Shots rang out in the distance, and Becky was close to tears.
"We have to find her!" cried Becky. "They don't know she's in there! We have to find her!"
Becky moved towards the forest, but a hand caught her arm.
"Wait!" shouted Damian. "Anya is-"
"No I won't wait!" Becky jerked her arm away from Damian's and rounded on him with her full force. "That's my best friend in there! She has always been there for me and I'm not about to let her die but it's fine, Desmond! You must not even see her as a real person if you don't even want to save her, I thought she was your one and only true love?!"
"What?!" Damian gasped, and involuntarily stepped away from Becky's rage. "I never said-"
"Oh save it!" She spat venomously. "We all know what you think of her! Now I'm going to run after my best friend and you're going to let me and there's nothing you can do about it!" Tears streamed down her face as she shouted at Damian.
"No wait, Becky -" Damian valiantly tried again to get Becky's attention. "I can see Anya! She's right over there!"
Becky gasped at Damian's words, and turned to see Anya emerge from the forest at a full sprint, with something in her arms -
"Is that the fucking fox?" She screeched. "That idiot!""
Then, they heard the barking, and the cluster of hooves thundering behind them.
"Oh my god," Becky said as she felt a chill run down her spine. "The hunters are getting closer, she's going to get shot, she's going to get shot and die-"
"Not if she's near the school," said Damian. "FORGER! OVER HERE!" And even though he already felt like an idiot, he waved to her with both arms.
It felt like a spell had broken over the rest of the class, and suddenly a waterfall of sound rushed towards Anya:
"You can do it!" shouted George.
"Come on! Come on Anya!" roared Ewen.
"You can make it! Hurry!" yelled Emile.
It looked as though she did hear it, because her legs pumped faster than Damian had ever seen her run before. Anya sped up, even with both hands clutching the fox to her white shirt.
Damian held his breath as Anya adjusted her hold on the fox. With one hand outstretched she leapt to the bars, and used her built-up momentum to propel herself forward over the river with all the might in her body. She leapt over the ladder, and the tires, and skated round the outskirts of the muddy patch with the netting, not letting it catch her out.
In under a minute, Anya screeched to a halt as she finally made it over the boundary of the school, sliding over the grass on her back. Anya panted as she held the fox to her belly, and lay on her back. Then with a shaky breath, she grinned, and let her head drop back onto the grass with a deep sigh.
"Holy shit," breathed Becky. "That was amazing!"
The class erupted in cheers around her.
For some reason, George was the most shocked of all. He stared incredulously at his classmates with his mouth wide open. "Since when could Forger do things like that? What happened to the girl who killed volleyball?!"
"Hey, I can hear you down here you know!" Anya laughed breathlessly, still trying to catch her breath from the run. "Also, does anyone know a good vet?"
On instinct, Damian leaned down to help Anya up, but stopped when the fox growled at him. "Hey uh-"
"Shh, he's okay," Anya cooed to the fox, and to Damian's utter amazement, the fox quietened instantly, and nuzzled into Anya's arms even further.
Becky elbowed Damian out of the way, and he stumbled to the side. "My dog Weiner has an excellent vet Anya, I'll call him just now to get him to take this poor thing in," Becky whipped her phone from her pocket.
"Hey!" said Emile. "We aren't allowed phones in class! And what are you doing with it in P.E.?"
"What? I carry my phone everywhere!" Becky laughed, and flipped it open, before she walked away. "Hello? Yes, it's me, no Wiesel's fine… But get your staff to come to Eden College as soon as possible, I have a job for you-"
"I'm sorry," cried George, with both hands almost tearing at his hair. "Are we just gonna completely ignore that Anya absolutely smashed that obstacle course without even trying? What the heck was that? And she now has the hunters' fox? Won't she get in trouble?"
"As long as the fox is on school grounds, it can't get hurt," said a voice beyond the crowd. The class parted as Coach Bobby made his way through the crowd. "And if Anya is here, then the hunters have no grounds to pursue her."
Damian gulped at seeing the coach come back, and was about to make an excuse for Anya when-
"And that was an excellent feat of athleticism, Miss Forger. I look forward to seeing you at the obstacle course practice rounds."
Anya grinned up at the coach. "Thank you!" Her Papa would be so happy about this. She let Coach Bobby guide her back to standing, while shifting the fox in her grip so she was able to support it with just one arm. The fox yelped and rested its head on Anya's shoulder, so that she was carrying it almost like a cat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the figure of a student move again in the forest. As she looked a little closer, Adrian faded into the shadows.
"Man, Forger, you are crazy, I never would have done that!" the voice of Penny, slammed her palm on Anya's other shoulder, and she jolted back into reality.
"You've got some insane skills, Forger, just wait till you see the size of the course at the tournament…"
Damian smiled tightly as he watched everything unfold in front of him, but as Anya walked away with the fox, chatting animatedly to Penny, Ewen, and Emile, he felt the smile slide from his face like oil on water.
It was impressive what she did there. His classmates were right to be surprised; what happened to the clumsy, talentless Anya? The one who hurt herself, and sometimes others in the process? The one constantly covered in bruises, and who couldn't get a shot of a basketball, or serve a volleyball to save her life?
How could she go from that - to an "excellent athlete", in the words of Coach Bobby?
George was right. It could be so easy to gloss over that, but Damian couldn't forget, not after everything he had seen. Anya had improved, and she was good at sports now.
Too good.
It wasn't like her newfound physical abilities could translate into team sports, though. She didn't care about rules, just like what she demonstrated about the rules of fox hunting. She had values and she cared about the lives of humans and animals and it was so admirable and he could feel himself becoming more impressed with her -
- but he didn't deny what he had seen with his own eyes.
Anya had said before that her mother was training her, but surely Mrs Forger wasn't that good… He wouldn't be able to tell until he had at least met her, and seen what she was capable of.
But what if that was another cover story?
Maybe Anya is in serious training, and I think I have a pretty good idea of what she is in training for…
Anya felt something tingle in the back of her head, and glanced quickly back towards Damian. Her laugh faded as she saw him standing in deep thought, while one thought stood out from his head.
Maybe Anya is in serious training, and I think I have a pretty good idea of what she is in training for…
She nearly choked on her breath.
Was he… suspicious of her?
That was one of the last things she expected, if she was being honest. Anya had always been able to rely on Damian for thinking the best of her, for believing her and wanting to be on her side. She knew that it was a bad idea to tell him her secrets, and show him parts of herself that she had never shown anyone else.
She should have listened to her Papa. A good spy never reveals their secrets, and she didn't fucking listen. What would happen if he decided to turn on her, just because she couldn't keep her stupid mouth shut?
Anya had been on her own for fifteen years, and that taught her a lesson that no teacher ever could. Only she could keep herself safe.
Anya turned her attention to Becky, who was cooing over the fox. She smiled and nodded, and pretended that she had been listening to her the whole time. If Damian was more observant than she originally thought, she would have to keep a closer eye on his mind.
She had already told him enough, but she could not risk him finding out anything else.
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No foxes were harmed in the writing of this chapter!
Replies to comments:
Ellis Tobias - Damian did indeed start working out after the kidnapping xD he's mad about it
Dr Archangel - Good question! She has 6 Stellas so far, so her Tonitrus Bolts are ahead!