Telling our parents that we were willing to do what everyone wanted wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. I thought they'd be thrilled we were doing it but I was so very wrong. They had been talking all night and realised they didn't know what their children were getting into. The minute we told them our decision, they began shaking their heads in disagreement and their expressions were less than happy.
We met with them in the dining room for breakfast, everything had already been served by the time the five of us arrived, together. We sat down in unison next to the parents and explained that we'd agreed to do what we must to help this world. They shared guarded glances and my parents looked at me with worry.
"We have been talking and we are not sure you all should be doing this. You were correct in what you said last night, we know nothing about what you will have to do and we do not want to lose you to Riltresik and his Dark forces."
I wanted to scream in frustration at the turn around, they had been going on since we'd arrived about us saving this world and now they didn't want us to do it?
"You're kidding, right? You've been talking about it non-stop since we got here and now you've changed your minds when we've already committed ourselves to doing it?" Emy asked and I could hear just as much frustration in her voice as I felt inside.
Alacor shifted in his seat, "Now that we have you here and our memories are fully restored, we know how bad things were before. We do not want you to have to go through those things, much less purposely put you in harms way."
The other parents nodded at his words and I had this unusual urge to throw a piece of toast at each of them.
"We've talked it through though, last night and this morning, in great length and as you said before it is our decision to make. It's scary and unfair to ask this of five young adults but you asked and we've replied. We'll be as careful as we can and watch each other's backs. If we don't do this, then we're in harms way anyway when the rampage of bad guys comes through... if they don't kidnap us first. It's decided now and we're not going back on it, I'm sorry if it worries you but you've got plenty of time to get used to it... how long is a season, anyway?"
I finished nonchalantly and reached for some of the toast that was somehow still hot on the platter in front of me. I hadn't felt that confident in a long time but after speaking with the others that morning about our decision, I knew we were doing the right thing. They all looked at me with the same agreeable smile and reached for their own breakfast.
"It covers around three months usually, it just depends on the weather from year to year," Kayle responded with a smirk, pouring himself some oat-like cereal.
It was another few minutes and a shared look between the parents before all four of them smiled widely. I had to wonder if they'd become slightly unbalanced since coming back here.
"It is wonderful to hear that you all feel this way, I had hoped you wouldn't bow down to our little ruse."
I blinked back surprise at my mum's words, for starters it didn't sound anything like her but mostly I couldn't believe exactly what she had said.
Emy raised her brow, "You mean you were pretending to not like that we had decided to do it?"
The four of them nodded.
"Of course, we had to make sure you came to this decision fully, of your own volition, with no pressure from us and that you were sure even if we weren't. It was the only way for us to know if you really wanted to do this, and now we know that you do." Colensa said it all with a very wide smile, mostly aimed at Emy which she didn't return.
Kaleb was the one to shake his head now, "And what would have happened if Emily and Cassandra had decided to say no, once they heard you were not confident?"
The parents exchanged yet another glance and my dad eventually turned to Kaleb.
"We were pretty sure we knew our daughters, they would not want anyone to get hurt if they could do something to stop it. But if they had decided not to, we would have sent them back to the world they know with the three of you, and hoped you would all be safe from Riltresik over there."
I was stunned, they had thought through every outcome of the situation, and part of my surprise was hearing that going back to our world was actually an option. But even as I thought about it, I knew I'd never leave my parents to fend off an army of those Dark things. I peered at the others and I knew they'd have never left with us either.
"Going back does sound good, but we've made our decision and we meant it, we'll learn to fight and live here, and hopefully be able to get rid of your bad guy." Emy stated but then a strange look crossed her face, "I have a question for after that, for when we win."
The parents raised their brows and Kayle chuckled, "I like the when part of the sentence."
Blaike, Kaleb and I grinned but the parents looked serious, Alacor leaned forward a little.
"What is it, dear?"
Emy tilted her head, she seemed to be composing the right way to ask her question.
"What happens when we've beaten this Riltres- guy? What do we do after that? I know Merkell said something about the stars but I want to know what actually happens to us?"
I raised my brows, that was an interesting question but the parents didn't seem to understand.
"What do you mean, what happens to you?"
Emy sighed, "What happens? Do we stay here and make a life for ourselves or will there be an option to go home?"
I turned quickly to see my mum and Emy's, frown deeply and both dad's sighed- they still disliked that we didn't consider this place home. I couldn't help but wonder how we would feel about it by the time this whole situation was over, if we were still alive by then.
The parents seemed to be thinking along the same lines I was, Colensa leaned forward to rest her hands on the table.
She looked at us with a forlorn expression, "I think we should cross that bridge when we arrive at it, but as with everything else, it will be your decision to make."
The conversation left everyone silent, nibbling at their breakfast. They'd realised we were committed to something that may take our lives, and the rest of this world right along with it. I was about to excuse myself from the dreary meal when someone walked in from the direction of the hallway. A man dressed in dark leggings, shirt and a strange, brown fur waistcoat, he looked middle aged and was stockily built.
He walked up to the parents and handed them a piece of what looked like paper; it was different to what we were used to but also different to the material Merkell had received his message on. The stranger walked out without another word and didn't look at anyone in the room as he left. I would have found that rude but nobody else seemed to have noticed. The parents opened the paper and read it together, in silence, I watched their expressions turn from sombre to delighted.
"Nearly every instructor we have requested has agreed to help us. Your first lessons will start today," my mum explained in a cheerful voice.
"I would eat as much as you can, you are going to need your strength," Colensa added with a smile, but I shared a frown with Emy.
"What exactly are we doing today?" I asked as I picked up another slice of toast, the mood around the table was unreadable now.
"Today, you will be learning how to fight with your fists, everyone in Nentarli knows some basic fighting techniques, it is essential," my dad explained this so proudly.
I thought it was a great idea for people to know how to defend themselves on a basic level. Training with my dad every once in a while at his gym had been fun but I had a feeling this would be very different.
He must have been able to guess what I was thinking, "It will be extremely different to sparring in the gym, Cassie. You will have to learn technique, stance, position, power play, not to mention actually having an opponent that will fight back, to win."
I knew we would have to do things like this but hearing it laid out like that was a lot to take in so soon. It sounded interesting but kind of overwhelming; a feeling I seemed to be getting too used to.
Blaike chimed in and disturbed my thoughts, "But as we said last night, we do not need training in this area, we are well versed in all areas of hand to hand combat."
Alacor and my dad smiled enigmatically at him and then Kaleb, "We know that all too well, that is why you and Kaleb will be the instructors training Emily and Cassandra on how to fight, if you accept."
They looked extremely pleased with their decision but Blaike and Kaleb looked horrified, and I felt like the bottom of my stomach had fallen out.
The only person who didn't seem fazed by this announcement was Kayle. He sat back in his seat with the bowl of cereal perched on his chest.
Emy turned on him when he chuckled, "Why is this funny?"
Kayle shrugged a shoulder, "Because it isn't as though they can really say no... and besides, you four do not seem to see the sense it makes. By now you are supposed to be in tune with each other to fight Riltresik, but you've been separated this whole time. Training together will make you more of a cohesive unit, making you stronger and with me overseeing it, we will be a force to be reckoned with by the time we are finished."
Colensa cleared her throat then and gestured for Kayle to sit properly, he did so but Colensa wasn't finished with him.
"I think you have misunderstood the situation, Kayle. You will also be learning what Kaleb and Blaike have to teach."
Kayle looked dumbstruck as he placed his bowl on the table. Blaike and Kaleb smirked but Colensa waved a finger at them.
"Do not get ahead of yourselves, the tables will be turned when you reach the Long-Arm section of training and Kayle is your instructor."
That definitely turned the tide on the three guys' gloating, the parents were happy that things had been explained properly and everyone went back to their breakfasts. I didn't bother to ask what Colensa meant by 'long arm section', I knew we'd find out eventually and we had more pressing things happening much sooner.
I didn't know how long it would be until we'd begin learning to fight with Blaike and Kaleb. I had no idea how that would go but if the thumb war was anything to go by, it could be quite awkward and surprisingly competitive. Blaike and Kaleb stood up after they'd finished eating, I was almost tempted to stand up with them just to see their reaction but I thought better of it after seeing the looks on their faces.
Kaleb was more serious than I'd ever seen him. "We must leave and prepare for the lessons we are now apparently in charge of. We will see you in two hours from now."
"Don't we need to bring anything with us, like padding?" Emy asked with the tiniest of smiles.
"No, you just need to bring yourselves," Blaike answered flatly and then they both walked out of the dining room.
"Well this is gonna be loads of fun," I stated sarcastically once I figured they were out of earshot. "They're a barrel of laughs on an ordinary day, why do we have to be instructed by them? Surely learning beside them would be just as good?"
I could hear Kayle's words echoing in my head and I knew he was right but I still hoped for an alternative.
The parents all shook their heads, "As Kayle already said, it is in your best interests to be trained by Kaleb and Blaike. They are some of our best fighters and have varied techniques from the different places they've visited. They know you well enough now to know how to train you in close combat, the other instructors have agreed it is best this way." Alacor explained and I knew that was final.
I sighed and sat back, I didn't feel hungry anymore and was sure I would regret it after our lesson. Everyone else finished up and the parents made their excuses to leave, it was just myself, Emy and Kayle left in the room.
Kayle hopped up after a few minutes and leaned against the table, "So, ready to go home yet?" He grinned widely.
He was on the other side of the table so Emy couldn't swing for him, although she looked like she was considering it anyway.
"That's not helpful, Kayle, we've barely been here and there's so much we have to do. I miss getting up and going to work, and coming home again."
"No you don't," I told Emy and we shared a smile until I looked at Kayle again. "Do you think it would be an option for us to go home again after all of this, if we wanted?"
Kayle seemed to ponder on this for a while before he replied and he was more sincere than before.
"A crossing point could be made for you if you wanted to leave... but you don't know how you are going to feel about this place by then. There's no point dwelling on it too much right now."
I nodded at his logic, glancing towards the window when a thought popped into my head.
"What is it like out there? Just being part of this world everyday, when it isn't filled with dangerous things trying to kill you or kidnap you?"
Kayle must have shrugged because his answer said it all, "I wouldn't know, the Scavengers and Dark Menaces have been coming through for most of my life. As a part of this family I have been in danger too, Merkell looked out for me until I was old enough to fend for myself and then I found places to stay where I would be safe."
The shock of his words settled over me.
"What about this place? Couldn't you have stayed here growing up?" I asked, wondering what had happened to it while our parents had been away.
"No, this house was given to local soldiers, in accordance with the spell Merkell devised, to keep away suspicion. I stayed here every so often but I had to keep moving."
"So you've been living in danger your whole life, just because you're related to us?" Emy said in disbelief, mirroring my own emotions.
Kayle nodded and Emy fell back in her seat.
"What about your mum and dad? Or any other relatives." I wasn't sure but I could have sworn Kayle's face tightened a fraction when I asked about his dad.
"I never knew my dad and we don't have any other relatives that could have helped. Our shared grandparents died a good hundred years ago, I never met them."
"Wait, a century ago, but... how could our parents be born then?" Emy asked in confusion and I couldn't figure it out either, not unless-
"Your parents are a lot older than you think, they were just children when their parents died. It feels like a recurring pattern, I know, but hopefully we can stop all of that."
I knew he was talking about Blaike and Kaleb's parents as well, but my curiosity about his parents was another thing to add to my humongous pile of unanswered questions. He didn't seem up for answering them now however, he stepped away from the table.
"I better go stretch and stuff before this lesson starts, I would advise you two do the same although I doubt it would help much."
He dodged the wire stand that Emy threw his way and chuckled before he jogged out of the room, leaving Emy and I in there alone. She walked around the table to pick up the wire stand to put it back and I got up to join her there.
"We should probably go stretch or walk, or something before this lesson fiasco. Why did we sign up for this again?"
Emy chuckled and put an arm around my shoulder. We walked out of the dining room, "For the sake of an entire world of innocent people that only we can apparently save."
"Ah yeah, that," I smiled and we headed for the hallway.
There were a few servants here and there but nobody to talk to. After a few seconds deliberating we decided to explore the house some more. There were still rooms we hadn't checked out yet and no amount of preparation would help with the fighting we were supposed to learn.
After an hour of exploring the rest of the rooms, which consisted of mostly locked doors and a few more living rooms, we found our way back to our suites. We decided a bit of rest might be a good idea and separated to our own rooms, as soon as I stepped into mine I flopped down onto the nearest sofa. I'd had plenty of sleep the night before but somehow I felt tired. Maybe it was the weight of the whole world resting partially on my shoulders, or the fact that every conversation I'd had recently felt like a chore.
In either case I decided to close my eyes, the books on the bookshelves were calling out to me but the weight of my eyelids was overpowering. No sooner had I closed my eyes however, than there was a knock on my door. I wanted to shout at them to go away but I knew it wouldn't be a good start to my training. I lugged myself up off of the sofa and opened the door, I was surprised to see Malaya, the head servant of the house, standing on the other side.
"Oh, erm hello?"
She gave me the widest smile and stepped to the side of the door, "You are requested in the gardens for your first lesson, Miss Cassandra."
I could see Emy's door was half open and figured she'd gone to Emy's first, I wished it had taken her a little longer but I kept that to myself.
"Oh, thank you and you can just call me Cassandra."
She smiled again and shook her head, "You are Miss Cassandra to me, and you are welcome."
She bowed her head and then walked off, I leaned out of my doorway to watch her go and couldn't help admiring the way she carried herself. She wasn't a downtrodden servant or slave to her job, she looked like she thoroughly enjoyed it and could have been part of the family. Emy appeared from her suite and roused me from my thoughts as I stepped out into the corridor.
"Were you napping?" She asked a little too knowingly. I raised a brow and she grinned, "Your hair looks like a birds nest. You might wanna fix it before we go meet the guys."
I narrowed my eyes at the suggestive tone in her voice but I fixed it up anyway in the reflection of the nearest window. I didn't care what they thought about my hair but I knew I was about to make a fool of myself trying to fight, I didn't need to add messy hair to the embarrassment.
The garden was the only place we hadn't explored yet, the front had looked massive when we'd seen it last. But it didn't look like anywhere to learn to fight, I was wondering where we were meant to go when we reached the bottom of the staircase and Kayle was waiting for us.
"I figured you'd need a guide out to the gardens, we don't all want to be late to our first lesson, do we?"
I couldn't tell if that was rhetorical or sincere, he wasn't his usual chipper self and I was about to ask him what was wrong but Emy beat me to it.
"What's wrong with you? You've got a face like a wet weekend."
Kayle arched a brow at her, "I never understood that metaphor, wet weekends can be great if the rain is not torrential." He tried for a smile but it disappeared instantly, "There's nothing wrong, let's get this over with."
He walked off before either of us could question him again and the pace he kept left us jogging to stop from getting lost.
We reached a final door that I assumed led to the back of the house and out into the gardens. Kayle pushed the door open and wandered outside at the same pace. We jogged to keep up but stopped as soon as we got our first glimpse of the gardens. To say gardens was a severe understatement, they were like football fields. There were at least five of them from what I could see, separated by hedgerows or fences.
We began to walk down a path filled with statues and gas lamps, and I caught glimpses into some of the other fields. One was filled with flowers of so many different kinds and all arranged in their own little beds. Another had rock gardens and gravel patches, from what I could see in the distance there might have been fountains too. Another had nothing but grass and paths, which made me extra curious.
But we didn't head to any of those, we followed Kayle up past the first four and out into the fifth, which looked like something out of a boxing movie- minus the ring. There were all kinds of apparatus set up, some looked like they belonged in a gym and others looked a bit like torture instruments. I didn't really want to find out what they were used for, and thankfully Kaleb and Blaike captured my attention before my curiosity took over and tried to ask for itself.