Ghost -- Chapters 1-4 (5) “I will be watching Ghost or Taylor” said Wolf at her room, but it was Ghosts cold smile that left Wolf standing outside her door. Shivering Wolf walked down to a kitchen were he had three bowls of steaming brew before he felt any warmth return to his body Taylor lay on her bed, her eyes were closed yet she was wide awake… Ghost, why is it that I feel so…out of energy? You are pushing yourself to hard Taylor sighed Ghosts cold voice I use to do five times the work I did today and not feel as exhausted as I do now and not feel a bit tired replied Taylor You must remember that many things have changed since then snarled Ghost; Taylor smiled and let herself drift off to sleep, knowing that Ghost was watching over her. It was colder than anything she had ever known, even colder than Ghost… A pair of Grey eyes stared coldly at her, and a voice more commanding than anything else in the world whispered “Why aren’t you broken yet? Oh well, that will soon change” laughter filled the air… The world spun and she was suddenly hanging from chains, her feet unable to touch the ground, then a man with a black mask entered the room, all she could see was the mans cold grey eyes… The world spun once again, she was hanging from a cold wall, and everything was so cold. Pain riddled her body; every breath was agony, the cold air biting into her lungs. A door opened, revealing a man with cold grey eyes. “TAYLOR!” shouted Wolf shaking Taylor “WAKE UP!” Taylor opened her eyes with difficulty, her eye-lashes had frozen together, and she looked up into Wolfs brown eyes, not grey… “Oh thank god, Taylor I am going to lift you up, ok?” Taylor wordlessly nodded her head, as Wolf picked her up, Taylor looked around her room, everything was covered in a thick layer of ice, apart from the door which looked as if it had put up a brilliant fight, evolving an axe, outside the door there were ten men, all had large muscles and a large sharp axe. If Taylor hadn’t of been so exhausted she probably would have laughed at those men whom were covered in there own sweat. Taylor’s exhausted eyes closed, only to open again as she was thrown into boiling hot water, and like when Craig had thrown her into freezing cold water, she kicked the source of pain in between the legs. “Bloody hell Taylor!” groaned Wolf, clutching his man-hood “A hurt for a hurt, fair is fair Wolf” Taylor replied rubbing her arms and legs which felt like needles were pricking her continuously. “Taylor, you could have died” “The cold means nothing to me, thanks to Ghost” sighed Taylor collapsing on the ground next to Wolf, and resting her head on his chest. “What happened in there Taylor, why was there so much ice?” sighed Wolf “First you tell me how you found me in the room” replied Taylor “I was asleep then I felt cold, I opened my eyes, and there was Ghost yet she wasn’t there, she said ‘Taylor needs to be woken’ then she disappeared, trusting her I went to your room, but couldn’t get in, then I notice how cold it seemed to get…Now you tell me how all that ice got there!” “I don’t know Wolf,” Taylor made her face expressionless and met Wolfs eye’s “I truly don’t know, the one thing I do know, is that I need to get into dry clothes, and you need to show me where ‘level 26 stadium of the sword’ is” sighing Taylor stood up, then offering Wolf a hand, which he took with a grimace. Wolf limped to ‘stadium level 39 of the sword', Taylor calmly walking behind him. Every battle she had, had with a teacher she had won, but always she judged the teachers skill. At level 20 the teachers had begun to expect the high climbing student, knowing that they would most likely lose they prepared themselves, and when Taylor finally came, they had fun, because for once they could use all of there skill against a student who they would probably never even get to know. “How many levels of the sword are there?” Taylor’s voice snapped Wolf back into the real world. “In the sword in goes up to level 70” sighed Wolf “Don’t worry Wolf” Taylor smiled “after this level we will go back, and you can get some rest” “Let me guess tomorrow we will do this again?” “Yes” replied Taylor “You need to start eating then Taylor” sighed Wolf “I will” Taylor replied her face expressionless Taylor sat on her bed, looking at the tray opposite her… There are no drugs sighed Ghost I still don’t wanna eat Taylor replied coldly You will eat Taylor replied Ghost just as coldly I am not hungry sighed Taylor You forget that I know what you feel, you are hungry Taylor Ghost sighed, Taylor didn’t have a reply for that. “Sleep well?” said Wolf when Taylor opened the door “Yes, thank you Wolf” Taylor yawned “Are you sure you don’t want to take a break today Taylor?” “I don’t need one Wolf, I will be perfectly fine” said Taylor with a smile “Come on I am ready, lets go see if I can beat the next couple of teachers.” Wolf sat with his head in his arms… “Rough day?” said the head cook sitting next to him “She has completed the sword levels, every single one, in little under a week” “Has she now? How in the devil did she do that? She never eats” Wolf looked up at the head cook, she was a big woman, with brown hair, and brown eyes, normally a smile was playing across her face, but currently a small frown was taking its place. “What do you mean she doesn’t eat?” Wolf said sharply “I mean that the girl hasn’t eaten in a week, I cook, but she doesn’t eat” the head cook sighed. Wolf frowned standing up and walking away from the cook. “Where are you going Wolf?” the cook called after Wolf “To see Taylor” replied Wolf, making his way out of the kitchen, and then going through a maze of corridors till he was in-front of Taylor’s door, which he knocked on as calmly as he could manage. “Come in the doors not locked!” shouted a voice Wolf could easily identify as Taylor, opening the door Wolf saw Taylor in the middle of her large room doing push-ups. “What’s this I hear about you not eating!” stormed Wolf; Taylor immediately stopped doing her push-ups, and slowly got to her feet. “I don’t have to eat if I don’t want to” Taylor said, a slight bit of Ghost’s coldness behind her words. “Taylor you have to eat, it is dangerous for you if you don’t!” “I agree with you, but whenever I try to eat for her…she goes odd” sighed the ice cold voice of Ghost “I suggest you leave Wolf, Taylor hasn’t been herself lately” “O-o-of course Ghost” stuttered Wolf fleeing the room. Taylor slowly lifted herself up from the ground, her right arm hurting slightly, but she ignored the pain slowly bending it then straightening. Thirty…you should probably stop Taylor came a cold voice from inside her I don’t have to go to sword training, I have completed it, this the best way to keep my muscles strong Taylor shook her head, doing another push-up. After three more push-ups Taylor heard a knock at her door. “Come on in!” she shouted, the door opened revealing an old man with a short white beard, and white hair that went down to his shoulders, in his arms he had a tray full of food. “Something from the head-cooks very own hands” the old man smiled “Can you put it on the table, or next to the door?” Taylor asked bending her arm in another push-up “Not unless that’s were you are going to eat it” the old man replied “I am not hungry” Taylor said shortly, meeting the old mans extraordinary blue eyes that were much like her own “I do not care; I will not leave this room until you have eaten” “Well you are going to have a very long wait” replied Taylor continuing her push-ups “Well, then lets make a deal then” sighed the old man “a sword fight, you win I leave the room, and in an hour a kitchen girl will collect this tray, and if I win, you eat” Taylor looked up at the old man standing with the full tray of food in his arms… “I never back down from a challenge” said Taylor slowly standing up “practice sword, or blade?” “Blade” replied the old man without hesitation laying the tray on Taylor’s bed then drawing a blade out of no-where, Taylor sighed drawing her own blade… Then the fight began…and Taylor found out that the old man was better than her within a matter of seconds… She knew that she would lose; the old man moved with a certain grace, a grace that Craig had, had…In fact Taylor knew this man had been Craig’s teacher of the sword. She figured this out within seconds… The old man flicked Taylor’s blade from her hands, then moved his blade below her chin… “I win” he said simply “now eat” he gestured his head towards the tray of food, sighing Taylor obeyed. “You are good with the sword; I believe that you defeated all teachers of the sword within a week” Taylor nodded, slowly chewing her food, then swallowing “Who taught you?” the old man questioned “A man” Taylor said picking up a bit of bread and begun chewing on it “What man?” the old man said patiently. “A wonderful man” Taylor said swallowing the bit of bread then chewing on some more “Who?” the old man said still patient “Craig” whispered Taylor continuing to nibble on her food “What did you say?” the old man said suddenly alert “Craig” repeated Taylor “Oh really, are you his daughter?” The old man said his face expressionless “No, though he was more a father to me than anything else” “Your parents were Krak and Mary, weren’t they?” said the old man “Yes” Taylor stopped nibbling on her food and started to eat it normally “Hmm…you have Mary’s blue eyes…I taught both your mother and your father the sword, I taught Craig to…” the old man sighed “I know, Craig walks the same way you do, but with half the grace” Taylor replied swallowing the last of her meal, leaving an empty tray “Can I teach you the sword Taylor?” Taylor looked up at the old man “It would be an honour to be your student, but I feel a bit disadvantaged, you know my name, yet I am still to learn yours” “You may call me Sir,” replied Taylor’s new teacher “Alright Sir, when do we start? And where will we learn?” said Taylor respectfully getting to her feet and standing tall with her hands behind her back. “We start tomorrow; I will come and get you from this room when the sun begins to rise” Taylor’s new soon-to-be teacher smiled, grabbing Taylor’s now empty tray and exiting the room. Taylor frowned slightly as he left. When she was sure he wasn’t coming back she lowered herself to the ground and started doing push-ups. The next morning an hour before sun-rise Taylor was leaning against a wall, completely dressed in slim fitted black clothing, her hair slightly covered her pale face, as she waited for her soon-to-be teacher she let her mind wonder… Who will learn, you or I? Ghost’s cool voice said inside Taylor’s head “We both learn, we both share the same knowledge, your thoughts are mine and my thoughts are yours” replied Taylor Whose strength do we use? “Same answer to the same question” sighed Taylor Why don’t you turn on some lights? “I want to see how the man reacts, I want to see if he can find me” It was then the door opened revealing the man that had brought her, her lunch yesterday. Taylor could tell that he couldn’t see her, so she just stood there, silently watching what the old man would do. He moved silently, looking around the room trying to see her… “I am not here to play hide and seek Taylor” said Taylor’s so-to-be teacher. “Neither am I” replied Taylor stepping out of the shadows, flicking her hair behind her ears she walked over to her teacher, and smiled “I lived in the dark for so long, that I don’t really need light that much.” “Hmmm, well let’s go then” Taylor followed her so-to-be teacher out of her room. “So, what should I call you?” Taylor asked curiously watching the man carefully. “Call me…Z” said Z. “Z…does that stand for anything?” “No…it was what your mother use to call me, I suppose the name just stuck” said Z, winding carefully through the corridors. “Why did she call you Z?” “I don’t know…she’s like you…when winters cold chill would grip this place she would somehow make every room she was in filled with warmth, comfort and…happiness…she didn’t have your other side though” “What do you mean by my other side?” “The young lady whom calls herself Ghost, where you bring the warmth and joy of summer, she brings the dark coldness of winter…” Taylor sighed getting the point that Z no longer wished to answer questions, or talk, so she followed him, round and round many corridors. Strangely none other was in those many corridors that always seemed to filled with students walking to classes, or hanging out with friends, it was if Taylor and Z were the only people on the earth, walking by door after door, and winding through the corridors and down many stairs. “Where are we going?” Taylor questioned as they went down some more stairs that looked as if they hadn’t been used in an extremely long time. “To a place where none other can find, where we will not be disturbed” said Z continuing down the stairs that seemed to get dustier with each step. “How long till we get where we are going?” questioned Taylor. “We are here” replied Z stepping out of the way revealing a large cave like room. Targets were all over the place, some were up above their heads, where others were just sat up against a wall. Weapons of all types and descriptions where somehow attached to another wall, whether they were sword, dagger, club, mace, bow and some weapons Taylor could only guess at the names and uses. Taylor looked up and saw ropes gently swaying in a non-existing breeze, the roof seemed to stretch up into nowhere so it was impossible to tell how long the ropes were, she didn’t know where from but an odd brightness seemed to fill the large cave like room, giving it an odd feel. To Taylor it felt like coming home. “To find this place you only really need to walk down, and down, and down, yet strangely no-one can find it unless they know that fact, or if they are being guided by a willing guide…” Z looked at Taylor his eyes shining. “There is magic here…” Taylor closed her eyes letting an unknown feeling of warmth and comfort seep into her “more magic than any other place here, the one who created it put a lot of effort and time into this room.” “True…it did take awhile, but how did you know that Taylor?” “Because of the feeling, to some they would fill uncomfortable here, they would be unwelcome, yet to others they feel…differently, Craig told me about it…once he said it was his favourite place in the land of thieves” Taylor sighed opening her eyes “you did a wonderful job creating it” Z’s eyes suddenly smiled. “How do you know I created this place?” “No other could, wizard…” without knowing why Taylor knew she was looking at the man whom had created this the land of thieves. “It took your Mother a week to figure that out, it took Craig a year, but it took your father an hour” Z laughed “yet you it takes…what…forty minutes?” “So I am right?” “Of course Taylor” Z smiled “would you like to train now, or leave your mouth open like that, to catch a fly or two?” Taylor closed her mouth with a decisive snap, nearly biting her own tongue. “Very good Taylor, now lets begin shall we?” Z smiled then lead the half confuse Taylor to the far wall of the cave like room where a long rope dangled eight feet above Taylor head, waiting perfectly still. “Can you climb this Taylor?” Z said turning to face Taylor. “I could if it was a tad lower…” “This is a yes or no question Taylor” Z replied. “May I try to climb before I come to a solution?” “But of course Taylor” Z took two steps backwards placing his hands behind his back. Taylor regarded the rope carefully, and then took about thirty steps back, then she running at full speed towards the wall, she leapt, flying through the air, she didn’t have a hope of getting the rope, anyone could see that, but instead of reaching for it she propelled herself off of the wall, giving herself more height! She reached out only just catching the end of the rope which started to swing quite violently. Using all of her arm strength Taylor pull herself up, hand by hand with the rope still swinging. “Very good Taylor, you can come back down now” said Z calmly. Taking a deep breath Taylor slowly lowered herself down to the end of the rope then let go, landing in a crouching position in front of Z. “Yes, I can climb that rope” Taylor said standing up slowly, flicking a lock of her long black hair out of her eyes and behind her ears.
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