The Warrior of Avelyn

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Split into three groups, the trainees each had a single knight supervising them during their activities. Alan's group was working on archery, Robin's group was working on stamina, and Clara's group was working on handling swords.

The general walked carefully in between the sparring partners, giving them tips on how to improve and fix their mistakes. Most had yet to learn how to control their weapon and instead let the weight of their blade control their movements.

Deciding to check up on the rest of the groups, Clara made her way to the archery station. She spoke with Alan; talking about their students and how they have improved from the last few times they've trained them. 

"Your turn, general." he smiled at her, handing her his bow and arrow. "Gather around, boys."

"Oh, no." she shook her head, flustered by the attention. "I'm not that great in archery, I'd rather have you teach them."

"Well then, you could use the practice!" he nudged her shoulder encouragingly.

Rolling her eyes lightheartedly, she takes a breath, positioning herself to aim at the target, nervously glancing at all the students watching her. She released the arrow and it hit the outer rim of the target. She sighed, looking at her friend with a knowing smile, silently saying 'I told you so'.

"Archery, not your thing." he chuckles. "Got it."

"However..." she trailed off, getting a small dagger from her belt and throwing it at the target, hitting the bullseye. "I can throw knives."

The boys around her all stared in awe at her accuracy and speed with the short blade. Whispers arose as they talked about the event in astonishment, more relieved now that they've seen a bit more of her skills.

With a smile and a pat on Alan's back, Clara left them to continue training, making her way to Robin's group whom were practicing physical combat.

"Ah, Clara!" Robin smirked once he saw her, a mischievous glint present in his blue eyes.

"Robin." she greeted with a half smile, turning to look at the students. "How is everything going?"

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, showing off the sparring trainees. "I could use your help, however."

"Of course." she nodded. "How may I help?"

His smirk turned into a grin as he called for the students to stop sparring and gather around them. Relieved that they finally had a moment's rest, the group of young men gathered around the two, breathing heavily and leaning on each other after a long sparring session.

"I want to show you all this move, Clara here will help me demonstrate it."

Clara stood there, nodding at his words, unaware of what he wanted to do, but prepared to take the hit to show the boys how it should be done and what is to be expected from the attack. Robin takes a stance, making Clara quickly get into her own, finding it important to show the students that they shouldn't be afraid to attack someone who seems to be just as skilled as them. Robin puts his right foot in between her legs, quickly ducking and kneeling his right knee while pushing at the same time, wrapping his arms around her knees before pulling and lifting her off the ground all the while he positions his own legs correctly to turn and drop Clara harshly on the hard ground, laying on top of her. She winced at the weight on top of her, feeling the air being knocked out of her.

"That, gentlemen, is how you take down your opponent and keep them stunned for a while." Robin spoke as he got up, a victorious smirk on his lips.

Opposed to what he said, Clara recovered quickly, getting back up on her feet in no time, ignoring the slight turn of the world.

"It is a perfect way to take someone down." she agreed. "But you must remember that every attack can be prevented."

She turned back to Robin, gesturing for him to do it again. The man furrowed his eyebrows but obliged nonetheless, repeating his steps from before in attempt to take her down. However, as soon as he wrapped his arms around her legs, she wrapped an arm under his armpit, bumping him up and pushing his head away with her hip before she pushed it under her legs and dropping herself onto his back, removing his arms and locking them at his side with her knees.

Deciding it wasn't time to show how they could escalate the move just yet, Clara got up, offering a hand to the disgruntled man on the ground. He refused her help and got up by himself, his face red and lips shut tightly into a thin line.

After seeing the match between the two knights, the young men perked up, regaining their passion and energy to learn the new methods that were demonstrated. They eagerly watched their leaders with wide grins, completely forgetting about how tired they were mere moments ago.

"So here's what you'll have to do..." Clara began, gesturing for Robin to join her in explaining what they have to focus on.

Robin became tense, his movements more aggressive and less calculated; making him stumble more than once. His hatred towards the woman grew with each passing second, with each word she spoke, and with each attack she blocked or initiated.

He hated her with every fiber of his being.

When Clara went back to her own group, he watched her with dark eyes, a vein in his neck becoming visible to all around him. He turned back to his students with a clenched jaw and unhinged temper as he began to yell at them for their mistakes, growing more frustrated with his position within the knights.

Robin crossed his arms as he watched over the sparring partners, his mind absent from the current moment. Unaware to the blonde knight, a certain duke watched the whole ordeal from afar, noticing the knight's behavior around the general. Thoughts ran through his mind and slowly a menacing smile grew onto his lips.

Short chapter, but feels like a good place to stop this one.

Please vote and comment, I would love to hear from you all!!

I might do questions of the 'day' within each chapter just so I could interact with you guys!

Actually, let's start from now!!

Q: Do you guys prefer long chapters or shorter chapters?

A: I personally love writing both depending on what is happening in each chapter, sometimes they're better off short and sometimes they have to be long. But what do you think? Let me know!