Guardian (Sequel to Fearless)

Chapter Five

A/N Definition: Hench -- (of a man) strong, fit, and having well-developed muscles.

Iris's body hurt. Gods, it hurt. Hench had been far from gentle in their training, and on more than one front. They had trained for hours. And that meant... hours. Despite small breaks for water, Iris had been battered in every which way. They'd trained with the poles, they'd trained with actual weaponry, and they'd also trained with fists --fucking fists. Needless to say, her stamina was completely depleted.

Suddenly, the rogue wondered just how many days per week she'd feel like this.

Saying that, despite the nature of the training, Iris found that she liked Hench. Her mentor was her superior in every sense of the word, but not once had she belittled Iris. Not once had she teased or goaded Iris. And despite just how ridiculously tall and massive Hench was, she had a kind aura and a gentle, observant gaze. The whole time, she'd encouraged Iris to do her best and commended the things the rogue had executed correctly.

And when she'd offered critiques and tips to Iris, Hench had not appeared haughty in the slightest. In turn, Iris respected her --wanted to make this woman proud of her.

Perhaps she had today. Hench had seemed happy with her skill, after all. Yet, Iris could hardly smile at the small victory as she nearly staggered into the dining hall. There were a lot of guardians here, talking amongst themselves as they sat and ate. Iris looked around, trying to find any indication of where she was supposed to go to get dinner. She nearly got her map out. In fact, she was reaching for where she had stuffed it in her pack when she felt a large hand rest between her shoulder-blades. Iris jolted and turned to face Hench, who simply wore a wistful, knowing smile.

"Through that door, girl. Go eat," she simply told her, and pointed to a small door across the room from where they both stood.

"Thank you." Iris offered a grateful nod before scurrying in the direction her mentor had told her to go.

No one spoke to her as she went and retrieved a dinner plate. In part, Iris was thankful. While she liked getting to know new people, she had next to no energy --not after the afternoon she had. Quietly and without drawing too much attention to herself, she observed her surroundings. She noticed something peculiar... every guardian who took food went over to a middle-aged man standing in the corner and consequently thanked him for dinner.

Iris almost smiled --this atmosphere was not only disciplined, it was polite, and everyone was nothing less than respectful. Iris wasn't about to break that code. She walked over to who she could only assume was Cook, the man whom Hench had mentioned earlier, and offered him a small smile.

"Thank you for this," she said with a courteous nod.

His returning smile was kind. "Fresh blood, I see." He offered a nod to her, not even giving second thought to her gender. "You are welcome, girl. I do hope you enjoy it and also the rest of your stay here in our facility. Becoming a guardian is one of the proudest and most honorable things a person can do --you will not regret your decision."

And with a few more exchanged pleasantries, Iris made her way to the dining hall. Her eyes cast over all the tables. Hench sat with a group of five men, and all of them were seemingly lively as they each drank from heavy iron tankards. Iris could only assume that they weren't drinking milk.

Her eyes cast around the room and found an empty table. That would suit her just fine. Without a second thought, she went and had a seat to herself. She ate in peace, absentmindedly listening to the chatter that filled the room. Iris took that moment to remember Renna and Zayn, and she hoped that they were both doing well by themselves.