Hailey ducked just in time for the blade of the dagger to go flying just past her ear, the cool of the snow cold steel making her shiver.

"That was a little slow Hailey." Rob scolded.

"Agreed. Demons are a keen shot. They won't take it easy on you like we are." Trisha added.

Hailey looked up at her older siblings who were staring back with disapproving looks. She knew she was out of practice but they didn't have to rub it in. She blamed herself enough already.

The moment she'd left the Council Hall she'd started making phone calls and enlisted her siblings for some refreshment training. A week later the three of them had moved into the secluded cabin their family owned. However she hadn't realized until she'd collapsed in a painful pile of muscle cramps the first day just how long she'd let herself go.

Now she was paying the price as her siblings were in perfect fighting condition. 2 weeks after arriving Hailey was improving but she wasn't anywhere near ready enough to start her mission.

"I know they are. I'm doing my best." Hailey replied through gritted teeth.

"Well at this rate it doesn't look like it's going to be enough." Rob said.

"It has to be. I can't not do this." Hailey said.

"And we won't let you. If you fail it reflects badly on our family. We can't have that." Trisha said.

"Then lets do this again. Come on. I'll catch it this time you'll see." Hailey said.

Trish pulled another knife from her belt and a second later, with a flash of steel it was zooming right at Hailey's head. Reaching up Hailey managed to grab the knife out of the air but not without incident. When she looked down she saw her blood staining the blade.

"Shit." she cursed dropping the knife.

Rob sighed and walked over, taking his little sister's hand gently.

"It's not too deep. I think we're done for the day though. C'mon…let's go get this cleaned up." he said and the three of them started towards the cabin.

Once inside they shed their snow covered jackets and boots before Hailey headed upstairs to tend to the wound on her hand. She carefully cleaned and bandaged her hand before walking back downstairs.

With a sigh she sat down in the living room, warming herself by the fire that was burning in the fireplace. She didn't know what she was going to do. They had given her 6 months to do the mission and she was so far out of practice it was crazy.

She couldn't believe that she had let herself slip so much. How could she have gotten so close to Charlotte that-no. She wasn't Charlotte. She was the Demon Child. Charlotte had died the same night Cleo and Bryce had died. When her powers had awakened.

Either way she had gotten too close. She had messed up. Now she was paying the price.

"Hailey we think we should have a discussion."

Hailey looked up as Rob and Trisha walked into the living room.

"I know. I'm doing awful." she sighed taking the cup of coffee that Trisha handed her.

"You are and that's why we need to talk." Trisha replied.

"You're not giving up on me are you?" Hailey asked looking at her siblings.

"What? No! We'd never do that." Rob replied quickly.

"Okay then what did you want to talk about?" Hailey asked.

"Well there's a couple of different ways we could approach this situation. The first is we can just continue like this which isn't really working." Trisha said.

"Obviously. What are my other options?" Hailey replied.

"Well the first is a Solitary Cleanse. It would require you having no outside contact with anyone for the next 2 weeks and sustaining on nothing but bread and water. It would give you time to focus your mind and get back in touch with what you've lost." Rob said.

"And the second option?"

Trisha sighed, "Well it involves whipping."

Hailey's eyes widened, "W-Whipping?"

Trisha nodded, "With a whip. We really don't want to have to resort to that Hailey but it's your choice."

"I'll do the Solitary Cleanse." she said finally.

"Right. We were hoping you would choose that." Rob replied seemingly relieved.

"When does it start?" Hailey asked.

"Now if you want. The sooner the better." Trisha replied.

Hailey nodded and stood up, "Let's do this."

Rob and Trisha nodded before leading Hailey out of the house and out towards the woods. Sitting just on the edge of the woods was what looked like a small shed.

"This is the Seclusion Cabin." Rob said opening the door of the shed.

Inside was bare save for a heater, a thin mattress with a blanket on top and a door in the back.

"Are you serious? I always thought this was just a wood shed." Hailey replied.

"Nope. I actually stayed in here myself for 2 weeks." Trisha replied.

"Really?" Hailey asked.

"Yeah. It was hard but I came out of it a better Hunter." Trisha said.

Hailey nodded and walked into the small cabin. It was hardly tall enough for her to stand in.

"Now there is a toilet back behind that door and the walls are insulated so it should stay warm and be soundproof. Either Trisha and I will come back twice a day to bring you water and food but we won't say a word to you. Understand?" Rob asked.

Hailey nodded and Rob gave her a small smile.

"We believe in you Sis." he said and pressed a kiss to her head.

"Good luck Hail. We love you." Trisha replied and did the same before the two of them walked out. Hailey watched as the door shut and the sound of a lock sliding shut followed.

With the door closed it was dark since there were no windows. The only light was from the heater in the corner. With a sigh she walked over and sat down on the mattress.

She would be here for 2 weeks. She could do this. She would do this. She had no choice.

Sorry this took forever to get out again!

I finally finished Guilty Crown and I sobbed all the way through the last 2 episodes.

If you haven't seen it I highly recommend it 3

After I finally finished Guilty Crown I had every intention of writing but then I got sick.

We had our AC shut off for a few days and then the shock of the sudden cold when we got it fixed messed me up and I got a cold.

So I was laid up in bed for a few days sneezing constantly and not being able to breathe while listening to old podcasts of 'That Anime Show'.

However I am finally feeling better and decided to write this!

It's not as good as I wanted it to be but I wanted to check in with Hailey and see just how everything is going on her end.

Now that I'm done with Guilty Crown I'm looking for something else to watch.

I want something that's got action and isn't too funny. I don't mind funny bits but I like suspense. I have a few I've been looking at but i'm not sure about them.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Anyhow now I should get to the thank yous for the last chapter which go to...

-irgroomer

-Cheshire2290

-Lifeisnowhere-182

-SebastianStalker

-Light Umbreon

-PenNinja1300

-MisaTheOtaku84

-Mimi Sutcliff

You all are awesome!

Thanks for reading!