The Deathly Nothing

Chapter 14

It had been two days since my 'deal' with Doreah Damaris, I had spent that time contained within my cell. Craith had only visited briefly, for the purpose of delivering my meals. We didn't speak to one another, yet I yearned to comfort him somehow, as his face of despair filled me with regret. Even if he had been gossiping for the Queen. I wondered what was being planned, what they all discussed up in that tower. What awaited me and when I would face it.

 

It was the dawn of the third day in my time within the Underneath when my cell door swung open without warning. Rudylin entered, her pace hurried as usual, as she came to stand at the foot of my bed.

"Training starts today," she ordered in a tone much like a military general would use, "you have ten minutes to be ready, I shall wait outside." I nodded and resisted the urge to glare at her. It would do more harm than good to show the true extent of my hatred. Especially if she may be yielding an axe at my head in a battle ring. I turned away to change my clothes as Rudylin reached the door handle. "Don't dawdle," she hissed, slamming the door behind her with a loud thud.

As I pulled a black shirt down my chest, I looked at my hands. My skin was slightly scratched but clean of blood and bruises. These hands would meet violence. I'd never been one to throw punches, to know what that felt like. Would that change after today? What would happen out there in a world full of danger, where nearly every living being wanted to run it's claws through your chest? To taste your blood. To kill you. I shivered slightly at the thought as I yanked on my boots. It was the only way. Mirielle, that was enough reason to do all this. I would do this.

Exactly ten minutes later I shut the door behind me as I left my cell. Doreah was true to her word, as I found her leaning against the wall staring at me. I walked towards her, and she pushed off the wall to meet me, clearing her throat. "We have a lot of work to do," she stated, I could hear the humor she purposely did not conceal. As we walked through the shadowed corridors, I could practically hear her thoughts, "Pathetic. Useless. Weak." I swallowed and kept my posture tall. I should not fear. Fear wanted me to submit to it's clutches, to fail in a world that was impossible to be victorious in.

We reached a large room, rather empty of windows except for a long horizontal one at the top of the back wall. The walls were a pale grey, marked and stained, with what I did not know. Maybe it was old blood. The floor was a hard stone, but not polished and glimmering like that of the Throne room. Here it looked wild, as if pieces of the mountain had been cut and placed down. Bare. This room was naked, it concealed nothing. If you were to watch a fight your attention could not be drawn away. Emotions, sounds and movements would capture you, like they are supposed to.

Light streaked through the lonely window, a spotlight for the dancefloor of bloodshed. To the right a weapons stand stood isolated and from what I could see, there was plenty of choice. Swords of all sizes, spears, hammers, maces, axes- the list went on.

I followed Rudylin to the middle of the room, where the light streaked down. Standing slightly behind her, I looked into the shadows in front of us. There was a figure of a man. He seemed relatively small in stature with a lean muscle mass. I could not make out his face, but I could see that his hands were clasped together in front of him.

"You are late," he announced with a raspy voice. The figure sauntered into the light at last. Hair which was red and fiery caught my eyes at first, then I looked at his face. He had cat-like eyes, that were slitted in shape and bright yellow. Down from his eyes were two black painted lines, they seemed to resemble the stains of tears. Many piercings were found upon his ears, as hanging from his right was a red dangly crystal-like earring. Overall, he appeared to hold more feminine qualities and was a character of deception. Rudylin interrupted my trail of thought as she moved forward to shake his hand.