Chapter 13

Lunch with Theresa and Cal was about as exciting as you can imagine. I would have rather watched paint dry, it would have been less painful. Throughout the whole meal, she kept reaching over to him, placing her hand on his leg, whispering in his ear things that we weren't mean to know. Cal looked uncomfortable at first, but then he looked as though he didn't mind. He kept looking over at me, as if he liked the effect it had on me to see them together. I am not going to lie, I probably looked exactly the way I felt. Jealous. I was so jealous I could barely think straight. I poked at the same piece of broccoli for 10 minutes, imagining it was Theresa's face. By the end of it, it started looking like mash. I hated that I felt that way, but the thought of another girl with Cal, intimately, made me see red.

We all excused ourselves shortly after, and left Theresa and Cal to their meals. Cal asked that we all come and see the soldiers train in an hour, so that we could pick the best to follow us into the lake landers territory. We agreed. When we got into Farley's room, we decided to play some cards, to kill time. Kilorn decided not to join us. He had something going with one of the reds who worked in the castle kitchen, and I didn't want to interrupt his 'flirting'. He refuses to tell me who she is, or what exactly they talk about. All I know is she gives him left overs, and sends him cookies and milk after dinner. I smirk to myself. What are the odds.

"Did you see the way she kept touching his shoulder, and whispering in his ear" Cameron stated matter of fact. "You could see it was all an act, to get to Mare". I stop shuffling the deck and look up at her. The smirk is gone, replaced by a grimace.

"You could see that too?" I ask, genuinely surprised. I thought I may have been overreacting but even Cameron noticed.

"We all noticed it Mare" Farley adds. "She wants to get to you, and she knows that you and Cal had something. This is her way of getting in your head. Making you react and overreact. She hates that Cal is going to the Scarlet Guard for help, and I wouldn't be surprised if she is part of the silvers who want us dead".

"You can't let it get to you. We need to get our job done, and keep Cal on our team." Cameron adds.

"As much as you hate it, and I know it is hard, we need Cal to trust us enough to get this done" I start shuffling again, not making any eye contact with anyone. I don't know if Cal can be trusted anymore, but I need to pretend that I am ok with this whole situation. It's the only way to get the job done. I nod, and acknowledge their comments. Not discussing the matter further.

For Farley, Cameron, Kilorn and all the reds, For my family and everyone who has suffered under the silvers reign, I have to suck it up and I will. It's the only way to survive it all.

…

When the hour is up, we meet Cal down by the barracks. Theresa is there as well. Great. Like a puppy, always following Cal. I decide to ignore her from now on, and focus on what we came here to do.

Cal is in his training gear, similar to what he used to wear when we trained together what seems like a lifetime ago. Combat boots, military style pants and a light grey t-shirt. His muscles are prominent, and I can see exactly where they begin and end. I remember running my hands down his back and feeling the muscle, years of hard work etched on his body. He looks bigger, his arms and forearms look sturdier. I shake the thought. This isn't the time to admire him.

We all gather and wait for the soldiers to come out of the barracks. Once they are all out, Cal has them work on some hand to hand combat. There are about 100 of them, so we all take different sides of the field, to analyse their skills. Cal wants us to pick 10 to 15 soldiers. That way we can travel in a small group, and be able to attack with stealth.

I watch the soldiers strike, move, and they remind me of Cal. The way their bodies move, the way they attack. You can see exactly who trained them. I can see their finesse is based off Cal's own rules. The way he likes to do things. Cal was always a good teacher, and even better soldier.

One soldier catches my eye, his movements are cat like, his body bending just a little further than the rest. That would come in handy, in a situation where you would have to use more than strength. I pick him out of the fight and have him stand with the soldiers Farley and Cameron already chose. Kilorn doesn't know who to pick, I can see it in his eyes. He is not a fighter and would be better in water than land. This is not his forte. He smiles slightly at me when he finds a soldier he thinks is a fit, a strong arm. You can see by his movements that he is pure strength, not speed. Once we gather 15 soldiers, Cal has the rest return to the barracks, shower and prepare for tonight's feast. Even though they were not choses, Cal is hosting a feast for his men, and we are invited. I am still deciding if I want to spend an evening with Theresa and Cal.

"Gentleman. You have been chosen by the Guard for a mission that we can not yet discuss the details of. All I can tell you, is that you will be training hard, day and night for the next 2 weeks. I will be training you personally" This brings an echo of whispers between the soldiers, as they hi-five and nod in appreciation. I realise then what an honour it must be for Cal to be the one training them. I sometimes forget he is King. Some say the best King there was and will be. I am yet to see it. "I would like you to all get into a line" he motions in front of him, and the soliders move on command. "Who thinks they have what it takes to take me on? Hand to hand combat only" he asks, his hands behind his back. He looks at each and every soldier, and I admire him in that moment. The best way to prepare your soldiers is to show them you trust them. This is his way. He wants them to see him as their equal, not as a King. Only then can they fight side by side.

No one steps forward. Unsurprising.

"How about we do it differently" I say as I walk up to where Cal is standing. He looks at me, surprised. "Since no one wants to fight you… yet" I say to Cal, and then look at the soldiers "…who would like to show me why we should trust you with our lives" I stand with my hands by my side. All the soldiers start sharing glances, some whisper to eachother and I swear I hear 'lightning girl' a couple of times. After a moment, the soldier that I pulled out of the crowd steps forward.

"I volunteer" he says, bowing his head down. I hear a scoff from behind, and realise Theresa must not like the fact that he just bowed to me. I lift my chin, proud that I have gotten under her skin today.

"Fair enough" I say, and motion for Cal to move back to where his fiancé is standing. Cal gives me a look, but before he can say anything I shake my head "Just let me do this". After a moment, he nods once and steps back. I look at Farley, and she nods her head, encouraging me to not hold back.

The soldier and I stand face to face, and we now have enough room. Hand to hand combat was once not my strong suite, but I am fast, from years of running from officers and stealing, so I have skills that help when I find myself in these situations. These last 6 months without Cal have changed me, and I want him to see just how much.

The soldier attacks first, and I can see from his movement he wants me to fail quickly, so he can prove himself. Cocky. That will be his downfall. I regret choosing him already. He strikes with his hand out, but I manage to duck. He tries again, but I manage to block. He keeps hitting at me, but I manage to dodge them all and move to the other side of him. We are moving back and forth, and I can feel my heart racing. This is a warm up. I see Cal from the corner of my eye, his hands are crossed, and his stance is wide, his legs apart. Theresa is close, watching him watch me. I smile to myself, loving the fact that she is jealous of his attention to me. Just because we aren't together, doesn't mean I cant have a little fun. The soldier strikes once more, but I duck and slide my leg up and kick him straight in the ribs. He falls back, holding his stomach. I run and manage to get myself up with enough height to land a punch straight into his jaw. He stumbles back and falls but quickly regains himself. Silver blood drips from his lip, where I clipped him and I smile. The feeling of drawing blood makes me happy. These may be Cals soldiers, but I know Cal and I know how he would have trained them. It makes this easy.

We exchange blows, he clips me once and red blood stains his hand, I clip him back and silver blood stains mine. When I see him tire, I decide to wait for him to swing, so I can finally put him down. He goes in for a punch, but I manage to grab his wrist and twist. I twist it back and end up behind him. Im on his shoulder, and he is tall and built, like Cal. I wrap my arm around his neck, my elbow under his jaw and pull tight. He tries to grab for me, but we just end up sinking to the ground. As the consciousness starts to leave his body, I glance up at Cal, the blood is soaking my lips. He looks at me, not with anger or disappointment, but with pride.

The soldier slumps to the ground and I let go.

…

CAL POV

The soldier, Martin, slumps to the ground. Mare looks menacing. She jumps up and checks his pulse. I run up towards them, to check on my man. And her. I wont admit that to anyone, but I want to see if she is ok first.

"Are you" before I can say anything she nods.

"I'm ok" she answers, short with me. "He is alive. Don't worry". Her hand is stained with silver blood and I see where her hand is bound from what I did to her. The sight makes me sick. I think she realises because she changes the subject quickly. "I thought you said your training was top notch" she teases. In that moment, I am shocked. Is she flirting. I try not to dwell on it.

"I thought you hated choke holds" I tease, remembering her complaining when I tried to teach them to her. She said she would never use it anyway and let me teach her just to get me off her back. I cant help but smile up at her, because thinking back to the fight, I see just how much Mare has changed, and just how much she did listen to me. Her fighting style is as ruthless as ever, but her technique and physique has improved.

She smiles back at me and rolls her eyes. "Shut up Cal. Its not my fault your men are built like bulls". I laugh, and it surprises me in the moment. She looks at me, and I have the sudden urge to kiss her. She looks behind me, and I can already see her expression change from teasing, carefree Mare to annoyed Mare. Theresa.

"Is everything ok baby?" Theresa says. Baby? The confusion must show on my face. Mare suddenly laughs and stands.

"Yes baby" Mare replies. She laughs and walks back to Farley, Cameron and Kilorn, shaking her head.

"What was that about?" she asks, and I already feel sick. Since when did I have to explain every conversation. This isn't the Theresa I know, the Theresa I first met. She has become controlling, jealous and mean ever since Mare arrived.

"Nothing" I say, and Martin jumps out of consciousness. The confusion masks his face. I tell him its ok and get some of the other soldiers to help me get him back into the barracks.

"What happened" Martin says, looking back and forth at his fellow soliders. They all laugh and I cant help it but I do too.

"You were knocked out by a girl" Thomas says. "But don't worry. It was Mare Barrow, so we wont hold it against you big boy". I shake my head at Thomas, but laugh along with him.

Mare Barrow. Even my men admire her. As long as they don't fall in love with her, we wont have any problems. She is mine. Always has been, and always will be.

…

** Hey Guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

The next chapter will be the feast after the day's events.

I am trying to write everyday before work and after, so please bear with me if I make some spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. I am just trying to get the chapters up so you don't have to wait too long for the next one. Also if I have made some errors in terms of continuity from Victoria's story, I am so sorry. Sometimes it is easy to forget what was once written. Thank you for all your reviews.

Keep them coming. I will try and update tomorrow again. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter.

P.s I was thinking of writing the Cal and Mare sex scene from Cal's POV. Would this be something that everyone would want. Please let me know, and I can draft that up :)

Tash xx