A/N Hey, I was going to post this as the first chapter of the third novel, but I thought of another, good prologue, but this is still mildly important in my opinion so I'm posting it in my one-shot collection.
Train Me
"Teach me" Sarah ordered. Jane looked at her, her eyebrows shooting up so far that they were almost hidden behind her bangs.
"What?" Jane asked.
"How to fight," Sarah said. "If this journey has taught me anything it's that my voice can only take me so far, I need to know how to fight on the off chance I come across someone else not easily manipulated by the sound of my voice."
"Your mother's a fair fighter" Jane reasoned.
"My mother can be manipulated by me," Sarah said. "From what I can gather, from my time in that hell, you aren't."
Jane stared at Sarah her mind racing with alternatives. "What about your father?"
"Father doesn't use weapons, his focus is on spell work, something I don't have" Sarah argued.
Jane looked down at her. "It could be dangerous," she said.
"How?" Sarah asked crossing her arms. "you're already dead"
Jane glared down at her. "Careful Sarah and I meant for you."
Sarah didn't back down. "What could it hurt?" She asked.
Jane straightened. "If you're manipulated like that again, especially with my training… it could end poorly for everyone, not just you."
Sarah nodded. "I'm working on that," she said. "My father is teaching me how to protect myself from being manipulated like that again. But I need someone to teach me how to defend myself. And you're the only one I can think of who I haven't hurt. Who knows exactly what I went through and still treats me…" Sarah bit her lip and looked away, not knowing how to finish that sentence.
Jane stared at the young girl and gave a soft smile. "How important is this to you?"
"Very," Sarah said staring at her imploringly.
"This won't be easy." Jane warned, "It took me years before I was considered good enough. Are you ready for that kind of commitment?" Jane asked.
Sarah nodded. "I am," She said
Jane looked into her eyes, older than what her physical age implied. She narrowed her eyes. "What will you tell your parents?"
Sarah looked surprised. "Do I have to tell them anything?" She asked.
"You should tell your parents, that you're training with me."
Sarah looked at Jane skeptically, "Learning from a grim? They'd say no out of hand."
"They don't have to know I'm a reaper," Jane said.
Sarah looked up at Jane. "They'd know something was off about the moment I introduced them to you," Sarah reasoned. "On top of that my father has the same prejudice regarding you, as the guardians do, given he was raised by one of them. I'm not risking him saying 'no' just because neither he nor Mom will understand."
Jane sighed and looked down; she couldn't exactly argue with that logic. "Very well," Jane said. "I'll send you a notice whenever I have the time to train you," Jane said.
"Why not start now?"
Jane smiled and pulled out her pocket watch and stared at it for a moment before putting back into her pant pocket "Because I have an appointment to get to." Jane said. She removed a black clip from her hair and flipped it into the air where it transformed into a giant scythe. "Good Luck, Sarah." She said before slashing the air in front of her.
Sarah couldn't see the rip in space given that she was alive. It made her often wonder aloud if Jack could see the rip (having died before he was turned into Jack Frost).
Jane smiled at the young girl, "You'll be alright, Sarah" she said before she stepped forward and disappeared.
Sarah stared at the spot Jane had disappeared before smiling and pulling out her cell phone.
"Hey, Jackie." Sarah said, "Want to hang out at the park?"
Sarah gave a soft smile - the first time in a long while - as Jackie responded on the other end. "Great, I'll meet you there with Jonathan." She shut her phone off before turning to the spot where Jane had disappeared again, then ran off to meet with her friends.
Hey? So yeah. Jane and Sarah are training together this is a few months after Sarah comes back to herself after what happened in Book 2, and she's desperate for someone to help her train better so that she has a better chance of not being captured like she was with Pitch ever again.
