I entered the dining room to see all eyes on me. The room burst into conversations.
"The fourth is a girl?"
"She's the fourth one? She looks weak to me."
"I sure hope that she's worth the search."
"Oh please, who does she think she is? Letting everyone wait for her and strolling in looking so disheveled."
"Quiet!" Gladion's voice rang through the dinning hall. Everyone grew silent immediately. I remained three steps away from the door, feeling totally out of place. Maybe I should leave. I side-glanced at the door.
"Fortis, here." I turned my head to the direction of Gladion's voice and located him in the middle of the dining room. I made my way to Gladion's side quickly, overwhelmed by all the attention. He glanced at me from head to toe and I prepared myself for a look of disapproval but there was none. Either that, or he did not show his displeasure outright.
"This is Fortis, our final Four-leafed Clover. Together with William, Zander and Ducan, she will be our leader for the war. Let's welcome her as a part of our family and respect her as you would respect the other leaders. To celebrate our soon victory, there will be a celebration held tonight. "
Cheers and claps erupted. I took in the sea of people, feeling dizzy. Isn't the celebration a little too early? There are more than a hundred people in here and these are all the people that I'm going to disappoint...
"Fortis, take a seat," Gladion gestured at the seat which was beside a boy wearing an eye patch. I took the seat quickly, relieved that Gladion did not assign me the empty seat beside Zander.
Breakfast was served by women in aprons pushing out carts of food from the kitchen. I was expecting some alien food and was glad it was something familiar to me. Pancakes. I felt a pang. My mother would make pancakes for me every morning. There are only four others dinning at the same table as me. I sneaked a glance at Zander who was sitting across from me. He was pouring the gold honey onto his pancakes, expressionless. You are weak. His three words echoed in my mind like an annoying fly. Just because I couldn't bear to plunge the dagger into him, he had labelled me weak. If being strong means hurting someone without any form of hesitation, I would rather do without that title. When he met my gaze, I quickly looked away and ate my pancakes in awkwardness. The first half of the meal was in total silence. I gave my pancakes my utmost attention and I was glad that the others at the table did the same. About ten minutes into the meal, Gladion stood up and announced that he had to leave. I felt relieved that an intimidating figure like him is no longer at the table but he was the only person I recognized apart from Zander. A few other men left the dining room with him after some brief exchange of words that I couldn't quite catch clearly.
"Fortis right?"
"Yeah?"
My eyes flickered to the guy sitting next to Zander. He had jet black hair and chiseled features. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a tie design at the front. It looked terribly familiar. I recognized him as the one who was dressing up when I opened the door to his room early this morning. Oh crap. Is he going to bring it up now and point me out as a pervert? I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment.
"Are you okay?" he asked and I removed my hands away from my face immediately.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Can you uh remember me?"
"Do I know you? I'm sure I won't forget someone like you if I'd seen you before," he smiled amicably and I released an imaginary sigh of relief. He must not have seen me.
"No, I just find you familiar." I answered carefully and honestly. It's only polite that I asked for his name too right?
"You are?"
"Ducan," he introduced himself. The guy sitting beside me with the eye patch must be William then.
"Are you a...four leafed?"
"Yes. All of us sitting at this table are," he nodded.
Wordlessly, Zander stood up and disposed of his plate and cutleries in a 'return section' beside the entrance of the kitchen. He then exited the dinning room without sparing a glance at me. Or anyone else at the table. Is there any more trainings after this? I doubt so. William left soon after. I can't help but noticed how quiet he had been throughout the meal. Not that I minded but they seemed too quiet for people who have been having meals together. Well...maybe they are close buddies outside of meals? Or maybe Gladion refrained them from speaking during meals? But he had left, hadn't he?
"How did your first training go?" I was slightly taken aback when I realised him directing the question at me again. I was expecting him to finish his meals quickly and leave like what the others had done but there he was, looking at me expectantly.
"It was a disaster..." I replied.
"Well, that's your first training. You're bound to get better with more trainings," he encouraged.
I gave him a tight smile, "I hope so." Can I really do what is expected of me in a few more trainings? I stabbed at the pancake on my plate with my fork. I have no problem stabbing a pancake but a person? Definitely not.
I felt Ducan's gaze lingering on me and at that moment, I seemed to see my mother's face flashing across my mind's eye. I pushed it to the back of my mind.
"Aren't you going?" I blurted out after noticing his empty plate.
"What?" A hurt expression crossed his face. "Maybe I should leave..."
"Nononono, I don't mean that...I um...I saw your empty plate and um..." I tried explain myself.
He stared at me.
"Look, I just thought that you'd have something on like the others and you are not obliged to stay and make me feel welcomed..."
He chuckled,"You are fun to tease you know that?"
I frowned.
"No offense, it's just that you seemed down. So I thought I would cheer you up with a small joke."
I felt a warm fuzzy feeling upon hearing his words. Up till today, no one had said anything about cheering me up before. Friendship had always been close to me, yet out of my reach. It feels as though I could finally touch it now.
"It didn't work," I told him and finished the last of my pancakes.
"It didn't?" his eyes widened.
"Yes, you didn't cheer me up. And I'm offended," I stood up from my seat abruptly and gathered my plates and cutleries together.
He sat there dumbfounded. "Well I..."
I walked away a few steps away before turning around to face him. "You are fun to tease you know that?" I smiled and left the room, feeling happy for the first time ever since I arrived in this foreign land.
******************************
What am I supposed to do now? Zander had left the room without giving me any instructions. Although I can't read a map, my superb memory skills made up for it. If I were to state my greatest achievement in life, it would be my memory. I have never forgotten anything I have seen or heard. However, like how there's two sides to everything, it can be both a blessing and a curse. I went back to my room by memory and took a shower to get rid of all the flour and sweat. I tossed my dirty training outfit into a basket labelled 'dirty laundry' in the bathroom. Dressed in a striped-top and black jeans, I exited my room after I blow-dried my hair.
With no destination in mind, I rounded a corner and walked down a new corridor.
I jumped as a figure appeared at the end of the corridor. Upon seeing me, he immediately turned back the same way he had came from. What's with that? Am I that scary? I hurried after William.
"Hey, you don't have to leave you know. I'm just leaving," I told him and set my hand on the first door I could see to prove my point.
"Hey!" he called out to my total surprise.
I halted and swiveled to look at him. Was he talking to me?
"That's the door to my room," he declared.
His room? I dropped my hands from the door immediately, embarrassed.
I blurted out the first excuse that came to mind to hide my embarrassment. "I was just um...looking at the designs,"
"The bat designs are cool, aren't they?" he answered.
"Yeah sure," I agreed blindly.
Hold on a second. Bat? I don't remember it having any bat designs on it. I faced the door to check. It was just plain white and brown with no designs. I turned back to him and laughed nervously. I noted the slightest tilt at the corner of his mouth before he walked away.
Designs really? What could I possibly say next?
"If you looked carefully, there are markings carved into the brown portion of the door. A square for a room and a triangle for doors to the stairs. Look out for those until you are familiar with your way around here." William revealed, not faltering in his steps.
"Thanks!" I called out after him. That was helpful. At least I won't be opening doors to random rooms and landing myself in awkward situations like this morning.
I was strolling towards the meeting room when I heard voices. Curious, I stopped right outside the door. Curiosity kills the cat, I had read. I should probably move on instead of listening in. Besides, eavesdropping on others' conversation does not seem right. I was about to walk right past it when I heard my name. Now that it concerned me, I could no longer bring myself to walk away. I leaned close to the door so I could hear what the people inside were saying.
"What is it about her?" Zander asked. By 'her', I guess that he was referring to me.
"You shouldn't have done what you did. You were supposed to take her to the dining room. Not leave her alone." Gladion said sharply.
"Well, she's old enough to take care of herself. Besides, I'm just in charge of her training. I don't have to wait on her and be at her beck and call." His words stung me like pine needles.
"She's new here. Would it kill you to help out until she is familiar with her surroundings? And why was she looking so..." As I had thought, he was disturbed by my appearance in the dining hall.
"Well, you can assign that job to Ducan. He seems to have enough time on his hands."
"I assigned the job to you, not him."
"Why me?"
"Are you questioning me right now?" Gladion seemed to speak with an underlying message. Silence followed his words. My fingers turned cold. Did they realize that someone is outside listening? My flight response was stimulated and I'm prepared to take off.
"No," Zander replied in a strained voice and I relaxed slightly. They were still not aware of my presence outside the room. Nonetheless, I do not feel like continuing this inglorious deed. I have heard enough and certainly did not want to be caught eavesdropping. I drew away from the door carefully and took the stairs to the ground floor.