A Secret Exposed

Ava had fallen in love with Safriti. Undis had been the most beautiful place she had been to. She said that about every new city she visited but still, Undis was breathtaking. The stone streets were expertly set, with intricate patterns forming the path around the city. The stone houses were a feat of architecture. Ava was obsessed with the grey color from the buildings and the ground and how they contrasted with the bright pops of color found around other parts of the city. In banners and flags, shop windows, and Safritian garments. Tuni explained the stone paths and the stone houses were signatures in Safriti, rock, and limestone being an abundant resource for building. Each region of Safriti had their own colors that were then displayed throughout the city and in the local's clothing.

There were also wooden structures lining the city and some of the repairs done on the stone houses were done with wood. Tuni informed Ava that the people of Safriti had been banned from using stone or rock on any future buildings or repairs. This was because razing became less effective when met with stone. The wood structures lining the city meant that even if the stone houses stayed up, the town would not be functional if the soldiers were to burn it down. The thought saddened her, it was one of the most awful things she had ever heard. Needless cruelty in the name of peacekeeping.

She had assumed she wouldn't be able to go down to Undis, like in Clabonne, but Tuni informed her Undis was different. It was a busier port and because of that, a large group of foreign settlers was inevitable. The Baethan guard was a little more lenient and Undis was a small union of all continents. Before getting down, Tuni had given Ava one of Morgana's coats. It was a sleeveless one with a hood. The combination made no sense to Ava but Morgana usually wasn't in the business of making sensible fashion choices. Tuni advised her to keep her head down and her hair covered when they were onshore. The Baethan guard may have been more forgiving around Undis but they were still itching for an excuse to unleash their training on unsuspecting citizens. Covering her hair and her face ensured they had a lower likelihood of being discovered; her red hair being the biggest tell that she was Eloxian.

Ava ended up accompanying Tuni around the city. They stopped a variety of different places and she helped Tuni stock up on things that were needed in the infirmary. Ava, as always, asked too many questions and Tuni patiently answered them all. Ava apologized profusely many times for all of her questions but Tuni brushed her off. She said they were even, Ava used Tuni for answers and Tuni used Ava to reach tall shelves. Tuni guided her around the town's shopping district and although Ava didn't buy anything they did spend a large chunk of time window shopping. They had feasted on different delicacies sold by street vendors and Ava even found some selling jerky. It was hard to resist buying some, so she didn't. Theo would now have two drawers filled with it.

The Undis trip also served as a job opportunity for Ava. Tuni, who had heard of Ava's recent long and boring stint as cabin girl swooped in with a solution. According to Tuni, Ava had been a big help with both Morgana and Theo and their injuries. Ava had proved she could work well in a crisis and Tuni wanted to train her to take on an infirmary on the new ship, once that happened. Ava was ecstatic and she could not wait to ask Theo. It wasn't until they had set sail and Theo was done with her captain duties that Ava even got the chance.

Ava had peeked into Theo's quarters to see if the captain was there, she was. Ava let out an excited squeal and ran into the room. Theo's head snapped up from her bent over position, head slamming into the open wardrobe door above her. She rubbed her head and groaned then raised her eyebrows at the squeaking redhead.

"Guess what?" Ava asked and sat on Theo's desk.

Theo made another noise, disgruntled at the fact that Ava ignored the injury, "Chances I will get this correct are slim. Any chance you'll just tell me?"

"Tuni wants to train me. She thinks I would be good as a healer," Ava boasted, "Can I?"

"What's wrong with being a cabin girl? Too much fun? Or is that it's just so much work," Theo teased and walked over to the desk, "What if you don't like it?"

"Liking it won't be the problem. Actually being good at it will be," Ava made fun of herself, "Couldn't I just go back to being a cabin girl?"

"Sure if the spot isn't filled by then. There is a waiting list of people itching for the job," Theo laughed at her joke, and Ava couldn't help but join in. Theo beamed, "What are you doing tonight? Wanna go watch me test out some new weapons I got in Undis?"

Theo held out her hand and Ava took it with a cheeky smile. If Theo went to the training room, it meant Ava would get a lesson or two in a cool weapon. Over the past suns since she had been seeing Theo again nightly, they had spent quite a long time in the training room. Ava mostly sat on the side and watched as Theo repeated perfect moves over and over, obsessing over nonexistent flaws. Ava didn't mind, most times she was too preoccupied with watching Theo move about the room, swift and deft with most weapons she chose. Every once in awhile Theo would let Ava try a move.

Between the small exercises, Theo taught her and the almost daily training, she was getting good at handling her sword but it wasn't enough. Ava wanted to train the way Theo did in the mornings, the way she saw them train when Theo got injured. High stakes. More than training, Ava wanted nothing more than to be on the vanguard. She wasn't trying to inflate her ego but with only about a cycle of training, she had advanced far more than most girls on the ship. They arrived at the training room and Ava took her favorite spot. It was the corner by the maces and flails, she dragged the only chair in the room over to it and sat down.

Theo slowly paced around the room, arms behind her back, looking at the selection in front of her, all new and straight from the shops at Undis. Theo always trained with two weapons, her falchion, and another random weapon; so there was always variety in her training. When Ava had asked her why, there was a pretty logical explanation. In case her weapon fell or was lost in battle, she would be ready to adapt to whatever weapons she found discarded. Theo finally settled on a larger blade than her falchion, Ava wasn't sure of the name of it even though she had been told before.

She watched as Theo attacked the straw dummy, pieces of hay flying out of it on strong hits. Ava watched from her curled up position on the chair, waiting to find the guts to bring up being on the vanguard again. While Theo trained and Ava watched, all Ava was able to think about was being trained by Theo; bred into the fiercest fighter the Scorned Woman had ever seen. She wanted to ask so bad but her fear of rejection kept her from doing so. Every time Ava so much as breathed a word about vanguard or personal training it was immediately shut down.

Theo kept telling her that she needed to train to be on the vanguard, she needed to study the art of combat before a position of being a fighter was even considered. But Ava got shot down every time she tried to bring up training too. She would ask to be on the vanguard, Theo would say she needed to train. She would ask to train and Theo would tell her she wasn't ready or it was too risky at the time. Ava was starting to suspect Theo had other reasons for keeping her off the vanguard, she believed the problem to be a lack of faith in Ava's ability to perform. Theo was too nice to say it but Ava had a feeling her constant failure at other jobs had ruined her chances of ever being a fighter.

Every time they would come down to the room and Ava watched Theo train, the cogs in Ava's head would turn. She was thinking of the perfect way to bring it up again, one that wouldn't get her rejected. For a few suns, a small voice was nagging her. It was telling her to use the weapon in her arsenal. Ava had leverage, or at least she thought. Throughout her time with Theo she had begun to notice small things, all of them adding up to an accusation that she needed to be careful with. She was sure of it, having already done her own tests to prove her theory, but she needed to be cautious about how Theo would react. Ava tapped her finger against her leg anxiously, eyes following Theo's fluid movements.

Theo turned around and spun the sword in her hand, showing off and Ava laughed at her. Theo gave her a playful wink and then put the sword away and pulled a javelin off the wall.

"Want to learn how to throw this?" Theo asked.

Ava got up without answering and walked over, holding out her hand for the javelin. Theo laughed and handed it to Ava, making sure it was firmly in her hands before letting it go. Theo showed Ava what position to get in and Ava obeyed the instructions. Apparently not well enough though and Theo came up behind Ava and adjusted her legs, arms, and posture. Ava didn't miss the way her body reacted to Theo's touch. Theo came back to face Ava and helped position her hand on the javelin. She slowly explained the technique and guided Ava's arm through it. Theo's hand was gripped tightly over Ava's as they both gripped the javelin. Theo's hand came up to her hip and helped adjust it before stepping back. Ava was finding it hard to concentrate on what was being said.

"It's all yours," Theo said.

"But how do I aim?" Ava asked.

Theo laughed, "Don't worry too hard about it. Just try and throw it at the target. You won't hit the bullseye, that takes years of training."

"Can you hit a bullseye?" Ava asked as she got into position.

"Barely," Theo chuckled and crossed her arms, watching Ava's technique. Theo stopped the redhead before she let go of the javelin and adjusted her grip and position once again, "Now do it."

Ava took a step forward like she was told and threw the javelin out with as much force as she could. Her arm felt like it was going to pop out of the socket but she didn't mention it, not wanting to give Theo another reason to not let her train. A little javelin throw was not going to keep her down. But if complaining about her shoulder wouldn't detract from her potential, the failed throw would. The javelin didn't have enough force to penetrate the target so it pathetically bounced off and hit the ground. Theo brought it back over and handed it to her again.

"That wasn't bad. Your arm was very loose and you can hurt it. Tense up your whole arm from prep to release. You will put more power behind the throw and it will stick to the target. Want to try again?"

Ava didn't know if her arm could take it but she nodded along anyway, taking the javelin that was offered to her. Ava repeated the motion, this time taking Theo's advice. It was less jarring on her arm and she even managed to get the javelin to a good height, but once again it failed to stick to the target.

"Can I see you do it?" Ava asked.

"Fair warning, I am not much better than you are," Theo informed and took the javelin from Ava's hand. She threw it hard and it stuck right at the edge of the target, a mere inch away from having missed it completely. Ava laughed then covered her mouth.

"Told you I was shit," Theo went and pried it off the target.

"Why'd you buy it then?"

"I didn't. One of the shops under my protection couldn't pay so they gave me some of their surplus stock," Theo said as she put the javelin away and picked up her falchion.

"Business was bad?" Ava asked.

"No, they've got a sick child so they were low on gold at hand," Theo shrugged, "I told them to keep the weapons but Xyra insisted we take the payment. Something about setting a precedent that our protection isn't free."

"Makes sense," Ava commented then sat back down in her spot. Theo kept talking to her in between hits but Ava wasn't paying attention. Her mind was still focused on her dilemma, to bring up the vanguard again or to not.

"You good, Red?" Theo asked, walking over. Her breath was slightly heavy from the workout.

"Aye, got lost in thought," she said.

"Anything in particular?"

Ava considered avoiding the question with a simple no but her gut screamed to say something. Her brain was trying to logically lay out the reasons why it was a risky endeavor but her heart fought it. Eventually, the need to see if she could make it on the vanguard won out.

"I want to be on the vanguard. I think I'd be good," Ava said and Theo sighed, walking away from the redhead.

"This is the third time this cycle you ask. I'm going to say what I said before, you need to train first, and then we can discuss it," Theo said sternly and sheathed her blade.

"Then train me," Ava pressed and stood up, walking towards Theo.

"Ava, I advise you to drop it. I've said no to the vanguard. Captain's orders," Theo said slowly, Ava could tell her patience was wearing a thin.

"At least give me a chance!" Ava pressed, she had never pushed it this far but Theo needed to know Ava was willing to fight for this. She hadn't felt good for any job she had tried, except for training. She knew she had a long way to go but she had gotten far too many comments about natural talent to just throw that away just because Theo was resisting.

"No!" Theo raised her voice and turned to Ava, face twisted up in anger at being questioned.

Her head was split in two. Should she spill what she knew or keep it a secret? It was her only bargaining chip. She needed to use it.

"I know you can't read!" Ava let it slip and the room went quiet.

Theo's face didn't even register shock. There was a cold, angry, empty look in her eyes, something so far gone from the Theo she knew. Theo's footsteps echoed as she turned around and walked towards the door, pulling a wooden plank across it. The room was now locked. Theo took a few strides forward, eyes locked on Ava. On her walk over to stand in front of Ava, she grabbed a dagger off the wall, without even turning to look at it.

Fuck. Maybe Ava shouldn't have brought it up in a room full of weapons.