"Ouch, your words wound me," He replied, sarcasm dripping from every syllable as he shot her a smirk, "I think you're just jealous because I have natural Fae beauty. An arrow to the face would've brought me down to human beauty standards. An arrow to the chest is much more disappointing."
He crossed his arms across his chest, the injured arm resting gently on the other. Even though he had gotten the injury days ago and his Fae healing was doing its job, it still hurt beyond belief and would take at least another day to heal completely.
"Now, I know your concern for my safety is significant, but I guarantee that you care about staying alive. So, I want to know if you've been training at all while I've been gone?"
Serena ignored his statement about his beauty, simply letting out a snort to show her disgust. One day, these Fae were going to get what they deserved. She would sell her soul to the Devil to ensure that.
“Of course I care about being alive. Why would I pointlessly waste my energy worried for you?” Serena rolled her eyes, removing her headband, running a hand through her hair, and then putting it back on. “Yes, Half-Fae, I trained. Stupid question to ask, but what can I expect from you?”
(Sorry it’s short :) )
He tapped his chin in though, shrugging, “Hm, why would you worry about me staying alive? We’re definitely not, you know, blood bound or anything, where my death means you die. And as for my question about your training, I was going to offer you a chance to get out of your cell and train. But I guess my questions are pointless and stupid.”
Venali uncrossed his arms after he finished talking, slowly trying to lean against the side of her doorway again.
(This year sucks. And it’s okay, you don’t always have to have longer replies :)
Smartass.
“Which is why it’s not you I’m concerned for, but myself,” Serena rolled her eyes. At his final words, she paused. “Actually, training outside my cell doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. Though yes, your questions are stupid and pointless.”
There were a lot of questions she needed to ask him, but at this point, she didn’t really know how to start. Should she ask about the trial? Where he went? About Scythe? She really didn’t know.
(Yeah it doesss suck)
"Now, I think I'm going to have to wait to let you train out of your cell until you say something nice about me though," Venali replied smoothly, a smug grin on his face as he drummed his fingers on his arm, "Shouldn't be that hard, there are a lot of nice things about me."
The golden-haired Fae really couldn't care less what she said about him, her opinion was her own anyway, but he wouldn't deny that it wasn't fun to see her get mad at him either. She looked ready to stab him herself when she was mad at him, or even just irked, and truthfully she looked like she would go to the ends of the world to do just that.
Serena pursed her lips, then tilted her head to the side. She definitely looked like she was thinking hard, arms crossed over her chest, and she made sure it seemed as if she was trying hard to come up with one good quality.
“No, I can’t think of anything,” she finally said, sighing dramatically, her shoulders relaxing. “Nothing comes to mind.”
He shrugged, casually spinning on his foot as he replied, "Ah, well then I guess I'll have to hold off on letting you train somewhere made for training, won't I? I'm sure something will come to your mind eventually."
Venali shot her a grin over his shoulder, his eyes showing the decision that she was left with at the moment. Let him leave and go back to being stuck in the cage for who knew how long, or say something nice about him and earn a chance to walk around and train for who knew how long. It wouldn't be long before he would leave, that was clear as well.
Serena scowled. There was no way was she lowering herself just to train. She wasn’t going to compliment him. She wanted to tear that grin off his face, do anything if it meant she’d get her point across.
But she also needed to get out of this cell. She’d been detained for a really, really long time, and the need to get out of it was driving her crazy.
“… you let me visit my brother,” she finally gritted out, her fists clenched. “Your uncle would have never let me set even a foot in his direction.”
"There you go." Venali turned back to her and offered her a hint of a smile that held only a hint of mocking, "Not what I expected you to say, but it works anyway. You're right with the fact that my uncle would've rather cut his foot off before he let you see your brother. Now, back to the training situation." He paused at this, looking at her and thinking for a moment, "Do you want to start now? I'll be working with you, to make sure you don't kill anyone, but it won't be easy. If you'd rather wait for your injuries to heal more I'll come back in a few days."
To be completely honest, Venali really had no clue why he was offering to train with her in the first place, or why he was being so nice to her. He tried to assure himself that it was just because both of their chances of survival increased when she was prepared, but for some sliver of a reason, he didn't fully believe that. Being mean was something he could fake easily, but it was much harder to actually let himself be nice.
Especially when towards a human girl that tolerated him more than anything.
Serena scowled at his smile. He really thought he won that one, huh? Gosh, how she hated him. No, not him personally. His kind. The Fae himself, she had no problem with. Okay, lie. He personally got on her nerves. He irritated her beyond words. All the other Fae, she just hated because they were Fae. But Venali was annoying and irritating, and she really wanted to strangle him. It felt like he purposely tried to rile her up just to see her reactions, and she knew she was letting him win. It was hard not to react.
“We should start now,” she crossed her arms over her chest, pulling herself out of those thoughts. “I’ve been idle for quite a while. Some training will be good. I don’t want to waste more time.”
(Honestly, I can't waittt for the next trial..and for when they run into the Fae that killed Serena's parents..It's gonna be so funnnnn to write (Even though I feel terrible for her))
It didn't take Venali more than another minute to open her cell once she agreed to start training right away. He even seemed almost eager to have someone to train with, though the part of him that held that emotion was barely visible under the bored mask he had put up.
"I don't have to put restraints on you while we walk, do I?" He asked once the door was open, one brow raised in question, "Also, how much work are you able to handle right now?"
Overworking her wouldn't be good, and it would most likely be extremely easy for him to push her farther than she could at the moment, possibly hurting her again. Injuries were the last thing she needed.
(I can’t, either! The angst… it’s going to be amazing! 🤣🤣)
Serena stepped out of the cell almost instantly, her eyes falling on Venali’s face all over again when he spoke. She readied herself to answer when she caught an… eager expression in his eyes? Serena blinked and it was gone, so she blamed that on her own need to train. After all, why would that Fae be eager to train with her? If anything, he should be eager to be rid of her.
“I wouldn’t be able to fight with restraints,” the redhead shot back with a roll of her eyes. “And I can handle enough.”
Truth was, she couldn’t. The two weeks had given her time to recover, and the Fae doctor helped a lot, but her ribs still needed time to heal. If she put them under pressure… well, it would hurt. Like a bitch. Her arm was all right, though, all the other bruises gone.
“I’ll be fine. If anything hurts, I’ll say it.”
"That's why I said while we're walking, Raine," He replied, rolling his eyes in return as he locked eyes with her again, "I'll hold you to what you say, if you don't tell me when something hurts so we can stop, you'll be back in the cell until you're fully healed."
Venali only waited for a second after he finished talking to start walking, motioning for her to follow as he strode back down the hallway. The sooner she could get training, the better, and he planned to get her into the best shape he could before the next trial. At least then she would have some strength to rely on not just luck.
“I know my body’s limits, Half-Fae,” Serena huffed, following after him. As she did so, she let her eyes explore, taking in possible exists in case she ever needed them. She knew the Fae would honor their agreement, but she didn’t trust their word. Their word was unreliable; she knew one way or another, they would twist her words. That was how they worked. So she needed to have an escape ready in mind.
Her eyes fell on Venali’s back.
He could be an escape. Terrible thought, she knew. She hated using others, and she didn’t really want to use the Fae, but for the sake of Alec, she would.
He walked in relative silence, only the sound of his shoes against the floor and a barely audible humming coming from him. It was quiet enough to only be noticeable if someone was listening in as he led her up the stairs from the floor of the cells to the floor above. "Guards floor. sleeping quarters, and such, If you're curious. Designed so the can be the first ones down to the cells if anything goes wrong," He said, motioning down the hallway that split off from the stairs.
Venali glanced back at her as he spoke, slowing down enough to walk almost step in step with her through the marble-floored palace. It was a gorgeous place, he had to admit. Always had been, even from his childhood. It was always sunny on the floors above ground, unlike the floor they were on; large windows, light-colored walls, and floors reflecting the sun throughout the palace, pairing nicely with golden colored and wooden accents. A place fit for royalty.
Though Serena felt his eyes on her, she pretended not to notice. Instead, her eyes took in her surroundings. If the guards were closer to the cells, her chances of escape were slightly compromised. She’d need a way to disable them, and then run away with Alec. But how, she had no idea. Yet.
Serena chewed on her bottom lip, her arms crossed over her chest. For now, she’d take in every exit, every hallway. When she’d be alone, she would devise a backup plan.
The thoughts were momentarily blinded when they finally entered the first floor. Unlike the damp, dark cells, the place above was magical. Sunlight danced inside, reflecting off the floors. The place was golden, paintings and large vases decorating each wall and pillar. It was something unlike what Serena had ever seen. It was something straight out of a dream.
A human could only fantasize such things.
“Gold is the color of your family?” she noted, trying to break the silence and drown her obvious surprise. “Not very difficult to tell, with everything decorated by it.”
"Yes, gold and white are unsurprisingly our family colors," He replied, looking around at the gorgeous place with only mild interest. It wasn't as magical or surprising to look at when it was the same sight day after day. "Surprised you and your clever mind didn't figure that out when you were in the throne room that first time. It's even harder to miss in that room than in the rest of this place."
Even though the first floor was a large floor, open to both the entrance to the palace as well as many of the important rooms, Venali didn't give her a grand tour. Instead, he led her down smaller hallways, even though they were still large and very lit with sunlight. The last thing he needed was for Eldon to spot them on the way towards the training area.
The training area was a large space branching off one hallway of the first floor. It took up almost an entire wing of the palace, and consisted of not only an indoor area but doors going out into an outdoor area where even more things were kept. The place definitely was well used too, with pairs or groups of Fae guards scatter around working out. It wasn't just males either, as there were quite a few women as well, all training right alongside their male companions.
(My dumbass thought I’d replied 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️)
Serena looked around the training room, a frown on her features. It wasn’t as if she thought the females didn’t train. She knew they did, she’d seen them fight, but in some areas, it was unimaginable for a female to even fight alongside a man.
She bit her lip.
“You allow your females to fight alongside you,” she noted, trying to make it sound normal. The last time she’d been in a camp like this was when—Serena swallowed. She was not going down that road, not right now. “It seems you’re not as stupid as I thought your kind was originally.”
(XD I've done that more times than I can count, don't worry about it)
Venali messed with his shirt as he listened to her, unbuttoning the top jacket that he was wearing and shrugging it off. Underneath sat just a plain cream-colored shirt, and even with his decorated pants, he looked much more suited to train without the jacket. The Fae tossed it to the side of the room, glancing at Raine as he replied to her.
"Is it weird to see them training and fighting with men? We would be extremely stupid to not let them fight, they're the best-specialized force we have. Men are better with brute power and strength mostly, but women fight more with their minds. They track out their moves, try to avoid as much head-on combat as possible, and plus they're normally smaller than males, meaning they can much easier get around small spaces or go unnoticed."
He seemed to be just rattling off the information, more focused on stretching out his arms and legs as he motioned for her to do the same. There hadn't been a time when he had only fought with women, they had always been right with him, sometimes better than most of the best guys he had trained. It seemed only natural to him, but as he considered humans, he realized that it might be a little more strange.
"Enough of that though. Let's get going, eight laps around the room as a warmup," He added at the end, pointing to the track that led around the large room. The track wasn't large, probably only two hundred metres, but eight laps of that was already a mile.
Serena hummed, shrugging off her own jacket and setting it down next to the Fae’s. She didn’t respond to Venali’s statement about the women working with the men, though it was weird seeing them work together.
While listening to his first instructions, Serena took off her headband and readjusted it so it pushed her hair out of her face. Running was considerably easy for Serena; with all of her years running and walking, she had good stamina. And she was also gaining muscles with more access to food, which was a plus.
“Okay,” she hummed, stretching a little and cracking her back. “Ready when you are.”
Venali rolled his shoulders and nodded, starting out at a light jog but speeding up quite a lot as he started warming up. "I hope you can keep up, I'm not going to go slow," He said, sparing one glance at her. None of the other Fae ien the room paid any attention to them, but it wasn't surprising; a human and half-fae weren't a pair that many Fae would pay attention to.
It was easy to settle into a rhythm and pace once he got going around the track, making sure Raine was next to him as he slowly increased how fast they were going.
Serena was easily able to fall into step with him, but she knew her limits. She was very much aware of them, and she knew she, a human, could never have as much stamina as that of a typical Fae. Venali was way out of reach in terms of strength as well, though she could probably best him using her smarts.
She needed to know a good way to immobilize him if she ever needed to. Not kill, just immobilize. Especially if she ever needed to escape, which she knew she did. The Fae were territorial freaks, and his life was literally in her hands.
“I haven’t run in a while,” she pointed out to him. “You don’t get to do that much in a small cell, especially with broken ribs.”
"Are you asking me to slow down?" He asked without a trace of being out of breath, a faint mocking grin on his face, "Because if you are, I'll let you know asking me directly will work better than beating around the bush."
For Venali, the pace wasn't any more tiring than a jog just on the verge of a steady running pace, but he knew that it would probably become quite hard for Raine to hold the pace for long. One of his Fae perks- the stamina and strength that they all naturally had. If she asked though, he would slow down. At least enough that she could hold a pace for the remaining seven laps of the area.
Serena looked at him and rolled her eyes rather dramatically. The pace they were going at wasn’t hard for her, and she was doing just fine. There was a slight pang in her chest, but it wasn’t really bad, so she was easily able to ignore it.
“I’m not asking you to slow down,” she shook her head and looked ahead, paying no attention to the other Fae in the room. “Keep dreaming.”
The other Fae definitely had sent more than a few curious looks their way. Some didn't bother to hide their glares or sneers, but others hid them behind smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes. A human and half-breed weren't exactly people that full-blooded Fae would like, especially when the half breed held a higher rank than them.
"Well then, miss confident, I won't slow down. You better keep up," He replied, the grin still visible the entire time, "This is just the warm up by the way. I hope you're ready to work hard."
Venali's gait was smooth and controlled, his long strides keeping him going a steady pace. Besides his breathing, his feet sounded out a quiet rhythm, on the ground even as their laps flew by until the pair was down to their last lap.
Serena rolled her eyes again, and she wondered if one day they’d get stuck in the back of her skull with how much the Fae bothered her. She turned away from him, though she still felt his grin. She knew it was fake, and that knowledge made it harder for her not to strangle him. But she remembered her first train of thought and bit back any sarcastic remarks threatening to spill.
“I’ve ran my entire life,” she said nonchalantly, easily keeping up with his pace—for now. “A little warmup is nothing.”
As the pair completed their last lap, Venali slowly came to a stop, winking at Raine, "Who said this was going to be all running? You've got that part of training down, now you have to build some muscle, at least be able to throw a good punch by the end of this week."
He rolled his shoulders and motioned for her to follow as he walked over to a small selection of weapons in one corner, talking the entire way, "Now don't get any ideas, these weapons aren't sharp enough to pierce the skin or leave more than a bruise, but I want to see how good at fighting you are already. Grab whatever one you want to start with." Venali watched her carefully, picking up a pair of knives and spinning them by their handles like he had done it a million times.
By the time they were finished with the laps, Serena’s breathing had gotten heavier, and the more she breathed in, the more her chest hurt. Still, she pushed away the pain and focused on what Venali was saying. She pushed her feet to follow after him, one arm wrapped loosely around her stomach.
When he picked up the knives, she gave him a look. “You use swords,” she said, not a question. “Why pick knives?”
Her whole life, the only weapons she’d ever touched were knives and bow and arrows. Swords never worked for her. Needles were good, too, but too difficult to acquire.
"I didn't know you keep track of my favorite weapons," He replied, rolling his eyes as he tapped the blades together, "For your information, I'm using these so I can master them. If I chose swords right now it would be nowhere close to a fair fight."
Venali turned his attention to Raine once he had finished talking, frowning with a look of genuine concern as he noted her arm around her stomach. She was going to hurt herself again if she continued. He shook his head when he saw this, putting the knives back and motioning to her, the concern flickering away behind a wall of annoyance. "I told you to tell me when you're starting to hurt again, why didn't you? We could've slowed down running, and then you would be able to spar right now. As of now though, I'm going to call that good for the day. You need to rest more, and we'll try again tomorrow."
Serena looked flabbergasted when she caught the look of concern that took over Venali’s features when he’d glanced over. At first, she thought it might have been a trick of her eye, but it lasted for a couple of seconds before annoyance took over. The initial emotion left her mind completely as she shook her head furiously.
“No, it’s fine, we don’t need to stop,” she argued, though her breathing had gotten heavier. With a defeated sigh, knowing she could worsen her condition, she set the other arm around her stomach. “Okay, yeah, I don’t think I can handle sparring right now. It wasn’t as noticeable before and I hadn’t thought much of it. It was good, though. I should be moving, too.”
