((I said these were going to get shorter...I lied....<3 sorry<3333))

The punching bag swung back and flew forward only to be sent back again as I caught it with a hard kick. "Again," was the command that came from the form behind me. Normally, I'd just tell him to get off of it or leave me alone, but the fact that this man had one hundred years of experience, was a vampire, and could easily rip me apart, pushed me to hike my foot back and slam it as hard as I could into the bag of sand. I heard the chain creak in agony as its limits were tested. "Good, again," Damian muttered, pulling me from my focused state and resulting in the sack to strike back and crash against me, sending me into the dirt. I felt the grit of the Earth's teeth tear the cloth of the uniform and scrape my skin, leaving small cuts and bruises in its wake. "Get up," he grunted. My pace at standing wasn't fast enough, for he took my arm and yanked me up, none too gentle. He commanded me to attack the punching bag again, and I complied.

One after another, I delivered blow after blow, punch after punch, kick after kick--it went on for so long that my movements were nearly mechanical, as if someone else was doing them for me. Finally, I delivered a hard punch and sent the bag spiraling into the ground, dust and dirt flying up from the impact. I was tired, and hot. The sky was overcast, but I was still panting, the gasmask pulling in fresh rushes of air, cooling off my burning lungs. "How's the uniform?" The deep voice snapped me from my trance and I looked at him through light blue lens.
"Good, its light, so it's easy to maneuver in."
"Is it hot?"
"No...its thin enough to let in air and thick enough to take impacts."

The next thing he did surprised me. His fist came towards me so quick I barely had time to react. Just as quick, I raised my hand and caught his, pushing it to the side and managing to land a kick in his stomach. Damian recovered and slammed his boot in my side, then his fist into my jaw. Bright lights went off in my skull, and for a moment my world went white. When I opened my eye, I was sprawled on the ground, a shadowy figure looming over me,"Still not good enough...I'm beginning to think you don't want this."
"It's been one month, Damian!! I'm not going-" His boot made contact with my throat, pressing down softly and turning my words into a painful squeak.
"Tsk.Tsk. Discord, stubborn little girl's get discipline...."

My stomach tightened, if discipline was like anything I'd experienced over the past month, from obscene slurs to full fledged contact--my defiance the only thing keeping him from having his way with me every night--I definitely didn't want to be disciplined. I tried to pipe up an insult, but his boot pressed down harder until my windpipe had barely enough to room for a steady airway,"How does that sound?" He'd been talking? Because my head was swimming as my lungs begged for air, I didn't hear him say a word. Quickly, I nodded my head, trying to hold down my coughs and gasps. "Good..." he hissed, relieving the boot from neck allowing my burning lungs to be quenched with the currents of fresh oxygen.

With an aggressive bite, his hand curled around my arm and hauled me to my feet. "Ready my dear, this is where your real training begins..." One by one, his fingers were placed over my lens, the bony white digits blocking out everything--leaving me in utter darkness. I heard a soft mutter of something foreign,"Distrus." The word was cold...dark...evil, I knew it by the way he said it, as if it were directed toward me despite him never saying my name.

A soft breeze rustled the leaves, there was a crackling of twigs, groaning of trees, the smell of a storm. Suddenly, his hands were pulled away, and I felt him whisper from behind me,"This is your first test, make it back to the mansion in one piece and you win...Don't try and run--I'll send my personal guard to hunt you down and tear you limb from limb. Got it?"

Before I could protest, I whipped around to find Damian gone and nothing but looming trees as my company. When did we get this deep into the forest? When did I get this deep into the forest. "Damn Damian..." I hissed under my breath, already looking up at the sky. The sun set in the West--I'd always watch it from my bedroom window, meaning East was the way to go. Unfortunately, today was overcast...the clouds doing their best to keep that big ball of gas hidden from my sight,"Damn sky..." I decided to follow my basic instinct and headed to the left, hoping I'd stumble upon something eventually.

Minutes turned into hours as I wandered--aimlessly. The sun had long sunk behind the horizon allowing his lover, the Moon, have its turn at viewing the Earth. Though it'd be dark to human eyes...I saw clearly--the outlines of the trees, each blade of grass swaying in the breeze--tonight was...beautiful. But with the night sky, vast and open above me, came a icy chill. It forced its way beneath the thin cloth of my uniform and pulled at my skin, causing goosebumps to rise at every place it kissed--I hated it."That's it, I give up! You win Damian!" My flame of willingness to find the mansion had dwindled to nothing more than a cooling ember. I called again, hoping he'd emerge from the shadows and take me back, but when no response came, I sunk into a sitting position against a tree and sighed.

I must have dozed off because when I opened my eye the silver orb was in the middle of the sky, casting haunting shadows upon the ground and making the dark parts of the forest....even darker. I scanned the area, it was all shades of dark green and black, no actual color was in sight, not until I saw two crystal pools staring directly at me. Instantly, I was on my feet, body shifted into a defense position, fist raised, legs spread and stable, and with the most aggression I could muster I growled,"Show yourself!!"
I watched as the blue crystals blinked, as if their holder didn't hear me.
"Did you hear me!" I shouted, clenching my fists tighter, I had no patience for games--everyday I was being toyed with, and it was getting old.

Again I shouted and this time, I got a reply from a male voice,"Fine, fine sheesh..." It was more of a chuckle, a tease, as if I was the mouse and he was the cat. I watched as he emerged from the shadows. A hood was drawn over his face, all that was visible was an irritating smirk. His outfit was different shades of gray and black, helping him blend with the background...as if he was as shadow. On his hip, in a sheath, was a sword. On his feet, boots, worn from months, maybe even a year or two, of use. "I'm out here...now what?"
"Don't take a step closer...and give me your weapon."
That smirk on his lips curled into a grin as he unsheathed the weapon. Its blade reflected the moonlight, causing the sword to look like someone crafted it from the stars themselves--it was blinding as he weighed it, tossing it hand to hand,"And if I don't?"
The question was unexpected, but logical, he was armed, I wasn't. Quickly, I tried to think of something menacing,"Or I won't let you leave this forest alive."
"You?" A cackle escaped his ever-grinning lips,"How old are you kid? Twelve? Fourteen maybe?"
"What!? I'm...eighteen!!!"
"Eighteen?" His lips pursed, I felt him examining me, despite the fact I couldn't see anything beneath the cowl,"You're like five inches tall...shouldn't a little boy like you be looking Playboy magazines and dealing with puberty?"
"Woah...Woah..WOAH! Back up!? Boy?! I'll have you know that I am one-hundred-and-ten-percent woman! And just because I'm a little shorter than others does not mean I can't kick your smart ass into next week!" I watched him through azure lens, my face hot with anger and embarrassment.
"Ohhhh! You're a girl? Well..you're obviously lacking in..ah..nevermind. Let's make this quick shall we? We fight, I win, I drag your body off to some wolf pack, and 'poof' you're gone."
I was practically fuming,"Quick? Who said I was an easy fight?!" I didn't even let him answer; my foot hiked back and just as quickly kicked up toward the hand that was holding the weapon. I watched as it landed off to the side before lunging forward to give the prick a taste of his own medicine.

Unfortunately, he was just as quick. He caught my hand in his own and slammed me into the trunk of the tree.I almost headbutt him, but a sharp prick in the center of my throat stopped me. A blade, protruding from some sort of contraption on his wrist, was digging to the flesh of my neck, leaving me pinned to the tree. Something caught my eye, it wasn't the glint of the hidden-blade, the snarl that was on his lips, the moon that was high in the air--no. It was the three rings caressing his finger. One golden, one silver, one bronze...reflecting the light like precious jewels. "Well?" His aggressive tone pulled me from my focus and for once I saw the the blue eyes he possessed, narrowed with anger and agitation--in my defense he was the one that wanted to toy with me.
"Wh-what?" It hurt to talk. It hurt to swallow. It hurt to breathe.
"Why shouldn't I kill you right here and now, give me one reason....fledging because as far as I know the only good vampire is a dead one."
He knew. "How do you know?"
"That rank scent of destruction on you....I can hear the hunger in your words...the strength in your movements--no human could have spotted me in the darkness. So tell me."
The words stung like thorns, but instead of getting angry, I was back to staring at the rings, and instead of using my one chance to save my life my mind beat me to the words,"What are those rings for?"

For moment, he seemed caught off guard, but that quickly dissipated as his lips formed back into a vicious snarl,"None of your business, even if I did want to tell you, I wouldn't, nothing good comes from beings like you." He looked into the light blue lens of my mask, but saw nothing, not my face, not my eye, not my humanity--just a monstrosity. "You know what, kid, you're not worth my time." With that he pulled back and shoved me hard, back into the tree--my breath escaping me in a hard exhale.

I felt that red anger ignite in my stomach and spread like a raging fire. When I looked up, he was gone, not a trace, as if it had all been an illusion. Slowly, I got to my feet, pressing a finger to the small cut on my neck...I looked to the sky and looked at the fading moon beginning to fade as the first hints of light peeked over the horizon. What felt like a thirty minute conversation must have been an hour or two. The rays of light came from the East allowing me to know which way to go, and with that I let out a frustrated scream before stomping into the woods, heading back to the mansion. If I ever saw that man again.. I wasn't going to hesitate to rip his throat from his neck and watch the light fade from those crystal eyes. I was tired of being treated like a child...so I was going to stop taking shit like one.