Chapter 29: Training

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Cheers and jeers erupted from the crowded stands in a noise so loud that my eardrums should have burst, and yet I still somehow managed to tune it all out. On the very edge of my seat, I watched in excitement as Garrett flew through the air and landed on the ground so hard that I was somewhat confused when I didn’t feel the vibrations from it.

I know it sounds bad, but watching this was no different than watching any wrestling or boxing matches. I understand now why the circular arena seemed to fill up so quickly right before the fight began. It was amazing from the beginning.

They didn’t waste any time walking around in a circle waiting for the right moment to move or for someone else to pounce first. No, instead, as soon as they were giving the cue to begin, they all sprung into action.

There was so many people and demons in the arena until it was barely enough room for me to move where I sat. There were people who shared seats, or who sat on the floor in front of someone else just to be able to be there. I got knocked in the head a couple of times by some random tall guy who was so into the fight that he didn't even bother saying sorry. I don't think he had even noticed that his fist had knocked me across the head a couple of times as he coached Omari on from the stands.

It was ok though, I was more excited than a fat kid walking into a cake factory. This was like a breath of fresh air for me, a mental break if you will. For the first time in a while, I was having real fun, worry free. I was excited in a good way, you know, without the terror.

It was a little much to take in at first, to be friends they fought dirty, but eventually they drew me as well as everyone else in. The fight was in no way biased, each man had their strong points, but it was way they obtained their dominance that was most intriguing.

Garrett had his strength, which definitely explained his size. He used his sheer power more than anything else to take both Omari and Damon down, sometimes without even touching them. Although Omari and Damon were strong too, Omari chose to use his quick advanced direct contact fighting skills and Damon relied on his demonic powers to help him.

It was like seeing a light show. My eyes lit up with all the amazingly impossible things they were able to do. I mentally recorded every detail in complete awe, wishing that I could do half of the stuff that they did with ease.

And now, in what seemed like the climax of the fight, Omari and Damon battled one-on-one while Garrett struggled to regain himself.

I watched him in particular, anxious to see what he was going to do now that Omari and Damon had their full attentions on each other.

Garrett brushed the dirt off of his body and wiped his mouth. Over and over I mumbled take the damn costume off, hoping that he would hear me. The entire thing seemed to hold him back from performing his best and I want to see what this guy could do.

I guess he did hear me because finally, as he stood up, he began ripping clothing away from himself until he was in nothing but a pair of shorts. Naturally my eyes ran over his torso, scanning every inch as if it were some type of X-ray. His huge bare chest, chiseled in such a way that each row of abs was cut perfectly, glistened a little every time it hit the sunlight, and his arms looked as if someone had placed a football on top of his biceps and then pulled the skin from his arm over it. I glanced at Anya's body, then at Garrett's again.

I was starting to feel a bit afraid for Anya. How did they ever manage to get intimate?

I sighed and returned to the fight. That was none of my business, so why was I worrying about it?

Garrett stretched his arms and back in what seemed like relief, and then, without a moment’s pause, began walking, digging and dragging his toe into the sandy floor as he did so. It looked as if he was drawing some kind of picture, but the sand was too light for me to see what he was drawing, not the mention I didn’t exactly have 20/20 vision. Eventually the picture became larger, and larger and still Omari and Damon noticed nothing.

Suddenly Garrett stopped completely and then before I could be confused, he jumped up at least ten feet in the air and then hit the ground with his bare palms. Everyone around me immediately stood up giving me no choice but to do the same, but when I got a chance to get a good look, Garrett was nowhere to be found.

I immediately glanced down at Anya who looked just as confused as I did as she search for him. There was silence as everyone tried to figure out what was going on, and then before we could ponder any longer, Garrett appeared but accompanied with a huge wave of sand that looked as if it was the missing section of an angry ocean. It approached Omari and Damon so fast that if I wasn’t paying attention I would have missed it. By the time the dueling demons had noticed it, it was too late to do anything.

It crashed on top of them, burying the two of them beneath the earth’s crust and then grinding and smoothing itself out until it was a smooth sandy floor once again.

The crowd instantly ceased their curious silence and roared with their judgment of what had just occurred whether positive or negative but all the same prompting Garrett to do a small victory dance.

Nicholas was sitting in his chair, leaning forward, and resting his head in the palm of his hands when his father found him. He stared upward, face strained, jaw firmly set as he seethed. His dark hair hung loose out of its usual ponytail so he found himself constantly running a hand through the front to keep stray strands of hair from his face.

He sensed that Kira was in the room but he chose not to acknowledge him. No, instead he focused on the large painting hanging on the wall in front of him.

The subject of the painting was a woman. She stood to the left in front of a large tree, particularly the tree of life, wearing a rather plain tan dress. Her silky dark hair hung around her face in perfect elegant curls and her face lacked any make up, but the painting was obviously geared towards natural beauty, something that she presented pretty well. Her lips held a Mona Lisa smile and her grey eyes were full of life, seemingly soaring into Nicholas’ own eyes in an attempt to make the connection they had personal.

Kira sighed.

Nicholas, ignoring his father, tried his best to gain some type of knowledge from this woman, hoping that she could somehow shed some light on what he was supposed to do next, but he got nothing. Instead the woman continued to stand there unfazed by the butterflies that were frozen in the air around her.

He had come here because she was the only one who could really calm him down at the moment. She brought on so many memories, good ones and bad ones, that at moments he forgot the reason why he was even mad in the first place. He wasn’t looking for lost memories though. Nicholas just wanted guidance.

The prince demon frowned as his mind randomly flew to the previous night, reminding him of the physical conflicts within himself. The entire night was spent restless, trying to refrain from giving into his desires. He set himself up though by requiring Ariel to sleep so closely, but that was something he just couldn’t help. His body, his demon instincts needed to have, at the minimum, skin to skin contact. It demanded her to be close to him and he could see why. The aching, burning need that he normally felt lessened somewhat when they touched. It could be just a simple brush of the fingertips and the pain that he felt would lighten up, but of course that wasn’t enough. It was like starving someone for months and then handing them a peanut.

And Ariel wondered why steady eye contact with him always seemed to bring her to her knees, mentally begging for him to close the gap between their lips, or why his caresses seemed to send electrifying chills coursing through her body. This thing was mutual, though mostly felt on his side, and no matter how much she fought or denied it her body would always call for him, just as his would call for hers.

Kira sighed louder.

Rolling his eyes, Nicholas echoed his father. “Do you mind?”

Kira grabbed a chair and sat in front of his son. “No, do you?”

Nicholas shook his head. His father wasn’t going to leave anytime soon so why not go ahead and talk to him besides, he didn’t think he would be able to take anymore of Kira’s annoying attempts to get his attention. Kira was never one to give up very easily. “They want me to risk losing my mate, use her as if she was some kind of bait.

“Well…”

Nicholas suddenly stood up. “I would never do something like that!” Nicholas said as his deep voice bellowed throughout the room. “I can’t believe they would even consider it!”

Despite the circumstances, Kira smiled. “Sit down, sit down. You need to calm down. Now I know it was a…crazy plan, but you have to view things from their point of view too. Some of them, if not all of them are desperate. This whole situation is jeopardizing their family’s lives too. The best thing to do is take time out to think calmly about the best way to tackle the situation, a way that does not involve risking anyone’s loved ones.”

Instead of sitting down, Nicholas walked over to the nearest window. “I’ve almost lost her twice, twice, Father. I keep thinking that I could have prevented both of those times from occurring, but I didn’t, and each time Ariel escaped death by an inch if that much.

“Xi was right. I should have done what was best and thought about feelings later. Each time I glance at the mark I gave to her, it just reminds me more of how much I’ve failed her. I know Ariel and I don’t have the best relationship. I mean, if I’m not mistaken the girl practically hates me...”

Nicholas paused as he stared at the floor. Realization had suddenly hit him hard, so hard that he could literally feel it heavily sinking in his gut. “She hates me,” he mumbled to himself, letting out a snort afterwards. “My mate hates me.”

It was true, it had to be. Just the fact that anytime she allowed him to get close to her was when it was forced was enough evidence to support that claim. With any other women it wouldn’t matter, but she was different. Ariel was the one that he was supposed to spend the rest of his existence with, and she hated him.

Despite her feelings though, she had made her decision to let him fully claim her, but the moral side of him was not going to follow through with that until she at least spoke up about it and truly wanted it, but when would that day come? How long would it take to win her over? She sure was taking her precious time with it, even considering the fact that the deadline was coming up soon.

Kira frowned, somehow feeling the pain that his son felt, and yet he couldn’t do anything about it. This was Nicholas’ problem and he would have to deal with it himself.

It was harsh, but it was what was necessary.

It was weird though, seeing his son in this state. Nicholas was always a strong person. No one ever saw too many of his emotions well, besides anger, or ever heard him express his feelings like this. He had always been the type to have everything put together no matter what situation it was, and now, all of a sudden, this situation with Ariel had nearly broke him.

Nicholas sighed, tapping the window seal. He honestly had no idea what to do anymore. At first, he had had a set plan, a sure way to solve this rebel problem, and he was confident in it but mixing Ariel into the equation was like dropping a mentos into a bottle of Coca-Cola. Everything was out of whack, and the whole situation was his fault. Now, he didn’t even know if he was capable of getting them out of it alive.

Nicholas’ face was suddenly hard, serious and confident. He sounded like a wuss. Not good at all. It was time for him to stop doubting himself and take action. “If I can just manage to get Ariel out of this then I’ll be fine. As long as she is safe, I’m happy, even If I die because of it. Forget everything else. I just need her to be ok.”

Kira took a deep breath. “Hm…I understand, but for right now, you need to stop talking and go to her. There are a lot of things that she is still oblivious to and it will be very helpful to both of you if you explain everything that is happening or about to happen.”

Nicholas sent his father a lingering glance, and then nodded his head before walking out of the room, leaving Kira alone to stare at the portrait of his decease mate, the mother of his children, Natala.

I squinted my eyes trying to get a clearer look as Garrett paced back and forth across the sandy floor, flexing his fists repeatedly. For just a brief second a small smile graced his face. Did that mean that the fight was over? That easily?

Even though there were no rules, to my understanding the fight was over when there was a KO...which never seemed as if it was going to happen because these guys never stayed down, but Garrett looked as if he was already celebrating.

I was disappointed…

That is until one single mud bubble formed from the dry arena floor and then popped. Then another appeared, and then another until a small section was covered in boiling mud. Oddly enough the hot mud stayed in one place, in no way affecting the sand around it.

Garrett stood just five feet away staring at the bubbles with a mixed expression, not really knowing who was causing it or what they were going to do next.

And then out popped Damon, completely dry, with a roar so loud that I had to cover my ears, but before he could pounce on Garrett who stood waiting to take him on, Omari also sprung out of the ground, grabbing Damon’s ankle, and yanking him back so hard that it looked like Damon’s leg popped out its socket right before he clashed with the ground.

I winced just as Omari landed to observe his work. His brown eyes sparkled like a diamond and somehow throughout all of that, he never thought of Garrett.

Garrett’s moves were agile as he moved towards Omari. I could see that he was just as ready as everyone else to make his move by the look on his face but right before he could take any action Omari swiftly turned around, swooped down and kicked the back of Garrett’s knee in. Garrett instantly fell backwards from the knees up, his upper body almost touching the ground, but instead he caught himself and slingshot himself forward, causing a major collision of the foreheads.

They both stumbled backwards, and then sprung at each other, clashing like thunder. The way they fought scared me a bit, but I couldn’t look away. They acted as if they were enemies, although their fight was nothing compared to what I had witnessed between Nicholas and Jullian.

I never wanted to have to see anything like that again. It wasn’t so much the fight that scared me, but there was so many things happening at the same time, all of which that threatened my life, that the fear that already existed heightened with the sight of two overly large demons fighting to the death.

I shivered just from the thought of that night, but there was no doubt in my mind that I would probably witness something like that again. If I wasn’t mistaken Jullian was still around and he was after me, something that Nicholas wasn’t too happy about.

It only made me wonder though. If Jullian did come after me again, how far would Nicholas go to keep me safe, even after considering the circumstances? I wasn’t as willing to become his mate to save his life, so why would he return the favor?

I shook my head and tried to focus on the demons training below. My eyes landed on Damon, who was still lying in the same place, in the same position they left him in. His breathing was rapid, and his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly.

I was suddenly worried. I hoped that he was ok, but from the looks of it, that didn’t seem to be the case. Weren’t demons supposed to be able to take more pain than this?

That thought was barely finished before Damon’s fiery red eyes popped opened, both of them fixed on me. I almost jumped out of my clothes, but his grin settled my nerves.

Slowly, he moved his body like a slinky until he was on all fours. Fangs shot out of his mouth, as well as claws that were so sharp that I was sure they were only intended for killing.

I frowned.

He wasn’t about to do what I was beginning to think he was going to do…was he?

Sure enough, as he stood his body began to grow larger and larger with each exhale of his breath until it broke free from his clothing. Something, probably wings, started to sprout from his back, and with one mind shattering growl the rest of his transformation came.

The noise from it all gave me no choice but to cover my ears in order shield it all out, but it didn’t help. Even Omari and Garrett had stopped what they were doing to see what all the ruckus was. It was way too intense, and I don’t mean just the sound, but the emotion behind it and the message underlying it all made me want to fall to my knees and start crying like a five year old.

Damon began taking slow paced steps towards his foes, as the bone white horns I anticipated so much poked through his skull, and his hair grew and faded into a dark grey. He stole one more glance at me, and then placed his attention back on his targets.

Garrett and Omari looked at each other and smiled, then each demon took a different fighting stance and waited for the thing once known as Damon to make his move.

Pausing midstride, Damon took a huge breath, let out his threat once more, and then...

"Ariel," a deep voice that I was very acquainted with spoke, scaring me to the point that I was sure my heart was in my throat. I hadn't realized that I was that into the fight.

Taking a moment to relax myself, I turned to Nicholas. "Nich..." I started, but the look in his eyes made me stop. Something was wrong, despite the faint smile on his face. I noticed he even still had his hair out and his shirt was halfway open, drawing a bit of unneeded attention from some of the girls in the crowd. "Nicholas is everything ok?"

Instead of answering, he turned to look at his brother, completely transformed now, handling the two demons below, and then his eyes were on me again. "Have you eaten today?" he asked briefly raising an eyebrow at the clothes on my body and eventually placing a hand on my cheek.

I frowned for a second. "Uh, no, I woke up late, met Cece, Anya, and Leona, and we came straight here."

Were we actually having a real conversation without arguing for the first time...ever?

Nicholas' smile became a little wider. "Come on, let's find you some food," he responded with his heavy accent, grabbing my hand and somehow easily leading me through the congested aisle as Cece, Leona, and Anya all shared confused glances.

"B...but," I stammered as I looked over my shoulder at the demons training, but I was ignored, and for once, I let it go. I just didn't feel like putting up much of a fight. I guess part of it was because I was a bit baffled. For the first time since I had first met Nicholas we had actually spoke to each other calmly, without it being a disagreement on something, and the stronger part of me wanted to keep it that way, if just for a little while.

A/N: Hello! Please dont kill me! I tried...I really tried to get this out a long time ago...but school, health, and my brain wouldnt let me. But boy did your reviews make me happy...OMG over 45 reviews for the last chapter! (hehe maybe I should only post every 2 to 3 months from now on...especially if itll get me that many reviews for one chapter) I almost cried. Seriously...tears came to my eyes. I could be a little over dramatic, but to find out that you guys like my story that much really touched my heart. I always think my work is mediocre...and you guys totally dont think so...I love you for the support. Really...thanks a lot!

I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a lot of brainstorming...and I still didnt get the fight to be where I wanted it. Trust me I went through at least ten different fighting scenes lol. I guess you could say this is the beginning of Nicholas and Ariel's romance. lol 29 chapters in and theyre just starting to...well...not argue. Well like Ive probably said before, Im not one to rush into to things. I said I wanted this to be as realistic as possible, and in real life you just dont fall in love with some random hot guy who tries to sex you up in your bathroom. Especially considering all the other problems they were facing. I couldnt murder my story that way. So for all of you who were getting frustrated with me...the end of this chapter is your sign that things are starting to go the right way...or is it? Muahahahahahaha!

Forgive me for Nic's little breakdown...it was needed...and Im still afraid that I didnt pull it off correctly. I needed him to stay in character and still show that he was as down as anyone could ever be...Please forgive me if I screwed it up, but thats another reason I took so long. I didnt want him to sound like a wimp. Thats not Nic...

For all the unanswered questions in the story that i left hanging in the air...theyre coming up very soon. It was just that I had other stuff to get out of the way before i could get to those...and it took longer than i thought it would. Sorry :)

So about my other story 18, Im waiting on my co-writer Lin to finish her chapter. So when the story gets updated is totally out of my hands. Right now shes busy with college and stuff so you guys will have to be patient.

While you are being patient, I have a new short story posted call After Midnight. It was a story I had to write for my creative writing class. I would love it if you guys took the time out to read it (its short) and review to tell me what you thought of it.

Also go take my poll!

Oh and someone, I forgot who it was exactly, told me that She is Love by Parachute was their song for this story. I listened to it and I love it. Thanks for that!! Its an awesome song!

One last thing...to all of you who thanked my cousin and told me to give her kisses and hugs and stuff...She said you are very welcome! And shed do it anytime...like she did this time. You guys better send her a cookie or something because she is always on my ass about this story lol...

Thanks again for the reviews!

Until Next Time!

-Caya