Jarod slowly opened up his eyes and the first thing he did was notice how hard the bed he was sleeping on was. He slowly sat up, but felt dizzy and almost automatically laid his head down again. He looked over the room he was currently laying in.
The walls were a light gray, with no decoration except for a star above the door, which was a shade darker than what the walls were. Next to the bed, there was a small table with a small glass of water and an alarm clock.
It was 3:58 p.m., almost 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He slowly grabbed the glass of water but dropped it in surprise as it instantly froze solid. The glass shattered as it hit the ground, but it was now more ice than glass. He looked at the ground for a second, but a flashback of what had happened made him clench the small blanket that was covering him into a small ball as silent tears streamed down his face.
"I, I couldn't save you." He whispered to his now dead friend. "If only I was stronger, if only I was faster. You, you'd still be alive!" The blanket he was holding began slowly freezing solid, but Jarod instantly threw it away from him as it was a ticking time bomb.
He got off the bed and stood up and went towards the door, ignoring the dizzy feeling in his head that had returned. He opened the door quickly, as to not freeze the doorknob solid. It opened up to a dark hall, that was fairly short. He took a couple of steps forward before a wave of nausea overtook his system and he leaned on the wall for support and closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling to be over.
After it had passed, he opened his eyes to see the girl with black hair and red eyes staring at him from the end of the hall. He grit his teeth, trying to contain his anger. "What do you want?" He spat with venom. She didn't say anything, she just kept looking at him with a blank, emotionless face that unnerved him. Finally, after what seemed like hours but had actually been just a couple of seconds, she spoke.
"Follow me." She ordered in a low voice, before turning to her right and walking out of the hallway. Jarod slowly walked forward and turned to where she had gone, and found the old woman that he had met a couple of days ago, sitting at a plain brown oak table sipping a cup of coffee as she read the paper, her eyes narrowed as they scanned what the paper had to say.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness. Did you sleep well?" Jarod didn't answer as he pulled out a chair and sat in front of her. She noticed his look as if he were asking for answers with his eyes. She sighed and slid the paper towards him. The title read, 'Mysterious Ice Storm Envelops the Town of Brookeville Killing All Residents'.
Jarod looked at the paper with wide eyes before looking at the woman in front of him. "You mean, I did all of this?" She nodded. Despair grabbed his heart and squeezed as he felt the energy leave his bones.
"Everything except the shooting, but that is still also partially your fault as well. If you had just come with us in the beginning, none of this would have happened. Now you have attracted every demon hunter in the United States and even the entire world." She said harshly. Jarod looked at the table, his hands in balls as he clenched his fist.
"I, I never meant for any of this to happen. If, if only I had been stronger, if I could control my powers," He said, tears flowing down his face as he looked up, total conviction in his eyes. "Then none of this would have ever happened! Ryan wouldn't have died! I swear I'll get stronger so that I can protect those I care about! I'll never let anyone else die because of me again!
"No matter the cost?" She asked, a smirk appearing on her lips. Jarod nodded.
"No matter the cost!"
"Even if you have to kill?" She questioned curiously as she watched the demon prince's hands tighten into fists, ice slowly spreading across his skin as his dark grey eyes flashed a bright blue once more as it had when those hunters had attacked.
"If that's what it takes. . ."
"Good. Now, we shall get started." She said, standing up and clapping her hands. "Since we'll be with each other for a while, I guess I'll introduce myself. My name is Morina Corva. Katlyn!" She called. The black-haired girl instantly popped out of nowhere.
"Yes, Master?" She said stoically. Morina smirked.
"Take His Highness out back and teach him how to fight. No need to hold back." Katlyn actually smirked at the last sentence Morina had said, sending a shiver down Jarod's spine. Jarod then spoke.
"None of that 'Your Highness' crap. Just call me Jarod, please." He asked. Morina nodded.
"As you wish Jarod." Jarod gave her a weak, half-heartedly smile before getting up and following Katlyn out of the door and into the backyard.
"I've been ordered to teach you how to fight. And that's exactly what I'm going to do." Katlyn said as she looked at him before pulling out two wooden swords from the air. "I'm not going easy on you."
"How did you-" Jarod was going to ask before he was hit with the wooden sword in the shin. "Ow, what the-" He was hit again, and wisely closed his mouth. Katlyn smirked, the only emotion coming across her face.
"Here." She tossed one of the wooden swords at him. He caught it with both hands before the weight pulled it down. "What the-?" He began but was interrupted by Katlyn speaking up.
"The swords are a hundred pounds each. They will give you physical prowess and endurance. Last 5 minutes in a fight without going out of the circle, and you win. We shall continue until it gets dark."
5 Hours Later
It was finally getting dark, and Jarod looked worse for wear. He had many bruises sporting his face along with a broken pinkie, which healed up in about an hour. Morina smiled.
"Have fun?" Jarod rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to bed." He said before walking down the hall and collapsing on his bed, tired from the mentally and physically exhausting day. Morina looked at Katlyn.
"You enjoyed beating the Prince, didn't you." Katlyn nodded.
"Of course, Master. I won't be able to land a single finger on him for very long. Might as well enjoy it while I can." Morina smiled at her apprentice.
"True. Very true." She said before she smirked and started writing on a piece of paper. "It won't be very long at all..."