This is Prompt No. 85-Summer
And so, with the threat of a continued war looming over their heads, the different agents began to train with Mitchie, finding shelter in the base from both the heat of the summer days and the clatter of muskets. Each agent possessed a different talent, and they used them to give Mitchie as thorough a preparation as they possibly could.
Mitchie began with Shane, who turned out to be a master of disguise. He showed her how to change her appearance within seconds, a useful tool when being pursued, she was told. Not satisfied until she could slip in and out of costumes with the ease of an animal shedding its skin, Mitchie took to practicing in her room. Many times, Shane would knock on her door around midnight and find her still practicing. Then, he would chase her into bed, telling her that he wouldn't show her any other tricks unless she went to bed and got some rest.
Once she was comfortable slipping into any disguise, Mitchie was put through a mock test, which she easily passed. As he instructed her to begin her next training classes, the general wore a huge grin of satisfaction. "Well done, my dear," he had said that day, "well done indeed."
The next person to train her was Caitlyn, and Mitchie found that she was in for a shock. Dear, sweet, sometimes-tart Caitlyn was actually a master swordswoman. The first time Mitchie walked into the practice arena, a small little room in the base, her jaw had nearly dropped to the floor. For a moment, she questioned whether or not Caitlyn was playing a joke on her, but upon seeing a demonstration fight between Caitlyn and Nate, Mitchie soon believed her friend.
Caitlyn's course turned out to be one of the hardest for Mitchie, due to her tender arm. Although it was perfectly healed, Mitchie was still wary around it, and every once in a while, she would complete a formation with her long knife and would feel a sharp little pain of protest. The pain only caused her to push herself harder, turning to practicing her fighting at night instead of her costume changes.
The day finally came, though, that she was able to beat Caitlyn in a practice fight, knocking her knife out of her hand. After that, Mitchie was put to the test battling out Nate, who was more aggressive than Caitlyn, if that could be believed, and she passed that test as well. Once again, the general was excited over her progress and each of the members of the team cheered for her.
Next came Jason, whose skill centered around weaponry. Unlike Caitlyn's weapons, he specialized in shooting, and for a while, sections of the base vibrated with the force of shooting lessons, sponsored by the gunpowder he had taken off the Confederate army's hands. Mitchie was not just taught battle formation firing, though. She was also taught how to whirl around, firing as she did so and hitting the target.
"That's a necessary skill," Jason had told her. "You never know, as a spy, when you might need that skill."
She had practiced with rifles and pistols, shooting at targets of every size all around the room until she could hit almost every target with relative ease. Then, they had moved on to archery. Jason did not believe that archery would come in very handy, but he had shrugged his shoulders as he handed Mitchie her bow and a quiver full of arrows. "You never know what you'll be doing."
Mitchie passed his class as well, and had then moved on to the last class, Nate's class. There, she learned self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Many nights, she would return to her room, tired and sore from having been pushed down on the mat several times. Nate would never hit her, but sometimes he would push her down onto the ground, just to show her what could happen. Mitchie practiced hard even after her lessons, engaging Shane and Caitlyn in fights so that she could practice.
Finally, Mitchie was able to pass his class as well, and the final exam came. In it, she would be tested on each of her skills and how well she could accomplish them. Her survival might depend on her skills one day. The first test was Caitlyn. She came out, swinging to long knives so quickly that the air around her made a "whooshing" sound. A year or so ago, that sight would have frightened Mitchie, but now, she held her ground and raised her own knives to fight.
She passed Caitlyn's test and then moved on to Jason's. Jason's was a test of skill involving dodging arrows without the tips on them and firing at quickly moving targets. Mitchie passed easily and moved on to Nate's test of combat.
She surprised herself by how easily the movements came after the many hours of practice. Her reflexes were sharp and she could almost anticipate each move before it came, simply by observing Nate's body movements. She passed the test by dropping to the ground and thrusting her leg out, taking his legs out from under him in a surprise move.
Although the unexpected fall took the breath out of him for a moment, Nate stood up smiling. "Very nicely done," he praised her, even as the rest of the team cheered.
Mitchie bowed, trying unsuccessfully to keep the smile off her face. "Thank you," she said.
Shane's test was last, and Mitchie easily slipped from one outfit to the other, even rearranging her hairstyles at an astonishing pace. Any other woman would have thought the changes impossible, but Caitlyn had shown Mitchie some tricks that had aided her transformations greatly. Mitchie passed the last test and turned to the general, waiting for the results. Had her skills been enough to allow her to help serve as a spy, or was she still not ready?
"Well?" she asked, surprised that her voice still held the same, vulnerable quality to it. She had figured that everything about her would change, but it seemed that some qualities had stayed the same.
The general smiled. "You've done remarkably well," he told her, "given the timeframe we set for you. You should be very proud of yourself. You've taken one summer to learn quite a lot." His fingertips pressed together as he gazed down at the file in front of him. "Yes, I think you're ready for your first assignment."
"Really?"
The general looked up at her, surprised. "Well, if you don't think you're ready for it, you can wait a little longer," he told her, mistaking her question for hesitancy.
"No, no." Mitchie recanted. "I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that I was surprised that you thought I was ready."
The general nodded, understanding. "I understand. You're first job will be with Caitlyn."
"No!" The cry came from Caitlyn and she leapt forward, shaking her head vigorously.
Mitchie looked at her, startled. "Why not?" she asked. Had she misjudged Caitlyn's friendliness as just that and not obligation?
Caitlyn turned to the general. "You can't send her with me on her first mission. It's too dangerous." She turned back to Mitchie and smiled. "Not that you can't take care of yourself," she told her, "but it's not a good place for you to start out."
The general objected. "Of course it is, Caitlyn. She'll be fine, and it's one of our safest missions right now. Plus," he said, turning his voice into a wheedling tone, "you'd be there if anything should go wrong."
The flattery was lost on Caitlyn as she scoffed. "And blow my own cover?"
The general shook his head. "You won't do that because Mitchie will be just fine. She can take care of herself now, and this mission is a good one to start her on. If it doesn't go well, we don't have to worry about it too much."
Caitlyn shrugged, grudgingly accepting defeat on this subject. "I hope you know what you're doing," was all she said.
The general dipped his head in acknowledgement of her surrender. "I assure you," he told her, "I do."
The discourse had perked Mitchie's interest even more, and she spoke up, saying, "Now you've really interested me."
The general turned back to her and smiled. "Are you sure you want to start right now?" he asked, graciously giving her one last out if she felt remotely uncomfortable with her abilities.
However, she didn't, and she nodded. "Yes, sir," she said.
The general rearranged the folder in front of him and handed it to her with a smile. "Then this mission should be just right for you and your love of masquerades." He winked to assure her that he was teasing her. "My dear, you are now Lieutenant William Perry."
A/N: Guesses as to what's going to happen??? Let me know!
