The Promise of the Dawn

Chapter Six: Seduction

The following morning came quickly, with a freezing cold breeze rippling through the room and an abrupt knock at the door of my room. 

I wake up with a startle, covering myself by wrapping my arms around myself. I'd fallen asleep in only my underclothes, because I didn't have anything fit to wear to bed.

I wrap the sheet provided with the mattress around the upper half of my body, standing up and starting towards the door, all the while trying not to trip on the loose sheet. I eventually make it to the door and open it, peering out into the hallway which is seemingly empty.

My eyes eventually land on a neat pile of clothing that sits right outside my door, with a small piece of paper set atop it. I bend down to pick up the stack, also trying not to drop the sheet, which proves to be harder than I originally imagined, but I end up successful anyway, closing the door and releasing a sigh of relief when I'm once again in the safety of my own bedroom.

"Hey! Quiet over there!" I hear a voice yell from the room next to me.

I startle at the sound, dropping both my sheet and the stack of clothing on accident, then cursing under my breath and bending down to pick up the uniform, which is now spread out over the floor.

Note to self: Close the door quietly.

I pick up the part of the outfit that's closest to me first, holding it up to look at it more closely. It's the same uniform as I'd seen on the others, but mine seems to be a more flattering cut. I gather up the rest of the uniform and come across the slip of paper that had once rested atop it. I pick it up off the ground after folding my uniform and placing it neatly on my bed.

Upon closer inspection, I notice the days of the week, and times next to them, so I can only assume this was the training schedule Cael had mentioned. I run my finger over the writing for today's day of the week and slide it over to the time training is supposed to begin, suddenly realizing training starts in less than twenty minutes. I curse under my breath, quickly gathering the dropped sheet and throwing it onto my bed, then pulling on my uniform as quickly as possible without tearing the thin fabric.

I grab a hair tie from my top dresser drawer, which I loaded with my things last night, quickly pulling on my shoes and opening my door. I pull my hair into a messy ponytail as I exit my room, starting off down the hallway while still fiddling with it, then I'm off to my first day of training.

What a great start to my first day.

I hurry down the path through the barrack buildings, up towards the Estate, breathing heavily as I set myself into a light jog in order to make it to the training grounds on time. People have already gathered within the field as I enter, and I keel over a bit when I arrive, panting from my jog as people stare at my probably horrendous hairdo, which must've only gotten worse during my jog.

"Looks like someone needs to work on their cardio" One of the guys says to his friend as I arrive.

I point to myself with a surprised face.

"Me? Are you talking about me? Well, at least my pants don't sag below my waistline" I reply, judgmentally looking at the guy's sagging pants and setting off snickers through the crowd as he looks down and fixes his pants.

"What's going on here?" The voice of the Duke echoes through all the snickers.

The crowd parts as the Duke walks up to me, looking me up and down.

"Already causing trouble on your first day, newbie?" The Duke asks me.

"To be fair, he did start it" I reply, refusing to be shaken by the Duke's stern voice.