I walked out of the bathroom with a smile on my face, my damp hair falling in tangles down my back. It's been so long since I've last had a shower that I didn't want to get out. I probably wasn't going to but Niko came banging on the door saying that dinner was ready. I put my dirty clothes in my room and walked out to join Niko and Kane. They were already sitting down at a square dining table with their food on their plates. They had put a plate down for me with food on it already and I sat down.
"Well finally your out. We'll probably have to wait an hour or so before we can shower." Kane said as he smiled at me. I knew he was messing with me and I smiled back at him.
"I'm sorry. It's just been so long since I've had a shower. I guess I was enjoying it too much. More than I should have maybe." I said as I smiled back at him.
"Enough you two." Niko said as she continued to eat. She did seem like she was in a great mood.
"She's going to be staying here Niko. There's no need in being cold to her." Kane said. He looked like he had a short temper with Niko already. It seemed like they were angry with each other. I would guess it was because of the situation between them and Astrid.
"She hasn't passed the trials yet, therefore she is not one of us." Niko said as she glared at him. She had flames in her eyes as she glared at him.
"We both know that she will pass the trials. She's been on her own for most of her life. She'll pass." Kane said to her. For a moment all they could do was glare at each other.
"Please stop." I said softly. They both snapped their heads my way as they looked at me. I guess they thought I would've stayed quiet.
"My apologies." Niko said as she went back to eating. Kane gave me a small smile as he went back to eating as well. I continued to eat my food while we were in an awkward silence.
"I can clean up once we're all done. It's the least I can do." I said as I was trying to break the tension. They said nothing for a minute but they had stopped eating.
"You don't have to do that Belle. I'm sure Niko and I can handle it. It's not that big of a deal." Kane said to me.
"No I really don't mind. It's no big deal as you said. I'd be happy to help out in any way I can." I said as I looked at both of them. Neither of them seemed like they wanted to let me help by the look of it.
"Může vám pomoci uklidit. Budu ve svém pokoji." Niko said and then she got up from the table and dumped the little bit of food on her plate that she had left. She then walked away and went into her room.
"What did she say?" I asked. I hated not knowing what was going on between the two of them. I wanted to understand what they were saying.
"We got kitchen duty tonight." He said as he sighed. He got up and started putting all the dishes in the sink. I carried mine over to him and handed it to him as I cleaned everything else. It didn't take us long to get it cleaned seeing as it was only three of us who ate here. Once the house was cleaned we both returned to our rooms. Just as I was about to get ready for bed there was a knock on my door. I walked over and was surprised to see Niko at my door. I looked down at her hands and realized she had clothes in her arms.
"Yes?" I asked as I looked back up at her.
"I brought you some of my clothes to sleep in. You didn't exactly grab any night clothes for yourself earlier, so here." she said as she basically shoved the clothes in my hands. Then she quickly turned on her heels and walked away from me. I didn't even get the chance to say thank you to her before she walked away from me. It was kind of rude to say the least. I closed my bedroom door and changed into the clothes that she gave me. It was a pair of short shorts and a large shirt. Both of them were black. After I was comfortable I turned off the light and went to sleep.
I was woken up by banging on my door. This, I wasn't used to. I shot up right away and looked for anything I could to protect myself.
"Belle let's go. You're going to be late for your training today." I heard Kane yell. I jumped out of my bed and went over to the door.
"I don't have any clothes for training. No one told me that I would need any when we went to get some." I said. He looked at me from head to toe and only then did I remember what I was wearing. I did my best to hide behind the door as best as I could and cleared my throat.
"Sorry," He said as he shook his head. "I'll go see if Niko can get you some. Just uh, stay in here. You shouldn't walk out like that." He said as he walked away from my room. I closed the door right after and sighed. That was extremely embarrassing. Note to self I need more clothes. I walked back to my bed and sat there waiting for Niko to come with some new clothes. Well I hoped it would be Niko. I wouldn't want another stare down from Kane. In the middle of my dozing off there was a knock on my door.
"Who is it?" I asked as I began walking to the door.
"I'm coming in." I heard Niko say. I was about to tell her no but before I could even speak she walked in. She immediately stopped and looked me up and down. She quickly threw the clothes she had brought for me at me and huffed.
"Stop trying to get Kane's attention. I don't need him favoring you so you can get a free pass. Wait till after if you want to pull him into your pathetic little games. Now isn't the time." she said and then she walked out of my room slamming the door. I sighed as I quickly changed and walked out of my room.
"Hey Kane." I said as I saw him sitting down on the couch. He shot up right away and turned to face me.
"Uh, hey Belle. Come on. Niko is waiting for us." He said as he quickly walked to the front door and opened it. He proceeded to walk out and I followed him making sure to close the door after me. He was walking very fast. It made me hate that I was so short and he on the other hand was so tall. Tall people had it so easy with their long legs. I wish I was blessed with long legs but no. I had to be short. He walked back into the training building that we were in yesterday, where Niko was waiting.
"About time. Now let's get to it. Start stretching Belle. You're going to need it." Niko ordered as she pulled Kane to the side and began talking to him. I shrugged my shoulders and began stretching as she told me to do so. About five minutes later her and Kane were done talking and they both walked back over to me.
"Alright, you're going to start running. We need to see how long you can last. It needs to be at least five minutes otherwise you won't make the cut." she said. I nodded. That shouldn't be hard. I've never been timed on my running but surely I can do this easy.
"The key is to pace yourself. Remember that." Kane said as he looked at me. I nodded as I gave him a small smile.
"Alright let's go. Start running and then I'll tell you when to stop." Niko said and I nodded. I began running at a comfortable pace for me, around the room. I don't know about everyone else but I personally think about other things to keep my mind off the burning in my lungs, or my legs. It's always been how I've ran. Even when I went out. I was always alone so I did whatever I could do to take my mind off of things.
Before I knew it, Niko was motioning for me to go to her. I assumed it was her needing to tell me that my time was up. I came to a stop right in front of her. She didn't look pleased while Kane on the other hand was smiling from ear to ear.
"What?" I asked as I looked between the two of them.
"Niko is jealous." Kane said as he looked at me and then at Niko. I was confused by what he said. Why would she be jealous?
"She made you run for ten minutes straight and you didn't even break a sweat. Not even Astrid was able to do that after she's been training for two months. Now the new girl shows up and does it without a problem." Kane said as he continued to smile at me.
"Wait. You made me run for ten minutes straight. I thought that you were only going to have me running for five." I said as I looked at Niko.
"Yeah well the plan has changed. We're taking your training to the next level. I want to see what you can handle. I'm going to push you till you break. You're obviously more skilled than we initially expected so I'm putting you to the test."
"Niko we didn't agree to that. You're going too far on this one." Kane added with wide eyes. He looked panicked. Scared even. Like he knew what she was capable of putting someone through.
"I don't care. You left her under my watch when you bailed on her. That was your mistake. Now I will see what she can do as I am in charge of her." Niko said as she narrowed her eyes at him. He was about to fire back when I stepped in.
"It's fine Kane. I can handle whatever she throws at me. Give me your best shot." I said as I narrowed my eyes at her as well. She gave me a small smirk and instantly I regret ever saying I could handle what she was about to throw at me. She walked away from me and I felt my face pale. What did my stupid pride get me into?