The Mistress

Chapter 11

Again we find ourselves in the lunch hall. I am seated with Jadis, Lola, May, Maia, Marigold. They all seem to be laughing at something that I know not. Maia inclines her head towards my hair and I furrow my eyebrows unsure if what it is, until I touch my head and feel something spiky and cool, like metal, a fork. I pull it out and in doing so they let out fits of hysteria. My turns up into a grin just watching them as they laugh so hard that they cry and fall off chairs, I cannot resist it any longer and burst out laughing also. An explosion of laughter fills the hall. For the first time, I actually feel like I have a friendship group in which I belong in. Though there is still something missing. Yet I do not know what it is. I have the most amazing friends and James, though I can't put my finger on it, but at this point I just let it pass and focus on the times at hand. I can't be sure that this will last, so for now I am just going yo make the most of what I have. And just when I thought that everything could be okay that distinctive voice sounds over the speakers:

"Congratulations on passing students, be ready for training in four hours, four hours. This is the only announcement." The room is hushed for those few brief sentences then all break out into chatter of resentment.

"Welcome back students, I have both some good and bad news. I will start with the good news. Congratulations on all passing your challenges with either a great grade or for even a couple of you a distinction. Well done. Now the bad news is that your next challenge will begin in forty-eight hours. Do you understand? Forty-eight hours. Before you ask questions, yes you have been trained enough for this challenge to be able to take it on that is. The task is simple, all you must do is fight under the water with whatever creature you are to be faced with, some may have higher level creatures than others, depending on how well you did in the previous challenge. There is one rule however, you must nit surface the water until the creature is dead. The training time is now yours. Slim shall be watching closely over you all, observing. He may offer advice, he may not. Just keep at it. Dismissed."

"Slim?"

"Yes Iris?" He has an eyebrow piercing which I not noticed there to be before, it is rather intimidating actually, considering who's brow it rests upon.

"I have a question. Would we be given a weapon to destroy this creature with or do we have to make on ourselves, or make do with our bodies?"

"Yes."

"Yes to what?"

"You will be given a weapon, you will make a weapon and you will use your body as a weapon."

"Oh. May you tell me what the weapon we will be given will be?"

"No Iris. I may not. Due to the fact that others will be given different weapons due to their previous challenge results, different weapons to match the different creatures you see."

"And Slim?"

"Yes Iris?"

"We are fighting alone? Are we not?"

"Yes Iris. For the first fight you are fighting alone. And then you shall be joined by your partner for the second. All the other pairings will start and finish together."

"Slim?"

"Yes Iris?" The frustration is growing in his voice, and I know I mustn't keep him too much longer, or I will receive poor results.

"Why am I to fight alone for the first?"

"You will see. Now I think it is time that you go and begin training. You have much to do." And with that Slim turns upon his heels and walks away from me and to the another pairing. The voice that is always to boom is to be heard.