She lets me go and embraces Uncle Jo. "Take care of our girl, Jo. I'll see you after the tournament."
He kisses her forehead. "I promise you. She will be kept safe. Please, be careful. Until we meet again, my love."
Doc presses one of the Angel statues on the shoulder, and a mirror appears. Aunt Georgia takes some rocks out of her pouch, and throws them, one by one, the team journeys into the mirror. She takes one last look at us before jumping in, determination written all over her face.
I throw myself into my uncle's welcoming arms, and he holds me for a long time. “That was awful, but we both survived it. I'm not looking forward to seeing you go.”
He shakes his head. "I'm not excited about it either, kiddo. Come on, let's get you cleaned up.”
Chapter 14
A Prince and Princess Introduced?
I go from no prospects to two. Ethan is agreeable while Sebastian makes me want to gouge his eyes out. Needless to say, I’m attracted to both.
-Arabella
It feels good to have all that dirt and grime off my face. With a bit of coaxing, Uncle Jo talks me into heading over to the main training facility so that we can get some practice time in. Maybe getting lost in exercise is exactly what I need. I can’t believe I’m even saying this.
As we enter the room, everything grows deathly quiet. Every eye is on us, making my heart almost pound out of my chest. Maybe we should just walk away.Uncle Jo turns me around so that I’m facing him, he knows I’m about to bolt. "Ella, it's time to train. You need to block out every face and whisper that’s about to start when they see what you can do."My face turns back toward the crowd, but Uncle Jo gently turns it back to him. "Block out everything except what we're doing. In time their curiosity will fade, and eventually, they will accept you asone of their own. You’re no different than they are. You are their equal, not their superior."
Everyone in this room was looking at me in complete admiration. As if, I'd done something noble. I haven't earned their adoration.
"Focus, Arabella, focus. You can do this." Uncle Jo leads me to a cabinet full of equipment on the back wall. He takes out a set of boxing gloves and hands me the smaller pair. He doesn't need to give me directions, because we've begun our workouts like this for as long as I can remember. We do a warm-up before moving on to the hard stuff. This I know, this I can do.Putting on my boxing gloves, I get in my fight stance. The people's stares around me throw fiery daggers into my back, but when Uncle Jo holds his boxing gloves up, instinct takes over. I begin punching his hands one by one, back and forth, repeatedly, until I'm out of breath, and he has to shake his hand after the last punch.?
A cocky grin spreads across my face. He gives me a smirk in return. The freestyle portion of our training session is coming up next. We gaze at each other without blinking, his demeanor is unsettling, and gives nothing away. I don't know when he will attack, but it's coming, and I need to be ready when he does.My family has taught me the importance of getting a good read on your opponent. All you need to do is pay close attention. No matter how good a fighter someone is, you can always tell. Most times, a person will slightly move a part of the body that they intend on using.
Uncle Jo comes at me from his left side. Crouching down, I stretch my leg as far out as it will go, and sweep his legs out from under him. There is no time to gloat, because he jumps up quickly and wastes no time retaliating. He catches me to the ribs once, but I block the next two attacks.
I go on the offensive, and we spar back and forth for what seems like forever. He only lands me on my back twice, which is a vast improvement from last summer when the ground was my best friend. I'm in my zone, this is my element. Training gives me a thrill that nothing else ever has. Thoughts of being The Chosen and what that means doesn’t infiltrate my mind. My main focus is on my opponent, that's normal, and I love it.
With one last thrust, I flip him over my shoulder, and he lands with a loud thud on his back. Never once have I achieved that move. Uncle Jo has always been able to stop me right before the flip, and I'm the one that falls with a loud thud.?
A whooshing sound comes from the crowd. Stunned, I look around the gym at all the bewildered faces staring back at me. They never saw that coming either. My eyes fall to Ethan first, then Sebastian second, making my heart thud more wildly inside my chest.?
Sebastian can't help but give me his commentary.If that would have been us sparring you would have been the one to land on your pretty ass.
Rolling my eyes, I take my middle finger and rub it up and down my nose like I'm scratching it, making Sebastian chuckle.?Anytime you want to put your money where your mouth is, you know where to find me.
He grins.There is only one place I wish to put my mouth, Arabella.Oh, and don’t think, I didn’t see the eye roll.
While that sets me ablaze with lust, I hit him back with sarcasm.Yeah, like, up your ass.
Laughter rings throughout my mind, and against my will, my face lights up in embarrassment. After helping Uncle Jo up, I give everyone in the room a sheepish smile. Their stunnedsilence turns into raucous applause. The first item off my checklist of impressing my peers is done.?
"We done, old man?" I'm beyond ready to escape, and not prepared for one-on-one conversations with these people just yet.?
Uncle Jo gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He understands my reluctance and readiness to get the hell out of dodge. "For calling me old man, I should make you train for a little while longer. But since you flipped me on my ass, I'll be generous. Let's do something fun."
I'm tired, but not that tired. Fun may be just what the doctor ordered. "Fun would be nice. Especially if food is involved, I’m starving. FEED me."
He rolls his eyes. "Dramatic much? I think someone is hangry."
I make a face at him. "YES! Now feed me or face the consequences of starving The Chosen."
He scoffs. "I ain't scared of no Chosen."
A smirk appears on my face. “It’s The Chosen, thank you very much.”