Several months had passed since my first night in Camp and slowly but surely my ninth year of living started to finish its circle. I had moved into a different dormitory, this time without Ash's support.

"So... what is your training today?" Kali asked. We had become friends during archery classes with Fern and sure enough, chose spots next to each other. Now she was hanging off her unmade bed upside down and watched me as I folded up my sheets. Her long, black curls swept over the broad floorboards when she sat back up and giggled at the dizziness that came with a sudden shift of position.
"I hope it's riding. We could go riding together!"

I wrinkled my nose. Despite Robin being a great teacher I wasn't too thrilled about sitting on a horse. Primrose was great and all but she was big and didn't particularly like me. The other day she had tried to bite my elbow for not having treats with me. Robin had just shaken her head at that and told me to not give her treats all the time. Which didn't make much sense to me because those made her a lot more willing to cooperate.

"Actually, no. I'm afraid I will have to kidnap Mahin for today, Kali. Ash has demanded her immediate presence in the pit."

The dorm's caretaker, Lora, had appeared behind us. She was older than Amanda and the dark circles below her eyes truly sympathised that.

"Immediate? Like... super duper even before sunrise immediate?"
"I believe that is indeed the case. Kali, dear, would you be so kind as to pass this on to sire Edwin?"
"Sure thing, ma'am. Good luck, Mahin."

And with that, the conversation was over and I followed the woman outside. The pit she pointed me to was none I was familiar with. It was one of the fighter's, that much I recognised by the two crossed swords on the flag but not the one Ash used to go to.

As I approached I could hear voices and soon enough I reached the edge of the pit from where I could see who they belonged to. Besides Ash stood a tall, dark-skinned woman who was wearing a hood over her head and another man who was built more like a butcher than anything.

I had climbed halfway down the ranks before Ash noticed me. His face lit up and he came towards me.

What's the matter?
I asked while eyeing the strangers suspiciously.
He ran his hand over his eyes and through his dark hair. At a second glance, he looked just as worn down as Lora which made the entire situation more and more out of the ordinary. It was unusual for Lora to be tired but I had never seen Ash with dark circles. Fern had once told me how much he valued his sleep and routine.

What in the three worlds of the dead is going on, Ash?
"Mahin, I don't know how you do it but every day you find a word I don't know yet."
Three, actually.
He just waved his hands as if to rid himself of an insect and motioned me to follow him. Which I did, though I kept a step distance.

"This woman, here is most commonly known as 'The Shadow', the best assassin found in the kingdom and the man on the right is a man whose name you might recognise as well. 'The Blade'?"

I had heard both names before. Whenever I had been taken into the big city beyond the hill someone had mentioned it, either in a talk to fellow people or directed at the small group of children who were, for the most part, trailing behind a teacher. So far I had assumed them to be made up people but now they stood right in front of me.

The woman was the first to speak. Her voice was deep and rough and seemed to float with a type of accent I had never heard before despite there being so many different people in the Camp.

"You may adress me as Masika."
I nodded and unconsciously moved a bit closer to Ash.
"M'lady, would you like to explain the situation to her yourself or should I?" Ash asked with the slightest bow of his head.

"You may."

He sighed before turning towards me.
"They heard of you. Rumours about the girl that's 'white as seafoam' who was able to shoot a raging boar through the throat are growing more and more popular. They had been communicating with me, Fern and the master for quite some time."

"We wanted to offer an opportunity to train you. The master of this place was willing to accept the offer, these two people on the other hand made the situation a bit harder for us. Don't interrupt me, Ash. Your reasoning follows every rule of logic."

"Yeah, no, now you interrupted yourself," Ash interviened, a tiny smile on his lips.
The woman pushed the hood off her head and gave him a judgemental look but in her eyes I recognised the same spark as in Robin's. She wasn't all that bothered.

"You will have your first unit with me right now."

And what about him?

Masika followed the direction my fingers pointed and nudged her head at the giant man beside her.
"He is here as an official and bureaucratic validation of our being here. Assassins work in the shadows. The royal guards don't. He's training you as far as the public is concerned, I'm the one who is actually doing it."

"She's mostly gonna teach you how to fight with smaller weapons or without any at all."
Are you gonna stay here?
"I will. Either Fern or I will be supervising your training sessions in this very special case. You will also be excused from every activity before breakfast, other than this," Ash told me before he and the other man went towards the ranks to sit there.

Masika cracked her knuckles before taking off her cape and hanging it over the arm of one of the dummies.
"We will start simple. What do you do if someone tries to hit you. Be it with a fist or a slap doesn't matter."
I ducked to which she nodded.
"Correct. Now we will try that practical. Ready?"

And without a second warning her hand moved towards me. I managed to move out of the way just in time but got my legs confused in my hurry and ended up falling over. Just before hitting the ground I was caught and placed back on my two feet.

"Now, that wasn't too bad for a first time was it. A small bit of advice though: You're very small. My hit has to come from above to even come close to you. You can use that to your advantage. Do you know how?"
I shook my head. Being small hadn't helped me much at all so far. Quite the opposite actually. People liked to target me with their nasty little attacks.

"Okay, let's go through it step by step. I move my hand towards you to hit you. That creates a lot of empty space below my shoulder and by my side. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
I nodded. In the end, I was standing behind her, a big smile on my face.
"Very well. Let's repeat that."

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