Reborn

War Camp

I look around and notice the others close by. Stepping away from Azriel I take in our surroundings as we begin to make our way towards Rhys who, with Feyre, is talking to an Illyrian who is most definitely not happy to see him.

I look at the rest of the encampment and notice a male throwing a bucket and a young girl who cowers in submission, going to pick it up off of the muddy ground. Noting that no one else sees this I calmly walk over, grab the bucket from the girl, giving her a soft smile, and throw it at the males head.

He turns to me, a glare on his face, and stands up tall. He makes to strike me as Azriel grabs his wrist and throws him on the ground.

"Already getting into trouble, I see." Rhys says as he walks over checking me over in the process whilst giving a side look to Az. He continues past us until he gets to the male who has begun to rise from the damp ground. He shoves his hands in his pockets but lets loose some of his power, I can feel him shaking in anger and I reach out with my own darkness to soothe him, I see him relax slightly as he leans in to threaten the Illyrian.

I walk away, not wanting to hear what he has to say. I see Cassian over with some female Illyrians and a few males and notice that they are in some arena like area. I go to him and watch as he tries to convince the females that they are meant for more than simply cleaning up after the men and breeding. Feyre's sister Nesta just sits there with a blank look on her face, not helping him at all.

As he walks over, slightly frustrated, I take his place, knowing that the others are all preoccupied. The females all look at me in shock and confusion.

"I couldn't fight." They stay where they are, unsure what I am about to say. Heck! I'm unsure what I'm about to say. I don't even know what I'm doing but I know I need to do better, be better, for my family and the Night Court.

"I couldn't fight," I say again, "when they hurt me." I take a deep breath. "I couldn't help the others, and I couldn't help myself when they put me in chains, when they hurt me." I look up from the ground, noticing that I had their attention.

"But you can. No one may ever hurt you, but they might. Is that a chance you're willing to take? What if the males leave? What if you're all alone?"

I take another breath, still unsure what I am doing.

"You don't have to learn to fight because you want to. But you should learn to defend because you might have to."

I see that they are about to protest and quickly think about something that might get to them.

"It's just like dancing!" I blurt out, like I know what I'm on about.

"How?" someone finally asks.

"Practice and you'll see." Cassian's voice answers. I look over my shoulder briefly and see him look to me in gratitude. "I'll show you. Any volunteers?" No one steps forward, I sigh and turn to him, nodding my head.

Cassian looks over to Rhys standing by the same male as earlier who both stare at us.

We begin to circle one another, and I begin to calculate his moves, deflecting a few punches he throws my way. Eventually I risk a glance over my shoulder to see the females who have lost all interest. I quickly think about what I could possibly do to get them to see me as one of them, to get them to understand that no male can always protect us.

I close my eyes and let loose a breath as Cassian looks to me in confusion, still ready to pounce. As he lunges for me, I jump, swing my legs around his neck and push him to the floor, opening up my wings to help with my balance as I turn and land.

I flex them in the air as the females look over to me in shock. The males too. I notice that I took Cassian by surprise and decide to end this dance by using it to my advantage and high kick him in the chest, pushing him out of the arena but making sure that I didn't hit him hard enough to cause any lasting damage.

I walk over to him and offer him a hand to get up. He takes it, still looking at me in awe. I turn to the females, "You don't have to learn to fight, just how to defend yourselves, just to survive."

I walk off, knowing I need to be alone.