Chapter Six

Rebecca learns how to shoot, meets some friends and moves into the communal dorm

I stand up and walk down the spiral staircase. I walk down the other flight of stairs and along the landing. I shiver when I pass the door to the room with the files. I walk down the other flight of stairs and out of the main door. I stride along the gravel path, staring straight ahead, determined to ignore anyone who asks me where I’m going. I turn onto the path that leads to the shooting range. Once I reach the range, I walk over to the table and pick up a gun. It still makes me feel horrible but, I am going to have to kill the man with it. I pick up a holster which is lying next to another gun and fasten it around my waist. I put the pistol into it and return to the main building. I don’t meet anyone on my way back to the building; they must all be eating. I push the front door open and walk into the entrance hall. I walk over to the door in the centre and push that open too. I’m in the dining hall.

I walk along the rows of tables until I reach the high table. I don’t care if they kill me for killing him. He has to die for what he did to my father. I scan along the table. He’s sat next to Charles. Charles looks at me and smiles slightly, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. I look at the man next to him. He sees me and his face breaks into a somewhat sinister smile. He stands up and walks around the table. I think he’s trying to leave but then he starts walking towards me.

“Give me the gun, Elizabeth.” He says, his deep voice sending chills down my spine.

“Why?” I demand.

“Because I didn’t do it.”

“Liar.”

He reaches into the gun holster. I push his hand away, snarling. He grabs the belt of the holster and rips it from me. I make a lunge for it and the pistol tumbles out onto the stone floor. I snatch it up and point it at him. His eyes widen and he grabs it. He tugs but I don’t let go. We struggle momentarily but then a sharp crack echoes throughout the dining hall. The pistol is smoking slightly and there is now a round bullet hole in the oak high table.

Someone claps.

“Well done to George and Elizabeth for providing us with some entertainment whilst we eat.” I look up. It’s the man in the pin striped suit. He’s smiling jovially but, the smile doesn’t quite reach his fathomless eyes.  The entire hall joins in the clapping. Charles, however, looks at me questioningly. “However,” Continues the man, “I do hope that, tomorrow, our entertainment will not make a hole in the table.”

I hear the scraping of a chair as Charles stands up and marches over to me. He grabs my arm and drags me out of the hall. Heads turn to watch us as we leave. Once we’re in the entrance hall, he drags me through one of the doors and into a small room.

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” He demands, forcing me into a chair.

“He killed my father.” I say simply.

“And?”

“I have to kill him.”

“No, you don’t. Listen, George was an agent at the time of the rebellion. He was our agent.”

“He didn’t have to kill my parents, though.”

“He could’ve killed you.”

“How?” I demand furiously, “I was hidden.”

“And who let you stay hidden?”

I stay silent, looking down at my hands.

“So, rather than trying to kill George, I think you shouls be on your knees thanking him for sparing you.”

“I will never get down on my knees in front of him.” I snarl.

“Do you know what, Rebecca?” He says calmly. I register the use of my real name once more.

“What?” I spit.

“You have far too much pride.” I open my mouth to speak but he continues, “You see, people with pride almost always end up dead. Do you want to end up dead?”

“Do you not have any pride then?”

“Oh, I do but, I choose to hide it.” He says smoothly, “So, I suggest that, once training is over, you find George and apologise to him.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I will make you.” He says grinning, “Which would you rather? Apologise on your own free will or have everyone watch whilst I force you to kneel in front of him?”

I glare at him.

“Thought so.”

My stomach rumbles loudly, interrupting the stony silence. I remember that I haven’t eaten since yesterday.

“Do you want some food?” Charles asks. I nod. “Follow me.”

I follow him out of the room and into the entrance hall. We walk through a door which lies opposite. There’s a set of stairs going down to another floor here. We climb down them until we’re in a large, cavernous kitchen where a dozen or so people in powder blue robes are working.

“Maria?” Charles calls. He waits until a pretty blond woman comes over. “Do you have any food left for this one?” He says, jerking his thumb at me.

“For you?” She says. “Anything.”

She turns around and walks towards a large, oak table which lies in the centre of the room. On top of it is plates of sandwiches and other food. She picks up a China plate and piles it high with food before handing it to me, smiling slightly. I pick up one of the sandwiches and start to eat it. I haven’t eaten anything this good for years. There’s an egg on my plate. My mother used to make those for me. I stuff it in my mouth and chew on it eagerly. I wipe the china plate clean before I hand it back to Maria, who has been standing there talking to Charles the whole time I was eating. For once, I wasn’t listening in. Food was more important.

“We’d better get going, then.”

We walk out of the doors and into the entrance hall. He pushes open the entrance doors and we step out into the gloriously sunny grounds.

“Where are we going?”

“Shooting practice.”

“But I don’t need to practice.” He raises his eyebrows and I continue, “I need to learn to shoot first.”

We stride through the grounds to the shooting ranges. There are people galloping horses across the paths. I want to join them so badly. I don’t know if I’m operating on a different timetable to everyone else or if they just do nothing all day but, every time I seem to be going to do something, everyone else is just relaxing. Maybe, once I learn to do everything, I’ll be able to relax too. We reach the shooting range and he hands me a gun.

“Just try and shoot with your eyes open.” He says.

I point the gun at the target and open my eyes wide so that I look like a demented chicken. I squeeze the trigger. It goes off with a loud crack. I look at the target. I managed to his the white bit just outside it. I look at Charles. He grins at me and I turn back to the target. I take aim again and squeeze the trigger. It hits the white bit again. I hit the white bit again and again until all of the bullets in the pistol are gone.

“How am I supposed to hit the centre?” I ask.

Charles stands behind me. “Well, first, you need to aim at the centre. Point the gun down more.”

I point the gun down. “No, that’s too much.” He holds my arms and raises them slightly so that the gun is pointing at the centre of the target. “Now shoot.” I squeeze the trigger. I examine the target. I hit the centre. He nods at me approvingly and I take aim again. Charles stands behind me and puts his hands on my back. I shoot. I miss by several metres.

I turn around and look at him accusingly. “How on earth am I supposed to shoot straight when you’re doing that?”

He holds his hands up at y reproof. “Doing what?” He asks innocently. I snort and take aim again. I hit the bull’s-eye this time. I shoot again and hit the bull’s-eye again. I must be getting good at this. He walks over to the target and tears it down, replacing it with a much smaller one. I reload the pistol with bullets from the table.

“Now try.”

I squint at the target as I take aim. Squinting seems to make it appear larger than it actually is. I raise the gun so it’s pointing at the centre and then, I squeeze the trigger and fire. It hits the target right in the middle. I fire every bullet in the pistol and they all hit the centre.

“Ok, now run up to the target and shoot.”

I stand ten metres back from where I stood previously. I run up, take aim and shoot. The bullet hits the outside ring.

“Not bad for a first attempt. Do it again.”

I repeat the exercise until I’ve fired every single bullet on the table and I’m hitting bulls-eyes every time.

“Ok, that’s enough. It’s time for dinner.” He says. I look around. The suns beginning to set in a deep orange and red glow. We must’ve been shooting for hours.

“Tomorrow, you’re going to join the others for shooting practice.” Charles tells me as we walk back up to the cottage, “Then, you’re going to go to the stables for your assessment. Then lunch. And then the gym. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“And tonight, after dinner, I’ll take you to the dorm. You’re going to sleep there instead of the room.”

I nod. I don’t really want to share a room with people like Isla but, hey ho, I can just avoid her. We walk into the cottage and Charles takes me through into the dining room.

“You sit at these tables,” He says, indicating to the five long tables, “And I sit there.” He points to the high table.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eddie waving frantically at me. Charles’ jaw tightens slightly. I walk over to Eddie and slip into the seat next to him. Everyone watches me as I sit down. I should expect it, being the new kid and all that. A girl with long red hair is sitting opposite me. She waves at me. “Hi, I’m Poppy.” She says, smiling broadly. I try to smile back at her but I think it comes out as more of a grimace.

Eddie decides to introduce me to everyone whilst we wait for dinner. “This is Jack.” He says, pointing to a boy with a shock of black hair and piercing blue eyes. Jack raises his hand slightly in greeting. “This is Scarlett.” Eddie points at a girl with long dark brown hair. She smiles slightly. “Poppy has, as usual already introduced herself.” He says teasingly. She mock-glares at him, pouting. “And this is Matt.” Matt has dark blond hair and obscenely high cheekbones, above which are two dark brown eyes. “And everyone, this is Elizabeth.” Everyone smiles and I look down at the table.

“So, Elizabeth, where did you live before you came to join the fine people at the cottage?” Poppy says, leaning forwards eagerly.

“I moved around a lot.” I say slightly woodenly. I haven’t really talked about my life before the cottage with anyone but Charles but somehow, he’s different.

“Oooh, how thrilling,” Poppy says, “I only ever lived in the tiny village but then, my parents sent me here.”

BANG! My head snaps up and my muscles tighten. I grip my knife. Scarlett titters. “It’s just the doors opening for dinner.” She says, smiling slightly. I look back at the doors. Sure enough, the kitchen minions are flooding into the hall, each of them carrying a large tray, which is laden with food. They place three trays in front of us. Everyone reaches for the food immediately.

I look at the plates. I haven’t seen food like this in front of me since my days living with my parents. There’s some sort of meat pie which is covered with flaky pastry. There are jacket potatoes filled with melting butter and tureens of vegetables. I take a bit of everything. Eddie watches me as I stuff bite after bite into my mouth, trying to savour everything, lest I never eat anything this good again.

“You never eaten pie before?” He asks, looking at me quizzically. I shake my head.

“Charles is staring at you.” Scarlett points out. I twist around in my seat and, sure enough, he is. When he sees me looking, he raises his glass to me and looks away.

“Well, would you look at that, the rock is blushing.” Scarlett says. I’m not sure if she’s being malicious or just teasing me, like friends do. My cheeks feel like they’re on fire. “So, what is there between you and the dishy Charles Grey?” Everyone around me leans forward like predators about to deliver the final blow to their prey.

“Nothing.” I say quickly. Too quickly.

“Are you sure?” Says Poppy, leaning forward so much that her long red hair trails in the butter dish.

“I’m sure.” I say firmly.

“Guys, cut it out. There is nothing between them.” Eddie says somewhat angrily. They all lean back and resume their eating.

“So, I’m supposed to be sleeping in the dorm tonight.” I say, changing the subject.

“Are you?” Matt says. He sounds slightly surprised. “But there’s not enough room unless…”

“Unless what?” I ask.

“Unless someone’s going out on a mission.”

“Who?” Poppy asks eagerly, leaning forwards again.  Everyone around me leans forward like predators about to deliver the final blow to their prey.

 me and looks away.

 turreens of

“I don’t know, Isla maybe.” Eddie says.

“Let’s hope so.” I mutter. They all look at me questioningly. “I don’t think she likes me very much.” I explain.

“She doesn’t like anyone.” Scarlett says dismissively.

There’s another loud BANG! As the doors open yet again. The people in blue pick up our trays of food and take them away before returning with trays of even more delicious-looking food. I look at the large chocolate cake in front of me and my mouth waters. I cut myself a hefty slice and place it on a plate. I sit there, staring at it for a few moments before Eddie laughs. “You have to eat it, you know.” He says. I pick up a fork and take a bite. It tastes as good as heaven. I eat every single bite and, when it’s finished, I practically lick the crumbs off the plate.

Suddenly, everything goes silent. People stop clattering their knives and forks on their plates and the loud murmur of conversation subsides. I look up at the high table. The man in the pin-striped suit has stood up.

“Today, we welcome a new member of our community.” He says, raising his glass to me. Everyone in the hall does the same. “We are also saying goodbye to a member of our community.” Shocked whispers oscillate all around the hall. He waits for the whispers to subside before continuing. “Beatrice, who is a very valued member of our community is going out on a mission.” I glance at the table opposite where Isla is sitting. She looks shocked. “We wish her luck and I hope that you will now raise your glasses to her.” We all raise our glasses. I don’t know who I’m raising my glass to but I do it anyway. “Goodnight.” The man says. Everyone at the high table starts to file out except for Charles. He walks over to where I’m sitting.

“I’m taking you to the dorm.” He says.

“Ooh,” Says Poppy, “Can I come to the dorm with you too.”

Charles glares at her and I stand up, waving apologetically to all of the people assembled at the table. They smile and wave back before bending their heads together in order to confer. I walk with Charles along the maze of corridors and into the corridor with the oak doors. He opens the first one and ushers me inside.

I’m standing in a large, lightly-coloured room. There are several bunk beds dotted about the room as well as several chest of drawers and mirrors. There is a set of uniform pyjamas laid out at the foot of every bed as well as a fresh set of clothes on top of every drawer. Charles leaves the room and I look around for an empty bed. I spot one over by the window so I walk over to it and sit down. It’s soft and comfortable, like my bed back home. Suddenly, the doors are flung open and Scarlett, Poppy, Eddie and Matt walk in.

“Come on, dreamy, we’re going to the common room.” Scarlett says, dragging me to my feet.

I’m surprised to find that the common rooms busy. I didn’t hear any people enter the dorm beforehand. Isla’s sitting in a chair by the fire, holding a cup of something and staring into the roaring depths. Everyone else is either talking or crowded around the television. Scarlett locates a free sofa and we all bundle onto that.

“Anyone fancy a drink?” Poppy asks after we’ve been sat there for five minutes. We all nod and I stand up to help her. We walk over to the drinks bar and locate several cans before Poppy goes to the oak kitchen and opens every cupboard until she finds a bag of what looks like crisps.

I listen to Eddie and Matt argue over which of them is the best at shooting whilst I sip my drink. It’s fizzy and feels strange on my tongue but, it’s kind of nice and refreshing. The crowd in front of the television cheers loudly. Scarlett rolls her eyes. “What are they watching this time?” She asks.

“Probably some sports match.” Poppy says, from where she’s sat sprawled on the floor, staring dreamily at a crisp.

“Not just any sports match.” Matt says heatedly, “It’s the rowing race of the century.”

“Who’s in it?”

“Londonderry, Camulodunum and Wintanceastre.”

“I’ll put tomorrow’s pudding on Londonderry.” Eddie says.

“Done.” Matt shakes his hand and they both get up to join the unruly crowd surrounding the TV.

Scarlett rolls her eyes. “Boys.” She says.

“Hey, Scarlett, do you think they’ll have another dance again soon?” Poppy asks.

“The last one was ages ago so I hope so.”

“Do you think Matt will ask me to go with him?”

“You’re fighting a losing battle there, Poppy.”

“How do you know that?” Poppy demands.

“Because, Matt sees you as a sister.” Scarlett says but, as she says it, I see her eyes dart over to where Matt’s standing.

“I could go and talk to him, if you like.” I offer.

“Would you?” Poppy asks eagerly.

“Of course.”

“Can you do it now?”

“Sure.” I say, getting to my feet and walking over to where Matt is. I whisper in his ear, “Hey, it’s Elizabeth, can I have a word with you?” He nods and follows me over to a small, empty sofa in the corner. I see Poppy and Scarlett looking at me, scrutinising my every movement.

“What’s up?” he says.

“Well, you know Poppy-“ I begin but I’m cut off by a loud groan from Matt.

“Look, Poppy’s a mate.” He says, “She’s a good friend but, well it’s not her I like.”

I wait for him to elaborate. He takes a deep breath. “You see, I like Scarlett.”

“You like her?”

“Fine, I think I’m in love with her or whatever.”

“Right,” I say, “So, what do I tell Poppy?”

“That it’ll never happen?”

I sigh and stand up and walk back over to where Poppy’s sitting, looking nervous.

“And?” She says.

“Poppy-“ I begin but she sees the expression on my face before I can begin to tell her.

Poppy’s face falls. “I knew it.” She says bitterly, twisting a piece of the rug.

“Hey, I’m sure there are plenty of boys here who want to go out with you.” I say. Scarlett raises her eyebrows behind Poppy’s back.

“Like who?”

“Like him.” I say, pointing to a boy with shaggy black hair who’s staring at us.

Scarlett laughs, “That’s just Pete,” She says, “No one will go out with him and he wants to go out with anything that breathes.”

I ignore her and look at Poppy. She’s staring at her hands. “Go, on,” I urge her, “Give it a try.”

“Do you know what, I think I will?” She says, standing up and brushing the creases out of her clothes.

I watch her sashay over to where Pete’s sitting. He looks up hopefully. I can see Poppy nodding and then she sits down next to him.

“What’d you do that for?” Scarlett says somewhat angrily.

“Do what?” I say defensively.

“Send her over there.”

“Because she has no hope with Matt.” I explain, “Because you’re with Matt.”

“How do you know that?” Scarlett says, her eyes darting shiftily from left to light. She leans towards me, whispering. “Did he tell you?”

I nod and her eyes dart over to Matt.

“Don’t tell her.” She nods to where Poppy is.

I nod and stand up, walking over to the bar. I take out a can of drink and down it in one. I look out of the window. It’s pitch black.

 

Author's Note

Opinions welcome