I could feel her gaze on my skin as she took in my stance and movements . It was, as if something with a physical form, the force just enough to keep my senses alert as her mere presence had an effect on me, she appeared to be completely unaware of .

Adrian had kindly accepted my proposal for a friendly combat session, as a result of which, I currently was on the dojo, defending myself, by blocking and side-stepping his attacks.

Ammunitions though his speciality, Ivashkov was a decent opponent in one to one combat and it was refreshing to fight him after so long.

It had been two long days, filled with enough worries and now, here, was my outlet, my chance to unburden myself.

So far, I had been on the defence, now I went on the offensive, and was impressed to see that Adrian had sensed the change, thus successfully blocking my first attack , the counter attack was enough to pull me into the fight as blows were not only blocked but also exchanged.

It was between attacks that I dared to get a glimpse of her. Seated against the opposite wall, cross legged, with an easy smile on her face and eyes shining as she took in the combatting duo, in front of her.

Her mouth was partly agape, the expression giving away the fact that she was mesmerized, awed by all that she was seeing.

I wondered if it was me, she was mesmerized with ,the thought bringing an odd sense of joy and pride.

'Or was it Adrian? ' Questioned my inner self.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind, my mood soured, an odd feeling rearing its head.

'Was I jealous?'

Distracted as I was I didn't see Adrian land a kick on the lower left side, on my ribs, my body, urging me to curl up at the caused impact. Whereas, taking a step back, I prepared for the counter attack, a combination of swift offensive moves, that put an end to the match as Adrian, finally accepted his defeat.

It wasn't until I saw Roza grinning from ear to ear, that I felt elated.

Turning to get my bag, I saw Adrian groan, as he made his way back to the benches at the end of the gym, his hands testing the movement of his wrist as he rotated it clock-wise and anti-clockwise, remindimg me that it was supposed to have been a friendly match, in which I had allowed myself to be swept away in the heat of the moment and lost control.

As the realization dawned upon me, I sobered, stepping forward to help the man who was a fellow comrade in arms.

"Why do I feel that you are guilty of your victory, Belikov ?" asked Adrian, as I handed him a bottle of water and picked up his gym bag along with mine, heading towards the exit.

"Its nothing." I said.

"Of all the possible answers, this is the best to state that something indeed is wrong." He countered , standing with a 'humph ', to follow my lead.

RPOV

It was the third time that I woke up in Belicov's room, but unlike the others, this time, it wasn't dark and he was fully dressed in his attire, wearing a hole into the floor as he paced across the room, constantly.

Observing him until my head started to hurt, sitting up, I voiced my concern.

"If you continue to do that, I'd probably lose consciousness due to the headache, your act is giving me."

Listening to my voice, he stopped and turned to observe me, his face betraying no emotions,the change in his countenance acted like a slap to my face. Gone was my playful mood.

There had been this air of comfort and care around him, the last night as we had conversed, but now all that I felt was determination and resolve, the cause of which was unknown to me.

The look in his eyes was a sad reminder of my mother, who couldn't have cared any less about me. Composing my features, I stood up.

"I am sorry, that was out of line. Please excuse my fault ." I said in all sincerity.

"Would you mind if I freshen up?" I added, to which he replied with only a swift nod.

Splashing cold water on my face, did nothing to wash away the moments with my uncaring mother that invaded my mind, the following moments.

Stepping out of the washroom, I was greeted by a smiling Lissa, who eagerly handed me my breabreakfast and began recounting the events of previous day .

I tried to pay attention to her words, but my eyes and mind kept drifting the person, who stood my the door of his own room, in attention, as if trying to fade from existence.

An hour or so later, Ivan returned to fetch Lissa for her classes, and she left cheerfully bidding me a goodbye, accompanied by a, 'get well soon'.

While Ivan had been in the room, Dimitri had left for a while and returned moments before his departure.

A swift nod was exchanged between the men, making me wonder how much could have transpired between them, by this mere a gesture.

For some time that followed, an awkward and uncomfortable silence, graced the room,for neither of us spoke a word.

Belikov, sat on the floor by the door, reading from the book, I had used to hit him the last day, while I stood near the window, looking outside.

Surprised to see that instead of the expected dull gray of the cement buildings, the window overlooked an old part of the compound that had fallen to shambles and had been taken over by nature, thus covered in hint of grass, patches of moss and a sparse growth of wild flowers, the little spalsh of colour, enough to cheer my mood.

The view bringing back the memories that seemed to be from a lifetime ago, of the beautiful taperstries, handwoven blankets, warm tea, tasty food, paintings, writings , and friends. Little could I do to hold back a smile that accompanied these fond moments, giving me strength to carry on and be, what I had set out to be. 'A better human being.'

The moment was lost as a knock sounded on the door and both Belikov and I jumped up at the sudden interruption. Making me realize that I wasn't the only one who had a lot on my mind.

A shiver ran down my spine as I wondered, what would happen if Belikov or any other leader here, ever got to know about things I did.

It was Adrian I saw, at the door, supposingly he and Dimitri had arranged for a sparring session and I was glad that they allowed me to tag along, without any interruption.