Defendants of Arun

Chapter 3

   Andret gripped the handle of the blade, twirling it with a smirk. It'd been three months since she'd been training with her brother, she was rarely home anymore. Andret grinned wider as Nori ran forward, holding the blade and Andret back flipped backwards, swinging the blade and clashing it with Nori's. Nori swung his blade and cut Andret's arm. She whimpered and let out a screech of pain, gripping the wound she screamed angrily and slashed the blade out with an angry growl. Nori grinned, his fangs being revealed.

"Nice swing sis... But keep your form, rest all of your weights on your hips and when you dodge you have to do it quicker." Nori nodded.

Andret growled, her bleeding wound continued to bleed out and she growled. Circling Nori with the blade in hand, her eyes narrowing, she leapt forward and swung the blade. It grazed the bridge of Nori's nose and he grinned softly, Andret growled and quickly ran in a zig zag pattern. Nori quickly noticed the pattern and swung to where Andret should've been, she had quickly changed course and swung her blade. The tip hit Nori's leg and caused him to fall face first into the dust, he stood up and smiled softly.

"Nice job Andret... Lets take a break and retaliate.." Nori spoke lightly.

Andret nodded and placed the blade into the sheath on her belt. "I'm not feeling the sword, I mean, I'm getting good at it.. But I can't be as mobile, a blade requires me to be closer to a target. I'd rather have a ranged weapon, so I can take a target by surprise.. The man who killed our mother wouldn't be expecting it.."

Nori nodded. "Alright.. I got something for you, follow me.." He grabbed Andret's hand and lead her to a place in the forest.

Andret growled and looked as a door that was poorly covered with leaves stood out on the ground.

"What is that?" Andret asked warily.

"A hideout, I found it a week after I got here.. I came here a few months ago, I watched what he did to you.. I saw you pulling the glass out of your arm.." Nori sighed, opening the hatch and helping Andret down. She let out a gasp as there were many weapons hanging on the wall, Andret walked forward in awe at a black bow that stood out from the rest. A black bow, no attachments. It was sleek and looked ready to shoot, Andret picked it up and grinned like a kid in a candy store.

"Teach me to shoot this.." She grinned and held the bow up.

"A bow? Why not an arccannon? Bows are much harder to shoot, one mistake and you could be killed.." Nori looked to his sister worriedly.

"I don't care.. I want to learn it.. Teach me.." She grinned and ran back out, grabbing the quiver of arrows and slinging it onto her back. She had used a bow before, but she was only a few years old. One of Hara's officers had taught her.

Andret placed an arrow into a drawstring and pulling the bowstring to her lips and grinning. She released the string and the arrow hit the corner of the target. Her grin faded and she sighed.

"This is gonna take a while.." She whispered and drew back another arrow, this one hit a few inches higher than the last. Andret continued this for nearly four hours.

Nori erupted from the hideout and sighed, running a hand through his white hair. "Andret.. It's sundown, come inside and rest.. We'll work more on it tomorrow.."

Andret shook her head and growled. "Nighttime didn't stop our mother's killer from chopping her head off infront of her 11 year old daughter!" She drew back an arrow and it hit a few inches from the bullseye. Her eyes widened and Nori shook his head.

"Andret.. Rest."

"No.. I need to train endlessly! If I want to catch this guy I have to-"

"You need to rest... Andret, your going to tear yourself apart if you go on like this. We'll start early in the morning okay? I promise.." Nori smiled and she nodded reluctantly.

"Alright..." Andret walked up and pulled all of the arrows out of the target and put them back into the quiver. She climbed down the ladder and locked the hatch of the hideout.

The scent of food filled her nose. She grinned. "You made pigling?!"

"Yes, I did.. While you were busy training, I was cooking us dinner.." Nori smiled and handed a plate of the meat to Andret. She took it gratefully and ate it greedily.

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted!" She grinned ear to ear. "So, what's the plan once I'm trained?"

Nori sighed. "Once your trained, I will help you remember what he looked like. What his voice was like.. What sword he used. These all could help us find who killed our mother.."

Andret nodded softly. She'd waited three years for this. Since she was 12 she kept all of her hatred and feelings inside. For the first time in a long time, Andret burned with vengence and hatred. She was ready to put an arrow into the man's heart.