The silence was deafening. "So.... is there anything you wanted from me?" I asked quietly. Shinobi opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by a flurry of barking for Aisu. I gave Aisu a strange look before crouching down to his level. The entire time we'd been here he'd remained the size of a normal wolf.
"What is it, Aisu?" I asked, whispering into his ear. His body shivered and he turned human, forcing my eyes to widen. "Are you sure it's safe to do that?" Aisu nodded, glaring at one person in particular. Aaron. "Aisu, what's wrong?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Aisu nodded, his eyes casting a harsh glare at Aaron. 'Aisu, what are you thinking?' His gaze was colder than the ice he was named for, before he turned to me, his gaze warm. He leaned to me, and his voice dropped into a whisper. "I think that something's a bit... off here." I frowned, following his pointed gaze at Cherry. I gave a slight nod.
"Tell me more later." I replied. I turned to Shinobi again. "Now, do you need anything from me? Otherwise I'd like to call it a night." Shinobi looked around the group, his eyes calculating.
"I'd appreciate it if you could answer a few questions for us. Would you mind?" I shrugged at Shinobi. "Okay... I'll take it that you don't mind. First question?"
"Why should we trust you?" Bam. Right to the point. I smirked. At least I wouldn't be wasting my time here.
"Why? Why should I trust YOU? You don't really have a choice, and neither do I. I have no reason to double cross you, especially with my history with the Government, but it's you decision whether or not you should or shouldn't trust me."
"Which Provence are you from?" I nearly facepalmed.
"As Shinobi said, I'm from here, Thirteen." The person cleared their throat.
"Then... what part of Thirteen are you from?"
"Um... originally I'm from a small village just east of the Provence Center, up in the mountains. I was later moved to the Provence Center, and moved around a bit throughout Thirteen." I said.
"How long were you a Sacrifice?"
"I'm not answering that. You know what? I don't really want to do this, Shinobi. I apologize. I thought I could do it, but I can't." I said, my voice low and edgy. "I don't want anyone knowing things like this about me. I don't care if this causes a falling out, I'm not answering these questions anymore." Shinobi's green eyes flashed with surprise before he nodded.
"Very well, but answer me this: why are you here?"
I looked at Shinobi suspiciously. This question was tricky. If I answered it incorrectly, this could be bad. "Why am I here? Why shouldn't I be?" I asked. "Perhaps once, a long time ago, I looked up to the Government, but after I was chosen, I lost all respect for it. So you tell me, why am I here? For revenge? Out of spite? You never know." I looked Shinobi in the eye. "It won't kill yet you if you don't know." Shinobi's eyes flashed with confusion and frustration before he nodded began to speak in a controlled, even tone.
"Fine. But you'll have to answer me eventually." I shrugged and walked out of the room. Aisu walked next to me, looking deep in thought.
"Aisu?" I asked, as we walked into the room they'd given to me, "What did you mean when you were saying something was off? Was it Cherry?" If Cherry was untrustworthy by Aisu's standards, something must be wrong. Aisu sighed.
"Something IS off, but I'm not sure what. Just... don't get too close to her, okay?" I shrugged and gave a half-smile to Aisu.
"Okay, Aisu. Whatever you say." I laid down on the bed counting the dots on the ceiling and making shapes from the cracks. "How long do you think I'll have to be here?"
Aisu laid down beside me. "I don't know. They need you, and I guess you kind of need them." Aisu was inches from me. For some reason, that thought made me feel like butterflies were in my stomach. How strange.
"I just don't want to be around a bunch of people who are going to question everything I do. I understand that I need to earn their trust, but why should I trust any of them? Don't I have the most reason out of them all to go against the Government? They took away my childhood, my parents, my friends... my life." I said, feeling my throat begin to close and my eyes start to water.
"Yes but... to some of them you may have the most reason not to." He said. I sucked in a deep breath. "This Government housed you, fed you, educated you. You grew up around it."
"Yes, but I didn't want to. None of them know what it was like staying there!" I sat up, fury in my veins. "They don't know what I had to do! What I had to stay silent about!"
"Sh... I didn't mean it like that." Aisu said, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me. I felt myself go limp, supported only by Aisu's sinewy form. "Relax, okay?" I closed my eyes, keeping back tears of anger. "Nothing's going to get to us here, okay? Relax."
"Hm." I said, feeling drowsy. Since when was Aisu this comfy? I could feel my breathing even out, my heartbeat slow. "Aisu... why do these things have to happen? People go from nothing to somebody important quicker than I can blink." I murmured.
Aisu's warm breath seemed to keep my face warm while the rest of my body was cold. "It's just the way the system works. Someday, we'll understand it, I promise." He murmured. I nodded, snuggling into Aisu's chest.
A cold nose nudged my legs, which hung off the edge of the bed. I forced one eye to open, and looked tiredly at Hail. "...Yes?" I said, closing my eye again.
"Mistress are you okay? You seem more tired than normal." Hail murmured. I shrugged, seeking warmth. I let out a yawn. "Mistress, would you allow me to ask you a few questions?" I opened both my eyes.
"Fire away." I said. Hail sighed.
"How do you usually fall asleep?" He said, eyes concerned.
"It takes a while but I go into a half-sleep thing for a long time, so I'm not really sleeping, I just have my eyes closed. Then I fall asleep for a few hours, and it's back to the half-sleep until I'm just kind of suddenly awake and aware." I said. Hail's eyes narrowed.
"That's REALLY not healthy." I shrugged.
"It's how I've always worked. Next question."
"Why don't you sleep much?" Hail looked at me curiously. I sighed.
"Normally, I would never answer such a question, but I'll answer it for you. I used to be afraid of sleeping once I was chosen. I was afraid of not waking up and of my nightmares. They were so scary... Anyway, later it just became a habit, though I still am scared of those nightmares." I said.
Hail's eyes were wide. "And what were those nightmares about?" He asked quietly. I shuddered and Aisu hugged me tighter. "What were they about?" He asked again. I looked Hail in the eye.
"Different ways... so many different ways... almost creative..." I murmured. "At first they were about my times in the Training Room, but then..."
"What?" Aisu whispered. "What were they about?" I let out a soft whimper.
"There were so many ways...." I said. I closed my eyes and bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. "So many different ways..."
"What? Different ways to what?" Aisu said, begging. I whimpered again.
"Different ways to die."
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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated lately! I've been really busy! I have softball 4-5 times a week and a lot of stuff to do. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was kinda filler *sweatdrop* You guys will be in for a surprise next chapter! Comment/Fan/Vote
Until Next Time,
October
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The Sacrifice [Undergoing Editing]
RandomAt the age of ten, Sacrifices are selected to participate in an annual series of events called "Sacrifices" until they reach the age of twenty-six. For Snow, that isn't an option. Tired of the life she's living, she barely manages to escape after an...