The guilt was devouring me. I sat hunched on my mattress; my face buried in my hands. Part of me tried to convince myself that I had done the right thing, but a much bigger, much more annoying part of me told myself to stop being so naive and face up to the fact that I had made a mistake. A very big mistake.

I was supposed to train these boys; make them warriors. And instead, I grew impatient and ordered Ping home. I knew he was a bit of an outsider with the others, because of his size and awkwardness, but I was his trainer; his mentor. I was supposed to treat all of the boys equally, and instead found myself just as bad as the rest of them. I shook my head.

I had betrayed him. I had let him down, much more than he had let me down. It was my own fault that I did not train him properly, but then I had abandoned him. I felt a painful ache in my chest. Traitor.

I stood up and paced around the miniscule tent. I wondered how far he would be by now. Surely he couldn't have gone to far in one nightfall. Maybe, if I sent someone out, I would be able to find him, and bring him back, give him another chance. Maybe if I–

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a commotion outside of my tent. I jumped into defense-mode. Has the camp been invaded? Without hesitation, I jerked back the flap of the tent. Boys and men were gathered around, shouting and cheering. I looked around, but the site was empty.

I only heard a faint buzz until an arrow buried itself in the moist grass. I stiffened and jerked my head up and saw–

Ping? Surely it couldn't be.... I squinted my eyes, but sure enough, there was Ping, the thin, gangly teen , sitting atop the wooden post with a look of, well, what could only be described as self confidence. There was nothing arrogant or mocking about his expression. He looked at me in a way as if he felt he had proved himself. My heart sang in my chest, and blood pounded in my ears. I motioned for him to come back down.

I watched as he slid down the post, using the entwined weights on his wrists as pulls to slow him down. Once his feet landed gracefully on the grass, he turned and walked towards me, his shoulders pushed back and his head held high. It was all I could do to keep a smile off of my face. Once he had reached me, I nervously cleared my throat.

"You, uh, you may unpack your things." His eyes widened with excitement.

"Yes, sir.!"He turned and started running back to the stable.

"Ping?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Good work." And I turned back to my tent, leaving Ping standing speechless behind me.