TRAINING GROUND -AERYS KINGDOM 

I lay down on the dirt and dusty floor of the training ground. 

I was exhausted, my breathing was ragged ans I struggled to catch my breath. I had a stitch in my side,  I immediately frowned trying to make it go away. I could feel my heartbeat quickening in my chest. 

Drops of sweat beaded down my burning forehead. A few strands of my long black hair stuck to my cheek. I quickly removed them. My ponytail no longer looked like anything, several rebellious strands added to the fact that I looked dilapidated and in a pretty bad shape. I must surely be a pain to see, I knew that as a guard I had to have an impeccable appearance, I was one of the people most often found near His Majesty, the Prince. 

My blue uniform embroidered with gold threads had become slightly dirty just like I was. 

While I was questioning my choices that led me to undergo this intense training. I heard the Captain of the Royal Guard shouting his orders so that everyone could hear. His voice easily covered the metallic noises of the blades clashing together. 

"I want you all to give your all during this training, is that understood ? You are part of the Royal Guard to protect the Prince from any possible danger that could endanger his life. You must be willing to risk your life to save his at all costs. To do this, you must constantly push your efforts and your limits. I don't want weak people in my ranks, I hope I made myself clear." 

A silence. 

"Kiara. What are you doing lying on the floor as if it was your bed ? Are you aware that you're on the training field ? You should be training like everyone else. Just because you're a woman doesn't mean I'm going to treat you any differently than anyone else, understood ? So no you're going to get your ass out of there and continue training." 

I grumbled but I knew that I shouldn't further annoy Captain Kaito who already seemed to be on edge. I let out a long sigh which did not go unnoticed given that I felt his heavy gaze on me. I turned my head in his direction to observe him, he stared back at me. He stood there with his arms crossed seeming to be exasperated with my situation. I could see it in his eyes and it wasn't that hard to understand. 

He frowned his eyebrows without taking his eyes off me and seemed lost in his thoughts as if he was trying to figure out what he could do with me. He ran a hand through his neat brown hair, he always looked presentable. 

"Yes, Captain, I'm sorry. This won't happen again." 

I got up from the ground before stretching, every muscle in my body ached like hell. I slightly winced before finally standing in front of him, I tried to stand as straight as possible. 

He suddenly began to chuckle. 

When he noticed my surprised look, he began to speak. The rest pf the guards even stopped training thinking they were being discreet as they carefully observed my interaction with the Captain. 

"You're definitely funny,"declared Kaito before turning towards the curious guard, "Hey ! What are you all doing hanging around like that doing nothing ? Resume training immediately. Try to focus more on what you have to do instead of gossiping. This is not how you can hope protecting the Prince of Aerys. There is still a lot of work to do, we are supposed to represent the last barrier between potential ennemies and the Prince. The training is going to belong...Vey long..." 

With his last words, Kaito moved away from me, approaching a guard who began to shudder when he noticed the Captain striding in his direction. The young guard immediately stood up before trying to meet our superior's gaze. 

"Captain...I...Huh....", stammered the young man. 

"Mh ? A problem Aidan ?" 

"No, not at all Captain !" 

"Well, in that case I guess I wouldn't need to come back to you and to scold you anymore ?" 

Aidan nodded visibly intimidated by Kaito. I couldn't blame him, the Captain scared a lot of guards. Training resumed as best we could, we all tried to concentrate under the extreme vigilance of our superior who analyzed all our actions. He didn't let any mistakes slip through. I admire him and I wasn't the only one to think that about him. He had a certain aura that emanated from him which commanded respect, which was also practical for a Captain responsible for the proper functioning ans skills of the Prince's royal guard. 

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