The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (Vol I) - Chapter ten

Chapter 10

The following morning, Laurena had taken me to a small room where a small number of six people sat, and it looked like the fate of me being in the fight club, depended on them.

Standing where Laurena directed me to stay, different shades of orange eyes looked at me with curiosity. There was only one black person in the room. It really was a diverse council. The only people I knew were Levi and Laurena. The rest of the faces were completely foreign to me. Literally.

"State your business." The voice came from a ginger red haired young guy. Probably around my age, just like the rest of them. His pale skin glowed and looked at me with his almost matching eyes. His face was full of innocence and his voice was gentle and calm.

Mustering all the confidence I could get, I spoke up. "I'm Tamar. A new recruit here and I want to be a part of the fight club."

A woman spoke up. Dark curls of hair framed her dark skinned face. Only getting a glimpse of her face, she looked stunning. Her dark skin seemed to give her an exotic beauty I admired. Dark orange eyes held a brutish look. "Do you have ANY experience in fighting?"

"Do I need to? I have survival instincts and I never assumed that I needed to be a pro to join this."

"I'll take that as a no then."

The familiar voice I had gotten accustomed to, resonated from where it was. Levi spoke in his usual low tone. "Cut her some slack, Aliyah. You don't have to be this intimidating."

"It's standard procedure. We do have to follow protocol." I turned my head to the direction to the person speaking. A  guy, who looked like he was of East-Asian descent's, voice perched up. Like the others, he was also very attractive. Dark hair, soft innocent features and thin lips. He had a bit of an accent and spoke in a serious manner.

"Well there's no need for that, since Dame Jodie doesn't care about our protocol and wants us to recruit more fighters." I was finding it hard to keep up with who was talking at each minute. It seemed like everyone had something to say. This time, an olive skinned guy said the words. He seemed much more relaxed than everyone else, judging from the way his lips curled up amusedly.

Laurena rolled her eyes. "Juan. Sometimes, I wonder what's wrong with you."

The ginger red haired guy only chuckled, and Levi gave his verdict. "Is she in or not?"

Aliyah scoffed. "I'm surprised you're even allowing this. She looks so feeble and I heard that she has an eidetic memory? What can that do in the battlefield?"

Levi glared. "You think I want this. Turning unskilled people to fighters? Risking their lives? I want no part of it but we have to obey Dame Jodie's words, whether we want to or not."

The ginger haired guy said. "I have no problem with Tamar choosing to be a fighter. I sincerely don't, but I DO have concern with your surprising decision to agree with Dame Jodie. Hardly do we ever do that. We respect her. Sure, but we rarely listen to her."

Levi frowned slightly. "We don't listen to her, but we do listen to my father."

Juan looked just as surprised as everyone else. "He got wind of this?"

"Vikram Caden knows everything. Never doubt that and he's in support of it."

I couldn't even say anything as I watched them argue among themselves on whether to let me in or not. I didn't even realise how much of a big deal it was to be a fighter around here. I just assumed that it would be easy since Dame Jodie made it open for everyone and definitely not turn to a full argument here. I just stood there feeling completely uncomfortable to be at the centre of it all. And the East Asian guy took notice of it.

He said. "I'm Kim Tae Joon, but please call me T.J. I do apologize on behalf of everyone. It must be super awkward for you to stand and listen to us rant."

The ginger haired guy added. "You'd have to understand that we've hardly had any new recruits in a long time, hence the reason for Dame Jodie's speech. No one wants to be a new recruit here since an unfortunate event three months ago and we've been very careful since then. It is good to have you here. My name is Red."

Red? I felt like I heard someone mention that name before, but I couldn't put a finger to it. I searched my head  and let my mind roam around why the unusual name seemed familiar. I had never heard of a name like that, but I did understand what he meant. What they all meant. I understood their fears and reluctance to let anyone else get hurt. "The fighter that was killed?"

Laurena nodded. "You've heard about it? Good. Now you know the risks. We have nothing against you but we want someone with a fighting chance there."

I don't know how I had the confidence to speak, but somehow I wanted to say something. I needed to defend myself and couldn't let anyone look down on me, like I did to myself in the past. "I do have a fighting chance. I'm a fast learner. It seems crazy to want to fight, but it's something I want to do. That feeling I felt when I was taken away from my home. I don't want any one to feel that. All my life I did nothing. I let them pull me away from my people and I let them hate who I was. Here, I can make a difference. I can help those who need it. I want to be a part of that. I'm tired of being feeble. I want to protect my people. This is the only way I know I can."

Levi cleared his throat, after I was done giving my speech. It wasn't as passionate as I expected it to be, but my words were sincere. I really did want to help. "Let's cast a vote. Who wants her in? Raise your hand." Levi raised his hand and it surprised me. I could have sworn that he wouldn't have wanted me to be a part of it. Red, T.J and Juan raised their hands too.

4 - 2. I was in. I was now enlisted in the fight club. Though I was a little disappointed that no female agreed to let me in. So much for feminism.

As if Laurena read my mind, she said. "Nothing personal. You just have no training."

Levi answered. "I was getting to that. She would get training. An intensive three month training. I'll take her under my wing, as my trainee and prepare her. I promise that."

Everyone's eyes bulged. Including mine. I honestly didn't expect him to say that. I thought he wasn't interested in having any trainee anytime soon, considering the fact that his last one died.

Aliyah 's face scrunched up. "What happened to your 'I'm never getting a new trainee speech' two months ago?"

"I changed my mind. Any problem with that?"

Aliyah hesitated for a while, but chose to say nothing.

Juan spoke up. His faint latino accent rolled over his words. "Well, I like the sound of that. It's a good choice."

Levi only nodded, but he still held a small frown. He turned his head to me. Amber-orange eyes had a serious glint. "We'll start tomorrow at the dojo. Be there by 6."

They had a dojo?? Did Oge even give me the complete tour? But seriously, what didn't they have here? Wait, did he say 6? 6am??? In the freaking morning? Who starts training by 6? Night demons maybe? Oh God, what did I sign up for?

Levi flashed a brief smile, when he saw the shocked look on my face. "You can go now. We have another meeting to get to."

......
Tamar's finally in. Let's see how long she'd last.
Xoxo
Jasmine