Torn

1

1
Halle

    "If you've got something to prove, me against you let's see what you got,"  He snickers to himself as he looks down at me, his vibrant, emerald green eyes glowering.  Cracking the knuckles of his long, pale, gangly fingers, he says, "Come at me with your best shot."
    Sighing, I look up at him and shake my head, a few wisps of dark hair come loose from my tightly braided plait.
    "Just make your move already,"  I say, already knowing how this ordeal will turn out.
Seemingly taken aback his face hardens as he glares daggers at me, his playful smirk now gone.
Seemingly taken aback, his face hardens, and he glares daggers at me.  He drops his shoulder and charges towards me; I take a side step out of his way as he comes barreling forward.  I reach out and grab the hood of his fur-lined jacket and pull it back towards me.  As he runs forward the jacket pulls against his throat.  His legs go out from under him and he falls on his butt with a thud.  I drop his hood and smirk down at him, holding back a laugh.
    Getting up he dusts himself off, looking angry,
    "How many times have I told you not to do that young man?"  Our instructor, Lady Sandoval, appears out of nowhere and stands behind me, setting her heavy hand on my shoulder.
    "Miss Kaiser, good work."  She looks over to him, "Mr. Knapp, step up your game, we expect more from you."  Lady Sandoval looks at him and shakes her head, and with that, she walks away back to the deep, dark, damp hole she crawled out of.
    After we're sure the she-devil isn't lurking around somewhere, he speaks his mind.  "Who in the world does she think she is?  She struts around here like she owns the whole place.  Why I oughta teach-"
    "Hudson, knock it off.  She might not own the place, but she is married to the guy who does.  You know, the Emperor?"  I look at him.  "Just be careful who you talk around okay?"
He scoffs, annoyed by me.  "Why do you bow down to her feet?  Why suck up to her even though girls never graduate?" 
I stop walking abruptly and just stand there, Hudson stops along with me.  I glare at him as I ask, "Why do you keep trying to beat me even though you never do?"
"Because there's always a chance I'll beat you."
"Just like there's a chance I'll graduate.  Now shut your mouth before I shut it for you. Got it?"  I start walking, not stopping or slowing down for Hudson to catch up. 
"Oh come on Halle...  You know I'm just mad."  He jogs up to me and starts walking alongside me, pushing my shoulder slightly.  He means it in a joking manner, but I don't take it that way. 

    "As am I."  I shove him away from me, twice as hard as he shoved me in the first place.  "Now, shut up.  Your voice is giving me a headache,"  I don't even bother to look at him as I speak.
He sighs and sulks into the crowded barracks, looking all dejected.  He leaves me standing outside in the snowy night all by myself.  The only light to be seen comes from the moon and stars.  I look up at the dark sky, snow falling gently onto my face.  Sighing softly, I look back down at the ground and let my shoulders drop.
All of a sudden I hear a snicker coming from behind me.  I whip around to find a tall, bulky, male figure lurking in the shadows.  I stumble back a little, startled, but I know exactly who it is.
Catching myself, I stand up straight and look him right in the eye.  I won't let myself look weak.  I let out a deep shaky breath and greet him.  "Markus.  Good evening."
"Oh, no need to be so formal Halle."  He smirks and takes a single step towards me.  There is a certain glint in his eyes that makes me shiver.
I catch a glimpse of movement in the corner of my eye, but I don't dare take my eyes off of Markus.  "What do you want?"  I ask, not letting my voice waver even the slightest bit.
"Just wanna catch up, we haven't talked in forever."  He smiles and reaches out to touch me but I slap his hand away.  "Come on, Halle.  I haven't done anything wrong," a teasing leer covers his face.  He takes a threatening step towards me, reaching out to me yet again.
I take another step back, keeping a distance away from him.  "Markus, just leave me alone already."  My voice cracks, betraying my solid facade. 
Markus quickly reaches out and clutches my wrist with his massive, dark, calloused hands.  "Now why would I do that?"  He laughs, his voice booming through the courtyard, echoing a thousand times over.
I try shoving him away, but he grabs my other wrist and squeezes tight, cutting off the circulation.  "M-Markus stop."  My eyes are welling up from both fear and pain.  He takes another step forward, forcing me to stumble into the cold, rough, stone wall.  The jagged granite digs into my back.  He easily moves both my wrists into one hand and pins them against the wall.  As he pushes harder I can start to feel blood dripping down my arms from where the granite cut into my skin.
Markus drops his other hand to my waist.  His touch makes me shiver, I press my back even harder against the wall.  He leans down to my level, his head next to mine. 
"What's wrong, Halle?"  his dry, cracked lips brush against my skin as he whispers in my ear. 
I can feel the heat of his breath on my neck as he starts whispering again, " You're not scared... are you?" 
I jerk my head and neck away from him.  "Get off me, Markus."  I'm sweating despite the cold.
He moves his face right in front of mine.  He looks me in the eye, smirking.  I can feel a tear fall down my cheek as I turn my head from him, pressing my cheek into the wall.
"Enough Mr. Galloway!"
Lady Sandoval emerges soundlessly from the shadows.  Markus instantly lets go of my wrists and takes a generous step away from me.  "My greatest apologies Lady Sandoval,"  he blurts out, standing up straight and dusting off his jacket. 
I take a step away from the wall, my breathing still shaky.  I look down at my hands, still bleeding.  I can already see bruises starting to form in some spots, especially where Markus was holding me.  There's a pale purple ring around both of my wrists.
"We don't want one of our best trainees being injured,"  Lady Sandoval looks towards me before continuing.  "Both of you, follow me to my office."  Despite the incident a few seconds before, Markus and I share an apprehensive glance with one another before following her across the courtyard.
She leads us to her office and opens the door, beckoning us in.  "Please sit."
Markus and I sit cautiously at the two old, rickety, wooden chairs that sit in front of her desk.  She sits stiffly in the chair behind the desk, arms resting on it.  I look around her office, taking in all the decor.
Her walls are sparsely decorated, and the room is painted a deep red.  A large window behind her desk is covered by drawn gold curtains.  Lady Sandoval's old wooden desk is completely immaculate except for an open notebook, messy handwriting sprawled inside of it.
Lady Sandoval snaps the notebook shut before she continues.  "We may not announce this to the rest of the academy, but you are both aware that you're the top trainees.  The most trusted, the best at fighting," she glances at Markus for a second, then continues, "and the smartest."  She looks at me.  "We need the two of you to work together and find a traitor among us. 
Markus and I both nod, too scared to even make a noise.  "We have an idea of who it is, which is why we think it would be a good job for both of you."  She takes a deep breath before continuing, "Halle, you are very close with this trainee."  Lady Sandoval looks me in the eye like she's waiting for a reaction from me.
"Lady Sandoval, who exactly is under suspicion?"  I sit up a little straighter, looking her in the eye.
She turns away from my gaze and looks between the two of us, her face completely placid.  "Hudson Knapp."
"Hudson?!  I can't do this ma'am.  My greatest apologies Lady Sandoval."  I stand up abruptly and begin to go over to the door, my pace quicker than usual.
"Failure to follow your duties will lead me to assume that you are the traitor and lead to an immediate trial," she speaks more calmly than I could ever hope to.
I bite my lip, turning and quickly sitting back down in the chair.  "I apologize for my interruption, Lady Sandoval.  Please continue."  I look over and see Markus smirking a little as I clench and unclench my hands, looking down at the worn, wooden floorboards.
She nods, "We expect you to work closely together through this.  And if we find that either of you are the traitor you will suffer the same fate as them,"  She sits up even straighter than before in her chair.  "I want Miss Kaiser by your side at all times and vice versa.  Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am," the two of us reply in perfect unison.
"You are dismissed," her attention slides easily as she begins reading a paper she picked up from her immaculate desk.
Markus and I stand up and leave her office hurriedly, not daring to say a word until we are a good distance away from her.
"From here on out you sleep in the cot next to me, got it?"  He talks without breaking his stride or looking at me.
"What?!  No!  Why?"  My palms get sweaty and my chest starts to tighten.
"Lady Sandoval said that we have to stay by each other's side.  I plan on listening whether you like it or not."
He walks into the disastrous barracks, stepping over cots, people, and their stuff; it's the end of the day so people have their clothes strewn all over before they can fold them and have them washed.  I still chase after him, muttering apologies to all the people he disrupts. 
Markus keeps walking straight to his cot and kicks the one next to his.  A small blonde girl with fair skin, and the fiercest, icy blue eyes I've ever seen, sits up, startled by the sudden jolt of her cot.
"Get off and go find another cot.  You can grab your stuff in the morning, nzuzu."  She flinches as Markus snaps at her.
The small girl jumps out of her cot, leaving her blankets behind as she scampers across the barracks to the cot I usually sleep in.
"Lay down,"  Markus says as he sits on the edge of his own messy, unmade, bed.  "We start training early tomorrow morning, and you definitely look like you could use some sleep."  He looks at me with his cold, deep, brown eyes.
"I can look out for myself, nwaada."  I take off my thick fur coat, throwing it under my cot.  I lay down, nestling into the heavy, warm, fur blankets that the younger blonde girl left behind. 
"I'm just trying to keep an eye out for you, Halle.  We do have to work together now, ụtọ,"  he whispers, smirking, as he lays down, rolling over so his back is facing me.  "Good night, obere," he chuckles; I cringe at the remark.
My mind is distracted by the steady rhythm of Markus's breathing as I welcome the all too short escape of sleep.