by L. C. Mawson
The more time passed, the more Lena’s anger made sense.
I was furious on Willow’s behalf too.
But what if she didn’t want me to be?
What if she really was fine, or at least would prefer to just let it go?
What if she thought I was pushy or too quick to anger?
No, better that I respect what she’d said.
She’d said that she was fine, so she was fine.
And there was no reason for me to be upset.
Chapter Seven
I frowned as I found myself in the strange tower once more.
Except this time, I wasn’t alone.
In front of me was a woman, with her back to me, her long dark hair tied in a plait while she wore a long, brown, sleeveless jacket over a white blouse, black trousers, and sensible black boots, with a black belt cinching the coat in at the middle at holding a multitude of flasks and metal tools.
I stepped forward, about to ask where I was, when the woman spun on her heel, drawing her wand from her belt and aiming it at me.
“How did you get in here?” she demanded, before relaxing as she saw me. “Amelia? How did you get in here?”
The second time Maria Brown asked her question, it was softer, more asked of surprise and astonishment than anger.
But before I could make sense of it, the world faded around me.
I BOLTED UPRIGHT IN my bed, frowning.
I’d dreamed of Maria Brown.
Why had I been dreaming of Maria Brown?
“Are you okay?”
I turned to see Natalie already up and dressed, giving me a concerned look.
“I’m fine,” I said, not wanting to tell her the truth.
My dream didn’t mean anything, it was just my mind acting up under stress.
Natalie frowned in that slight way that she did, where there was just the tiniest crease in her brow. “Amy, you’ve been waking up like that every night since Samhain. Maybe it’s some kind of side-effect of the spell you were casting...”
I gave her a reassuring smile. “Or maybe it’s just the stress of the last few days. Trust me, Natalie, I’m no stranger to bad dreams. They’ll pass.”
Natalie didn’t look happy with my answer, but she nodded, not pressing further.
I was thankful for that.
I didn’t want to tell anyone about these dreams until I knew exactly what they meant.
I turned my attention to my bedside table, looking for my phone, only to see a metal tin there, with a note on top.
“A new salve for your scars,” I read, smiling as I saw that it was from my auntie.
I opened the tin and immediately started applying it to my scars, a wave of relief crashing over me at the cool, soothing sensation.
I almost forgot how much it hurt until the pain was gone again, but as soon as it was, it was like a fog lifted from my mind, not unlike when I first started my ADHD medication.
I suppressed a sigh as a rather morbid thought occurred to me.
If this was how bad I felt with the pain when I was on the medication, how bad would it be if I wasn’t on it?
I suspected the answer was that I wouldn’t be even slightly functional, but I suppressed that thought.
I had my medication, and I had the salve for the scars.
As long as I had them, I was fine.
Natalie sat down on the edge of her bed, looking me over.
“What?” I asked.
“Just wondering if the Amazons are all you’re stressed about.”
I suppressed a groan.
I’d briefly mentioned what had happened with my mother to everyone the night before because it had come up, but I’d just glossed over it, not wanting to make it a thing.
“She woke up from the curse, but now she’s kind of mad that I’m at this school and that Dad never told her about magic. But I’m sure they’ll work it out.”
Natalie waited for me to answer for several moments before breaking the silence. “Have you heard from your mum since she woke up?”
I sighed, picking up my phone with the hand that wasn’t covered in salve.
No messages and no missed calls.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Maybe you should reach out then.”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s the parent here, Natalie. If she wants to talk to me, she should be the one to send the message.”
“I know, I just... You might feel better if you hear from her, and right now, you don’t need any extra stress.”
I sighed once more, knowing that she was right.
I went to my messages and typed a quick “Hi. How are you? xxxxx” to my mum before putting my phone down.
“Okay, done.”
“And nothing else is bothering you? Just the training?”
“Isn’t that enough? Aren’t you nervous?”
Natalie shrugged. “I suppose. I wish that we knew more about what the training actually entailed...”
I nodded. “Yeah, and it would have been good if Willow and Lena had gotten into the training as well.”
Natalie took a moment before responding. “You spoke to Willow alone yesterday, right? How was she after not getting through?”
I shrugged. “She wasn’t happy, but I think she’s mostly okay with it.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“Yeah, it is.”
WE MADE OUR WAY DOWN to breakfast to see the others already there, including Willow.
“So,” Lena said as Natalie and I sat down with our food, “how are you all feeling about training today? And who’s going to agree to give the Amazons hell about dropping Willow?”
Willow shook her head. “Lena...”
“I’m not dropping this, Willow. You deserve a spot on this training, and it’s ridiculous that you didn’t get one.”
“Maybe, but complaining about it isn’t going to change anything, and I’d rather not cause Amelia any problems. They forced her into this training to test her, remember? Let’s not convince her to piss them off over something relatively minor.”
Lena huffed. “It’s not minor at all,” she said, but didn’t press the issue further.
I frowned. I didn’t want Willow to drop this just because she was worried about me.
But... Well, she was right. I doubted kicking up a fuss would change anything.
The Amazons held all the cards here, and we were completely at their mercy.
Charlotte pushed her eggs across her plate, not eating them, and Lena must have noticed, as she then turned her attention to her friend.
“You should eat something.”
Charlotte shook her head. “Nope. Slimy.”
Lena then stood up and made her way over to the food tables, returning with a protein bar.
“You need to eat something,” Lena said as she passed Charlotte the bar.
Charlotte gave her a small, apologetic smile as she took the bar before peeling off the wrapper and nibbling at it.
“You’ll do great,” Lena said. “There’s no need to be nervous, you’ve been preparing for this for years.”
I looked down at my own sandwich.
Charlotte may have been preparing for this for years, but I hadn’t.
My desperate push to learn as much magic as possible to find a way to cure my mum had put me a little ahead, but what did that mean when compared to people who’d been learning about magic for years?
I was pulled from my thoughts by a hand coming to rest over mine.
I looked up to see Willow giving me a reassuring smile. “You’ll do great as well,” she said. “If you tapped into instinctive magic yesterday, you can probably do it again.”
I shrugged, looking away. “I’m not sure, Willow. I mean, I’m not even sure how I did it yesterday. It was like... I just knew. But that’s not exactly something you can replicate.”
“You knew because you understood the flows of magic you needed. You were familiar enough with the feel of the spells you knew, and you were abl
e to see past the rote memorisation to understand the way they worked. That kind of understanding doesn’t disappear overnight.”
I nodded, though I still wasn’t sure.
I didn’t want to put all of my hopes of making it through this on me managing instinctive magic a second time.
I WAS RELUCTANT TO part ways with the others when the school bell rang.
Willow leaned in close and gave me a quick kiss. “You’ll do great,” she said before heading off to her regular classes with Lena.
Natalie, Charlotte and I headed towards the training grounds, seeing maybe another twenty or so girls on their way as well.
I supposed they made up the other students who’d made it into the training.
“This way,” an Amazon said as everyone else made their way to the front gate, showing them to the side door I’d used yesterday.
Natalie and Charlotte stuck close to me as I led them in the right direction.
Just outside the changing room, another Amazon explained the cubby holes and armour to them, though this time, she said that they should have names on them.
Indeed, when we went inside, I saw that the cubby I’d used the day before now had my name carved beneath it.
I took my armour and made quick work of getting dressed.
Natalie, as always, was faster than me, though Charlotte took a little while, her fingers clumsy with the straps and buckles.
“Damn Litcorde dexterity,” she muttered under her breath.
“Can’t you just use the spell you used yesterday during the trials?”
Charlotte sighed. “I could, but it’s a strong spell, and it takes a lot out of me. I hardly ever use it unless it’s necessary, and I would rather not start today with my Energy drained before I’ve even started training.”
She finally got the armour into place and we made our way out into the main training area.
Most of the other girls were already there and waiting.
In front of them was Dana, with a couple of other Amazons at her side.
Natalie frowned slightly, folding her arms. “I’m surprised Coven Head Dana is here. I mean, it made sense for her to be there for the initial trial, but surely the leader of the Amazons has better things to do than train recruits.”
The final girls must have made their way out of the changing room, as Coven Head Dana stepped forward to address us.
“Students, welcome to your first day of training. For the next month, we will train you each day, and at the end of the day, we shall administer a test relating to the day’s training. If you pass the test, you’ll make it to the next day of training. If not, you will fail out of the training program and will not have the opportunity to take the final trial.
“If you make it to the final trial and pass, you shall be accepted into the Amazons and there will always be a place for you on Themiscyra.”
I folded my arms. I didn’t exactly want a place on Themiscyra, but I supposed that the Amazons weren’t giving me a choice.
Either prove that I was worthy of it, or...
Well, I didn’t want to think about what might happen if I didn’t pass.
“For today’s training,” Coven Head Dana continued, “split off into pairs and spar. We will be coming over to examine your form and help you where we can.”
“Hey, Amelia.”
I jumped at the sound of Lauren’s voice coming from behind me the moment Coven Head Dana stopped speaking.
“Want to be partners?” she asked as I turned to face her. “I could do with a real challenge.”
It took everything I had not to glare at her as my jaw tightened.
I was less than convinced that the incident during the trial yesterday had been an accident.
Natalie, thankfully, stepped forward before I had to say anything. “Actually, we’d already agreed to be partners for this task.”
Lauren huffed, folding her arms as she turned back to me. “You know, training with a Vampire is hardly good practice for a Witch.”
I shrugged. “I actually find it to be great practice.”
Of course, I’d never actually trained with Natalie, but Lauren didn’t have to know that.
Lauren huffed once more, but thankfully turning to Charlotte. “Well, I suppose you and I could pair up. Dana did say that you were close to me and Amelia in ability.”
Charlotte just nodded, and I felt a little bad, wondering if she really didn’t mind, or if she was just taking the path of least resistance.
“Sorry for stepping in like that,” Natalie said as soon as Lauren was out of earshot. “I just figured that you would want to spar with someone who already knew about your injuries, who wouldn’t cause them to flare up further.”
I nodded, not having thought of that.
My auntie’s salve had a glamour baked into it, so I didn’t even need to consciously hide the scars now, and they were so numb that I barely felt them.
Or anything on my left side, which would have probably been disconcerting if it wasn’t such a relief.
But while the salve kept the scars hidden and numbed, I didn’t think it would hold up to people actually touching me.
Not to mention the fact that they might wipe off the salve and break the glamour.
“Thanks,” I said. “Though, if I’m going to be tested later, you probably shouldn’t take it easy on me. And I should probably be prepared for however a blow is going to feel through this new numbing salve.”
Natalie raised her eyebrow slightly.
“I can reapply it over lunch if I need to,” I said. “But it’s better to know how it feels now than during the test.”
Natalie nodded before getting into position.
I did the same before letting her strike first, expecting her Vampire strength and speed to easily cut through my defences.
Except she instead delivered a blow that was easily knocked away, as slow and weak as it was.
I sighed. “Come on, Natalie, I said not to take it easy on me.”
“If I don’t take it easy on you, I could kill you,” Natalie said. “This isn’t just about your scars, Vampires are much faster and stronger than Witches.”
“Still, you can do better than that.”
Natalie struck out again, this time a little faster than I would have anticipated from an opponent.
But not fast enough.
I blocked her once more.
“Okay, well, that was just sloppily done.”
Natalie frowned before attempting to deliver another blow.
And then another.
“I thought Ms Espina was training you herself,” I said.
Natalie groaned in exasperation. “She is, but even she’s not fast or strong enough to challenge me.”
“So, you have no idea how to actually strike a decent blow?”
Natalie sighed. “Maybe. Or maybe I’m just concentrating too much on not hurting you.”
“Then stop concentrating on that so much. Just don’t break any bones and you’ll be fine.”
Natalie shook her head before striking out again.
If anything, this one was slower than the one before, but I decided not to block it, bracing myself for the blow.
“Ah, fuck,” I hissed as I went to grasp my shoulder before deciding that touching it was probably not the best idea.
“Are you okay?” Natalie asked, giving me a worried look. “I tried to warn you...”
I shook my head. “This isn’t because you hit too hard, Natalie. If anything, that was kind of a weak blow. It’s just the scars.”
She nodded but didn’t look convinced.
I cursed my luck as, at that moment, one of the Amazons came over.
She was an older woman, with white hair plaited back and wrinkles around her deep brown eyes.
I wondered just how old she was. How many centuries had she seen?
“Don’t stop on my account, girls,” she said. “I’m just here to watch.”
I nodded as I turned to Natalie. “St
op holding back.”
She looked even less convinced of that idea than before, but the Amazon gave her an understanding smile.
“Here,” she said before passing a bracelet over to Natalie. “It should cap your strength and speed at that of a strong Witch.”
“Thanks,” Natalie said as she took the bracelet and put it on. “This would have been helpful in Magical Self-Defence classes.”
The Amazon shrugged. “Unfortunately, this is a particularly difficult charm to cast, but when I realised that we had a Vampire entering the training, I figured it would be useful. I’m Esme, by the way. And you’re Natalie and Amelia, correct?”
We nodded.
“Well, let’s see you two in action.”
Natalie and I faced each other, and Natalie struck out once more, with no hesitation this time.
So, her poor strikes before really had just been out of concern for me.
Still, I managed to block her blow, pivoting straight into a counter.
We went for quite a while, with neither of us managing to strike a blow, until I finally saw an opening, though Natalie then dodged to the side and took advantage of an opening on my right side.
I stumbled at her strike, but managed to recover, just in time for her to strike at my left side.
I attempted to dodge, but I moved too slow.
I gritted my teeth, Dark Energy crackling over my skin at the pain, but I pushed it aside, refusing to strike while my magic was flaring like that.
As soon as it dissipated, Natalie went for another strike, but she’d gotten too cocky from her early success and I easily blocked the blow before striking one of my own.
She moved to block me, clearly having forgotten how much slower she was now, as she didn’t even come close to managing it.
“I think that’s enough for now,” Esme said, ending the match as soon as I’d landed my blow.
She looked us over as we turned to face her.
“You both clearly have skills in this area, though Natalie, you need to get used to not being able to use your Vampire strength and speed in an emergency with the bracelet on. And Amelia, you were guarding your left side too much and Natalie was able to take advantage of that. Though...”
Her gaze went to my shoulder and I followed it, only to see that the salve had rubbed off enough for her to see the faint outline of the scars beneath.