Number Seven //Book Three// - Dark Matter - COMPLETED

Give It Up, Princess

Seven and Five are in the training room with Solara

Solara puts a mat down in front of them

"Don't worry." Solara tells Five. "I'll take it easy on the both of you."

"Just me." Five says. "Seven still can't do anything cause of her head."

"Jeez, kid, you really screwed yourself up, didn't you." Solara says to Seven

Seven shrugs

She goes over to sit on a bench and watch

"Ready?" Solara asks Five

"Sure." Five says

Solara throws a soft punch at Five but Five grabs her and slams her down on the floor

"Okay..." Solara says from the floor. "I'm gonna go ahead and say you're probably more of an intermediate than a beginner."

"I trained with Four before he...well, before." Five says. "And Seven's a really good fighter too."

"Ah, okay." Solara says. "Well I can take over for them if you're interested. Seeing as Seven is unable to do any sparring."

Five looks to Seven for approval

Seven nods

"Yeah, I'd like that." Five says. She goes to sit next to Solara and Seven joins them on the floor. "So, uh, where did you learn?"

"At the monastery where I grew up." Solara says

"A monastery? Seriously?" Five asks

Seven taps Five

"What is 'mon-ah-story'?" Seven asks

"It's like a religious house." Solara simplifies for Seven. "I was a Prioress of the Seventh Order of Chandarith, under the protection of the Abbot of Daro."

"Wow." Five says

"You seem surprised." Solara notes

"It's just a little hard to imagine how you go from something like that to being a bodyguard for someone like Adiran." Five says

"Fair enough." Solara says. "I can see how that might come across as a little odd. The monks taught us martial arts to instill self discipline, self awareness. For them, it was like a form of meditation, so everyone in the order took a vow to never use what we'd learned against another human being. Not even in self defense. And in the end, that's what got them killed."

"What happened?" Five asks

Solara is silent for a moment

"I was on a pilgrimage to a nearby shrine." Solara says. "And while I was gone, some bandits broke into the temple and stole some very valuable manuscripts. They killed everybody inside the place. I guess they didn't want to leave any witnesses."

"That's horrible." Five says

"You know, I must've just missed them because when I got back, the bodies were still warm." Solara says.

"What did you do?" Five asks

"I tracked the bandits into the woods." Solara says. "Then I waited till nightfall, I snuck into their camps, and I slit all of their throats while they were sleeping."

Five and Seven stare at her

"So I guess you can say I broke my vow." Solara says

Solara stands up and walks away from the girls

"Wow..." Seven whispers

"Yeah, seriously." Five whispers

***