The days blurred together—wake up, run till you couldn't feel your legs, lift till your arms went jelly, then fight. Rinse and repeat.
One morning Silva barged into the barracks, bright and early.
"Attention!" she barked, and every head snapped upright.
"My officers tell me I've been too easy on you," she said, stepping forward. "For that, I apologize." She dug into her back pocket and donned a boar mask you could've grabbed at any souvenir shop. "Today's training is…survive the day."
Her fist slammed the floor, rattling bunks. Masked officers swarmed in, tapping helmets on heads with paint-dipped clubs.
Silva's voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
"Oh, and do remember—anyone caught will spend the next week doing nothing but running."
Uma's head snapped toward the noise just in time to see a trainee get tapped with a brush soaked in blue paint. Two officers in cheap boar masks tackled someone else near the doorway. Harin, naturally, was using a broken bedpost and a pillow like a medieval knight, guarding Layla and some poor kid who looked ready to cry.
'Gotta respect the hustle'
Uma sprinted forward, dodging a paint swipe by inches. She drop-kicked a guard blocking the exit and waved the others on.
"Nice looking out, little lady!" Harin called, grinning as he waved the others through.
Most of the trainees scattered. Uma, Harin, Layla, and a few more ducked behind a shed. Harin crouched and started sketching lines into the dirt.
"Our best bet is to get to the armory," he said, voice low. "Weapons give us a fighting chance."
Uma stared at the dirt. That's too obvious.
She reached down for her board—and froze.
It wasn't there.
'You're shitting me'
No board. No chalk. Nothing. Harin didn't notice. He stood up, rallying the others like a discount general.
"Right then. On my signal—"
'No, no, no, dumbass, don't charge it!'
Uma frantically motioned with her hands, but just looked like a sleep-deprived traffic cop.
"Not now, little lady," Harin said, patting her head. "Alright, everyone—let's go!"
Uma looked up at him with a annoyed look
'We're all gonna die', she thought, following behind.
As expected, the armory was boxed in. Two guards at each entrance.
"Damn," Harin muttered. "They predicted us."
'Wow. Who could've possibly seen this coming', Uma thought, rolling her eyes so hard it almost caused an eclipse.
Panic spread through the group like fire.
"We're doomed"
"She's gonna run us into the grave."
"What do we do?"
Uma sighed.
'Cowards'
She turned to leave—but Harin clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry! Me and the little lady'll sneak in and get the weapons. You lot just sit tight!" He said with a bright old smile that could warm a ice cube
She whipped her head toward him, eyes wide.
'You did not just sign me up to die'
"Come on, little lady—let's go." Harin grabbed Uma by the collar and hauled her forward like it was nothing.
She dangled for a second, arms crossed.
'This is such bullshit'
"All right, here's the plan." Harin launched into a mess of hand gestures, none of which looked remotely decipherable.
Uma didn't bother trying. She sighed, reached into her boot, and pulled out a pocketknife no longer than a pinky. Serosa had packed it, of course.
'Thank the gods for a goated mom'
Before Harin could notice, she slipped from his grip, climbed up his back, used his shoulder as a springboard, and scaled the wall with practiced ease. She made it to the roof, dagger between her teeth, and wedged it into the top window, prying it loose. It creaked. She winced. Then she dropped down silently into the attic.
'If I get so much as a scratch from this, I'm charging him'
The armory was dim. Rows of weapon racks stood like silent statues. Uma moved fast, grabbing the gear she recognized—Layla's daggers, Harin's sword, that one guy's javelin. She cradled them all in her arms like she was stocking up for a medieval Costco run.
She glanced around.
'Where's my doo-hickie?'
Her rope dart hung coiled on a wall clip. She stretched toward it. The weight in her arms shifted—
THUD
Steel clattered to the floor. Loud. Echoing. Mocking.
'You're joking'
"Hey! What was that?" a guard's voice snapped from outside the door.
Uma scrambled, ducking behind a weapons rack—not ideal when she was carrying half the arsenal. The guard's boots hit the floor. Each step deliberate. Slow.
'Of course. I get the one who wants to be Sherlock Holmes'
He got closer. Closer. Her heart beat in her throat.
Then—shouting outside. Loud. A crash. Another voice. The guard swore and turned, sprinting out of the room.
Uma didn't question it. She lunged for her rope dart, snatched it down, and booked it for the window.
She paused at the edge for just a breath.
'What the hell kind of anime moment was that?'
Then she vaulted down the side, slipped back through the clearing, and darted into the shadows where the rest of the group was hiding
"You got my babies!"
Said Layla hugging her daggers close like they were newborn baby's as Uma carefully set all the weapons onto the ground
Everyone crowded around, grabbing their gear like kids at a festival stall
'Wait….'
Uma looked around through the crowd then looked down at the unclaimed sword and shield
'Where's the old man?'
While everyone else was focused on figuring out their next steps Uma suddenly remembered the loud scream she heard
'Oh my gods that was supposed to be a distraction'
She darts back to the tent before anyone notices sneaking her way around it to where she finds Harin tied to a rock no paint visable on him but a few bruises and a pout on his face
'This is so obviously a trap'
She silently sighs takes a seat on the dirt and starts to draw out a plan
"Having fun are we?"
Silva says looking over Uma's shoulder the boar mask still on her face
Uma slowly turned her head mouth open and a look like a dear in headlights
'This is it… this is where I die'
Uma scrambled to run but Silva was faster throwing a punch with enough force to break wood the force of which sent Uma flying as she barely dodge
'Goddamir Harin!'
She thought as she starts to run for her life weaving through trees and bushes like a squirrel running from a hawk
Silva chased Uma like she'd keyed her car. It wasn't until Uma dove into the bushes—hiding so close Silva didn't bother to glance left—that the older woman finally passed her by
She waited a few more minutes before crawling out—mud-caked, leaf-haired, and apparently home to a bird now as a small nest formed on her head
'I am so done for today'
Just then she heared screams from the area where the group just was and as she approached she saw the group there call tagged with paint and knocked out with Silva standing above them knuckles red
'She really just did that to be a dick'
She took a sigh as she realized she was the last one
'Welp I'm not winning the 1v20 even if Silva wasn't here'
She sighed as she walked towards the rock hands up saying she surrender but weirdly enough no one noticed her
'What the freak Am I really that unnoticeable'
She said as she lightened her walking slowing making it to Harin who also didn't notice her till she got with arms length
"Oh little lady your o—-"
She held a finger to her mouth
'Shut up idiot!'
She held her breath as she started to untie him when a fammialr voice rang out
"Does someone wanna tell me why there's a ghost untying my prisoner!"
Silvia's voice rang out from the other side of the trading grounds and Uma just let out a frown face as several guards who didn't notice her at first tagged her amm ar once and tryed to play it off like they knew she was there the whole time
'Genuinely fuck my life'