03-01-2009, 07:53 PM
Days passed. Sophia’s makeshift investigation of Theodore with Kira had slowed almost to a halt, and her training with Davin Baptiste increased in intensity. Everything hurt, even things that she didn’t know could hurt ached. She couldn’t complain; she knew the risks and implications of such a request as battle training, but she was starting to lose progress, and perhaps even interest. The temple slowly turned into the somber, tranquil place that she once knew. If she had lasted the first twenty-three years of her life without any formal training, she started to think that maybe she could last another twenty-three without it.
Or maybe that was the fatigue talking.
The candle in her room flickered out as she slowly started to nod off, leaving the room pitch-dark. She wasn’t exactly afraid of the dark, but every bump in the night tended to scare her witless. The priestess had dealt with such things before, particularly as a child, and every time she got scared, she would just curl up in a ball and wrap her blanket tightly around her body. Even if her mind played the inevitable tricks on her by casting figures in the dark that probably weren’t there, she could just close her eyes tightly and pretend that she was in a happier, and more importantly lighter, place. She wasn’t a child anymore. She was an adult. The priestess rolled her eyes at her own childish fears and tried to go to sleep.
Then the crash sounded. It wasn’t the typical crash that could be heard throughout the temple on a regular basis; those sounds were usually created by some clumsy monk bumping into furniture on their way to the bathroom. Such bumps usually caused Sophia to jump slightly and immediately fall back asleep. But this wasn’t a bump. It was a boom; a boom that shook the priestess out of her bed and onto the floor. Sophia rubbed her knee tenderly and slowly stood to her feet. The dark figures that she thought her mind had created suddenly seemed to be terrifyingly real. She attempted to take a step back as they drew nearer, but realized she had nowhere to go. The figure closer to her got closer. And closer.
“Thedore?”
WHACK!
The figure crashed its fist into her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stumbled backwards and onto her bed. Of all the things that could have been noted about the situation, the thing that saddened Sophia that most was that it still could have been Theodore that she had been talking to. Her questions were answered as the lights suddenly flashed on, revealing two rather large men standing in her room. The one furthest away from her looked relatively annoyed. “Woah, what the hell, man? She’s on the ‘drug’ list.”
“Is she?” the man that decked her scratched his head. “Look at it again.”
The other man sighed and rolled his eyes, pulling a small slip of paper from a sack. “Yeah, she’s right here. Boss kind of has her in a gray area, though. We should use the most effective means of attaining her.”
“Well, she took that hit pretty well…” the man that punched her said. “We should just use chloroform.”
Just as Sophia was about to protest, the man took her by the shoulders and pinned her down on her bed. As the other man readied the chloroform, he began to chuckle. “Hey, this gives me a good idea.”
“You’re disgusting, man,” the man shook his head, cloth in hand. “Just pin her down. If the boss found out that we did anything but what he told us to do, we’re just as screwed as these guys.”
Words died in her throat as fear took over. Her mouth was covered with a cloth, and in time, she succumbed to sleep.
The bag was ripped off of her head. A dull pain filled Sophia’s eyes as her pupils struggled to adjust to the increase in sunlight. She looked around the area and was immediately dismayed with what she saw—sand, and lots of it. That, accompanied with the sight of several other people bound the same way she was, made it a pretty unseemly sight. Despite this, they were all greeted with a single phrase.
“Welcome to Friend or Foe.”
Sophia tried to stay with it. After all, she was usually the one that could be counted on to keep a level head. However, she didn’t think that anyone would blame her for asking a few questions about their situation. Looking up at her captors, she asked them. “Where are we!? What’s going on!?”
Her voice was a bit more panicked than she had intended, but the questions came out the same. The answer was casual, almost calloused. He spoke of another group of people that they were to kill for a monetary reward. Her stomach turned at the thought; wasn’t that the same mindset that the bandits had when they raided her temple? Money was valuable, sure, but it wasn’t worth the cost of a life. It never would be to her. She had made up her mind on the matter before he was even finished speaking.
Her instincts as a priestess soon took over, replacing any interest she had in what the men had to say. She barely even noticed them driving off or her handcuffs deactivating when she started to examine the other captives. The first person to even react to the situation was a tailed-man (she was immediately reminded of Dimitri—maybe they were related?). He seemed more confident and laid-back than the situation warranted, but maybe that was a good thing.
“Some welcoming committee, eh?” he commented. Sophia wasn’t sure how to react, so she just smiled a bit at him and continued looking around. Her eyes immediately landed on a young blue-haired woman. She had sank to the sandy ground below, and looked as though she was about to burst into tears as she sadly muttered something to herself. She legitimately looked as though she wanted to burrow down in the sand and get away from it all. Although the priestess didn’t blame her, she knew that she had to do something to help this poor woman. Even if it was just a word of encouragement. Brushing the hair back from her eyes, she slowly approached her.
“Um…I know, I’m scared too,” she spoke, wincing at the awkwardness of her words. All she could do was continue with a smile. “But…everything will be alright.”
“I-I know…” she answered quickly, turning her body away from the priestess slightly. Sophia sighed and sat down on the sand a few feet away from her. Maybe she didn’t need words.
Or maybe that was the fatigue talking.
The candle in her room flickered out as she slowly started to nod off, leaving the room pitch-dark. She wasn’t exactly afraid of the dark, but every bump in the night tended to scare her witless. The priestess had dealt with such things before, particularly as a child, and every time she got scared, she would just curl up in a ball and wrap her blanket tightly around her body. Even if her mind played the inevitable tricks on her by casting figures in the dark that probably weren’t there, she could just close her eyes tightly and pretend that she was in a happier, and more importantly lighter, place. She wasn’t a child anymore. She was an adult. The priestess rolled her eyes at her own childish fears and tried to go to sleep.
Then the crash sounded. It wasn’t the typical crash that could be heard throughout the temple on a regular basis; those sounds were usually created by some clumsy monk bumping into furniture on their way to the bathroom. Such bumps usually caused Sophia to jump slightly and immediately fall back asleep. But this wasn’t a bump. It was a boom; a boom that shook the priestess out of her bed and onto the floor. Sophia rubbed her knee tenderly and slowly stood to her feet. The dark figures that she thought her mind had created suddenly seemed to be terrifyingly real. She attempted to take a step back as they drew nearer, but realized she had nowhere to go. The figure closer to her got closer. And closer.
“Thedore?”
WHACK!
The figure crashed its fist into her face. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stumbled backwards and onto her bed. Of all the things that could have been noted about the situation, the thing that saddened Sophia that most was that it still could have been Theodore that she had been talking to. Her questions were answered as the lights suddenly flashed on, revealing two rather large men standing in her room. The one furthest away from her looked relatively annoyed. “Woah, what the hell, man? She’s on the ‘drug’ list.”
“Is she?” the man that decked her scratched his head. “Look at it again.”
The other man sighed and rolled his eyes, pulling a small slip of paper from a sack. “Yeah, she’s right here. Boss kind of has her in a gray area, though. We should use the most effective means of attaining her.”
“Well, she took that hit pretty well…” the man that punched her said. “We should just use chloroform.”
Just as Sophia was about to protest, the man took her by the shoulders and pinned her down on her bed. As the other man readied the chloroform, he began to chuckle. “Hey, this gives me a good idea.”
“You’re disgusting, man,” the man shook his head, cloth in hand. “Just pin her down. If the boss found out that we did anything but what he told us to do, we’re just as screwed as these guys.”
Words died in her throat as fear took over. Her mouth was covered with a cloth, and in time, she succumbed to sleep.
*
The bag was ripped off of her head. A dull pain filled Sophia’s eyes as her pupils struggled to adjust to the increase in sunlight. She looked around the area and was immediately dismayed with what she saw—sand, and lots of it. That, accompanied with the sight of several other people bound the same way she was, made it a pretty unseemly sight. Despite this, they were all greeted with a single phrase.
“Welcome to Friend or Foe.”
Sophia tried to stay with it. After all, she was usually the one that could be counted on to keep a level head. However, she didn’t think that anyone would blame her for asking a few questions about their situation. Looking up at her captors, she asked them. “Where are we!? What’s going on!?”
Her voice was a bit more panicked than she had intended, but the questions came out the same. The answer was casual, almost calloused. He spoke of another group of people that they were to kill for a monetary reward. Her stomach turned at the thought; wasn’t that the same mindset that the bandits had when they raided her temple? Money was valuable, sure, but it wasn’t worth the cost of a life. It never would be to her. She had made up her mind on the matter before he was even finished speaking.
Her instincts as a priestess soon took over, replacing any interest she had in what the men had to say. She barely even noticed them driving off or her handcuffs deactivating when she started to examine the other captives. The first person to even react to the situation was a tailed-man (she was immediately reminded of Dimitri—maybe they were related?). He seemed more confident and laid-back than the situation warranted, but maybe that was a good thing.
“Some welcoming committee, eh?” he commented. Sophia wasn’t sure how to react, so she just smiled a bit at him and continued looking around. Her eyes immediately landed on a young blue-haired woman. She had sank to the sandy ground below, and looked as though she was about to burst into tears as she sadly muttered something to herself. She legitimately looked as though she wanted to burrow down in the sand and get away from it all. Although the priestess didn’t blame her, she knew that she had to do something to help this poor woman. Even if it was just a word of encouragement. Brushing the hair back from her eyes, she slowly approached her.
“Um…I know, I’m scared too,” she spoke, wincing at the awkwardness of her words. All she could do was continue with a smile. “But…everything will be alright.”
“I-I know…” she answered quickly, turning her body away from the priestess slightly. Sophia sighed and sat down on the sand a few feet away from her. Maybe she didn’t need words.