Training

She couldn’t contain her anticipation- to the point where people noticed. “What was that? That was a rookie mistake. You haven’t been this bad since you first came here!” Rhya scolded. More often than not, Rhya accompanied her on raids. They had each other’s backs, and they definitely knew when the other wasn’t acting normally. She was one of Anne’s only friends, with Jax having been conspicuously absent.

“I know, I know. I’m having an off day.”

“I’ve seen you on an off day, sister. This ain’t it.”

“Just- give me a day, all right?”

“It better not last more than a day, then! Get your act together Windwood. Get! It! Together!” After the raid was over, she went to meet up with Jax. Then she realized. Jax hadn’t told her where to go! Or even a time, now that she thought about it. She groaned loudly, and plopped on her bed. What was she going to do?

The answer presented itself twenty minutes later in the form of Jax, standing outside their room. “Are you ready?”

“No,” I said into the bale. “But I’m coming anyway.”

“That’s a good attitude to have.” He gestured for her to come forward. She followed tentatively. The path they took was not one she recognized. The twists and turns seemed designed to make one lost. It probably was.

When they reached the end, they found themselves in a warehouse. When they had reached the surface, Anne wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, either.

At first glance, the warehouse looked abandoned. However, little hints clued her in. No spiderwebs. No layers of dust. The rust has been strategically placed to seem natural. Maybe to someone who hadn’t been trained in tactics for a year, it would be almost impossible to tell the difference. But to her? It was obvious. Jax misinterpreted her gaze. “Don’t worry, it’s not really abandoned. It just looks that way.” Anne didn’t bother dignifying that with a response. “So… what are we doing here?”she asked pointedly.

“ Now, we fight.” He punched her in the face.

“Ow, what the heck Jax ?!?”

“The best way to learn is through experience. Now dodge.” Anne barely managed to avoid being hit again. She felt something bubble up inside, something long forgotten. No. Not now. Please. Dang it.

When she next opened her eyes, the warehouse was- still intact? Somehow? What did they make that out of, anyways? Jax, on the other hand, looked a bit worse for wear. “Wuh- What was that?” He asked, looking flabbergasted. It was a good look on him, if she did say so herself. She shook her head. Where had that come from? Sighing, she told Jax what had truly gone done on her birthday so long ago.

It was a few seconds before Jax blinked again. Whether that was because of shock or debris, she couldn’t tell. When he spoke again, his voice had a strangled undertone to it. “Well… It looks like I’ll have to change up the schedule a bit.”

He signaled me to follow him. As we walked back into the maze of corridors, he started talking. “I was planning to tell you about this afterwards.”

“Yeah, well, plans change.” I added bitterly.

“Absolutely right. I was operating under the assumption that you were bentless. But no, you’re like me!”

“Like me?!?”

“You didn’t think you were the only one with a forbidden bent, did you?” He opened his arms in a grand gesture. “ Welcome to the outlaws. We’re the ones who shouldn’t exist, but we do. In other words- this is the rebellion.”

“The rebellion! You mean- against the Kings?!?”

“Who else?” Jax took a bite out of the apple he had procured seemingly out of thin air.

“How did you-”

“Slight of hand Princess. I had it in my coat pocket all along." He grinne, biting into it for emphasis.

Anne was pretty sure that apple was too big to fit in his pocket, but decided not to question it.

“So, you need bent training.” Jax changed the subject. “ I can’t train your body if you explode when stressed.”

“I suppose that that would be a small problem.” I responded sarcastically.

“Yeah, exactly! We just need to find someone to help you.”

“ And who might that be?”

“ Ben. He’s the only one we have with an explosion bent. It’s a recessive gene.”

“Excuse me? I thought it was just luck?”

“Bents and genetics are irrevocably linked. It’s not just the likelihood of having one- it’s what you get, too. You said your mom was a healer. What was your dad?” My dad? I-

“ I never met him. He died before I was born.” Jax stroked his imaginary beard.

“Interesting. Anyways, we’ve arrived.” We had stopped at what looked like a hut, its outside covered in green fuzz. “What is-”

“ Ben made this by hand. The moisture helps him to stop himself from exploding.”

“He needs that?” Jax knocked on the wooden door, seemingly the only part not made of mud.

“No, but it sure makes it easier.” The door swung open. The man-Ben- looked to be in his mid twenties. Looking inside, everything he owned was junk. It was like he couldn’t afford to keep anything more. Or maybe he just knew he would end up exploding them.

“Jax. What is it this time.” His tone was flat.

Ben, meet Anne, She has an explosion bent.” Jax put careful emphasis on his words. Ben’s eyes widened. He looked her over, once, twice.

“You better come inside.” Ben pulled up two chairs from the back. “You’ll forgive me for the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.” Mess? Oh. A burn mark was on ceiling. It looked fresh. Anne thought that he was supposed to be able to control his bent!

Ben smiled grimly, and Anne realized she’d spoken out loud.“There’s no way to control it, not truly. You can only contain it until you’re ready to let it out.” But… Anne had made it dissipate, back at Hart Manor. This didn’t make sense.

“But, isn’t that in itself controlling it?”

“If you can’t do it on command, you can’t control it. Think of it this way. Most bents are like stray dogs. They start out unpredictably, but a little training can make them behave. You can make it do what you wish. Now, our bent is a feral dog. No matter what you try, they will continue to bite. The only way to stop it is to tie it down. You have a rope at your disposal. I’m the one to teach you some knots.” His eyes watched her throughout his lengthy metaphor. “Would your full name, perhaps, be Annebeth Windwood?” She froze.

“How did you-”

“Did Adela never tell you about what happened to your father?” Anne felt like a goldfish, her mouth opening and closing.

“Dang.” Jax exclaimed, looking a second away from laughter. “This is better than one of those propaganda dramas!” He clapped his hands together. “Do continue.”

Ben looked startled, as if he had forgotten about him. If she was being honest, she had too. “How about you get out of my house.” Ben countered. Jax held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I will step outside.” Ben looked at her.

“I’ll be you everything I have that he’s standing right outside, listening in.”

“No bet. I’m no idiot.” They smiled in unison.

“Now, I want to know about you. How have you been?” Her father( and wasn’t that strange-having a father) seemed like someone who used to be a happy man, before they became so tired. She was reminded of Mr. Long. Father seemed to have retain more cheerfulness than him, though.

Anne held nothing back in her tale. When she mentioned the necklace, he seemed to perk up. “May I see it?” Anne took it out, letting it see fresh air for the first time in almost two years. Wow, had really been so long?

The necklace was as beautiful as ever. Ben looked as if he wanted to grab it right out of her hands. “I gave that to your mother, years ago.” he said mournfully. “ I wanted her to look at it, and know my heart was hers.”

“Ew. I did not need to know that.” She held the necklace away from her, as if to get rid of the sappiness suddenly infecting it. Ben laughed.

Their conversation was interrupted by a sharp knock. Jax. Father went to open the door. “Hey.” Jax said. “I hate to cut the love-fest short, but we need to go back.” Oh! They had lost track of time. “We can come back tomorrow night.” She nodded, and said her goodbyes. Even as they walked back, she found herself eagerly anticipating their next meeting.

Soon, It was time to learn control. “You must reach deep inside of you.” Father implored. “Find your bent. Find it’s core, where it resides.” That was easy enough. “You must overpower it, using strength of will alone.” That, not so much.

“And how, exactly, am I to do that?”

“You will know.” How very helpful of him. Anne spent hours concentrating, trying to ‘gather her will’. Nothing. She went back to the cave exhausted and disappointed. She tried day after day, to no avail. Father wasn’t helpful either, with his useless tips. Yes, she was focusing. Yes, she really wanted it. Numerous explosions peppered the hut. It wasn’t like the moss was helpful, anyway. ‘The moisture makes it easier’, her foot.

One day, she’d had enough. “You know what. I’m going to do this my way.”

“Anne-” Father warned. It was too late. She had already delved into her mind. She found her bent, crackling madly. She couldn’t fight it. Maybe… She could work with it. She felt herself merge with her bent. She hadn;t felt like this since- since her birthday. The bent fizzled, and died down. Dang it.

Wait. This was what she wanted! Her ben had back off- and it was back. Come on! Then, she realized. Her bent fluctuates with her mood. Of course! How had she not figured this out sooner? She took a deep breath, and her bent became calm. She thought about how long it took to finally be able to do this, and she was ready to explode. She smiled. Perfect.

“I’ve got this.” Father seemed apprehensive.

“What did you do?” he scolded.

“I can control it!”

“That’s good.” he said, his tone calculating. She didn’t care.

“I’m gonna go tell Jax!” She was oblivious to his searching eyes.

“You… do that.”

“I’m planning on it.” She rushed outside, practically tackling Jax.

“JAX!! Guess what! Guess what!” He groaned.

“ Uh… It’s your birthday?”

“Nope!”

“You did it?”

“Yep!”

“Okay. Can I get up now?” She stood up. Jax took a deep breath. “Finally, I can breath again!” he exclaimed. She tapped her foot.

“Annnd congratulations!! Good job Princess!” He said hurriedly.

“Better.” She responded, snorting.

“Give me a high five.” Jax said, grinning. She did. That high five felt like victory. “Sounds like you’re ready to move on.”

“Good- wait, will I see him again?”

“Of course.” he said, patting her shoulder. “ We wouldn’t want to separate family, would we?”

“Of course not.” They walked back, hand in hand.

~

The next day, they went back to the warehouse. “ It’s time to pick up where we left off.” Jax said, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. His fist barreled towards her. Anne’s foreknowledge didn’t stop her from freezing. Again.

“Come on.” he urged. “You can do this.” Anne dragged herself out of the way of his next punch. “If I can use my bent-” Jax’s fist grazed her face “-then why do I need this?” Jax bared his teeth.

“ If you rely on your bent, then people will find out.” he responded easily. “Not an ideal scenario.” She huffed.

“Fair.” They fell back into an uneasy silence. Eventually, Jax stepped back. “Okay, we can stop now. Time for the real training.”

“The real training?” she squacked. “ Then was was this?”

“ A test. I wanted to see how you fought. It looks like we’ve got a long way to go.” he said, smirking. “First, your stance.” She smiled. This wouldn’t be that bad after all!

It was worse. So much worse. “Move it, princess! In a real battle, you would have been hit ten times by now.” At least someone was enjoying this.

“Ughhh. Just let me die already.”

“No can do!” he chirped. He chirped. Forget anything she had said about him before- Jax was the devil.

Anne was exhausted. It was all she could do to stay awake during raids. Rhya’s rants occurred more and more often, to the point that they started to become more like interventions. “You know what, you need to sit this one out.” Rhya declared one day. Anne jumped, startled.

“Wh-wh-What?”

“This is exactly what I mean. You need sleep, and you need it now. I’m surprised you’ve managed to last this long, honestly.”

“But- the food-”

“I’m gonna be frank with you here.” Rhya said. “ Right now, you would be more of a hindrance than a help. You can join us again when you’ve had at least two hours of sleep.”

“Only two?”

“ We live in a hole in the ground run by children who somehow manage to avoid starvation. Two hours is more than I usually get in a night.”

“That’s… Really unhealthy.”

“ Thanks.” Rhya had to drag her to bed. Anne couldn’t make it all of the way there without collapsing. Huh. Maybe Rhya had a point. She was gone the moment her head hit the hay.

The next morning, Anne woke up to Jax looming over her. “Welcome to the land of the living, Princess! Or should I call you sleeping beauty?” She made a halfhearted attempt to sit up.

“Please, no.” she said, groaning. “ How long was I asleep?”

“14 hours. I couldn’t wake you up until now. I guess you really needed that nap, huh?”

“Apparently.”

“Maybe we should start meeting every other night.” He suggested.

“ Works with me.” she replied, relieved. After that day, she never needed an intervention again.

More importantly, she was getting better. She was dodging more punches, even getting the chance to throw a few. Jax had even admitted that she was (about) ready! Now, she just needed to pass- “A test?!?”

“Yep. We need to know if you’re good enough.” Anne carefully noted his use of we, and mentally filed it for later.

“Don’t you already know if I’m good enough?”

“We need to know if you’re any good under pressure.”

“ And I haven’t been under pressure before?”

“ Not like this.” On that ominous note, they shifted to another topic. The test was scheduled for next week. The sessions leading up to it were brutal. Finally, the day- or should she say night- had arrived. She was so tense in the hours leading up to it, she had almost punched Rhya in the nose.

By the time they had reached the warehouse, she was buzzing with excitement. “When do we start?”

“You’ve already passed.” Jax’s smirk had somehow grown even bigger.

“Excuse me?” She stumbled, dazed.

“Your test was the sessions leading up to tonight. I told you to treat it like the real thing, didn’t I?”

“You-” She had to take a deep breath to stop herself from exploding. “ You absolute dick.”

“At your service, Princess.” Anne growled half-heartedly.

“So, I don’t need to do anything?”

“Nope! You’re ready for your first mission.” Her eyes widened.

“My- my first mission!?”

“What did you think we were training for? We go out with Ben tomorrow.”