Elise woke to the blaring sound of her digital alarm. She opened her eyes slowly, expecting to be blinded by the sun, but there was no sun. When her eyes fully opened, she looked out the window. "No sun," she said. She got up and sat on the edge of her bed, wondering what was making that annoying sound. "Oh my goodness, I'm an idiot." Elise face palmed and finally turned off the alarm. She felt something under her hand and pulled off the sticky note that was in front of the digital numbers. "It's five in the morning?!"
Elise took all the energy she could to get up and flip on the lights. In her hand the note read: "Good morning Elise. You may be wondering why you are up so early in the morning. To answer your question, you are going to be trained. The other men will be off fighting out in the battlements, so while they're out there, you're in here, training. Train well, and always stay alert."
A low groan escaped Elise's mouth as she crumpled the post-it note into the trash. She walked over to the closet and took out a uniform, the same red pinstriped one she wore yesterday. Then, she shuffled over to the cabinets to grab her underwear and a towel.
"Where the hell is the bathroom?" Elise asked herself as she closed the door behind her. In the deep silence that suspended in the hall, she could hear the faint sounds of running water and a voice. She tried to follow to sounds without running into anything, even though it was an open hall, but you never know.
As Elise got closer to a brightly lit doorway, she could hear the voice more clearly. A deeply vibrating baritone male voice that sang a song that was beyond Elise's Canadian vernacular. Although she may have been clueless to what the man was singing, the language wasn't completely unfamiliar. She used to hear it all the time at home. But why… why did this unknown man's voice sound exactly like his?
"Non, rien de rien. Non, je ne regrette rien…" His voice rang through the surprisingly acoustic room.
Elise crept closer to the open doorway, going onto her tiptoes to mute the sound of her feet against the floor.
She stopped, back close against the wall, her head slowly rotating to see around the corner of the door frame. The water stopped, the shower handles squeaking as it turned. The man's voice stopped as well, and it was replaced with whistling and humming.
"Balayées les amours. Et tous leurs trémolos. Balayés pour toujours. Je repars à zéro..." The man's voice sounded once again.
Elise caught a quick glimpse of him, his back towards her. She took this chance to tiptoe to the middle of the frame to get a better look of the man's back. Her eyes went wide as he dropped his towel when she didn't expect it.
She couldn't do it. She just couldn't resist herself. Elise's could feel the warmth creeping up onto her neck and cheeks. Her breathing slowed as her heart sped up.
The man's back alone was godly. Glossy from the water, his muscles shone from the lights in the bathroom. He stretched, enhancing the muscles that were so tone on his arms, shoulders, and back. Elise's eyes roamed the man's body, at least the back portion of his body. Her eyes landed on his behind. Yes, his behind. So round and ripe...
Elise squeaked from his perfection from behind. Such a muscular man with such a slender body. So similar to his...
The man tensed causing his muscles to flex. He swiftly went for his watch that was on the bench, and strapped it on, pressing a button and then disappearing in thin air.
"Whoa," Elise breathed.
All of the sudden, a familiar cold feeling was on her neck. Elise tried to scream, but nothing came but a muffled cry. A wet hand covered her mouth and at the same time Elise threw her stuff behind her in an attempt to hit the person behind her. She was held close to a hard body that was behind her.
"Who are you?" The man from the bathroom asked. His voice sounded like dangerous silk to Elise. It was a stupid thought, but it seemed right to her.
"I..." Elise paused, the hand still covering her mouth.
"Answer!" he barked in a low, growling, demanding tone. His knife slowly scraped against her neck, and under her mask, almost as if he wanted to remove it.
His arm moved from Elise's mouth to her chest. Automatically the man stopped, and softened just a bit.
Then, out of nowhere, Elise dropped flat onto her butt. She struggled to get up because of the adrenaline and fear that had rushed through her blood. Elise took deep breaths and looked around the dark halls then into the empty bathroom.
"Nothing..." she sighed. She bent down and picked her stuff up. Once she had straightened, and hand grasped onto her shoulder. "Huh?!"
"Whoa, it's okay, it's just me," Sniper said with his canine grin.
Elise's heart was racing, and her previous encounter with that mysterious man was the cause of it.
"What are you doing here?" Sniper asked.
Elise smiled and giggled, still struggling for breath. She shook her head and looked up into his eyes and said, "I could ask you the same thing, but I can clearly see what you are doing," as she imitated the Sniper's Australian accent.
"Very funny, sheila."
Elise looked down at Sniper, who in fact wasn't wearing any night shirt. He just wore boxers... with koalas. She smiled and then burst into laughter after seeing what Sniper was wearing. "Koala boxers? Really?"
Sniper raised his eyebrow and smiled. "Koala pyjamas, really?"
Elise looked down and opened up her towel, covering her body.
"Shut up," she pouted. She looked up innocently into Sniper's eyes. They were blue, just like how she imagined the waters in Australia would look. Beautiful, and calming.
"What are you looking at?" Sniper asked as he snapped his fingers in front of Elise.
"Nothing," she replied. She didn't take her eyes off of him. She scanned his body, because she was a woman and it was natural for her to stare at fine men. That was always the excuse she would tell her mother as an adolescent.
In this light, she could see everything. Sniper's messy hair was a dark chocolate brown that could possibly be mistaken for black. His face was well defined, with a strong jaw that was clearly evident. His body was muscular but soft at the same time. His arms were tone, his chest was chiseled, and his abs were dipped at the perfect angles. His height was way beyond average. He towered Elise like a skyscraper!
"You're staring again," Sniper repeated, but this time, lifting her chin with his thumb and forefinger.
"Sorry," Elise whispered.
"So," Sniper let go quickly, a blush creeping slowly onto his neck. "Uh, are you, going to, um, shower?"
"Yeah," Elise responded while quickly looking on the ground.
"Do you... want to go first?" Sniper asked as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
Elise looked up and smiled, handing him the towel. "Will you help me then?"
Sniper's jaw dropped. "H-help you?"
"Not like that," Elise rolled her eyes. "Just cover my stall."
"O-oh! Right," he smiled sheepishly. "Sure."
"Okay," Elise started. "Look away first."
Sniper turned around and covered his eyes with one arm.
As soon as he did that, Elise jumped into the shower, naked, and stood up against the wall. "Keep your eyes closed and hold the towel up!"
Sniper did as she told and he held the towel against the opening. He opened his eyes and then looked to the ground.
The cold bathroom, which in fact was only for men, started steaming.
"Hey, Snipes!" Scout came in and stood behind Sniper.
"Scout!" Sniper said surprised.
"What're you doing?" Scout asked as he pulled at the towel.
"Spy's in there," Sniper answered.
"Our Spy?" Scout asked with a disgusted look.
"Our new Spy," Sniper responded in a whisper.
"You know I can hear you guys, right?" Elise said over the water.
"Oh, hey!" Scout greeted.
"Scout, do me a favor and tell anyone else here to wait in the living room." Elise said.
Scout and Sniper turned around to see five heads peeking from the door frame.
"It's a war room, maggot!" Soldier cried out.
"You heard the girl," Sniper spoke up. "Out."
All the men shuffled out of the area and headed for the war room.
The water stopped and the bathroom went silent, other than the droplets of water falling onto the floor.
"So, what do I do now?" Sniper asked.
"Close your eyes, turn around, and go to the war room."
Sniper didn't respond. At this, Elise sighed and put her hands on her hips even though Sniper couldn't see.
"Please."
"Okay," Sniper responded. Immediately, he dropped the towel, leaving Elise exposed.
"Sniper!" she cried out.
But Sniper had his back toward her and was already making his way out of the room with his arm over his eyes and a laugh leaving his mouth.