Holding Back

Ulo's Pov

I stepped away from the door, my heart simmering with rage. I wanted to punch something, rip something or just cause damage. I hated myself for having let her go in alone. What was I thinking, letting her go into that dangerous place all on her own. Sure, she would have wanted to see Indrik but I should have gone with her. Maybe then, whatever had happened wouldn't have. Seeing her like that l, so weak and vulnerable got me feeling so mad and useless. If only I knew who had made her feel like that, I would have gone to them right now and hacked them into a million pieces.

"What happened with her?" Jamil asked, gesturing toward the shut door.

"I don't know!" I snapped, starting toward the backdoor. I wouldn't be able to sleep now. All my tiredness and exhaustion from earlier had vanished in the wake of my anger.

"Come on, Ulo. Not you too!" Jamil groaned as he came after me. "Something definitely happened in there to shake her up that bad. What...."

"Listen, I don't know, okay!" I growled, the words tasting like bile in my mouth. I don't know and that makes me mad in a way you couldn't even begin to imagine. Knowing would have given me direction, let me know the right thing to do to wipe that scared look off her face but guess what? I don't. I didn't say all these to him but they rumbled in my chest so much I felt I would explode into a million tiny pieces. I walked up to the huge tree in the center of the yard and punched it as hard as I could. That seemed to be hard enough as the huge tree shook from its base to its crown like it was having a seizure and shed a couple of overdue leaves. It's the winter season which made not so hard to do.

Overhead, the moon that had been absent earlier had finally decided to make an appearance. It's not that impressive though because it is battling the clouds for dominance with each determined to be the most noticed which means the world beneath it is tossed into an uneven balance of a fairly lit sky and a dark moonless night.

"Hey, man! You really should calm down. You sure you don't know what happened? You seem pretty ticked off to me!"

I stopped, my rage blowing over like a deflated balloon. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm myself. When I opened my eyes again, I felt good enough to manage a smile which I flashed at Jamil.

"It's nothing." I muttered. He squinted, trying to figure out what I was hiding but in the end, he gave up.

"You sure?" He asked again and I nodded.

"I just don't think I have any sleep left in me. I think I will go slip in some training."

"You got it, man." He grinned excitedly.

I stared at him wondering if I should remind him that I hadn't invited him or just let him tag along. I settled on the latter since I knew he wasn't going to be dissuaded anyway. A look at the yard and I knew we could not use this place. The thought of Blaire's reaction if she saw this place ruined because we used it for training was enough to make me wince.

"The training grounds?" I asked.

"Race ya!" Jamil replied as he swiftly moved through the door with me on his tail. We could not afford to run inside the house to avoid ticking off some people who might not be as excited to lose sleep. Breaking out the front door, we jogged a couple of miles out the slightly open gates, past the sleepy eyes guards that watched us with the annoyed expression and of those who are used to being disturbed. The training grounds were just outside the palace putting enough distance to keep from disturbing the palace inhabitants with and the citizens.

The training grounds stood on a pretty large area and during the day, you could see young men training. The archers had their targets, the runners, their fields, the arm to arm combaters are not left out and there is the area for sword fighters as well. During the day, this place was always brimming with activity but at night, it became as silent as a graveyard. Despite the prowess of our Pack, we did not have a standard military. Sure, we have soldiers that can defend our borders but they all, (apart from a few who go for night patrol) go home at night to their families ready to bear arms if danger ever comes knocking. But they might as well wait forever because it has been ages since we last had a major war. The last one we had was over twenty years ago, a couple of years before we were born from what we heard. No one really talks about it but from what we heard, it was pretty bad.

We walked to the center of the field and peeled off our swords, robes and shoes, accessories we were supposed to have gotten rid of a long while ago. I flexed my muscles, enjoying the soft feel of grass under my feet.

"Don't you think this show off is a little too much for someone that is going to be beat in a moment?" Jamil teased.

"In your dreams!" I chuckled, enjoying the soft breeze as it danced through my hair. Training always did help me forget my troubles. "Ready when you are!" I called, moving my left leg backward and raising my arms, one before the other in fight mode.

"Ready!" He called as he came against me, the air blurring between us as we danced back and forth, each trying to land a blow while simultaneously trying to defend. We were evenly matched which meant none of us managed to land a blow and eventually, we collapsed to the ground, sweaty bodies glistening as we breathed heavily. My arms and legs were still aching from the hits I had deflected but none of that mattered as I basked in the bliss of mindless exhaustion.

"You know I was holding back right?"

"Sure you were." I laughed, enjoying the feeling of having no worries. Tomorrow was a new day but for now, I decided to let it worry about itself.