"That part's true at least," Lila said, thinking of the frequent sight of wolves that were twice her size or more. This hallway was much shorter, with only one door on either side and a double metal door on the end. "I saw many of them that were larger than any man here."
"The more I know of your story, the more I am amazed at your survival. I can't see how someone like you could possibly survive such an ordeal. You have been pretty lucky to make it alone for so long."
A vague memory of her mother's lifeless body flashed through Lila's mind. She had never thought of herself as lucky, but when she really considered it, perhaps she was. Only survivor of her village, she had lived while Protector had wasted away. She had found her tunnel--a once in a lifetime chance. She had Seeker, who had been an invaluable companion. Yes, in a way she had always had just what she needed to survive. "I suppose I am," she replied. Then she realized what he'd just said "What do you mean, someone 'like you'?"
Josef laughed and pushed the double door open to reveal the room beyond. "Well, it's just that you're so...small."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Lila demanded. She was aware that she was shorter than most in the village, but she didn't understand what size had to do with survival talent.
"Ah, nevermind." Josef held the door open for Lila to pass through. The room through the doors probably took up half of the area of the building. The floor was packed dirt, the white-tiled ceiling upheld by rusty metal columns. The room's ceiling was the same height as any other room she had seen, but the sheer size of the room made it seem low, as if it were about to cave in on their heads. In the corner to her right was a heavy wooden table that held an assortment of large knives and swords piled haphazardly on its surface. Antonio's large form stood at the table polishing a wickedly curved sword. The walls on either side of the table held metal weapon racks that contained more knives, metal poles and other weapons Lila didn't recognize. In the far left corner were piled boxes and crates of various sizes. The very center of the room held a large square defined by ropes strung between four pillars. Against one of these pillars stood a black-cloaked figure. It was toward this silent form that Josef led Lila.
"Lila, this is Nolan." Josef's wave indicated the man whose face now turned toward them. Nolan pushed his hood down with one hand to reveal an impossibly gaunt face surrounded by stringy black hair, as if he had not eaten or bathed in weeks. Nolan's cloak gaped open at his neck when he turned, revealing a thick gold chain that triggered something in Lila's memory, but she didn't have the chance to search it out before the feeling was gone.
"Who is this, Josef? You know I do not train children."
Lila felt stung by the comment and opened her mouth to reply, but Josef beat her to it. "I think you will find that no one could be farther from it, Arms Master. This is the girl we found in the forest."
"The forest? No, all in the forest are long dead. Jarda made quite sure of that."
What does he mean, Jarda made sure of that? Surely he can't mean... Lila's thought was interuppted when Josef replied. "I think you'll find Lila is full of surprises. Jarda wants you to test her."
Nolan sniffed, his brilliant blue eyes fixing on Lila's. He gestured toward the wall of weapons. "Pick one. Then join me in the square."
Lila placed a hand on the knife at her belt. "I have never needed any other weapon."
Nolan held out a hand and at Josef's nod, Lila reluctantly handed over the blade. The gaunt man carefully inspected the knife, balancing it on one finger before flipping it up in the air, catching it and handing it back to Lila hilt-first. "Join me," Nolan said, and with a billow of black fabric, ducked between two ropes to enter the square.
Lila glanced at Josef, who grinned and gave her a thumbs-up gesture. "You'll be fine," he whispered. Lila shook her head doubtfully and bent over to slide between the ropes.
As soon as Lila straightened, Nolan lunged at her without warning. All she saw was a glimpse of black, the faint hiss of a knife coming toward her head. Crying out, she ducked and rolled away, jumping to her feet with her knife held outstretched. "What are you doing?" She shouted, ducking and turning again as Nolan lunged once more. His booted food lashed out and she leaped high, running to the other corner of the square. "Josef! What's going on?" But Josef just stood by, watching intently.
A fierce grin split Nolan's features, and Lila had a sudden flash of memory. Black, hair, blue eyes, a thick gold chain clasped in chubby little fingers. Then he was upon her again, and Lila dropped to the floor, scooting through Nolan's feet. She cried out as his foot came backward and caught her ankle, making her fall to the floor. She rolled over, trying to bring her knife hand up as Nolan grabbed her hair and brought his blade to her neck.
"No!" Lila screamed, by sheer force of will pulling away, rolling to her feet and jumping onto Nolan's back, pulling his head back by his hair and setting the edge of her knife to where the pulse jumped against his pale skin. "Why are you trying to kill me?" She demanded.
To her surprise, Nolan smiled. Hearing the sound of clapping, she looked over to see Antonio, Josef, Aran and Elan standing outside the square applauding loudly.
"You may release me now." Nolan's voice was muffled by a fold of his cloak that had fallen over his face.
Thoroughly confused and a little angry, Lila let him go and stepped back, letting her knife clatter to the floor. "What are you playing at?" She shouted at him. "I could have killed you!"
Nolan straightened and knelt to retrieve Lila's knife, handing it to her. Lila grabbed the knife and shoved it into the scabbard. "But you didn't."
"I'm not a murderer!"
Nolan shook his head gravely. "No, you aren't."
"Then why do this?"
Nolan's mouth quirked up in a slight smile, but he didn't reply.
Josef stepped forward and ducked under the rope. "Well?"
"Josef, I want to leave." Lila said.
Josef smiled, and took Lila's hand in both of his. "Nolan, what do you think?"
"Fire and ice, this one. She'll do well." Nolan spun away, his cloak swirling around him, and walked away without another word.
Lila was left utterly confounded, and stood there with her mouth hanging open until Josef patted her hand and pulled her toward the ropes. "He's going to give his conclusions to Jarda. It's very unlikely you would be put in a raiding party, I can't remember the last time we had a woman with us. You never know, though...not sure I've ever seen Nolan that happy. Though why he's happy because a girl had a knife to his throat, I'll never know."
"I wouldn't fight anyway," Lila muttered, ducking to slide between the ropes.
Josef pretended not to hear her. "Until then, I guess I get to give you that tour!" He slung an arm around her shoulders, making Lila tense, but seeing the way he glanced back at Nolan, Lila recognized that this young man did nothing without intention. She submitted to the casual touch, feeling caught up in the enthusiasm the group of men had for the thrill of competition, for life itself. Something had changed in the way they treated her--perhaps it was that she had proven herself in a way they could understand, passed a test they all had to take. Whatever it was, even Antonio seemed to have dropped the air of bluster and bravado and his booming laugh joined that of the others. They left the Armory (or was it the Training Hall?) and went up the stairs, the men's boots thudding loudly on each step. Though Lila didn't understand most of the jokes, she found herself caught up in the spirit of mirth, and laughed at one of Aran's remarks. Josef's arm dropped from her shoulders and she looked over to see him staring at her oddly.
"What?"
They had nearly reached the top of the stairs. Elan was holding the door to the hallway open. Josef shook his head and shrugged. "Just never heard you laugh before."
Lila followed the rest through the door, smiling up at Elan to thank him for holding it open. He smiled back, though there was a haunting sadness behind his eyes. "You ok?" She asked quietly enough that the rest of the group could not hear. He nod
ded, smiling so brightly that she was sure she had imagined the sadness, grabbing her hand in both of his and kissing the back of it. What was it with people and casual touch? It wasn't unpleasant, but Lila felt awkward and found herself rubbing the back of her hand on her pants once he released her fingers.
As soon as Lila walked out into the hallway, she nearly bumped into Antonio's broad back. Kenan was standing there, his face as unreadable as before. "Jarda wants to see all of you," he told Josef. His eyes flicked over to Lila and then away, dismissing her in a way that made Lila feel insulted. "All except the girl. She is to help the women." Without another word he spun and strode out into the courtyard.
Lila looked over at Josef, who caught her gaze and shrugged. Shaking his head, Aran clapped Josef on the shoulder. "You'll catch up?"
Josef nodded and Lila followed him outside while the rest of the men started up the stairs. The courtyard was almost empty, and it felt like an age since Josef had led her out into the crowd this morning. There was a group of women gathered outside the fence, singing and laughing. They had their sleeves rolled up and their skirts tied around their knees. As Josef led Lila closer she saw that this was where the stream ran underneath the wall and pooled into a shallow pond before running through a metal grate on the other side of the corner.
Chapter 10: City life
"Today is washing day," Josef helpfully supplied to Lila's unspoken question.
Lila looked down at the worn, dirty tunic and pants she wore, with her brown bare feet showing below the hem of the too-big pants that had never stayed up without a belt. It was the only set of clothing she had owned since she outgrew her childhood clothing and Protector had fashioned these out of one of the tough blankets the previous owner of the mansion had stored. The pants had long ago ceased to be white, and the sky blue of the shirt was now more of a smudged gray. "You mean they have more than one set of clothing?"
Josef looked like he was about to laugh, but when he caught a glimpse of Lila's expression, his look turned to one of pity. "Of course! Everyone here has at least two sets of clothing, most have three or four."
Lila shook her head, trying to imagine being able to change clothing whenever she felt like it, or even what it felt like to be clean, and wear clean clothes. She felt suddenly self-conscious as they approached the group, realizing how wild and unkempt she must look next to these women with their braided hair and their clean dresses. No wonder everyone watched her like she was some monster from the forest.
As expected, the singing and eventually the conversation stopped as Josef led her to the damp pebbles near the edge of the pond. Martha was the only familiar, and certainly the only friendly face out of the mass of disapproving glares.
From the far bank of the pond, a plump woman with curly red hair shouted "We don't want her here!"
"That's enough, Sybil!" Martha snapped, the sweet woman showing an uncharacteristic flash of temper. She stood from where she was bending over a washboard, fixing the other women with a glare. "Can't you all see she's just a child? She looks like a stiff wind would blow her away. It isn't her fault she was left in the woods all alone to survive."
Apparently some part of this last sentence was unexpected, by the sounds of muttering that swept the group. Lila stood with her hands clasped together in front of her, eyes on her toes, feeling as if she awaited a verdict. Maybe she did--a verdict of acceptance or rejection. It didn't mean much to have Josef and his friends accept her if no one else did.
"You lived in the woods all alone?" The question was incredulous, but not hostile. Lila's head shot up to see that it was a girl about her age who had asked. Beside her, Josef let out his breath.
"You'll be fine," Josef whispered in her ear, squeezing her shoulder briefly. "I have to go, but Martha won't let them tear you to pieces." As he moved away, Lila thought she heard the words "Too badly," muttered under his breath. She turned around in a sudden panic, reaching for her friend. He smiled encouragingly, clasping her hand between his. Then he was gone, striding quickly across the sparsely vegetated ground, his boots crunching on gravel.
Biting her lip, Lila turned back around. The girl that had asked about her living in the woods had jumped up and was coming toward her, brilliant red hair in two thick braids swinging around her shoulders. Despite Lila's stiffness, the girl came up to her and hooked an arm through Lila's, seemingly oblivious to her awkwardness. "Did you really live in the woods all by yourself?" The girl asked in a low tone. Lila nodded.
"Annie!" Sybil shouted. "Get back to work!"
Annie rolled her eyes for Lila's benefit, and Lila had a sudden urge to giggle. "I'm coming, mama!" She yelled back. She tugged Lila toward the edge of the water.
"Annie, can you help Lila find some clean clothes so she can wash her own?" This was Martha, who smiled at Lila. "I'm sure she would love some new things."
There was a low murmur, and a thin blond woman piped up "She just got here. She's done nothing to deserve new clothes."
"So you'd have her walk around in a shirt that threatens to fall off her body and trousers three sizes too big? I doubt you'd do the same to your own daughter, Amanda."
Amanda sniffed. "She hasn't earned it."
"Neither has Rena!" Annie retorted, causing a cry of outrage from the sour-looking girl that was a carbon copy of her mother.
"That's enough, Annie!" Sybil called, pounding her bar of soap down on the washboard for emphasis.
"Quiet!" Martha shouted over the rapidly rising wave of dissent. Lila had spent the conversation intently studying her own feet, her cheeks burning. Annie patted her hand reassuringly. Martha stood straight, and when Lila turned to watch she had a sudden flashback to her mother directing a group of unruly children. Blond hair piled on her head glinted in the sunlight, almost crown-like in appearance. The murmurs immediately stopped. Martha pointed around the group with the hand that held a bar of soap, her gestures punctuating her words. "If a single word I hear of this child is true, she has earned whatever she feels like having. She has survived circumstances that would have killed any of you. And here she stands, to be lashed by your petty and unfounded anger. Imagine," her eyes blazed, "Imagine your daughters in those woods, fighting to survive. Imagine your daughters alone out there. Then tell me that this child does not deserve as many new clothes as she wants."
"We don't know that her story is true." Lila couldn't see who had said this.
Martha's sweeping gesture indicated Lila. "Look at her arms. She doesn't bear the mark of the Snake. She can't have had a decent meal in weeks. What does it matter?"
No one seemed to have an answer. Martha smiled at Lila and Annie, morphing back into the gentle motherly figure. "Annie, go help Lila pick out some clothes so that she can wash the ones she's wearing."
Annie tugged Lila off to the left, where a group of lean-to buildings were set against the wall. The girl gave a low whistle as they drew away. "I've never seen Martha go all stern like that," Annie said, shaking her head.
"I don't mean to cause any trouble."
"No!" Annie cried. "It's not your fault!"
"Why do you like me when they don't?"
Annie threw back her head and laughed. "Partly just to spite my mother--she's really on my case these days. But really, how much threat could you be? You look like you're just about to fall over!"
Lila thought she could probably do more harm than most of the people here knew, but she kept this thought to herself. "Thank you for believing me."
"Of course!" Annie led Lila to the first of the lean-tos, and pulled the creaking door open. The right side, which was the thick logs of the wall, was driven with many nails from which hung dresses and coveralls. The left, where the roof ended a mere four or five feet from the ground, was lined with wooden shelves that contained folded skirts, pants, shirts and various items of underclothing. Annie grinned, releasing Lila's arm and trailed her fingers along the dresses, humming. Reaching the end of the row, she shook her head and reached over to pull a l
ong patchwork skirt out of a pile. She danced back down the row and held the skirt up to Lila's waist. "Its a bit big, but it fits better than that atrocity you call pants."
"Hey!"
Annie laughed. "I'm just kidding. Lighten up a bit." She skipped back down the row of shelves, pulling out a green blouse and some underclothes, shoving the pile into Lila's arms. "Here, this should work. Probably still too big, but then again I bet everything in here is, and all the kid stuff has flowers on it."
Lila couldn't help smiling at the girl's infectious joy. "I've never had anything as nice as this," she said in awe, running her fingers over the light fabrics. The blouse had long flowing sleeves and a drawstring at the neckline. The skirt had wooden buttons running up part of it, and was made from squares of multi colored fabric.
"Old Mary makes all our stuff," Annie said. She indicated her own dress, which was blue with cap sleeves and had buttons all the way down the front. "She's a genius with fabrics and dyes. Well, are you gonna put it all on? I promise I won't look."
Lila looked uncertainly down at the pile in her arms. "I...I'm not quite sure how these--"
Annie giggled. "Never worn them before, huh? Turn around."
Annie quickly helped Lila into the clothes, using Lila's belt to help hold up the skirt. The hem of the skirt fell to Lila's ankles, and swished around her feet when she moved. The blouse tended to fall off of one shoulder or the other even with the drawstring tightened, but it still felt glorious after the stiffness of her old clothing caked with the dirt of months and months of wear. Lila couldn't help smiling as she held out her hands, staring at how the soft fabric fell over her slim wrists.
The Arena (Ultimate Soldier Book 1) Page 11
