Cards of Our Fate

The Cafeteria

I walked down the stairs, opening the door quickly to leave. It was raining outside, but barely any rain hit the ground with all the vegetation. It reminds me of- I stopped the thought before it could make any ground.I was about to walk through to the apparent laundry tent, when I was waved down by Shad.

"Hey! Beth, wait up a minute!" He said, the beads around his neck and wrists danced as he tried to run over. Despite his shape, he was not a fast runner. He stopped for a moment to put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. I waited for him, almost impatiently, until he spoke again, "You're not going to the palace."

"Why?" I asked, folding my arms, holding them over my one-piece stomach.

"One of two reasons," he said, "one, you need self-defense training, and two, you went through a traumatic experience and might not think the right way." He took my arm, and started to drag me through the camp, but he didn't stop at the tree, but went behind the tree. He lead me into a rink, where there was training equipment of all shapes, sizes, and needs.

"Why have I not seen this?" I said, looking to the fighting rink that was on a platform above the training equipment.

"Because you weren't looking for it." Shad said, pausing, as if telling me that that statement was a dramatic moment -er- memorable moment, "Anyway, you're not training now." He said, turning away.

"I'm not?" I asked, following him as he walked back to the tree. I flinched at the sight of the roman numerals, remembering my struggle to reach them, I was almost mad at them for being in plain sight now. 

"Aren't you hungry?" He said, eyeing me suspiciously. I nodded, a little phased from hearing his voice after being in thought. He opened the door, and led me to the cafeteria, where he promptly left me. Busy again with his very active life as a rebel leader. 

I got in the food line and got dinner, which turned out to be a less-than-satisfactory porridge. I was half surprised that there weren't any other people there, and once I had my own food, the lunch lady left for a break or something. I ate anyway, seeing as I hadn't eaten a better meal on my own accord in a while. Just as I was about half way done with the pasty meal, Lila sat down next to me. I ignored her, the only thing holding me down at that moment were my manners. 

"So..." Lila said, taking sips from a cup that she held like a scotch glass, "you'll eat that crap?" I shrugged at her, not really answering her, "Is that the kind of food they have up at Spades, princess?" She said, leaning closer, "I thought Spades held themselves higher than that."

"Well then, it must be a good thing that I don't identify myself as a Spade." I said, not able to hold it back. It's not really a mean thing to say, I thought, only crude.

"Ah!" Lila said, leaning back, laughing a little, "So Ms. Princess is a rebel now, too!" She looked like she nearly wet herself laughing. I held my head down and rolled my eyes, "You must feel so empowered, being so close to Shad." She said, with a smug smile on her face, I just looked back at her with confusion, too busy wondering when Shad entered the conversation to wonder what she meant.

"Why would it matter if I were close to Shad?" I asked, I stopped eating and looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. She glared at me, putting her drink down and leaning closer.

"Because Shad is mine." Lila said, still leaning closer. I started leaning back, "If you even think of touching a strand on his head, I swear I will hunt you down and make you pray for mercy."

"Little protective?" I said, almost laying on the bench as she hovered over me. I held my hands up, scooting back and sitting up. I took my bowl and began eating again. After a spoonful I looked over at Lila, her nostrils flared as she glared at me. Before I knew what was happening, she lunged at me.

I fell off the bench, prying her fingers from my neck. She kneed my stomach, before standing and stepping on my neck, I was pushing on her foot as she took a butter knife from the table. 

A flash of the memory hit me hard than she did. I turned my head and spit a little bit of blood out. I was holding the side of my face when I saw her pull back the knife. 

My instincts kicked in, and I pushed her off with my foot. Her center of gravity was leaning away from me, giving me the advantage. She fell as I scrambled away, but she jumped back up again, I was surprised at her speed, she obviously had training. 

She grabbed my hair and sent me down this time. She grabbed my leg, just for me to pull it away. I had expected her grip to be tighter, meaning I ended up kicking her in the face. I rolled up into a standing position as she fell back.

 Luckily she tripped over a table, and ended up laying on her back on the ground. I practically flew to the door in my escape. I slid down the stairs, took a hold of my room door. I swung in, and swung the door shut, locking it, all in one swift move. 

I took a deep breath as I slid down the door. I held my head in my hands for a few moments, thinking how much had changed in these few days. 

"Great!" I said, out loud, "This is just fantastic." I ran my fingers through my hair, before getting up and flopping face first onto my bed. I winced, having hit my cheek in a funny way, it then stung again like it was new. I sighed and rolled over. I turned my head-

There she was.

I scrambled up, thrashing away from her. She turned her head, as if looking in wonder.

Then she smiled, 

then she left.

I sat there, staring at the spot. Shock taking its hold on me, marking me unmovable. I thought I'd be stuck there forever, but a knock on the door sent me flying out of my skin. I stood, stepping lightly on the floor, ready to bounce back onto my bed. I opened the door.

"Hey," Warner said, a bit sheepishly, but his face changed when he noticed my cheek, "What happened to your face?" He tried to reach out, but I flinched back, touching my cheek myself. 

"I fell." I lied, not sure why...again. He face showed he obviously didn't believe me, but he didn't press the subject.

"Anyway, Shad wanted to know if you're going to be training tonight." Warner said, leaning against the door.

"Is 'no' an answer?" 

"Yeah, of course." He said, before beginning to walk away, "Oh," he said, like he was remembering something, "Here, my card." He handed me a card, "Its where my room is, in case you need anything."

"Oh, thanks, well, good night." 

"Night," He said, then left. I closed the door, throwing the card on the dresser. I laid on my bed.  Sighing,  I leaned over and turned out the light, even though I wasn't tired. I wrapped myself up in my blanket. The amount of energy it took to keep the woman out of my thoughts must've lulled me to sleep.