Esmeray (Queen of Darkness)

06

No dreams come to haunt my sleep, and for that I'm entirely grateful for. Opening my eyes I'm greeted by the dark and my throat tightens at the quiet in the room. Sitting up, I moan as my head spins in circles and a throbbing pain bashes against my skull. What happened? Where am I? Gripping the edge of the bed I sit on, I force my mind to think back to what I last remember. Seeing only flashes I groan louder and hold my head in my hands. Cassian. Skies I hope he's okay. Standing up I reach out and my hand brushes against the wall. Following it my fingers sting slightly from the rough texture but I only stop when I feel the cold metal of the door. Pulling it open I poke my head out and the only thing in the hall is lit torchers hanging on the walls. Needing water I lick my dry lips and walk out. Recalling the map of the facility in my head I trek my way to the kitchen where I grab a glass and fill it up with lukewarm water. Everything is lukewarm here, either that or extremely warm. I asked Tesha about it one day and she told the Overseer likes to keep it hot here so our body's would sweat more and burn off fat to make room for muscle. She also said it was to weaken us. If we only focus on the heat, our minds will weaken as we let it sink in. 'It's another way he can control us' she said, 'he's reminding us that he controls everything, even our air'. Downing a second cup I pat my lips with the back of my sleeve and put the cup in the wash bowl. Seeing an apple at the end of the counter I grin and snag it from the bowl. Someone told me once that there are different kinds of apples. Ones that are different colors and different flavors. I have yet to prove that true. As far as I know, the only ones that exist are the bright green ones our farmers grow. Biting into it I smile at the loud crunch and chew it slowly so I can take in all the flavor.

"You slept two days."

Jumping I nearly drop my apple but luckily my reflexes have grown relatively fast. Turning to Tesha I send her a glare and she rolls her eyes.

"I must have needed it."

"Maybe so, but now you only have three days left, Aella."

Freezing my body tenses and I leave the half chewed piece of apple sitting on my tongue. A week? Seven days? Mentally cursing myself I throw my apple in the trash bin and finish what's in my mouth.

"Why are you here?" she asks, as I sit down on one of the chairs.

"I needed a glass of water."

Walking over she pulls a chair out in front of me and sits down, clasping her hands over her stomach as she tilts back on the legs. Raising an eyebrow at her I wait for her to say something but she only rocks back and forth making me wait. Wanting to bang my head against the table at the way she can easily irritate me I instead picture her chair slipping out from her and her head taking an unfortunate trip to the table top.

"You're almost ready," she says, "But there are still things we need to work on."

Raising an eyebrow, I scoot forward in my chair, "We?"

Nodding she leans forward and grins, "That's right Aella. For the next few days I will be your trainer."

Kill me now.

~~~

When Tesha told me she'd be my trainer I expected her to be a hands on trainer, one who watches and breathes down your neck, I never expected her to train with me. She does everything I do. Bleeds and sweats with me, gets knocked down with me, and I commend her for it.

Putting up my hands we circle each other around the ring and our feet shuffle against the mat as sweat drips down our nose. Today the Overseer has decided to up the temp in the training rooms, hence why we're already sweating before we even started. After a couple more turns, Tesha claims the first move and aims fist at my stomach. Dodging her I skid sideways and kick at her ribs but she stops the force of my strike with her forearms. Dropping down she rolls and I move to get out of her strike zone but she manages to catch the lower half of my abdomen. Pitching backward I grunt but stand up straight. Now slightly irritated I throw a punch at her jaw and she blocks the hit and gives me space to jab her nose. Bucking, she groans and fumbles backward. Rubbing her nose she frowns at the blood over her hand and I give her a grin. Shaking her head she gives me an annoyed expression but I can tell she's fighting a smile that twitches at the corner of her mouth. That's one thing I learned about Tesha. When I hit her, make contact, or draw blood, she always gives me the agitated instructor look but beneath her expression I can tell she's pleased with my performance. She's glad I hit her, cause it shows I'm learning. Wiping her nose she lungs at me and my eyes grow wide as her nails dig into my arm. Crying out I push her aside and back up to look at what she did. Along my arm are three long scratches that tore the sleeve of my shirt.