Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Training Begins

Once she was through with the laps, her run was barely above a walk and her breathing was heavy and ragged. She stopped running as soon as she passed the threshold into the training room and she knelt down, filling her chest with air.

"Up," Theo said and grabbed something off the wall. Ava didn't move and Theo walked over and kicked her lightly, "Come on, Red. Up."

Ava looked up at Theo who had two long wooden poles in her hand, "Can I have a second to breathe?"

"Afraid not," Theo tossed one of the sticks to the ground, "Grab it."

Ava grabbed the pole and used it to help herself get up. No sooner was she up did Theo strike her with the pole. Ava ducked instinctively and her mouth dropped, "What the fuck, Theo."

Theo held each hand on an opposite side of the stick and Ava took her lead, positioning her hands so the pole acted as a bar she could raise to block hits. Theo struck again, turning her stick to hit from another angle. This time Ava was expecting it and she brought up her stick to block it. Theo was much stronger than her and Ava could only keep the position for a few seconds before stepping back. Theo unleashed a series of moves, one hit after the other, and Ava could do nothing but weakly block them and take a step back with each hit. Ava was inches from hitting the wall when Theo stopped and backed away.

"You need to fight back Ava," Theo said, "defense will only get you so far."

"You didn't let me recover before you attacked me," Ava dropped the stick and put her hands on her knees again trying to catch her breath. It felt as if she hadn't had a proper chance to breathe since she was first sent on laps.

"You won't get a chance to just stop and relax when you are fighting. If you are on the vanguard you have to be able to fight during any condition. Exhausted, barely woken up, rainy, sunny, windy, with an injury, after running for two hours," Theo kept listing.

"I get it," Ava said and waved her hand to get Theo to stop. Ava's frustration with the Captain was higher than it had ever been. She had been doing everything Theo had told her for so long and Theo hadn't even given her credit for doing a good job or trying. If Theo wanted a fight, she would get a fight.

Ava picked up the stick as quickly as she could and charged towards Theo. She brought down the stick to attack but Theo was ready to block and brought up her pole to block Ava's. The wood collided with a loud clack and Theo easily pushed Ava back with a thrust of her pole. Ava brought it down again, using all the strength she had in her to make sure the hit gave Theo a little bit of trouble. It didn't.

Not only was Theo able to block it with ease, but she also pushed Ava's pole away with her own and the force was enough to send Ava tumbling back. Ava, too tired to catch herself on time, fell on her ass. Theo's stern face did not waver but she did come over to help Ava up. Ava took the hand that was offered to her and stood up.

"Take a water break," Theo said, "We'll continue when you get back."

Ava's legs gave out the second she heard Theo's command. There was no point in being helped up because she found a home on the floor. She let her lungs fill with precious air. Her whole body was tingling, from her fingertips to her toes. Oxygen trying to reach every blood vessel inside of her. She heard Theo laugh and a smile came to Ava's face. As exhausted and annoyed as she was, Theo's laugh was always infectious. She felt something fall on her stomach and looking down she found a pouch of water. Theo was hovering above her.

"You good?" Theo asked.

"Oh so you do care," Ava quipped and sat up, taking large sips of water.

"I'm harsh with you because that is the way I train. Being on the vanguard doesn't just mean you protect the ship when raids happen. You are the first over the ship when we board others, you are the first on the ground when we do land missions, you are at the forefront of danger at all times and you need to be prepared. If you want to be on the vanguard you need to prepare for the test and this is how it is done," Theo squatted down next to Ava and grabbed some of the water, and took a sip.