Hello all.
This chapter hasn't been edited, like at all, so ignore all mistake, as I fear there will be a few.
Saying that, enjoy!
A-A
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A week has already past since Sang had arrived, and in that time she had gotten to know the men, her guards, a lot more. And with each passing day, she has found that she want nothing more than to be in their company.
Evana's words on that first night on how she was exactly what they needed, I think she was mistaken; it was more the other way round. They were what she needed. They grounded her in a way that she never thought possible, and it was either from their quick humour, their devilish tricks, or just their friendly conversation. But she was finding it harder every day to see them as just her guards, but more as her friends.
Every night, Dakota, Nathan, Luke and Gabriel share a meal with herself, and will stay up until the late hours just conversing. In the morning, North, Silas, Sean and the Captain make sure she had a fitting breakfast, and Sang had a feeling it was North who organised all this, to make sure she was eating.
At lunch the Prince would come from whatever business he was attending to, just to have lunch with her. The man that she once thought as arrogant and a snob was actually one of the kindest men she was to ever meet. Every day he would bring her a present, even if it was just a flower from the garden, and he would woo her, until she blushed from his words.
The training was well under way, and Sang believed that she was well on her way to getting back to the way she use to be, but that was still a long way off.
For the first time in her life, Sang learnt to trust someone, or someone's, and she couldn't help waking up that morning, on the first day of the second week, with a smile, welcoming the day and all it had to bring.
But if only she knew that today, Owen was going to change all that.
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"Miss Sang are you going to the ball tonight?" Sang finishing the last of her pull-ups on the beam above the bed, scrunched her face in confusion, looking over at Evana.
Ever since Evana found out she was rising earlier and earlier every day, she would arrive just as Sang was waking up. Sang told her it was unnecessary for her to be up so early just to watch her work out, but she insisted on being there for her, to help her in any way, even if it was to bring her a glass of water.
"What ball?"
"Why the ball that is introducing all the champions of course." She smiles and shakes her head. "Of course your going, how could you not, you are one of the Champions as well."
"But I don't have a dress or anything. Are you sure I am invited?" Exercising long since forgotten, Sang stares at the wall towards where the guards would be posted, almost as if she could see through it.
"Oh dear, of course. I'll organise one for you today shall I. Now what colour should we dress you in? All the ladies will be dressed in white or a light silver as it is the Princes favourite colours, but lets not be like all the other ladies, how about a blue, or wait. What's your favourite colour?"
Sang went to answer with her answer as pink, but she quickly shut her mouth and frowned. If what Evana says is true and there is a ball tonight, then she will not be going in there looking like a pink Barbie doll. No, she wants to make an impression, and what other colour to say it then in black, maybe with a hint of silver for the Prince.
"I want a black dress with silver trimmings through it. Do you think you could find one like that before tonight?"
"Very bold instead miss. Are you sure you would like to go with that. What's that saying about surprising your enemy?"
"I have no idea, but feel free to indulge me." Sang plonks back onto the bed, covering her face with her arm.
"I can't quite remember it, but it goes something like, 'the best way to surprise your enemy, is from the one person they would least expect'. I don't know if that's right or not, but you get what I'm saying. I think you need to go with the sweat and innocence's approach, hide your true potential and surprise them when the time comes for it."
Thinking over Evana's words of wisdom she can't help but think how smart they actually are. They stay in the background never to be seen, but they see and hear everything and learn so much more.
"Evana, can we keep this between ourselves for now?" Sang glances away, not able to meet her eyes. "I want them to bring it up first, I want to know if I'm invited or not. I don't know... I don't know, I just need to hear it from them."
"I get it, I do. I watch you all over the last week, and with the amount of time you have all been spending together, you have become to finally trust each other. If they don't invite you to this ball than that trust you all had in each other, will be fractured, and tell me if I'm wrong, but you don't trust easily, and to gain it back once broken is much harder to do than it was the first time."
"Do you think me silly, I mean it is just a ball?" Sang never thought she would be one of those girls, striving for the approval of others, always doing everything for herself and none other. But something about them made her want to be better, to prove herself capable of their approval.
"Not at all Miss. I don't even think it is the ball in general you want to go to, it's the chance to be invited, to be seen, and not kept hidden away in her tower. The fact that they want to keep you quite may be of two things. One, they don't trust you enough to be surrounded by the royals, or two, they want to keep you secret for themselves, more on a selfish level than anything else."
Sighing to her self, Sang jumps up from the bed and walks over to the closet. "I want to explore today Evana. I've been here a week and all I have seen is the training grounds and the forest."
"Of course Miss, I'll let the others now of your plans. Do you intent to wear a dress today? If you are not going to wear white or silver tonight, why don't you wear it today? I know I have placed a few in there knowing that it is the Princes favourite colour."
Evana walks over and start shuffling through the dresses and finds a beautiful off white dress at the top, and the closer the ground it gets, turns into silver. It is quite beautiful and she can't remember seeing something so pretty before.
Half an hour later, fully dressed, corset and all, hair pulled up with soft curls floating down around her face, Sang was just sitting down to breakfast when the Captain, Silas, North and Sean all walked in. After looking up to meet their gaze, the smile instantly is dropped from her face as they all stare at her frozen in shock.
Looking down at herself, she wonders maybe this isn't nice after all, and thinks herself silly for playing dress up.
"Is it horrible? I can go change." They still haven't said anything, so she jumped up and started to make her way towards the bedroom.
A hand grabbing her arm has her stopping short of her escape. She doesn't look up, to embarrassed to see their looks of disdain.
"Miss Sang, please look at me." Owen stands to her side, and she can feel his heavy gaze on upon her. "Please."
Slowly taking a deep breath, she looks up to meet his eyes. What she sees is a man looking at her with sympathy, and anger, but there is almost a hint of what she would call awe.
"You must forgive us of our poor response Miss, it was never our intention to make you feel uncomfortable. We were not expecting you to look so..." He looks away as if trying to search for the correct word.
"Beautiful." The response comes from Sean and she look over to see them all smiling and nodding their head in agreement to Sean's assessment of her.
Blushing she looks down again. "So it's not stupid then?"
"There is absolutely nothing stupid about you or the dress. But I must ask, why the dress? It will be hard for you to train in it?"
"Actually I want a day of. All I have done since I've been here is train. I want to explore, see what I'm missing out on."
"No." His answer short and sharp.
"What? What do you mean no?"
"It's not the time to stop your training so you can have a day off, it's not time to get lazy." The Captain lets go of her and steps back crossing his arms over his chest.
"A day off? Lazy? I haven't had a day off in over a year. I had to fight hard every damn day to be able to make it through to the next. I only wanted one day, not a week, what is so wrong with that?"
"Because you only have three weeks before this competition starts, and that one day off can mean everything in the long run. So no, I will not let you have a day off to play tourist."
Sang turns from him trying to fight the tears that are threatening to break.
"What's the real reason you don't want me out there?"
"I don't know what you mean?"
"Are you ashamed of me, is that it? The girl from the Slave Mines, that has no right to be staying here. That she should be back where she comes from, or better yet dead." By this stage she was yelling, the tears finally breaking free.
The Captain just looks the other way not even bothering to deny the claims.
"Oh my God. You do?" The sadness she had been feeling was know over run by anger and the feeling of her heart breaking. Sang pushes past the Captain and the others, opening the door and pointing outside. "Get out." None of them move, but she doesn't glance at them, to afraid to meet their gazes. "NOW."
They finally move towards the door, she steps back so they don't touch her.
"Miss Sorenson, I know you hate me know, but I'm only doing this to protect you."
"I don't want protection Owen, I don't want to be a prison anymore, but it doesn't matter what I wont, it never has and it never will, and being a women helps you in your judgement of me."
"Sang, being a women in these times is dangerous, you aren't ready to face it out there yet, and I'm sorry for wanting to make sure you are at your full capability before you do."
"It is difficult for a woman in this time to voice her opinion when it is males who make it their will for women to be silenced. Sometimes great opportunities are right in front of us, but sometimes we just don't see it because we don't want to, or are afraid to except it for what it could, or can be." She passionately says, almost begging.
Owen turns from her, running his hands through his hair in agitation. "You live a life of make belief. The world is a dangerous place for a women and I will not have you gallivanting around as if you are indestructible."
"If all I have are my belief then at least I have something worth fighting for. What do you fight for if not for the reason to live?" The tears she had been holding back are now streaming down her face.
"I live to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and if I have to, then I will protect them against their own stupidity, then so be it. There are only a few people I care about in this world, and if it means you hating me, then I will not apologies for that." He is so close to her now, she can feel his breath mingling with her own.
"You have lived a life only believing in what you see and know, and for that I do not blame you. But so help me God, if you put me in a bubble to protect your own sanity, then I will not be held responsible for my own actions. I am not a delicate flower that must be sheltered, I am strong, and one day you will come to see that." Sang can feel her temper snapping.
"Do you not think I already see that? It's because of your own strength, inside and out; that I fear for the repercussions that will occur if you are not careful. These women are not to be trifled with; they are just as dangerous as you, if not more so." Sang can't help but laugh at this. What does this man know of her, he has had just over a week with her, and he thinks he knows everything.
"I have lived twenty-one years of my life alone, no one to protect me, no one to shelter me, and no one that I could ever trust. You and your man are the first I have ever come close to being part of the small amount of myself that I can give. Do not break what trust I have in you by doing this Owen."
Owen just shakes his head in disappointment, and takes a step back "I'm sorry Sang; I can't get past my own fears on this. You are to stay here under the watchful eyes of the guards. It's not that I don't trust you Sang, I just don't trust what is out there more.
"I will not cower in the shadows waiting for death." She all but screams at him.
"And I will not have you out there seeking it either. This conversation is over, I will have no more discussion on this and that is final." The Captain turns away and walks out the door without a backwards glance.