The Crimson Era

Chapter 8: True Colors

Following the crowd outside of the mess hall through the bottleneck at the door, Azriel headed straight back to her cabin rather than looking at the schedule outside where Cain had instructed.

"Don't want to look at the schedule?", asked a familiar, cold voice.

"It doesn't matter. I'll do what I have to do; nothing more, nothing less."
"You don't even want to know when you'll be summoned to the duel?", he said, raising an eyebrow.

"There's no point. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Feeling particularly defeated Azriel made the short walk back to her cabin. Opening the front door, she was greeted to the sight of what appeared to be Julia and Laurel enveloped in a full out battle, but neither one was yelling, or even speaking. There were arrows scattered across the floor and in a few in the walls as well as a few knives from their knife block lodged in the other wall of the kitchen. Not wanting to break their concentration or get caught in the crossfire, Azriel froze in place without closing the door, watching the two silently as an outsider.

Laurel had a look on her face that Azriel had never seen before: complete and utter conviction, and Azriel knew why. When everybody had been either killed or restrained at the village, her mother had been one of the few who not only resisted, but actually tried to kill the guard who had harmed her children. After of course losing the fight, her mother was executed himself in front of the entire village as an example of what would happen if you disobeyed him. Nobody could forget the sight of her mother, hanging limp and lifeless at the gallows, eyes glazed over in outright defeat. It was a day that no one would forget, especially Laurel or her brothers, all of whom except one were taken to their new camp.

Julia was crouched behind the couch in the living room whilst Laurel was standing in a defensive position, back to the wall on the side of the kitchen just around the corner from the knife that Julia had presumably put in the wall, holding her bow and arrow at a low ready position.

Waiting for the perfect timing, Julia quickly rolled out into the open with another kitchen knife in ready position. The moment she reached the middle of the room, Laurel pivoted out into the hall in front of Azriel, bow and arrow drawn. As soon as Laurel swiveled out into the doorway Julia threw her knife and Laurel simultaneously let go of the drawstring on the bow. Azriel instinctively threw her chest to the ground and covered the exposed part of her head with her hands. The second she hit the floor, she heard the clash of metal on metal.

Looking up from her guarded position on the ground, she saw no knife near her, or anywhere for that matter, so where had it gone? As soon as Azriel got up Laurel turned around and Julia stood up to reveal herself from behind the dining room table. From over Laurel's shoulder, Azriel could see the arrow that Laurel had fired lodged into the middle of the kitchen knife that Julia had thrown at her with deadly accuracy.

"Oh, hi Azriel. Would you mind closing the door? It's a little cold in here."

Still standing in the middle of the door like a deer in headlights, Julia bore a look of concern.

"Are you okay?", she asked.

"Yeah, but just one question: why are there arrows and knives stuck in the walls?"
"Laurel and I were just practicing while you and Kaia weren't home in case our aim wasn't as good as we'd thought", she said as she pulled a knife out of the wall.
"What exactly are you practicing?"

This time Laurel answered, "My aim with my new arrows, and her dodging them while throwing a different type of knife that isn't supposed to be thrown in case Cain pulls some kind of bullshit and switches out the type of knife that Julia is supposed to use."

"And why exactly weren't you guys practicing outside? There's more cover out there and it's safer."

"Exactly. The arena only has three wooden cover spots. Plus the arrows don't go as far inside as they would in the woods."

"What about the holes in the walls? Wood doesn't just repair itself you know, right?"

"Yeah, but it's hella more forgiving than wallpaper, am aright Julia?"

"One hundred percent."

"You guys are impossible, but I can see your point. I'll leave you be and go rest."

"Oh, well we're done. Don't want any collateral damage!", Laurel said smiling for the first time.