Chapter 11
Ignorance.
The act of feigned ignorance was hard to maintain. Humans were ignorant, not us, not me, not what I am supposed to be. As an Elite, knowledge was power; the power to destroy and the weapon in winning this war against the ignorant humans. But if humans were ignorant, were they also ignorant about our existence? I had questioned this in the past but never gave it much thought.
You always ask the questions I have no answer to.
The phantom voice flitted through my thoughts and I hastily tried to block it out, a feat not so easy.
I put more force in my training today and tried to distract myself, something that didn't go unnoticed by Nate.
"Are you okay?" There was no emotion in his face, no feelings of care for me but merely the question asked on a basis of friendship. The Elites were always 'okay' as we did not have feelings to make us not okay. Physically we could be hurt but emotionally, it was not the case. So I wondered why the Elites used this phrase at all.
"Yes," I replied monotonously.
Nate stared at me for a few more beats before he too like all other Elites, didn't question my response.
"You know you can talk to me? You seem a little... distracted," he said.
Distraction can be costly. Distraction means missing that split second decision your opponent makes before striking. Distraction was the bane of survival. You couldn't afford to get distracted on the battlefield.
I briefly wondered if Iver was watching me from the heights of the terrace. I had stayed later than usual outside practicing my moves and I had no intention of going up to the terrace.
A sudden pressure in my chest at that thought made me falter my next move.
I couldn't afford to go the terrace. I couldn't face Iver or his questions, for I am sure he had many.
Why was there red stain on my cheeks? What did it mean? Why did it only happen to me? Why has it not ever happened to anyone before? But I knew vaguely that it only happened to me because of the red taint in my blood. A taint that could have consequences - ones I did not want to think about as I did not know what would happen if Derrick or The Elders were to find out.
As the Sun set, I quickly made my way to my room and shut the door. Taking a deep breath, I collapsed on my bed and stared at the plain white ceiling. As time ticked on, I grew restless, pacing the floor of my minimally spaced room. Many times I gripped the handle of my door but forced myself to back away, to not open that door, to not go to him.
After what seemed like eternity, I heard a door open across the hall and I held my breath. I could almost feel the weight of his gaze through my door. When there was a soft click, only then did I let out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding.
Morning came pretty quickly, having tossed and turned in bed meant I got little to no sleep. As I made my way for our indoor class, I felt his gaze on me, that heat that came with it. I glanced around surreptitiously but could not find where the gaze was coming from.
Derrick was teaching us a new move which was also a combination and I didn't realise I had zoned out until Nate nudged me. I blinked at him only to see his eyes wide and I wondered if I missed something important. He tilted his head towards the front of the class where I found myself under the glare of Derrick's gaze.
"It seems some of us think we already know the moves. Why don't you come down so you can demonstrate it with me?"
It was more a command than a question and so I had no choice but to stand and make my way down. I felt everyone else's gaze on me, cold, emotionless.
As I stood in front of Derrick, I saw his gaze burn with hatred again and I almost pointed it out to him. Almost. I knew the consequences of doing that and they weren't pleasant. I knew the next time I stepped out of line, Derrick said he was going to take me to The Elders. Was that this moment? I shuddered slightly at the thought.
Derrick came at me suddenly and I found myself hit the ground hard enough for a mild daze to set in. I shook my head and sat up slowly.
"Again!" Derrick commanded.
For the next hour, Derrick changed his move ever so slightly every time I thought I got the hang of it, to keep me off my game, to keep knocking me down but what he didn't know was I would get back up each time.
After the session, I lay on the ground as the rest of the class emptied. Nate gave me a hand and I stood, shaking the invisible dust off. He knew not to ask so he only shook his head before he made his way out the class. Sighing, I slowly made my way to follow.
Out of nowhere, a hand clamped at my mouth and twisted one of my arm back, my assailant at my back.
Distraction.
I quickly twisted my way around, slamming the body to the wall, my elbow pressing on their throat.
Blue eyes met mine.
I froze.
Taking note of my hesitation, Iver had turned me round so I was now against the wall, his body pressed against me. I inhaled his scent, unique and felt his muscles pressed up against me. I didn't realise he had this many muscles under-
My thought was cut off as he leaned forward, his nose almost touching mine.
"You've been avoiding me," he said roughly. When I didn't respond, he grabbed my arm, not unlike the first time he had touched me on the terrace, and dragged me towards the terrace. He let go once we were on top, the wind not howling today. Iver stared at me as if it would give him all the answers.
"Why?" he asked finally after moments of silence.
I stared at his features, his dark hair slightly tousled from the gentle wind, the blue of his eyes bright as he waited for me to respond, the pink lips slightly parted.
I turned away from him and went to the edge, looking over at the horizon. Iver came to stand next to me in silence as I gathered my thoughts.
"I cut myself when they first introduced us to a knife," I began. "I looked down at my thumb to see a small cut but enough for it to bleed. That was when I first noticed the red in my blood. I panicked because I had seen others bleed before. There was no mistaking my blood was different, that made me different. I felt fear for the first time then."
I chanced a glance at Iver who had turned to face me, his gaze wide in disbelief. Disbelief about my blood? Disbelief that I said I felt? I wasn't sure but I continued.
"That was the first time I bled and the last time. Well, actually when Derrick punished me I bled then but I was thankful for the darkness of the night which hopefully concealed the colour of my blood. I don't know why or how or since when. I don't know! And I am afraid about what it means to have red in my blood mixed with the blue. I am afraid to find out but most of all I question whether this discounts me as an Elite. If it does, then who am I?"
Ignorance.
That is how I had been living. Humans say 'ignorance is bliss' but then why is it that we seek knowledge?
A/N: Has anyone noticed I haven't revealed the name of my girl? Any guesses?
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The Elites
Teen Fiction"I was sat looking out to the fence, the soft breeze of the wind and the slowly dropping of temperature meant it was getting to evening. It was coming to the cold seasons now and as I watched the Sun dip at its horizon, I wondered what it would be l...
