Hellbound Heart

When her fingers still refused to pull the trigger, Elle began to speak to herself internally. 'Don't be afraid... you're not going to kill an innocent... this is just training... for your sake... remember why you're doing this, Elle... remember the pain and frustration of being helpless â€"'

The moment when she was trembling helplessly, hiding in terror in the bushes when she saw Brandon Haze in the crowd, the moment when she was kept locked in that room, the moment when she was used as bait to capture Sebastian that night... the moment when she watched Sebastian being chained behind bars... All those helpless moments that brought up the feeling of her being useless and a hindrance just flashed like a quick slideshow in her mind. And with that reminder, Elle's arms steadied and her fingers decisively pulled the trigger.

The deafening sound that she was used to did not ring out this time, but sounds of flying bats filled the silence in the clearing they were at.

She then immediately rose from her hiding spot to change to a different location, heeding Caelian's advice this time. Caelian had said that if her target was not a witch, they would fall and get wounded. Others who came along later would be able to find where she was hiding just from looking at the gunshot wound and the angle of entrance into the body. So, she must change her location as soon as possible.

There were four witches assigned to this exercise and they were not with each other. So Elle believes that the others might not be near that witch she had shot. However, she needed to be careful so she did not dare risk to go farther even though she still wanted to keep on running.

When she found another place similar to the last one that she could use to hide again, Elle did the very same thing she had done a while ago. Her trembling was gone. And she could feel her heartbeats thudding hard. Everything seemed to have happened too fast and it was... nerve wracking. But she had successfully passed the first stage. She did it!

...

The hunting game lasted more than two hours in total. And Elle had completed it!

The last one nearly made her fail, though. She had ran to the last witch while changing her hiding spot but thankfully, the witch was facing the opposite direction and had not noticed her in time. It was a close call but nevertheless, she made it!

Lilith was all grins when she appeared before her. Obviously, she had already watched everything.

"I did it..." Elle said in a disbelieving voice and Lilith nodded.

"Yes, you did. And you're freaking amazing."

Before Elle even realized it, she had run over to Lilith and hugged her. "Thank you! Your advice made everything work out for me! You're freaking amazing too, Queen Lilith."

"You can just call me Lilith, Princess Elle."

"And please call me Elle too."

The duo grinned at each other with sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks before turning around and going back to where everyone was waiting for them.

...

"Well then... I think it's time for the next round." Alexander stood from his chair as soon as Elle and Lilith arrived.

Even Elle was taken aback as she thought that she would be allowed to rest first or even thought the next one would only be tomorrow night. It was already past midnight.

"I know you are thinking of resting. But let's say you're being chased by your captors, Elle." Alexander continued. "The first game was you managing to escape from let's say... being caged. Then this second game would then be the chase to recapture you. If you manage to pass this, then, you would be considered to have survived."

"Well... Lady Alicia did say we're trying to make it as close to reality as possible. In reality, there would be no time for you to rest at all if you were being pursued." Lilith seconded while Abi and Alicia were busy gauging every expression Elle was making. "Can you do it?"

"Caelian and I will be the ones chasing you this time." Alexander suddenly announced and Elle swallowed.

"I can do it... I can still keep going but..." Elle hesitated. "How can I even deal with the two of you? You guys can see in the dark too and even have superior hearing. How can I even hide from you two? And you can even smell someone's scent."

"Don't falter about those matters now, Izabelle." Alexander stood from his chair. "Don't worry too much about it. As long as you don't get yourself wounded, any of us picking up your scent is not possible."

Elle's eyes widened and her forehead creased, a little confused at what Alexander just told her. "R-really? But I thought..."

"And I don't have superior hearing. So, it's Caelian you'd have to be careful with on that front."

Alicia piped in. "We'll coach you on some tricks to deal with that, Elle."

"Come over here, dear." Abi gestured to her. And when Elle was with them, Abi looked over at the two males. "Now both of you, go away and don't listen to our girly talks."

...

Soon, the second game commenced after Alicia and Abi had their chat with Elle.

"We'll be giving you ten minutes to simulate your 'escape' before we come after you." Alexander instructed. "Think of us as real danger. Better yet, think of me as Elijah and Caelian here as Elijah's new sidekick."

Elle's eyes stretched a little wider but she did not react too much to that and quickly nodded. "Okay, I'm ready." She then replied and after she glanced at the three gorgeous ladies standing right there, she turned around towards the dark forest. Specifically, to the part of Black Forest that did not have those glowing tiny flowers.

Looking one last time over her shoulder, she glanced at the two men. Her eyes gleamed with something brave and fierce. And when she looked ahead of her again, she ran without turning back.