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ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕘𝕒𝕟 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕠𝕧

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To say that my first official day at the Little Palace was a disaster would be the biggest understatement of the year!

As soon as I woke that morning, my mind was in a whole other place and not where I needed it to be. In my head.

Genya, thankfully, noticed this and ordered my breakfast to be brought to my room after she finished touching me up. But along with my meal, Tony came with his dashing smile and bubbly energy that no one should have in the morning.

He spoke all through my breakfast, while I chewed absentmindedly on a piece of plain bread. It wasn't until I finally pulled on my kefta and followed Tony outside for training that I finally realised what was wrong.

I was homesick.

Everything was too lush and bright at the Little Palace. Sure, it had been and still was breathtaking. But I missed the dark, lamplit streets of Ketterdam. The dirty, uneven paths filled with people selling their wares. I missed the smell of bitter coffee, mud and pipe smoke that would greet me every morning. I missed the noise of carts, the shouts coming from neighbouring bars, the jingling of coins and flick of cards from within gambling houses and the sound of nearby scuffles taking place.

The Little Palace was too quiet. The only sound was that of the calm, present breeze and the soft grunts of Grisha training. The training grounds were big and filled with maybe thirty-ish Grisha, all fighting an opponent. The ground beneath them was dusty, the grass has not survived the years of boots and bodies hitting the ground.

I recognised a few Grisha who'd been in West Ravka and had survived the trip across the Fold.

"Come on," Tony said, pushing me forward. A tall woman stood in the centre of the throng of scuffling bodies. Her hands were held behind her straight back and she strode with a warrior's grace, her eyes examining everyone one by one. 

"Who's that?"

"That's Vix, she's our combat instructor. She teaches us to fight without using our Grisha abilities." Tony explained.

Vix suddenly shouted causing even Tony to jump beside me. "Xavier!" She screeched, her voice croaky like an old bird. She pointed a long finger at the boy lying, panting in the dust. "If I have to tell you to straighten your stance one more time-" Her hand came smacking down on Xavier's leg and he was back on his feet in seconds.

I swallowed a bit. "She seems a little... intimidating."

Tony gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, you have no idea." I saw him massage his shoulder. "Botkin was so much nicer than this."

"Who's Botkin?"

"Hm? Oh, he was our old trainer. He was strict too, but not nearly as... slappy."

"You!" My head turned so quickly I got whiplash. Vix had her long finger pointing at me and with it, the heads of just about everyone swung in my direction. I bit my lip. "You took your time to get here."

"Sorry," My voice cracked. "I was just-"

"Just what? I hope what you're about to say is more important than training," she hissed, eyes sharp like a vicious snake's. "Were you in an important war meeting?"

"Ugh... No."

"Were you under attack?"

"No."

"Suffering from Firepox?"

"No..."

"Then why are you late?" She didn't wait for my reply. "You think that training is useless, do you? Think that just because you got two abilities that you can protect yourself just fine?"

"Well..." I smiled, trying to be funny. But instantly regretted it when I turned to Tony and realised he wasn't smiling, neither were the other Grisha, neither was Vix. The only person to make a sound was Milana, who was standing on the sidelines beside her training partner, shaking her head and glaring at me. "No!" I quickly corrected myself. "No, I don't think that at all."

"Then it's just a case of pure laziness, eh? Well, I won't tolerate laziness. Come!" Her finger snapped downwards, pointing to the spot in front of her. I glanced up at Tony who gave a small, frantic 'do as she says' nod. "Now!" 

I dashed over to the spot, dust flying behind me as I ran and came to a skidded stop. "Stand straight! Let me have a look at you." She circled me, like a hungry vulture observing its meal. "Hm..." She poked at my side, arms and even gave a small tug on my hair. "This is the general's son?" She asked no one in particular.

"I'm-" I never got to finish as she began talking over me.

"Too skinny," she snapped. "No figure. Stance is weaker than straw. The hair's too long. You'll have to cut it."

My hand jerked up protectively. "I'm not cutting my hair!"

"If you get protective over stuff like that, you'll never make it as a soldier."

I was about to explain how I wasn't a soldier, but she never allowed me to even so much as open my mouth. She raised her hand sharply. "Either cut it or tie it back, I couldn't care less. Now, have you ever fought before?"

"Once or twice," I said truthfully. I'd been cornered plenty of times by older boys back in Ketterdam and had always been forced to fight my way out... Of course, I'd never won any of those fights- but I wasn't about to tell Vix that.

But despite me keeping that little snippet of information a secret, Vix seemed to see right through me and gave a snark grimace. "Alright, then." She turned away, marching to the centre of the field. "Step forward. Now, who will be his sparring partner?"

No hands went up. 

Maybe they were afraid of me... Or maybe they could see straight away that I was no worthy opponent.

"Thank you, Petrova," Vix said, looking behind me. I tensed. Petrova? Milana Petrova? Had she really offered to spare with me?

I turned around and felt my stomach give a nervous jolt as I was covered by Tony's enormous shadow. He gave me a wink and I tried smiling back, but it was as if my face was locked in position, unable to portray the relief I wasn't feeling.

"Alright then... Face your partner."

I took note of how quickly everybody took a step back, especially those closest to Tony, who was suddenly in a fighting position.

"Ready..."

I was so flustered I couldn't do much more than stand opposite the giant boy like an idiot.

"Fight!"

"Oh, Saints..."

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Hey Readers,

This is a shorter chapter than last time and I apologize for that.

I've been swamped with study and life in general.
I'm sure you all understand.

I hope you're still enjoying the story and I 
promise the next chapter is not far away.

- DawnTide