"Get up." The voice was soft but insistent. There was a world of steel in those two words, and in the eyes that stared impassively down at me. My fingers flexed in the dirt I'd just had the displeasure of tasting when I'd landed flat on my face for the tenth time that day. Eleventh? I had stopped counting after taking my fourth header into the dust. For one thing, it was hard enough to remain focused and alert. Besides, keeping vigilant track of how many times I'd been knocked down in one afternoon would have done absolutely nothing for my morale. "Get up." Aranu repeated, injecting a little more force into the words. When I dragged myself to my knees, the world swayed before my eyes. "I...can't." I gasped. All morning, Aranu had been taking me through defensive maneuvering and the way I figured, I could thank my lucky stars it was him rather than a guard standing over me or I would have been dead hours ago. Every muscle in my body was screaming in protest and the only thing that burned worse than my legs were my lungs.
