Hunter's Revenge

1. Small Win

Attention

Hunter's Revenge is the sequel to the book 'The Mark'. It is highly recommended to read this after reading 'The Mark' for better understanding. Hunter's Revenge can be read as a stand-alone book, but I do not recommend it. I will not be providing insight to characters from 'The Mark'. So in order to properly enjoy the reading experience, I recommend not reading Hunter's Revenge without reading 'The Mark' first. I promise you won't regret reading it.

Hunter's Revenge depicts the life of the Stone Princess. Sienna was born with a debilitating lung disorder that made he different from her peers. Her family is extremely overprotective of her, making her rebel. Sienna is tired of her life in the Stone Castle and wishes to be set free. Sienna will soon learn to realize that perhaps she took her sheltered life for granted when her life takes a sudden turn. It's true what they say. One event can change the trajectory of your life forever. What will Sienna do? Will she cope with the events life decides to throw at her? Or will she run back to the safety of her family?

*Note: Hunter's Revenge begins when Sienna is eighteen years old. (Keep that in mind when reading.)

.......

...Three Years Later...

...Sienna POV...

"JAB!"

"JAB!"

"DODGE RIGHT!"

"JAB!"

"DODGE LEFT!"

"UPPER CUT!"

"DODGE RIGHT!"

"BACK KICK!"

"DODGE LEFT!"

"JAB!"

"JAB!"

"JAB!"

"COME ON, SIENNA! MOVE!" Zander shouts as I continue to train with them. We've been training for the past three hours, and I feel myself growing tired.

Kieran raises his left hand, so I shift to block his move, only to realize that I fell into his trap. A hard punch to the gut makes me collapse to the ground in a heap.

"SIENNA!" The twins shout, running to my aid.

I close my eyes as I try to steady my breathing. My lungs are burning like none other. It feels as though they're on fire. I try to get my breath back, only for it not to come. My eyes begin to water as my face reddens.

"SH*T! SIENNA!" I hear Kieran yell, coming to my aid.

"ZANDER! Grab her inhaler!" Kieran shouts. I know the inhaler will help, but I've been training for this. I shouldn't need it anymore. I just need to control my breathing. In.. Out... In... Out... however, nothing seems to be working.

"Sienna! Open your mouth!" Zander shouts, trying to insert my inhaler into my mouth. However, I push him away, trying to gather my breathing myself.

"Sienna! This isn't the time! Just take the inhaler!" Kieran shouts, getting angry with me.

I close my eyes and try to focus. I do everything I've learned over the years. I hear Zander shuffle around the room before I feel a cool sensation on my forehead.

Inhale for three... Exhale for five... In through my nose... Out through my mouth... After a few more attempts, I feel the air begin to fill my lungs.

Once my breathing begins to regulate, Kieran helps me sit up, leaning my back against his chest. I feel my nerves begin to calm. The twins, however, seem to only get more and more agitated.

"Sienna! What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you just take your inhaler?" Zander shouts at me, frustrated. I know they're not mad at me, but just worried that something could've happened to me. Even though we've been over this a million times, they still act as though this is our first time. Because of my lung condition, everyone treats me as if I'm made of glass, and I absolutely hate it. I hated how when I was a kid, I was forced to sit out from any strenuous activities. Everyone was worried that my lungs could give out at any time. So they felt it was best to keep me away from activities that could be detrimental to my health. However, the more they held me back, the more I wanted to participate. I hated being held back. So I decided to take it upon myself. I wanted to learn how to protect myself, but mostly, I wanted to learn to live with my condition without it being a handicap.

I knew I had to keep my activities away from my parents, especially my dad, as he was the most overprotective of me. I was his princess. A role I loved but also resented at the same time. I wanted to be more like my brothers. Nothing ever stood in the way of their dreams.

When I first started studying martial arts, I realized that there were so many methods. While they were all different, they all shared one common goal. Control. Control over oneself and movements. Many forms of martial arts, such as Karate and Aikido, were designed to focus your energy on attacks and gain your centre. Aikido focuses on using strength and energy to disarm an opponent. Aikido was one of the first styles of martial arts I learned. My brothers are experts in many forms of Martial arts such as Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, and Krav Maga.

"Sienna?" Zander calls out, making me realize I spaced out. Kieran helps me to my feet as I regain my composure.

"Guys. I'm ok." I say, brushing myself off.

"But you weren't. Why didn't you just take your inhaler?"

"I didn't want to. You know how much I hate relying on it. What would happen if I didn't have access to it? I can't be reliant on it."

"True. But you're not just anyone. You have the inhaler for a reason. If you don't take your inhaler on time, you could die! Do you not understand that?!" Kieran shouts, getting irritated with me.

"Kieran..." Zander chastises, but Zander simply waves him off.

"No, Zander. I'm not letting this go. She was being reckless! She could've... I almost..." Kieran says, nearly sobbing.

I walk over to my brother and hug him. I can see he's just worried about me. A role I'm only too aware of. Everyone calls me the Stone Princess because, to everyone else, including my family, I'm fragile.

"Kieran. It's ok." I say, holding him tight.

"No, Makenna. It's not ok." Kieran says, looking at me. Makenna is the nickname the twins gave me back when we were kids. They had difficulties saying my full name Sienna Makayla, so they would call me Makenna instead. It was a fun version of both the names, so I never minded.

"I'm sorry I worried you guys. But I needed to do this for myself. We've been training for years. Because of the training, I haven't needed my inhaler as often. Look. Just now, for the first time, I managed to control my breathing by myself. I didn't even need it!" I say, overjoyed. I was so proud of myself.

Kieran was the first to join in on my celebration, to my surprise.

"We're so proud of you. You know that. I'm glad you were able to do it yourself. But please don't be so reckless next time. I don't know what I would do if something actually happened to you." Kieran responds.

I nod my head and hug him again. Zander is quick to join in on our hug. After a moment, we step away from each other.

"I know you don't like it. But next time, can you let me try to do it myself. I know I can use the inhaler, and I know you won't waste a second to give it to me. But can we please work together, so I don't have to take it?" I plead with them, dropping my attitude to be genuine with them for a moment.

The twins look at each other, silently communicating with each other. After a while, I see Kieran sigh and Zander nod.

"Yes. So long as you promise that if we ask you to take the inhaler, you'll do it."

"But.."

"No... there's no buts. What do you think mom or dad would say if they knew we were letting you train without your inhaler?" Kieran retorts.

"You wouldn't..."

"Don't give us a reason to, and we have an understanding." Zander remarks.

I huff out in frustration, regretting it immediately as I feel my lungs burn once again. I nod my head and take my gloves off. I walk out of the training room and head to my room.