Mate Forgotten

Chapter Two

Liz woke to the dark of her room. There had been no escape for her that night, no reprieve from the hell she was in. The thought saddened her. Today could be her last day alive and she had lost out on the blissful escape that her sleeping state often gave her.

Stretching as she stood, again feeling the aches and pains from sleeping on the floor with the added twinge from a few cuts that had yet to fully heal from her spar yesterday with Karl. The rest of her day had been uneventful since Ryan wanted her rested and ready for today.

She paced around her cell, which had no windows meaning it was hard to keep track of the time. In her old room, she had had a window where she could see the stars twinkle in the night sky and feel a few of the sun's hot rays bless her face, but here there was nothing. Liz never thought she would miss that room. The solitude had been hard for her, it had been harder for her wolf who had almost fully retreated inside her.

Ryan had assured her many times it was normal in this place for wolves to hide away in their human forms. The loneliness of not having a pack and the despair of being caged could send the beasts mad. So as a defence mechanism they would hideaway. Retreat from the world. He said sometimes, once the human half was free they would return. But other times, the wolf stayed hidden, too damaged to crawl back to the surface. Liz's wolf had hidden away a long time ago, so long sometimes Liz forgot what she felt like.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor, getting louder and louder until they stopped outside her cell. It was Ryan, his face marred with worry. "It is time". He opened the gate and stepped aside letting Liz slip out.

"I thought it would be later in the day when the arena matches start," Liz said, feeling a small lump begin to clog her throat.

Ryan closed the cell and then led Liz down the corridor. "It is. But first, they want to make the fighters look presentable," he said as they walked back to the spiral staircase and descended it just as they had done yesterday. "They want to get the best deal possible, trading the winning fighters. So before the fight, they sort out your hair and clothes and make you look more appealing." As he said this Ryan's eyes ran over the length of Liz's body. The look on his face was not one of disgust but appreciation, confusing Liz.

Liz looked down at her torn rags and could understand why they wouldn't want to show people this side of life here. Instead of heading towards the big wooden door at the end of the corridor that they had gone through yesterday, they went down another path. There were a series of rooms and several fighters and trainers milling about in the corridor. Ryan gestured towards a room that was two in from the end on the left.

"Usually the trainer helps the trainee bathe and get ready but I don't feel it would be appropriate in this case." Ryan looked down at his hands which were clenched into fists and then slowly relaxed them. "Besides I have another trainee in the arena today. I will go and prepare them whilst you get ready in here. The clothes are laid out and don't forget to brush your hair for God's sake." He said smiling slightly.

Liz jabbed him playfully in the arm and then walked into her designated room. The vapour from the heat of the water in the small bathtub danced on the surface of the water. There was a small pile of clothes on a shelf at the side along with a misty mirror. There was also a small window. Liz went to the window straight away and looked out at the sky. The sun was just about over the peak of the hills so the rays were not high enough to reach her as she had hoped.

Feeling disappointed, Liz removed her rags and sank slowly into the bath. The heat quickly chased away the cold and made her feel more alive. Reminding her of her sleep. She slid slowly deeper into the water letting the water wash over her hair and face as she scrubbed at her skin with a small sponge provided. Once done she rose from the bath and wrapped the rough towel provided around her and dried herself before walking to the mirror.

It had been a long time since she had seen her reflection. Her hair was long and tangled into knots. Her face still looked young, but the bags under her eyes gave away how hard her years had been. The cuts from yesterday seemed to have faired well with the hot water and had fully sealed leaving only slight pinkness. She pinched her cheeks slightly so that the pale gauntness of her face came to life a little. Grabbing the brush from the side, she dragged it repeatedly through her locks, starting at the ends and working to the roots to get rid of all the imperfections.

Once done she turned to the pile of clothes and examined them. Her eyes rolled and she sighed. Well, at least they had not made her wear a dress. Instead, she had leather pants and a tiny leather top that looked like it would just about keep her dignity. Ensuring she was fully dry, she removed the towel and dragged the clothes over her malnourished frame. She had muscles from all the training she did, but her knees and elbows were all bone, making her limbs look skeleton-like.

Once dressed she looked back at the mirror. The clothes were not necessarily uncomfortable, but they were very different to what she was used to. She then went back to the door and opened it to find Karl waiting outside the room opposite her. Their eyes met briefly before Karl's wandered over Liz's body, his expression greedy. "I was hoping I'd see you again," he said, lapping up her appearance.

Liz stepped out of the room and into the corridor. "I wouldn't have been so eager if I was you," she said, closing the door behind her. Karl's face fell slightly, his eyes darkening as they did during the fight they had had. "Well, you will have to pace yourself today. It's live or die time, little girl. No hiding behind Ryan. No crying out for mercy or your mommy. This is it." He took a step towards her and again tucked her hair behind her ear. "Good luck." his lips tickled her earlobe and with that, he stormed down the corridor and through the door at the end.

Just then Ryan appeared at her side. "I should have told you my other trainee was Karl, huh?" He mumbled, almost as if he was speaking to himself as his eyes fixed on the door he had just disappeared through. He then faced Liz, his eyes too began to wander down her body but they abruptly stopped and shot back to meet her gaze. "You are in the third fight. I don't know who your opponent or opponents will be. They are starting round two at the moment that is Karl's round. There is a waiting area down here where we can sit for a while."

With that they walked down the corridor and through the door Karl had gone through. Six pairs of eyes shot to hers. Drinking her in with a familiarity that she did not share. She assumed that they must have been in the training room yesterday watching her spar which made her feel at a disadvantage but she did not let it show. She walked to an empty spot on a bench and sat, back straight head up. "How many rounds are there?" she asked, taking in the faces of her potential opponents.

"Today there are four rounds. As Karl and his match are already out there, you seven will be in either round three or four."

"How are the matches decided?"

"It is random," Ryan said as his face fell to stare at the floor. "Chances are you will have more than one opponent." He added with a grimace taking in the other six men in the room.

The lump from earlier grew again in her throat, and she discretely tried to swallow it down. Ryan had told her before that in the 'freedom fight', it is common to have more than one person to fight at a time. But looking around it could be three or four and she wasn't sure she was prepared for that. The others in the room must have also done the maths and were now sitting in complete silence.

The only sound that could be heard came through the door at the other end of the room. There were cheers, boos, clapping, roars and stomping of feet. There must have been a big crowd. Usually a hundred or so would turn up to a normal arena match but today there would be the visiting alphas and their representative in the audience as well.

With every minute that went by Liz's skin felt tighter and tighter. She closed her eyes and imagined the little girl in the field. The warmth. The sun. The flowers. And as her body relaxed the crowd in the stands went wild and then the door at the end swung open. "Round three participants, come forward." As Liz and three other fighters stood, a sigh slipped out of her mouth. And be free. She reminded herself of the conversation she had had with Ryan the day before.

With her newfound feeling of, almost complacency, she followed her fellow fighters towards the door. Sparing Ryan a glance over her shoulder she smiled slightly and then turned back, stepping through the doorway and into the arena.