S-E: OMF SHE'S UPDATING!
Tala: wtf…you ARE the she, what are you talking about.
S-E: Be quite you fool. Go review stuffs my pretties!
Tala: …she's lost it.
Bryan: Yup.
Hannah continued to tumble down through the dark, freezing water. Her eyes open and thick locks of brown hair drifted in front of her faces as her fingers closed around the warm metal of the blade. Pulling her arm in, she held the chunk of metal against her chest, feeling the warmth against her skin.
She closed her eyes, and let a slow smile spread over her lips, listening to the faint hum that vibrated through her ears as the bit chip on the blade gave off a dull glow, illuminating the mucky waters around her. The union of beast and blader was a blissful feeling.
A tight constricting feeling developed in her chest, as her lungs were dying for a release. But the feeling bliss of the moment with the beast had numbed her, rendering her unable to swim upwards.
Her eyes widened as she sunk further and further down into the dark pit, the light from the room above the water getting fainter. She released the air trapped in her lungs in a long stream of bubbles that rose swiftly to the surface like a swarm of bees.
She shook her arms desperately, trying to rid of the tingling sensation and make them function properly again. Her head was starting to spin, the lack of oxygen was making her head ache and her lungs burn. She couldn't see straight, her vision wavering, and a dark shape blotting out the light above her.
'This is it' She thought to herself, and closed her eyes. She hadn't expected it to be this way, nor did she want it to, but if this was it, then she'd accept it.
What could she do about it anyway?
Something grabbed tightly and held her wrist in a firm lock. Tugging her limp body upwards. Her head was reeling too much for her to notice whether she was traveling upwards, downwards or upside down.
She could hear voices, too muffled to make out any words.
A heavy thump dead centre on her chest pushed up all the water from her lungs, allowing her to take a deep breath of needed oxygen. Hands pushed at her body, rolling her onto her side.
Coughing and spitting, she cleared her throat, allowing the oxygen to freely enter and leave her body. The burning faded and the constricting feeling disappeared; her vision swam back into focus.
Four figures were stood over her. Three tall, one short.
"Is she gonna be ok?" A sharp voice said above her, coming from the smallest figure, Ian.
"Ask her, not me, Dumbass" A slightly irritated voice shot back. One of the figures crouched down, through her slightly blurred vision, she noted the bright red hair, Tala. His hair was hanging down by his shoulders, it wasn't like that earlier. She thought to herself, still trying to stead her breathing.
As her vision became sharper she determined that he was soaked, just like her, his hair had gotten plastered back down by the water. Kinda suited him.
She shook her head a little, convincing herself it was the lack of oxygen that was making her head go weird.
"Are you ok?" His voice came out slightly deeper and more slurred than normal, due to the amount of water in her ears. She felt light headed, her eyes seemed to be roaming uncontrollably, and she couldn't focus on one particular thing.
"Hannah!" Tala's voice said sharply, and she rolled her head around to face him, the shaking image seemed to subside and the world became still again. She took deep breathes, trying to regulate it and calm down her frantic heart beat, and stop the blood pounding in her ears.
"Are you alright?" He asked again, she just nodded at him, becoming aware of his hand that was still gripped tightly around her wrist. The warmth from his hand was slowly spreading up her arm, pushing the numbness away.
He pulled her up to her feet, steadying her as her legs threatened to buckle under her. The noise around her suddenly became clearer as the water in her ears cleared, she could make out so many things. People running through the corridors outside the room, feet pounding on the cold stone floors, the sound of a voice yelling at some other place in the huge stone abbey.
The door opened with a click and the blonde haired man from the court yard stepped into the room, the clip board resting on one arm as he scribbled on it furiously with the other.
"You" His head looked up from the clip board and he jabbed his pen towards the dark haired girl who was being supported by her elbows by Bryan and Tala, her feet dragging uselessly across the flagstone floor. "Boris wants to see you."
She nodded, looking downcast, Tala moved forwards with her, helping her to walk.
"Alone."
The man's voice said quickly. "And you, Demolition Boys, are required back in the court yard, so get to it now!"
Ian and Spencer walked out of the room immediately, not wanted to cross the blonde man who seemed to be in a foul mood. Bryan looked at Tala hesitantly, who returned his gaze warningly.
"What are you two waiting for?" The man said testily, "I told you to get outside"
"Sir…" Tala started, averting his eyes from looking into the dark blue eyes of the older man. "She may need some help to get there"
"Is that so?" The man arched one pale blonde eyebrow, "Then I guess she'll have to go without help, won't she? Now out!"
Tala nodded to Bryan, and each of them let go of Hannah's elbows, letting the small girl support herself.
Taking a few tottering steps forwards, gritting her teeth in concentration, willing her legs to work. But she couldn't do it, and her legs gave way under her body again.
Tala was there before she hit the floor; he hooked one arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall. "Sir, please!" He pleaded with the man who was glaring daggers at the red haired teen. "She can't walk! How will she get to Boris if she can't?"
The man looked ready to kill, raising one hand he back handed Tala around the face, connecting with the Russian teen's cheek, sending him sprawling backwards across the floor. Hannah dropped to the floor with a thud without the support. Pushing herself up with her hands, she could see the tall man stood over the boy who had stood up for her. She could see a thin line of blood traveling downwards from a cut on the boy's lip.
"Then I guess, Tala" The man drawled, leaning down so his face was merely inches away from Tala's. "She'll have to get there on her hands and knees then won't she?"
"Now get OUT!" The yelled with such force that Tala's eyes widened and he scrambled to get away from him, stumbling to his feet.
Bryan shot out of the room quickly, Tala following him close behind. The red haired Russian shot a quick apologetic look in Hannah's direction before disappearing out of the door.
That left her alone in the room with the seething blonde man. He stooped down and picked up his clipboard, which had been dropped to the floor when he hit Tala. Without looking at her, he spoke in hissing tones, she didn't want to get in his way.
"Get crawling, girl." He hissed, "Or you'll get the same treatment Tala did"
That was enough for her, she half walked, half crawled out of the room and down the corridor, trying to get her legs to stop feeling like dead weights.
After a few moments, she felt she had gotten far enough away from him. She dragged her half numb body around a corner and held her knees against her chest, burying her face in her knees.
Taking a deep breath she tipped her head back and ran her fingers through her wet locks, brushing the hair away from her face. Her breath shuddered in and out of her body, as she waited for the feeling to slowly return to her legs.
How could one person be so cold? She thought back to the blonde haired man, who did he think he was?
She sat there for a few more moments, a frown on her face as she thought about her situation, and feeling slowly crept back into her cold limbs.
Pushing her fingers in between the gaps of the large bricks in the wall, she hoisted herself up on shaky limbs, taking a few experimental steps along the corridor.
Slowly regaining her confidence, she picked up her pace, now determined not to fall over again. She strode purposefully towards Boris's office, recognizing the corridor as the one that Ian had led her down earlier.
She rapped her knuckles on the heavy oak door, wincing as the motion sent spasms through her freezing cold hands.
"Come in!" The sharp order yelled from inside. Pushing at the door, she let it swing open on its hinges. She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, waiting for her next orders. She wasn't going to get thrown out of this academy, even if it meant going with the flow for a while.
"Sit." The command was issued by the Purple haired man sat behind the large desk, his head bent as he wrote furiously on the piece of paper in front of him.
She gently lowered herself into the thick cushioned chair in front of the desk, waiting patiently for several moments for the man to speak again, which he didn't; he just carried on working as though she wasn't even there.
She fidgeted in the uncomfortable silence that had filled the room; the only sound was the sound of the goggled man's pen scratching against the paper, not taking any notice of her whatsoever.
"You look like a drowned rat" His voice cut through the silence like a knife. Hannah gritted her teeth, glaring at the top of his head.
Finally putting his pen down, he lifted his head and looked at her through those stupid red lenses. "I told you failure was not an option, did I not?"
Hannah nodded, not meeting his gaze.
"You failed that task didn't you?"
Again she nodded, she felt like one of those toy animals that sit on the back window of a car and nod their heads at other drivers. 'God get to the point already you stupid man and stop making me out to be an idiot!' She cursed in her head.
"You should consider yourself lucky" Boris said unexpectedly, "Voltaire has decided to give you another chance, he seems to favor you for some bizarre reason" Shaking his head, he looked back down at his paper and scribbled a few more notes down onto it.
"You're to battle one of the Demolition Boys tomorrow" He picked up the piece of paper and slid it to the bottom of a growing pile on his left. "Be ready for it, you can go now" He waved the hand with the pen in vaguely in the direction of the door, a fresh piece of paper having appeared on his desk, he quickly returned to writing furiously, he'd stab holes in the paper if he wasn't careful.
Silently, she got up out of the chair and walked over to the door, pulling it open.
"Hannah" Upon hearing her name the bedraggled girl stopped and looked over shoulder.
He was looking directly at her, and though the goggles prevented her from seeing him eyes, she could feel the heat of his glare through those red lenses, burning into her back.
"Don't screw this up." He said shortly, "Or you'll be back at Highgale before you know it" His gaze flickered back down to his work, and she closed the door quietly behind her.
Angry thoughts raced through her head as she stalked back along the corridor towards her room, digging in her pocket for the small silver key.
'Why on earth would I want to screw this up! This is the chance of a life time!' She seethed, picking up her pace.
'And who the hell is Voltaire!'
S-E: wow, first chapter in months lol eh guys? …Guys?
Tala: -sneaks up on her-
Bryan: -has net-
S-E: o.o what are you doing!
Tala: -jumps on her-
Bryan: -ties her up in net-
Tala: That went well…
Bryan: Off to the mad house for you! Grins
S-E: T0T I DON'T WANNA GO!
