Chapter 9
The structure of the Training Center struck Elara, primarily due to its size and shape. The climb up the passage was not for the faint of heart; it was a decently angled ramp rather than stairs, which made ascending a little easier, but it seemed to stretch on for miles before they reached the top. When they exited the wall's interior, they stepped onto the wallwalk - the winds biting cold greeting them, threatening to take Elara down the front of the curtain wall. She nearly yelped as Frenrick grabbed hold of her, his touch warming her bare skin as he cradled her to him. It was much harder to breathe up here, and the wall-walk seemed covered with a thin layer of mist, hiding her feet and almost the top of Fenrick's boots. Elara kicked at it with her toes, imagining herself kicking a cloud. She smiled, inwardly. Heights alone usually would have caused her panic, and even nearly falling should have made her collapse. But instead, she played with the mist, unaffected by the dangers. Elara took a mental note of this, curious to see if recent events drove her insane. But do the insane know they are going insane? She wondered as Fenrick guided her towards what she assumed was the Center's main entrance.
Before Fenrick could knock, a man, even taller than Fenrick, opened the door. Is there a beanstalk somewhere? Elara's eyes scaled up the man's giant frame, swathed in an ever-larger robe. It bore a striking resemblance to Fenricks, though the border looked different. Even Fenrick had to tilt his head upward to speak to him. His height wasn't the only thing different from Elara's. The man's face was almost pig-like, with tusks, a snout, and a prominent brow over beady eyes. "You are late." His voice bellowed deeply, in a bored, droning tone.
"My apologies, old friend." Fenrick extended his hand towards the man. A look of realization washed over the giant's face, and an awkward smile painted over the gruff exterior, almost completely changing the giant's entire expression into something of warmth.
"Fen!" the giant cheered, gripping Fenrick's hand, pulling him inward, and clapping him on the back. "It's been too long." The giant turned his head into the door. "Coggin!" he called out, "You won't believe who's here!" His arm swooped around Fenrick, scooting him inside without seeing Elara standing near him.
Elara followed them inside. The room itself was pretty large. It reminded her of a high school gym, in a way. There were rudimentary fitness equipment dummies off to one side, a large open space, and a series of benches all facing the open area. Behind the benches was a set of what looked like a dark, heavy metal door. Elara turned to look at the door they had just walked through, which was made of wood.
Elara paused momentarily, seeing that Fenrick had seemed preoccupied with the giant and whomever the giant was calling to, and she was left alone. She started to walk the perimeter slowly, glancing back toward Fenrick, who seemed to be headed toward the benches. This meant she was heading towards the training dummies. It felt good to feel some distance again from Fenrick. The travel into this place wasn't at all comfortable; at times, she had to scrape her bare body against the stone wall, and while she felt much better than yesterday, those scrapes still irritated, and her knees were red and dirty. She looked herself over; in fact, all of her was pretty dirty. Anxiety welled up in her chest. She pulled her arms into her, hugging herself as she thought about her future. Am I ever going to have another hot bath again? she worried.
"-I didn't expect this either, Coggin." Fenrick's voice seemed strained with frustration. Elara barely turned to see him standing next to the giant and what appeared to be a very small man, about chest height, with Elara bent over on one of the benches.
"It isn't like we can turn down a perfectly good sparrow." You'd expect a high, reedy voice from someone his size, but Coggin's was surprisingly mellow and resonant with a gentle, breathy quality for a little person. His tone was patient and precise when he explained things, his words carrying a comforting, owl-like cadence that made you want to listen. "You will simply have to pay us the rest in installments." Coggin hopped down from the bench, suprinsingly springy and seemingly much shorter than the two men, his robe fluttering behind him. "Come on then, show me your sparrow."
Elara darted behind one of the dummies for cover as the three men crossed the gymnasium. It wasn't like she had anywhere to go, but it seemed the right thing to do. Fenrick and the giant had followed behind the little person, which was amusing. Elara tilted her head with a grin, the strangeness almost caused her to let out a puff of laughter. Amusement quickly turned to fear as she swallowed the sound before it could escape her throat. No sudden dryness, perhaps she was safe. She eyed all three men, none of them giving a hint that she had done anything wrong, so she remained cowered behind a dummy.
"Out with you now," Coggin waved his hand impatiently. "I don't have all day. The sooner we finish this, the sooner you get to your chores. Now, hurry around from that dummy and let's see."
Elara did as she was told, no longer caring to hide behind her arms. She kept her arms down at her sides and closed her eyes. Anxiety met her again as she could feel all three men looking at her, stepping closer. They were talking, but all she could hear was her heartbeat. "In and ... out," Elara thought, slowing her breathing.
"It's tiny." The giant's voice seemed to weigh on top of her.
A hand grabbed her arm, urging her to turn. "Come on, sparrow, don't keep us waiting." Coggin's tone turned to one of annoyance. Elara did as she was told, Coggin's hand lightly grazing around her hip as she slowly spun in front of them. "No major injuries. Do you have her paperwork?" Coggin lifted his hand expectantly, not turning his gaze from Elara until the paperwork was dropped into his hand. "Hmm, yes... yes... good." He clapped his hands. "I will need your ring." Coggin lifted his hand again. This time, Fenrick carefully pulled the ring from his finger and handed it to Coggin. "Your sparrow is safe with me. Or as safe as she's going to be, anyway." Coggin shrugged, then returned to face Elara. "We identify all our trainees by their eye color. Your owner is free to name you as they wish, but while you are in training, you will be called..." The small man lifted onto his toes, causing Elara to stifle another grin. "Hmm, ah, what a lovely pair of light blue eyes." Coggin stared into hers, but not uncomfortably. Her head tilted as a smile returned to her lips in thanks.
Coggin nodded abruptly, "Well -" he sighed, jumping down from the bench, digging around in his robe, and pulling out a key. "Come along, Blue." He waved his other hand while he unlocked the metal door, opening into a dim hallway. At the end of the hall, it seemed to open into another room, but four metal doors lined the entrance, four on each side. "Only three sparrows are expected from this acquisition. You're lucky you aren't the last one here." Coggin lifted his hand, urging the group down the hallway, stopping at the second-to-last door on the right. "Here you go, you get this side all to yourself." The door opened, revealing a cell with a simple mat folded in the corner and a small wooden table low enough to write on while sitting. "Step inside, sparrow." The giant piped up from behind. Elara practically jumped inside, having only expected Coggin to do the talking.
A metal door's clanging sounded behind her, and Elara quickly spun around. A cell?! In panic, Elara's eyes darted to Fenrick, studying his face. He looked pained, which may have been even more confusing than the cell.
"You'll rest here for now, prepare yourself for later this evening." Coggin smiled warmly into the cell before turning towards Fenrick. "Will you stay for some tea before you leave, Fenrick? We have so much to catch up on."
Fenrick nodded. "I always have time for an old friend," he answered, though his eyes remained on Elara before he turned to leave the hallway of cells with Coggin and the giant.
It wasn't until the three men's voices were gone that Elara took a moment to catch her breath again. Looking around her cell, she noted that while it was sparse, it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. The floor seemed to be made out of clay or mud. She leaned against the wall and remembered that she wasn't alone. Elara strained to hear any movement in the other cells. She knew there was an empty cell between them, but hoped the other sparrow might also be attempting to be heard. Nothing. Maybe she was asleep? Elara looked over at her mat and decided maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea, flattening her mat to take a nap for herself. Who knows what the rest of the day held in store for her? Might as well be well-rested.
