Even Trey noticed that she’d notched her training up a gear. “What’s going on, Ash?” He nudged her after they’d finished another round of punch combinations.
“Nothing.” She said through gritted teeth, the anger pouring off her in waves.
“Come on. What’s that all about?” He flicked his eyes over towards Rhian.
“I’ve no idea.”
“Why does she have such a problem with you? She hasn’t taken her eyes off of you all session.” Trey frowned. He was the kind of guy who always tried to see the best in people, but even he was having trouble finding redeeming qualities in Rhian.
“Again, I’ve no idea.” Ash glanced back at Rhian, who was sat stony faced with her eyes still glued to Aisline. It was getting annoying because the other trainees could see that she had a problem, but none of the warriors would do anything about it or say anything to her. “Just ignore her. That’s what I do.”
“Not easy when she’d constantly focused on you, I bet.”
“I try my best. It’s either that, or pound the hell out of her and she’s not worth the trouble.”
Grabbing a towel off the shelf, Ash walked back over to her back to grab her water bottle. All that energy she was expending was taking it out of her and she was exhausted already.
“What the hell?” she gasped. The entire contents of her bag was covered in a jelly type substance. Holding her hands up in front of her, Ash turned to show Jackson and Trey.
“Ugh! What’s that?” Trey said as he took a step back away from her, not wanting to get near the foul smelling goop.
As Aisline opened her mouth to say something, she saw Rhian smirk.
“You did this!”
Rhian laughed. “Don’t blame me if you can’t seal a bottle properly. What is that anyway? It reeks!” She was in her element. This was much better than the salt water trick.
Some of the other guys started to laugh nervously, seeing that this could get out of hand very quickly. Aisline was so mad that they could almost see steam coming out of her ears. The laughter stopped abruptly when Ash turned and glared at each and every one of them. She didn’t find this funny. Not at all. The goo was still dripping from her fingers and the smell was making her want to be sick.
“If that’s your shower gel, you might want to think about changing to something a little more feminine.” Rhian quipped, making the boys in the group laugh again. This was working even better than she thought it would. The other guys were lapping it up, making Aisline look even more of a fool. Perfect.
Aisline could feel herself going red, not with embarrassment but with pure white hot anger. She narrowed her eyes and had to hold herself back from pouncing on Rhian. “You don’t like the smell of it? Well, let’s see if it smells any better on you!” and she flicked her hands in Rhian’s direction, splashing her with droplets of the foul smelling goo. She knew that it was a childish move, but she couldn’t help herself. If Rhian wanted to play childish games, she was going to get a hell of a shock when Ash started playing back.
Rhian shrieked and jumped up, scrabbling frantically to get the disgusting goop off her.
“I can’t believe you did that!”
“I can’t believe you did this to me!” Ash retorted, her skin feeling hot with anger.
“What’s going on over here?” Master Warrior Dixon roared.
“She put this stuff in my bag!” Ash pointed at Rhian furiously. “Look at it.”
“I did not! Why would I do that?”
“Come on. You’ve been glaring at me all day. Who else would have done it?”
“I didn’t do it.” Rhian smirked, the look on her face making it clear to everyone that she had done it and was extremely proud of her work.
Master Warrior Dixon moved to stand in between the girls, wrinkling his nose as the smell hit his senses. “Did you do this, Rhian?”
“Of course not. Why would I?” Rhian insisted, fluttering innocent lashes at the warrior before glaring daggers at Aisline.
“And did you see her put it in your bag?” he asked Aisline.
“No. Not exactly, but.”
“No buts. If you haven’t got any proof, you can’t go around accusing people randomly.” Master Warrior Dixon took a step back, trying to avoid the smell.
“But I know she did it! She’s got a real problem with me.”
The warrior shook his head, “Well, she said she didn’t do it. Clear this mess up.”
“But, sir!”
“No!” he shouted. “That’s the end of this and the last I’ll hear of it. Clear this shit up now!” Dixon stormed off, trying to control his gag reflexes.
Ash glared at Rhian, wishing she could smack that smirk straight off her face. Rhian chuckled before sashaying out of the room, leaving Ash fuming behind her. The rest of the guys quickly moved away from the mess, wanting to get as far away from the stink as they could.
“Do you want a hand?” Jackson asked, clearly not wanting to get any closer, but the thought was there and Ash appreciated it.
She sighed. “No. It’s fine. I’ll sort it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Do you really want to smell like this, too? It’s bad enough that I’ve got it on me and I don’t know how I’ll ever get the stench out of my clothes or bag. It’s all ruined.” She looked at all of her gear sadly. This was one step too far. Why did Rhian have to be like this? They didn’t like each other. That was fine. All they had to do was stay out of each other’s way.
Jackson smiled, trying not to laugh because it really wasn’t funny. “If you’re sure, I’ll catch you later.” He waved lamely as he backed out of the room.
It was so annoying, even more so because no one seemed to believe that Rhian had anything to do with it. She was pretty sure that the guys knew Rhian was behind it, but it seemed like the girl could do no wrong in the eyes of the warriors. It was obvious that Rhian had something to do with it, but there was no way she could prove it. All she could do was gather up the goopy mess and haul ass over to the laundry room in the hope that her things weren’t ruined forever. She wanted to get everything into a washing machine as soon as possible so she could go and grab a shower. It smelled disgusting. Worse than disgusting. She just hoped that the smell would come off.
“Are you okay?”
Ash paused in the hallway and glanced at Cala.
“I would be if your sister wasn’t such a bitch.” She snapped. Instantly, she felt bad for taking it out on Cala. She was nothing like her sister and didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
Cala smiled. “It’s okay. I understand. Do you want a hand with that?”
“I’m just going to dump it all in the washing machine.”
“That won’t work.” Cala shook her head.
“What do you mean?”
“Just washing won’t get rid of the smell.”
“You mean that I’m going to be stuck like this? I stink!” Ash shrieked, panicking.
Cala glanced around and lowered her voice. “I’ll meet you in the laundry room. Don’t worry, I’ll sort it.” And she rushed off before Ash could say another word.
She carried on to the laundry room and dumped her bag on the counter top. Ash had no idea what Cala was doing, but if she could help her get rid of this god-awful smell, then she was all for it. It was yet more proof to her that Rhian had been behind it and that some sort of magic was used to make this disgusting smell. Not that she’d bother bringing it to the attention of the warriors. If Cala could help her get rid of the stink, that would be good enough for her.
It didn’t take long for Cala to come rushing in with a small bottle in her hand.
“Here. Pour three quarters of this in with the load and it will get rid of the smell.” She held up the small bottle filled with a blue powder. “Save the rest to shower with. It’ll get rid of the gloop and the smell on you, too.”
Ash took the bottle from her hand and looked at the powder. “What�
��s this?” she asked as she poured the correct amount into the washing machine with the rest of her gross smelling belongings. Even being near the stuff made her gag.
“It’s like an antidote. It’ll counteract the smell.” Cala was pleased that she’d thought to make this up beforehand. Making the antidote was something she’d done before, when Rhian had pulled this stunt on someone at school. She was happy she could help Aisline. It wasn’t fair on the girl and she was just pleased that it hadn’t been anything more complex. Cala couldn’t do that sort of thing and she couldn’t have been able to help.
“She’s done this before, hasn’t she?” Ash said suddenly, the truth dawning on her.
Cala hung her head. “Don’t tell anyone.” And she rushed out of the room as if the place were on fire.
“I promise.” Ash said even though Cala didn’t hang around to listen. She wanted to hug the girl. There was no way she’d get her in trouble with her sister. From the look on the girls’ face, Rhian had probably played that prank on her, hence why she had the powder ready. The poor girl. It made Aisline’s blood boil at the thought of Rhian bullying her sister like that. She could handle it. Sure, she was annoyed, but that was different. Cala was quiet and couldn’t stand up to her sister. But, by doing this, she had made a little stand, whether she realised it or not.
After getting her belongings washed and dried and diving in the shower, she no longer smelled like a sewer. Ash could have kissed Cala, but there was no way she was going to approach her at the moment. She wouldn’t drop her in it with Rhian like that.
Walking back to her room, she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Rhian, who looked shocked at the lack of stench. Ash felt like she had won this little battle and it felt good. Cala had done a good thing and this was a win that went to the pair of them. Hopefully, Rhian would think twice before doing something quite so childish next time.
Chapter Twelve
Jab Cross Jab Cross Front kick.
Change stance.
Jab Cross Jab Cross Front kick.
Change stance.
And so it continued until it felt like her limbs were going to fall off.
This was absolute murder on her body but Kelton was putting them through yet another punishing training routine. He’d given them all harsh speech at the beginning of the session about peak physical fitness and stamina, stating that there’d be no rest breaks out in the real world when they were going up against the enemy.
That was all well and good and it was clear that he had made a very valid point as it felt like her arms were going to drop off at any moment, but Aisline wouldn’t give up. She wanted to give it her all. She already knew that her muscles were going to be screaming out in agony in the morning, but in the end it was going to be worth it. All this torture would make her into the kind of warrior that she would be proud of.
Pausing briefly to roll her shoulders and shake out her limbs, Ash whispered to Jackson, “Where’s Trey?” She hadn’t seen him all morning and he hadn’t been at breakfast. It wasn’t like him to miss a training session. Even if he felt like the walking dead, Trey wasn’t the type of guy not to give it his all.
Jackson shrugged before bracing the pads for Ash to start her next round of continuous punches. He and Trey shared a room and his bed had been empty when Jackson had woken up. Master Warrior Dixon had already pulled him to one side to ask him if he knew where Trey was, but he didn’t have a clue. It was a bit of a worry as Trey was the kind of guy that stuck to the rules and didn’t rock the boat. It wasn’t like him to go AWOL like this.
Jab Cross Jab Cross Front kick.
Change stance.
Jab Cross Jab Cross Front kick.
Change stance.
Ash continued to batter the pads until Kelton finally called time and her arms dropped to her sides like dead weights. She rolled her eyes at Jackson, wondering how the hell he’d managed to even hold the pads up after his round of continuous punches. The end of the session was a welcome relief. She couldn’t wait to get back up to her room and grab a soothing shower. She’d been sweating buckets and couldn’t wait for the pounding water to relax her muscles.
“GTA marathon tonight, Jax?” Dylan called as he walked over to where they were standing near the water cooler.
“Sure. Why not?” Jackson grinned.
“You in, Ash?”
She shook her head. GTA wasn’t her kind of thing. If they were going to be playing some badass shoot-em-up game like COD, then she’d be there in a flash. “I’m going to phone Lana tonight and then crash.”
Dylan nodded in understanding. “That sure was a brutal work-out. Kelton’s really picking it up.”
“You know where we are if you change your mind.” Jackson said to Ash, who waved to Dylan as he backed out of the room.
Most of the boys in their training group could be found holed up in the gamer rooms most evenings, using computer games as a way of winding down after a hard days’ training. Not that she could blame them in the slightest. You did whatever you could to keep yourself sane in this place. Personally, she preferred to curl up with a good book and get lost in a fantasy world.
“Come on. I’ll walk you up to your room.” Jackson said as he grabbed both their sports bags, ever the gentleman. Ash had given up protesting that she could carry her own gear. It was just one of the many little things that he liked to do for her, small ways to show her that he cared.
“So, where do you think Trey is?”
Jackson shook his head. “I’ve no idea. He was there when I went to sleep and he’d already gone when I woke up.”
“It’s totally out of character for him to do something like this. I hope nothing’s wrong.”
“He’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
Jackson nodded. It was out of character for Trey to act like this. He’d been really quiet lately, secretive even. It was like he was keeping something to himself, when usually Trey would talk about anything. He was usually so open. Jackson didn’t feel right questioning him over it. He knew that Trey would talk to him when and if he wanted to, so he was going to wait until he was ready.
Before training this morning, Master Warrior Dixon had called him into his office to ask him if he knew where Trey was. They’d noticed him missing during breakfast and presumed he was sick, but when Jackson said he wasn’t in their room, that’s when they all started to worry. Jackson didn’t want to mention to Ash that the warriors were all out looking for him because he didn’t want to worry her further. He didn’t think that there was anything wrong, but knew that he and Trey would be sitting down and having a good chat when he returned.
“Has he said anything to you? Is he worried about anything?” Ash asked, glancing up at him as they slowly walked up the grand staircase.
“What about?”
“I don’t know. Stuff. He seems a bit preoccupied lately. You share a room with him. I thought that he might have talked to you about something.”
“Usually he does talk to me, but he hasn’t really said much lately. It’s odd.” Jackson frowned.
Ash fell quiet for a moment and they walked in companionable silence. “Will you let me know when you find him? When he comes back? I’m worried about him. This isn’t like him.”
“I will.” Jackson promised. “Don’t forget to come down if you get bored.”
“I don’t think I’ll get that bored.” Ash laughed.
“Well, the offers there.” Jackson grinned and stepped forward.
Glancing to the side to make sure that they were alone in the hall, he raised his fingers to Aisline’s face, slowly tracing her cheek and along her jaw line. Even though they didn’t get much time alone with the rigorous training schedule and feeling tired as hell the rest of the time, when they had moments like this, they were precious. Ash closed her eyes as she felt his fingertips tracing her skin and smiled when she felt his lips on hers.
“Break it up, kids.”
A voice bellowed from behind the
m and they jumped apart. Master Warrior Verynai was standing behind them with a big shit eating grin on his face. It was pretty much common knowledge that Ash and Jackson had a thing going and everyone had accepted it. Verynai loved to tease them when they weren’t training and he caught them in some compromising situation, however innocent it looked. Right now, even though they were only kissing, both the teenagers blushed furiously.
“I’m only kidding.” Verynai held up his hands, laughing as he walked away. He didn’t object to them being in a relationship, as long as it didn’t impact on their training, it was all good.
Ash and Jackson looked at one another and burst out laughing. “I’ll catch you later.” Jackson gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, backing away quickly when they heard Master Warrior Verynai’s booming laughter from down the other end of the hall.
Closing her door behind her, Aisline shook her head and grinned. Even if they didn’t have much time to build a relationship, she was pleased that she had what she had with Jackson. It was nice to know that he was there for her at the end of the day.
After a ridiculously long and luxurious shower that went a long way to soothing her aching muscles, she had to get out when the water started to cool. Usually, her showers were short and sweet but she wanted to make the most of the steaming water. Aisline dressed in an old pair of yoga pants and a band tee, pulling her long rich hair that she’d dried as best she could into a ponytail, she pulled the door shut behind her and skipped down the stairs. Well, she walked carefully rather than skipped. The shower had gone a long way to refreshing her tired body, but her legs still felt that strange combination of jelly and stiff. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to training so hard, but relished in the thought that she’d kept up with the rest of them.
Changing Fates: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 3) Page 16