Shadows of Rebellion

The Shadows

Estella walked with Landon and Alister down a tunnel that was much better lit than the one they'd walked through previously. Estella could actually see her hands in front of her face, and could also see where she was putting her feet.

     "Oh." She realised she still had Landon's cloak tucked under her arm. The fabric was light but thick, soft too. She was almost reluctant to give it back, but at the same time, bulletholes weren't a trending fashion yet. "Landon, your cloak." Estella held out the bundle of cloth for him to take.

     Alister raised a brow, "Really? Already letting her borrow your cloak? Damn. Have you gotten engaged yet?"

     "I'm not into girls, Alister." Landon pointed out, accepting the cloak and clasping it around his own shoulders. "I was just being a decent person."

     Alister grinned, "Not into girls, eh? So you don't mind if I flirt a bit?" Alister wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Estella, and she laughed at the ridiculous expression.

     "Go for it."

     "Wow, my great protector." Estella said sarcastically, "Rescuing me from all the awkward rejections." Estella held out her hand to Alister in a joking way, "I'm not into guys who are twelve feet taller than me. Sorry."

     Alister clutched his heart, but he was grinning. "Oh, how your wounds word me!" Alister cried.

     "Wounds word her?" Landon echoed, looking at Alister with an amused expression.

     "You heard me." Alister responded seriously, "Truly. Wounds word me."

     Estella was laughing too hard to actually respond to that. Everyone she'd met so far had been so pleasant. Not at all the hardened criminals she'd expected. Ophelia was brilliantly friendly, Alister was hilarious, Landon was "secretly a softie" and also had the most adorable dog in the entire world.

     She wondered what everyone else would be like. It was hard to believe there could possibly be anyone cruel down here.

     They came into an open, ovular room, with a domed roof that stretched high, a chandelier hanging from the highest point of the dome. Instead of candles though, floating faerie lights lit up the room, making it seem almost like there was proper daylight filtering through somewhere. It was a really nice touch, and Estella felt warmer just stepping into the room.

     There was a slight dip to the floor, and within was an arena-like sandy area where people were sparring, or using their abilities to hit targets. Some appeared to be teaching, others looked like they were just having fun. There were about ten people in the room, not counting Estella, Landon and Alister.

     The small amount of people just made the room look that much larger. There were a few basins of water where people could wash off the sweat and sand. There were some changing rooms, a little less nice-looking than the ones that had been in Ophelia's healing area, along with a functioning water fountain near the back left of the room from where Estella was standing.

     It was a really impressive room, and it took Estella a moment to actually absorb all that she was seeing. There were benches for people to rest on, and as she was looking around the room, a pair of what looked like faeries left the room together, heading out through one of the many doors.

     "This isn't my specialty, teaching, but I'm sure someo–" Landon began, but before he could finish, Estella spotted someone familiar.

     "It's you!" Estella exclaimed, stepping toward the handsome young man with dark hair and dark eyes.