803 Thinking Too Much

“We are women and the pride of our men. We do not just keep the home, we protect it from intruders and you would have a home one day as well and should learn how to protect it.” Those were the words her mother told her and though it was just to psych her, Arianna took it seriously.

What if one day after she finally has her dream family with Marcel and while he’s away on his “job”, an enemy strikes? What would she do? Arianna knew deep down that she would protect her children with all that she has – even at the expense of her life.

Although she doesn’t plan to go down easily.

Thanks to the thought in her head, Arianna had an active imagination and created a lot of action scenes in her head to counter that situation and come out, unscathed. Don’t even ask the names of the monkey moves she executed mentally – and if it was possible in real life.

Arianna practiced for a while to her mother’s delight and Natalie pointed out what she did so wrong in her shooting, correcting her stance and helping her find a comfortable position. In the end, Arianna was able to fire within the circle and was confident that with more practice, she should be able to hit the highest score consecutively like her mother. After all, she was her mother’s daughter.

“Keep practicing at this rate and you would be a perfect shot in no time. Our training would diversify with time and the brothers should take you on the lessons when I’m not around, and not excluding hand-to-hand combat and mastery of other weapons. Not all situations require a loud and huge gun.”

Just one thought came into Arianna’s head after her mother’s announcement, she was going to be a ninja! Oh well, don’t mind her. Something must be wrong with her because she was oddly happy today.

Arianna washed her hands and face as soon as she got into her room. This was to ensure that she did not ingest or absorb lead particles from bullets, as well as the chemicals produced by burning powder that is on her hands and face after shooting.

However, the moment Arianna took off her shirt and flung it in the air to get rid of any residue, the smell of lead got into her nose and it didn’t exactly feel good. Honestly, Arianna had been feeling a bit uncomfortable since the shooting began thanks to the smell of the burning powder.

.....

historical

But she had been enduring it because she didn’t want to disappoint her mother and flunk on the first day of training. She had forgotten to ask her mother if the smell was naturally reclusive to some people because Natalie looked fine, if not, comfortable with the smell. Perhaps, it was because she was not used to it.

There was nothing nobody holding Arianna back this time as she rushed into her bathroom with lightning speed and threw up straight into her toilet. She gagged till there was nothing to vomit and sat on the toilet floor, trying to catch her breath. That was fun, sarcasm intended.

Arianna leaned her head against the tiled wall and closed her eyes for a moment. Feeling better, Arianna got into the shower and took her bath, wanting to get rid of any smell that might linger on her. Once inside, she disposed of her shirt carefully and then laid back on the bed with her phone.

She texted Marcel and though he wasn’t online, probably busy with Richardo’s issue, Arianna decided to leave him a message. She narrated to him how successful the training had gone today and then asked if the smell of gunpowder felt repulsive to him.

Done with that, Arianna went down to have breakfast, suddenly feeling ravenous after throwing up everything she ate the night before. Her mother, Natalie already left for work, she said something about a meeting for directors she needed to attend, leaving just her and Rose at the table.

While the girl should have had her breakfast earlier – Arianna was late to the table, thanks to the training – Rose waited for her. According to the young girl, she learned that eating together at the same table improved family bonds. Rose might be young, but Arianna imagined an ancestor living in the body of that girl.

Well, the breakfast wasn’t as boring as Arianna imagined it would be, no, it was purely the opposite with her sister Rose peppering her with questions that were above children her age and she had no answer to. The girl was inquisitive and though it was a normal trait for children her age, her curiosity was on another level.

Thankfully, the appearance of a special guest in the name of Redhead took the attention off her and Arianna was able to enjoy her food in peace.

“That’s a lot you ate today,”

“Huh?” Arianna glanced up at the girl carrying Redhead in her arm and trying to feed him her bacon.

“You usually don’t eat that much,” Rose pointed out the fact that the plates in front of her were wiped clean.

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t usually eat this ...” Arianna spoke with a mouthful of food, “But I exercised a lot today and my body is craving for more. I need fuel to go about my daily duties, you know.” That was her excuse.

Rose didn’t bother her for the rest of the breakfast and by the time Arianna returned to her room, Marcel already sent a reply to her message.

[“It’s nice to know that you’re taking the training seriously, I’m so proud of you, love. “]

Arianna’s cheeks heated up when she read that and she fanned her face with her palm while the fluttering in her belly continued.

[“For your question, it depends on the time of gun, and though most gunpowder has an acrid bite to it, it usually isn’t overwhelming. By the way, why do you ask? Did the smoke bother you or did something else happen?]

Arianna wanted to narrate what happened to Marcel, but she stopped at the last minute. With a slight furrow on her face, she stood up and took off her shirt. Arianna then walked over to her mirror and began to check her belly from different angles. Nothing felt strange or different about her body.

Perhaps, she was thinking too much.