The Sons of Satrina: A Sons of Satrina Novel (12 page)

“Here, take these.  They tell you everything that you need to know about life at the academy in there, the sort of courses that you can take outside of training, what we do, what you can’t do and so on.  Kayleigh should be back here any minute now.”  Kelton looked around nervously as he passed her the pile of pamphlets.  Obviously, he was feeling a little awkward here, too.  After everything that had happened recently, she knew that he had a lot of worry to bear.

At the same time, Ash was only just regaining some of her sanity.  She was getting over being star struck, and here she was again, shut in a room with Master Warrior Kelton!  She had had a poster of him on her bedroom wall at home.  How lame did she feel now?  It was almost laughable. They were both a lot more comfortable when Kayleigh was there to break up the tension. 

Aisline was soon absorbed in reading all she could about the life she could expect to lead here at the Sons of Satrina Combat Training Academy.  The clicking of the keys on the keyboard blurred into the background as Kelton got lost in his work.  It was amazing, the things that she could learn, the level of excellence that she would be expected to deliver.  It seemed like a life time ago when she had been begging her parents to allow her to attend some simple martial arts classes, and now here she was, about to learn how to incapacitate and kill their enemies.  Frickin awesome!

With a gentle knock beforehand, the door opened and Kayleigh’s smiling face appeared.

“Sorry about that, couldn’t be helped I’m afraid.”

Kayleigh had had to leave them when she had dropped Aisline off at Kelton’s office, some student emergency.  Not that Ash expected her to drop everything for her, anyway.  Kayleigh turned to Kelton and said in a low voice, “Denver.” with a meaningful look to which Kelton only humphed under his breath.

“Kelton?  Is it okay if I take Aisline over to settle into her new room?  I’ve arranged for us to have some lunch sent over and I’d like to get her unpacked and comfortable, give her some time to adjust.”

Ash was shocked at where the time had gone.  Had she made it safely through nearly half a day at the academy already?  And her mind was more or less intact, which was a miracle in itself.   Sitting and reading every little nugget of information that she could get her hands on had taken up a good few hours of her first day, which was much better than spending the time fretting.  At least she had a little bit of an idea what she was letting herself in for, even if the reality of it was more than a tad scary. But, as they say, knowledge is power.

Kelton cleared his throat and nodded.  “Sure, you two go ahead.  That’s a good idea.  Aisline, please do not worry about what the future holds.  We will all work through this together and come up with a solution that is agreeable for everyone involved.  You’re in good hands here.”

Aisline looked at him for a moment before smiling, “Thank you, Master Warrior Kelton.  I’m sure that I’ll be very happy here.”  Which took him by surprise.  He’d expected her to be falling apart by now.  But, she wasn’t like that.  Her backbone was stronger than that, and she would succeed.  Ash was now positively looking forward to starting her life here.  She would show her family they had been wrong to abandon her like that.

She would make herself proud.

Following Kayleigh, they passed through several more corridors with windows lining the sides through which she could see that the blackness of the night still enveloping the world, with the rain still pelting down relentlessly.  Oddly enough, it was comforting.

“I know that you could have stayed in that room for a while longer while the Professor isn’t here, but seeing as we have found the perfect place for you, I thought we might as well get you settled in for the long haul.”  Kayleigh explained. Ash couldn’t help but agree.  It would be a good thing to have a place that she could really make her own while she was here.  Putting her mark on the place would give her the connection that she needed. 

Kayleigh played tour guide as they walked along, pointing out various parts of the academy.  Not that Ash would remember any of it. This place was positively huge.  You would have never believed it from the outside.  The only sign on the exterior stated that it was an exclusive martial arts studio and the place looked quite modest in size.  But, once you were inside, the building just kept going and going and going.  Ash was sure that she was going to get lost plenty of times before she got used to it all.

“You’ll be sleeping in here from now on.  I know it’s not ideal, but at least it’s comfortable and it’s all yours.”

Kayleigh opened the door and stepped back to let Aisline get the first look at her new room.

It was lovely.  Really, really lovely.  And, all hers.

Everything was decorated in a pale ivory.  The decoration had splashes of matt silver throughout and there was plenty of room.  As well as having a bed, bedside table, desk, book shelf and wardrobe, there was also a little seating area with two small, plush sofa’s, also covered in a pale ivory pattern, which sat facing each other, separated by a small coffee table.  She didn’t imagine that the other male warriors had rooms as large as this one. Her bags, all two bags that had been hastily packed with whatever she could get her hands on, sat near the bed, ready for her to arrange her things however she saw fit.

Also, the small coffee table that was in the comfortable seating area was piled high with delicious plates of meats, salad, sauces and a ridiculously huge chocolate éclair that she salivated over on sight.

“This is one of the rooms that usually would home one of the professors.  As you might have noticed, this is the warrior’s wing.  As I said, I know this might not be ideal, being so close to all the teachers and warriors,” to which she grinned, “But, until we know what we’re doing here, and what we’re dealing with, this will have to do.  Do you think that you will be happy in here?”

Aisline couldn’t help but giggle.  Sure, this room was bedecked with the sort of luxury she had had at home and was sure to be better than the usual student digs that
she expected the other trainees had to put up with, but she didn’t care that she was holed up near the faculty rather than the rest of the students.  She wasn’t planning on getting up to anything that she shouldn’t anyway. Weighing it up, would she rather be in a wing of adults whom would more than likely leave her to her own devices, or over with a couple of hundred boys that would be fascinated with her, being the only female warrior in history?  She’d take the grown-ups any day.

“I’ll be more than fine, don’t worry about me.  I love it, thank you.”  Aisline’s smile was warm and genuine.   She was starting to feel a little more like herself and it was shining through.  Plus, she genuinely liked Kayleigh, which was a bonus.

Kayleigh looked so relieved that her idea had worked out and she beamed back at her.  All of a sudden, her phone started to buzz in her pocket and after reading the text, Kayleigh cursed under her breath.

“I’m so sorry Aisline, I’m going to have to bail on you.  Emergency.” she said, indicating her phone.  “I’ll leave you to get unpacked and comfortable.
There are some books on the shelves over there that go through the warrior training step by step if you want to take a look. If you need anything, anything at all, something to eat or drink, anything at all, just dial *642. That’s my number.  I’ll make sure that someone sends you up something for dinner if I‘m not back before then.  Chill out and enjoy the peace while it lasts.”  Pausing to take a breath, she shook her head, “I tell you, I feel like I’m running around like a headless chicken today!” and they chuckled together. 

Ash didn’t mind that she was leaving her alone.  She knew that she would be fine now that she had a place to call her own.  Unpacking her gear and getting sorted would take up a good portion of the day and at least then she would be ready for whatever t
omorrow had to through at her. After meeting with Kelton this morning, and reading everything that she could about the academy and what it took to become a warrior, she felt a lot more positive about her future. 

The time alone wouldn’t be as stressful as it had been yesterday.  She could finally start to get a little excited about what was going to be the next phase of her life.

“So, I guess we’ll let you get settled in, then? I’m sorry to run off like this but I’ll try to call by to see how you‘re doing a bit later.  How does that sound?”

“Perfect.”  Ash couldn’t help but grin.  She had the whole afternoon to sort out her things and was already planning on curling up with a good book.  Reading was the only thing she could think of to help her relax a little.

She had feared this place from the very moment that her dad had gotten on the phone to advise the Sons that he was sending her in, but it wasn’t all bad.  In fact, it wasn’t bad at all.   The room she was in was really nice. Kelton and Kayleigh had made her feel very welcome and tomorrow, she would start to get stuck in to whatever it took to make her into a warrior.

Looking back to
the point when her life had changed forever, she thought that that evening and her disastrous date, had been a big, dull dud. But not anymore.

This could really, truly be awesome if she let herself relax and enjoy it and stop with all the worrying.

It really could be the making of her.

Chapter Thirteen.

For whatever reason, whether it was her change of heart to embrace her new situation or not, Ash didn’t fear those few hours alone.  She was more or less an adult now and she knew that the staff had enough on their hands dealing with the rest of the students, and she didn’t need babysitting.  After the death of their leader, she knew that the warriors would be up in the air and she wanted to do her best to help, not to get in the way.  Chilling out, arranging her clothes and listening to Thirty Seconds to Mars and Paramore was a great way to pass a few hours and get herself familiar with her surroundings.

It gave her plenty of time to get her head straight and even a little time to relax, finishing off the latest book in the ‘Chicagoland Vampires’ series, which she found amusing.  One thing that she loved was to read and reading about human’s idea of vampires was something that really tickled her funny bone.

Kayleigh had called by, rushing in, apologising profusely.  She had to go and assist some of the other professor’s with a research project and explained that she would be tied up for the rest of the night.  Ash was happy to have a little more time to adjust to her new life. Being on her own wasn’t a problem. Sure, she was adjusting to what her life could be like here, but there was no rush to start it just yet.

Aisline couldn’t sleep, however.  She was about to move into the most exciting stage of her life, it was more than a little daunting to say the least.  The excitement buzzed through her being.  She’d managed to get in a few hours between just lying there and staring at the ceiling, but the more she thought about the situation she was in, the more excited she got about it.

And that in itself amazed her.  She thought that with everything that had happened, she would be falling apart and crumbling into a pile of despair, but she wasn’t.  Quite the opposite.  She was positively beaming.

This could well be the best thing that had ever happened to her.  Sure, it was bound to have its down sides, but on the whole, this was a much better life than she co
uld have expected for herself. It would give her purpose. It definitely beat settling down in a loveless marriage that her parents had arranged for her to some no-mark like Jordon and suffering through a miserable life. It beat it hands down.  She’d be out there in the world, making a difference and seriously kicking some ass.  What more could a girl want from life?

Back at home, her parents had be
en desperate to marry her off. Even as young as she was, they had been preparing.  It was her mother’s dream to have her popping out babies as soon as she got a ring on her finger.  But, she wasn’t that kind of girl.  Never had been and never would be.  They knew that, but deep down in their hearts, she knew that they wanted her to change.  She wanted to be able to choose.  She wanted to choose her life.  And now, she had the power in her hands.

S
ure, the warrior mark didn’t give her a choice either, but it was a whole different ball game.  This time she was in control of the choices that had been made for her. They were a hell of a lot more adventurous, too.

At least with this life, it wouldn’t be dull.  There wouldn’t be people here trying to marry her off to the first male of worth (in their eyes) that paid her a little attention.  She wouldn’t have to endure some fool with a wandering eye for the rest of her life, cheating on her behind her back at every given opportunity.  She wouldn’t have the life that her mother wanted for her.

She would be in control of her destiny.

She would be a warrior.

She would be the very first female warrior.

She was going to be badass.

And she couldn’t wait to get started. As scary as it was. She was ready.

So, sitting on her bed, fully d
ressed in her favourite band t-shirt, loose yoga style pants and running shoes, she was ready and raring to go.  There was nothing else to do except to wait for Kayleigh to come and collect her and get her started in her new life. 

She’d been up early and sitting there
waiting was excruciating.  She wanted to get on with this.  Waiting around was a killer.  She was practically bouncing in her chair and there was no way on this earth that she would be able to concentrate on reading. All she could do was wait.

Bags were all unpacked
. The room was immaculately tidy, and she was ready for whatever they had to throw at her.  Bring on the warrior!