The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 8

I gasp and sit up straight in my bed, shivering at the cold. My clothes are soaked again.

I glare at Anya, not caring she could kill me if she barely tried. "Seriously?"

Anya smirks, "We will not be training today to give your weak muscles time to rest. We will resume tomorrow."

I start squeezing the water from my hair again, "Then why did you wake me up like that again?"

"It is fun. Now get up, today I will be teaching you Trigedasleng and getting you new clothes."

I get up, sighing when my clothes stick to my skin. You know, because of the water Anya poured on me. I undress, not caring Anya's still here (I have a feeling she doesn't care either) and put on my clothes that I left to dry yesterday. They're kind of stiff and uncomfortable so I am really looking forward to getting new clothes.

Anya wordlessly hands me a basket of food before leaving the tent. I put some in my pockets for easy storage and begin eating as I follow her. She takes me to one of the houses made of metal and scraps. She knocks on the door and waits almost patiently for the person inside to answer.

When the door swings open, an old(er, as in maybe forty five) woman answers the door with a scowl on her face that reminds me of Anya's.

The scowl goes away and a gap toothed smile lights up her face when she sees Anya. "I heard you had come back. Welcome home, ai yongon (my child)." She embraces Anya.

Anya sighs in her arms but she seems happier. "Nomon (mother), I am not a goufa (child) anymore."

"You are to me." The woman says, pulling back from her and looking at me with a scrutinizing gaze. "This is her?"

Anya nods. "This is the Skai Prisa (Sky Princess)."

I find it a bit weird that they're speaking in English when their normal language is definitely not this. I guess it must be for my benefit. But I don't know their language, so I have no clue who this woman is that Anya hugged (and she didn't kill her for hugging her, weird).

"You never told me she is meizen (beautiful)." The woman says in a scolding tone.

Anya scowls again. "Nomon."

"Okay, okay. Come in Prisa, I am to take your measurements."

The woman walks back into the house, gesturing for me to follow her. I step in after her, hearing Anya behind me.

There's a room she leads me to is full of mirrors and tools similar to those we had on the Ark, though none of them are powered.

The woman rifles through a drawer, looking for something.

"After all these years you are still not organized?" Anya remarks.

"Shof op (shut up)." The woman huffs, apparently finding what she was looking for and hitting Anya in the arm with it.

Anya doesn't flinch, just looks faintly amused. This is a weird dynamic.

"Once you take her measurements, make a copy to give to Artigas. He will deliver it to the armor maker."

"Armor maker?" I ask.

Anya turns to look at me, her eyes serious (more so than usual). "Yes. You need armor or you will die in battle." In battle? What? "What will be done with you is up to Heda but for now you are training to be a warrior. You will need armor."

Out of everything I thought I'd die of on the Ark or on the ground, dying in battle was never something I even considered.

"Do not scare the poor girl, Anya." The woman scolds. "She might not have had battles in the sky."

Anya raises her eyebrows, but somehow manages to still look disinterested. "Did you not?"

I shake my head. "No. There is only one government, with a head of everyone called a chancellor and a council to advise the chancellor. Any opposition is crushed by floating them."

"I did not think they had rivers in the sky. How would that be a punishment?" The woman questions.

"There are no rivers, and limited water. Floating is when you are sucked out into space. You suffocate and die there, in space there is no oxygen to breathe."

Anya looks kind of... Impressed while the woman looks horrified.

"If there is no air to breathe, how have you survived?"

"There is a giant metal ship, over a thousand times bigger than the pod I came down in that has people living in it. They regulate the air constantly to make sure we get enough oxygen, but there's a flaw in the system. They'll be out of oxygen in a few months."

"Is that why you are down here? To make sure the ground is survivable?" Anya's voice sounds vaguely threatening, but it's understandable. I wouldn't want a bunch of space people coming in and invading my land, either.

The woman begins measuring me, but I know she's still listening to what I'm saying.

"No, that's coming later. I was sent down because my mother didn't want me to get floated. It's illegal to float anyone until they are 18, so there's a prison to keep the under 18s. Because I know about the oxygen running out, the chancellor ordered me to be floated sooner. My mom got a mechanic to fix up the pod and sent me down in it."

"You mentioned more will come down to see if this is survivable?" Anya says.

"Yeah, I don't know when they'll come down. Because the under 18s in prison are disposable," I scowl at that, "that will be who they are sending down. There'll be about a hundred of them, and their vitals will probably be monitored by the Ark."

"When Heda comes, you must relay this information to her." Anya orders.

I nod, knowing their Heda will have more questions than Anya does.

"I am finished with my measurements." The woman announces, stepping back from me. "It was good to see you again, Anya. Come back soon to visit your old Nomon."

"You are not old," Anya says. "Goodbye, mother." Mother? "Come, Clarke." She nods to her mom in respect before leaving, not bothering to look to see if I'm following her (I am).

Wow, I thought I was going to get to the Trigedasleng teaching in this chapter. But at least Anya knows more about what's happening in the sky! That kind of came out of nowhere, though. And hopefully this chapter's okay, I'm kind of sick (just a constantly running nose, nothing serious). Thank you for reading and stay awesome!