a flat line.

"Oh.. the royals have their moods about everything…" I rolled my eyes internally.

"Did you say anything?" He asked me

"Nothing…How good is your queen in battle grounds?" I asked randomly.

He thought for a while before replying to me, "Mom has killed one of the most ferocious enemies of the land in a war… I have seen her training other females and sometimes us too, but what I have heard from the folks is that she was a real goddess on the battlefield.. I hope I will get to see her fight like that again." He was admiring his mother's actions.

Oh dear, you have no idea that your wish will be granted soon. I too would like to see the ice queen in action, whether a battlefield of war or love?

"So, are you excited?" He seemed much more excited than me.

"Yeah!!" I said in a monotonous voice.

Giving me a thumbs up, he ran to his friends and discussed something. I sighed and started to observe my surroundings, then something caught my attention. one of them was familiar, that was the son of the hot redhead… but I don't remember his name. The last time we met was in Vancouver when he approached me but now, it’s been a while and i really don’t know if things are the same as they were?

He was lifting some weights to time up that body. Dwyn was back and gestured to me to follow him. He introduced me to his team. They all were looking at me like if they have seen an alien on earth. They had these gleaming expressions on their faces that were amusing to me. I wish I could have a laugh so good.

Well, it wasn't that bad as I thought and I wondered if something more interesting could happen.

But that red-haired prince kept his eyes on me. The last time we talked, I remembered he was different to me but today, the way he looked at me. He was glaring at me if I had snatched something precious from him.