Chapter thirty six:Training begins

**ELENA'S POV**

Rayan is the most strangest man I have ever met one minute he's throwing me in a pond a bunch of times and the next he's worried that I might be cold. Also what was more fascinating about this was how awkward he was behaving, I guess he's not used to doing nice things for others so I decided to make it easier for him.

As soon as I held on to the cloak I immediately regretted it, heat rose to my face as I gestured for him to sit beside him, he wrapped the cloak around me before he sat down and as soon as our bodies made contact a strange heat overwhelmed my body and my palms were sweating, in what could only be seconds the cold was expelled from my body and was now replaced with this strange heat.

Maybe it was because we were extremely close to each other but, he had this unique scent one that reminded me of scented candle and ocean breeze, it was both calming and sweet. Some of his silver locks had covered his face, I stared at his neck, then his jawline and finally his pink lips.

"you don't know how long I've waited for this," the memory of my dream replayed in my mind and I quickly averted my eyes, I just fixated my gaze on the fire, hoping the light from the fire would have helped in hiding my flustered face.

Rayan suddenly stood up so fast that I almost thought that his wound had started aching again but I dismissed that thought since he went and slept on top of it.

Boom! I heard the sound of a rock hitting the ground.

"did you hear that?" I asked.

"it's nothing princess,"

"really it sounded like a boulder crashing down," I said

He didn't say anything further and after a long awkward silence I couldn't stand it anymore.

"so Rayan can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"you just did," he said, all this time his face was turned away from me.

"okay can I ask you a really personal question?"

"do I have to answer?"

"you don't have to if you don't want to," I said, it was his choice so why should I force him into agreeing with me.

"then ask away," he said and this time he sat up and looked at me.

"what is the one thing you regret about your life?" I asked, it was a stupid question on my part he probably regrets many things, maybe the perverted viscount or Mr Lance.

"not dying with my family," he said his voice filled with sadness and regret. "that's the one thing I regret."

"Why?" I asked his answer both surprised and saddened by his answer. I definitely wasn't expecting it.

"because I do," he said his tone going back to it usual stoic.

"don't you think if your family heard that they would be sad," I said and as soon as I did I immediately regretted it, the way he looked at me reminded me of the first time he saw me, that pure rage in his eye.

"they have no right to feel sad, they left me here alone! I was five years old, they never thought what would happen to me when they left and the worst of them was Sarah!" he yelled in anger but I knew behind that anger was huge profound sadness.

"Why did she decide that!? Why did she decide for me!" he yelled.

"Why did she decide that I deserve to live?" he asked and his voice had broken a bit that it sounded like he wanted to cry and hearing him like that it broke my heart. I guess he must have asked himself this question a lot of times.

"any other questions,"

**LITTLE RAYAN'S POV**

I wish I could say that after Mr Lance kicked the living shit out of me, that beating motivated me to win once but it did not. I found out a strange thing about humans, regardless of age or gender when we are pushed to our breaking point we all resort to our instincts. Everyone here had been tamed like guard dogs if they lost they would receive no food so everyone fought with everything they had.

The past two weeks, I never won even once and Mr Lance did keep his promise every fucking day I lost he made sure to make me regret it, the only four days I didn't have any daylights kicked out of me was the weekends, that was the only time we didn't have to fight for the second meal. Not that it mattered anyway my body was a walking bruise, from my chest to my back to my limbs they were covered with black and blue marks, the arrow wound had partially healed or maybe I was in so much pain that it didn't even bother me anymore.

I was lying on the ground, my forehead bleeding, I think someone must have kneed me in the beginning the fight, it must have been some hit because I woke up to find Mr Lance standing over me and we were alone, everyone else had already left. I quickly backed away from him with my hands.

"Listen kid, the more you keep losing the more sober I keep getting that now," he paused and moved close to me.

"I have an idea that might solve all our problems."

I kept my eyes glued at his walking stick any tiny movement it did made my heart skip a beat.

He raised it and hit me with the straight end not the knob one at my right eye but it still hurt, "stop flinching am not going to hit you... Again."

I had placed my hand on where he had hit and as I removed my hand, Blood trickled from that spot till it reached my chin. Like I said before when humans were pushed beyond there breaking point we resorted to our instincts, right now Mr Lance had managed to instill such fear inside of me that the only thing that filled my mind was fear of the next hit

"get up and follow me," he said and he started walking off, he did not bother waiting for me.

I stood up and quickly followed him, anything was better than the end of his walking stick. We got out of the arena and out of the entire building, the building was composed of four tall buildings and the arena was the shape of a coloseum. This place was surrounded by a really dense forest.

I couldn't help but feel disappointed even if I managed to run away I wouldn't survive. Mr Lance took me to an oak tree but the bark on the tree was all shaved off leaving the brown moist part of the tree.

"starting today, I'll be training you. It benefits us both, I get money for my rum and I won't have to kick your ass," he said with a light grin.

I did say anything about it.

He tapped the tree with his walking stick, "well punch it," he said.

Wait what he wants me to punch that.

"punch it boy," he said.

I did I was told and when my fist struck the tree, it hurt way more than punching someone else and to add insult to injury I felt the knob end of Mr Lance's stick hit my hip and the elbow of the arm I had used to punch.

"twist your hips when you punch and keep you arm straight!" he ordered. "punch it again."

I used a different fist to punch only to get hit in a different side of my hips and my other elbow. He repeated his instructions from before and right now I tried to follow what he said but I still got hit.

"I said twist your hips and arm straight," he said.

We continued until it reached late evening hours before he sent my back, my knuckles were bleeding so much that the blood had spilled till my elbows and my hips were sore from the hits. The two older kids Darla and Bruce, these was the names of the two kids, were at the door leading back to our rooms.

As soon as they saw me, I saw relief wash over there face as they headed back, I don't know why they do this but everytime Mr Lance had left me half dead on the arena floor they were the one to carry me back. They didn't say much but I guess they must have felt sorry for me.

I lost the next day, this time was because my hands hurt so bad that balling them into fist was nearly impossible, I couldn't move because of my hip hurt as I tried, I saw Mr Lance face twist to anger as he walked my back to the oak tree for our next training session. Which was a different way of punishing me.