Chapter Thirty-Eight: Prove Yourself

"Alex! Where were you?" Anna asked.

That night, Alex had gone to sleep in the woods along with Claire, and of course he forgot to tell anyone, which is why he's being chewed out by his mother.

"Not only did you vanish without saying anything, but you also brought back this random girl? Who is she?" Anna demanded that Alex tell her what was going on.

Alex had to try and find a way to word this correctly so it didn't alarm anyone.

Alex looked over at Claire, who seemed nervous. In the morning, Claire woke up next to Alex and blushed as soon as she saw his sleeping face. It was peaceful, almost serene. She had never really interacted with anyone her age before, but she started to feel an emotion she couldn't recognize while being around him. She just wanted to stay around him; she saw him as someone she could rely on since nobody had ever shown her that they cared about her the way he did.

So when Alex woke up and said he wanted to bring Claire to his house, she agreed without hesitation, and when she was introduced to his mother, she was socially awkward, to say the least.

"Well, this is Claire. I met her last night, and I decided to make her my bodyguard." Alex explained.

Alex looked around at the girls, and all of them had different expressions on their faces. Raven and Kaede didn't take their eyes off of Claire. Eve was very welcoming, offering Claire some hot tea she had made. However, Anna was very interrogative.

Anna didn't believe one bit of Alex's story; she could see both of them having marks and scratches on their bodies. Anna could also see that Claire was not as normal as Alex was saying. Her eyes were looking around every corner, and the way she stood didn't leave any openings. Anna didn't trust Claire, so there was one thing she could do.

"Well, Claire, since you want to be my son's bodyguard, you have to show yourself capable. Everyone, let's go into the woods nearby." Anna said.

"Why?" Alex asked. He wanted to know what his mother had planned.

"Why do you think?" Anna said with a smile on her face.

Alex came to a quick realization.

"Oh no." he thought to himself.

The girls and Alex all walked over to the woods and found a small clearing in the woods.

"Perfect!" Anna said.

Anna then turned to Claire and launched an attack at her. Claire barely managed to dodge, and she took a defensive stance.

"So, Claire, maybe I should introduce myself to you. My name is Anna Blackwood, and I'm a master of my family's spearmanship style. Prepare for the toughest fight you've ever had."

In this world, there are different levels of each respective martial art. People use swords, spears, bows, and many other types of weapons. Beginner levels are normally young children of the discipline that they study. Then there are the intermediate levels. There are five total levels, each of which involves certain mastery of different aspects of the school. Then Masters. Masters are people who have mastered each respective discipline of their schools, and the last Grand Masters are the heads of each school. The ones who know the most about their martial art.

Anna is a member of the Morrigan School of Spearmanship and Magic. One of the few families that studies both, She and her sister learned both, and while Anna was better at martial arts, Lyanna was better at magic.

Alex didn't even know what rank his mother was; she had taught them a lot, but nowhere near everything she knew. That was evident as Anna used her martial arts skills to keep Claire on her back foot. Claire couldn't see any openings in Anna's attacks.

Claire tried to use the woods around them to her advantage, hoping Anna would lose sight of her in the trees. However, she was wrong.

Anna caught up with her quickly and continued to pressure her through her attacks.

Claire decided to circle back around to the group, now knowing her idea didn't work.

Once Claire reached the clearing again, Anna followed her shortly thereafter.

"Why do you want to be my son's bodyguard?" Anna asked.

Claire didn't know how to answer, so she answered from what came from the bottom of her art.

"Because I want to stay by his side!"

Everyone heard her words; Claire blushed at what she had just said, while Anna closed her eyes as she started to think.

Alex, however, had a small smile on his face as she said that. He was happy his words got through to her, and she was being more honest with herself.

Raven was not happy with her words or seeing Alex smile at them.

"This bitch..." Raven thought to herself.

Claire got scared. Anna was going to say no, so she continued to speak from her heart.

"Alex was very kind to me, something I never thought I deserved. He promised me something important, which made me want to stay with him. I want to stay by his side because I truly believe he can help me. Because of that, I swear to you that I will do everything and anything I can to protect him."

Anna smiled as she said this. Anna walked over to Claire and reached out her hand.

"I accept you to be my son's bodyguard." Anna said.

"Really?" Claire asked.

"Truth be told, I was going to accept you no matter what; my son made this decision, and I have faith in him. I just wanted to see how you truly felt. That's all." Anna explained.

Claire sighed, her breath full of relief. She had been accepted, and now she could stay with Alex. She felt her heart start beating rapidly as her face was full of a smile.

"She has a beautiful smile." Alex thought to himself.

"Now that this is done, I say we have a household dinner with everyone involved. What do you say?"

"I'm in!" Eve cheered.

"I will start preparing." Kaede said.

Raven didn't say anything, instead continuing to look mad.

Alex took note of this and was wondering what she could be mad about.

The group went back to their house as they started to prepare a great meal. They had bought shrimp from the nearby store, and they cooked some steak they bought at the nearby store in Hillcrest.

Claire didn't know how to cook, so Anna had her help with preparing the sides like salad and rice. Simple things.

Alex just watched them all cook. He was happy to see Claire getting along with everybody.

"Hey mom, did you have to go to such extremes?" Alex asked.

Anna smiled and said "Maybe not, but it was worthwhile in the end, I'd say."

Alex just smiled and laughed at his mom.

He knew Anna was very caring, even if her methods were a bit much at times.

She had similar training with Alex and Raven. She always pushed them, but the results always spoke for themselves.

When they finished making dinner, everyone sat down and prepared to enjoy the food. Claire was hesitant to take a bite of the food until Alex whispered to her.

"It's fine; just try it."

Claire listened to his words and bit into a piece of the cut-up steak.

She dropped her fork after biting into it. She had never had such delicious food before. For her life, she ate enough to simply keep her alive and keep her energy up. She had never had a homecooked meal like this. She took another bite, then another, and then another.

Alex smiled, seeing her enjoying the food. He wants her to enjoy the little things, such as food. He wants to show her more, like clothes, school, sports, and such. He wants her to learn how to live. That's his goal.

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