Shut Your Eyes

As I awoke the next morning, I noticed the dull ache in the back of my head. Remind me not to sleep on it again, I've got enough brain damage as it is.

I looked around me, all the god-awful curtains had been pulled back at some point and the sheer number of wards and trainees in medical beds surprised me. I guess the age-old saying is true: the only thing more dangerous than a professional is an amateur.

Sunlight filtered in through the windows and warmed my skin. The ache at the back of my head got worse as I stared into the sunbeams shining through. I was surprised at how bad my head hurt, I thought I had gotten so used to head pain that I would hardly feel it. All I seem to do in this magical loony bin anyways is acquire head injuries and annoying friends who really need to live a little and stop hitting me-wait a minute, the warm sunlight?

GOD DAMMIT, I'M LATE FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TRAINING!

I sat up quickly, the throbbing in my head forgotten, and the blood rushed through the lower half of my body, screwing up my balance and making me tip over onto the end of my bed like one of those fainting goats(wicked fun to chase). I was a tad humiliated, but a quick look over at the other beds nearby made me feel better, nobody was awake to laugh at me.

I mentally promised the poor goats I'd stop chasing them. For a while.

I sat up(more slowly this time) and grabbed the pile of freshly washed garments on the table beside me. I shook them out, a plain blue tunic and dark brown breeches, along with undergarments of course but I find it embarrassing to even think about them so I'm most definitely not describing them.

Oooh, I thought, Trevor would be dying to push all the sleeping people off of their beds or dip their hands in warm water or something.

Trevor! A wave of guilt washed over me.

I hadn't even bothered thinking about getting back, or even thinking about what might've happened to Trev, or looking for him! Imagine if he's found this country somehow-what if he's alone and lost? Or, even worse things I can think, what if he's with savages? Or...or...or cannibals? Something beastly could've happened to Trevor and it would be my entire fault.

I looked back up and the sunlight warmed my arm again-CRAP I don't have time to feel guilty!

I turned back to the modesty curtains and tried to pull one side out. It wouldn't budge. I pulled harder on it, the curtain ripped all up the ugly pastel yellow side. I felt more panicked now-great, I'm never going to get to training and I've broken somebody's curtains. Who's curtains are these anyways?

I looked around quickly. Everybody was sleeping. Would they wake up? Could I just change here and get away with it?

Well, I thought, since they never woke when I ripped the curtain, probably not.

Was it worth it? I looked around again. Snores echoed through the vast hall. I shrugged. Nobody has to know.

-x-

General Montoya paced slowly in front of me. I tried my very best not to look like a kicked puppy.

"So you're telling me-" He cut into my thoughts, "That you're a half-hour late because nobody woke you up?"

He stopped directly in front of me and bore holes into my eyes with his own.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "Erm...yes...I didn't...erm...yes."

He stared for another long second before barking out a short laugh. "You're naive, but I still like you. Lucky for you most of our trainees are still in the hospital ward, we haven't started yet."

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and looked back to Cas. He was stifling a laugh. Stupid pretty-boy.

"BACK IN LINE, WORMS!" That was his pet name for us.

I scrambled beside Cas, making sure to step on his foot.

He flinched. I laughed. In my head.

General Montoya started pacing in front of the 3...4...5…seven pairs of trainees ready to learn.

"Today, we learn what you're good at!" He yelled.

I groaned in my head. This is gonna be wicked boring.

Suddenly, General Montoya was all up in my face. "Got something to say, McKinley?" He asked threateningly.

I looked to Cas for help. He stood straight as a pin, facing forward and watching out of the corner of his eye, looking terrified. The keener.

"No….?" I replied.

General Montoya snorted and walked back towards the front. I hope we get to try offensive manoeuvres today. I wanted to bruise Cas.

"First, we try to use arrows. Then, we try to learn defense." Montoya yelled from the front once more. "GET TO IT!"

Muted shrieks of terror came from all over before everyone kicked into high-gear and raced to the target area. I laughed. Cas looked a little wary to walk by my side.

-x-

"Char I don't think that's how you hold it!" Cas looked terrified, I probably looked somewhere in between sadistic and pleased.

I waved the crossbow in my hands around just to freak him out a little more.

"No?" I exclaimed dramatically, "How do you hold it?"

Cas dragged his hand haphazardly through his long hair before grabbing my arm midair.

"Like this." He stated, lifting the crossbow from my hands with a gentle grace.

Cas turned the crossbow around and shifted his hands under it's base, one hovering near the launching function button, the other fitting past the end of the taut string towards the back, drawing it close to his chest with a well-formed ease that could only come from practice. I (embarrassingly) stared in awe.

"Oh." I replied. My stupid brain(WHAT WAS IT EVEN THERE FOR?) couldn't come up with much beyond that which wouldn't be useless blabber or drooling.

Cas smirked at me-the bastard-and handed the crossbow back gingerly.

"Now you try it." He replied simply. These things were god-damned heavy!

I nodded, my mouth dry, and swallowed the lump in my throat.

I slid my hand up the main support thing and settled my hand under the part the arrow shot out of on the launch function, probably nowhere near as graceful looking as Cas, and held my other hand just past the taut strings at the back of it, bringing it closer to me and partially resting the weight on my hip.

Cas smiled at me, amused. "Don't rest it on your hip, though; hold it up with your hands." He told me. Damn him and his nice eyes.

I groaned and lifted the heavy crossbow, aiming it into the distance at the target Cas and I were stationed at.

"Line the center of the target up with the end of the crossbow-" Cas explained, gingerly taking the crossbow back from my inexperienced and weak arms.

He raised the weapon to the level of his eyes and focused in on the target, eyes narrowing and muscle-y arms flexing. I heard a click and a thump, and the arrow had embedded into the circle surrounding the center by the time I looked.

"Holy shit!" Words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. "That was fast!"

Cas laughed one disbelieving laugh at me, lowering the deadly (as I've just realized) weapon.

"SORRY!" I immediately yelled, hiding under my hands. My cheeks felt hot, and I knew I was blushing. Crap.

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He teased.

"I don't...erm...remember my mother…" I replied quietly, taking advantage of Cas' strong sense of empathy. I'm a bad person. I know.

Cas was the embarrassed one this time, he rubbed the back of his neck and shoved the crossbow at me. "Here…uh, try it yourself, Charlotte."

I snickered. "Sucker." I grabbed the crossbow from him and fixed my form, holding it the 'proper' way.

I lifted the heavy weapon and held it up to my eye level, pointing myself at the center of the target. I held my finger over the button, glancing back at Cas. He was staring at me.

"What?" I asked. "How's my form?"

Cas's head snapped back up at me, a slight blush creeping across his tanned cheeks. He glanced over me.

"S'fine." He mumbled.

I shrugged and held the crossbow back up to my eyes.

"Now or never!" I exclaimed.

Everything after that happened in one big blur, Cas yelled out "CHAR WAIT-", I pushed the button, and I heard shrieks of terror(but I really didn't think much of that part, these imbeciles shriek in terror at everything. OOH A CHICKEN! I'M SO SCARED!).

The crossbow immediately kicked back with a strong force, hitting me in the shoulder. I dropped it. Oops.

It went quiet after. I turned around to look at Cas, he was facing our left, a look of horror on his face.

I turned to see the scene of the crime. It wasn't as bad as I imagined. The arrow was in the exact center of the target to our left(YEAHHH), though it probably would have been in some little girl's neck had she not seen what was happening and dove. Said little girl was hyperventilating on the ground while people patted her on the back and gave me dirty looks.

"MCKINLEY!" Montoya yelled from somewhere behind me. I winced. I smiled a cheesy, guilty smile and turned back to face Cas.

He had a look of disbelief on his pretty, pretty face.

"Maybe we should try something else…" He said slowly, looking at me with a bit of apprehension.

-x-

"Worms! What do you do if someone were to attack?" General Montoya was pacing again(like most other war generals in books I've read) in front of us.

I was looking at the pretty blue sky, Cas was staring at the General because he's a keener.

"Like this!" I heard and suddenly Montoya was racing at me, sword drawn. Except, this was a REAL sword.

I froze on the spot.

Oh God.

I'm dead.

Time seemed to slow down, and I vaguely recalled him telling us how to block. I couldn't entirely remember, so I looked at it from a mathematical view and decided to bring my sword up horizontally and hoped it was somewhat right.

I looked up-this all happened in about 3 seconds, by the way-and he was suddenly in my face, about to kill me. My arms took over control and rose up quicker than I'd ever used them to stop the sword, my wooden sword hit it on a weird angle, but I stopped it. I struggled to hold on to it as General Montoya's pure strength reverberated down into my arms.

It was quiet, everybody was in shock. I stopped being completely freaked out, and looked at General Montoya's face, noticing his sword was about a centimeter away from my right pinky finger.

He looked smug.

"Pay attention, McKinley." He stated gruffly. "Don't want a repeat of the arrow incident."

Anything he says from now on, I decided, goes.

"Bad form." He looked me over. "You need strength training badly. You need to be more flexible. Everything needs to be worked on. But, good instincts."

He turned and sheathed his sword, walking back to his spot facing all the trainees.

Was that a compliment? Or an insult? Oh well, I'll take it as a compliment! La la laaa-

"You'll all need those if you want to survive."

-x-

I lowered myself onto my bed, groaning.

A slow ache crept up my arms and down my legs ever since we took a break for lunch during training. My stomach muscles were sore, and my neck muscles even hurt. HOW DID I WORK MY NECK MUSCLES?

I slid a boot off and my foot ached. I groaned again.

I lay back down on my bed, decided to give my foot a minute before I slid the other one off. I yawned, staring up at the ceiling, eyes becoming heavy.

A loud noise echoed through my room.

Argh, what was that?

I stared at the ceiling some more, willing myself to sit up.

Curiosity took over laziness. I lifted my head and made a weird face(I could feel it), struggling with my tired stomach muscles. A stab of pain in my stomach rippled up into my chest. I fell back onto my bed.

Nope. Not getting up.

"Char! Honestly, get up." It was Glozelle. "What if I was here to murder you?"

I sighed.

"I guess I'd be dead, then." I replied.

Glozelle was suddenly beside my bed-when'd he get here? He grabbed my arm and lifted me with it until I was sitting up.

"How was training?" He asked.

I made a loud noise(indistinguishable) of distaste, "That's why I'm not sleeping right now?" I yelled.

Glozelle smiled cheekily. "Sometimes you don't get a chance to sleep. Sometimes you've been chased for 2 days straight and the only chance you get to sleep could be another trap. Your ward can sleep all they want, but it's your duty to ensure they live, no matter what the cost."

"Ugh," I groaned, "Screw that, it's only been one day of training."

Glozelle nodded as if I'd said some highly intelligent words of wisdom.

I shuffled back on my bed, patting the spot beside me. Glozelle sat down.

"So, why'd you really come to see me?" I asked.

Glozelle gave me a sharp look. Well, it was more of an 'oh crap she knows' look, but who's judging me? You better not be. I'm tired.

"Well?" I exclaimed. "Spit it out!"

Glozelle sighed and looked down.

Henrietta shuffled into the room at this exact moment and paused, setting her basket of medical supplies down on the desk beside the door.

"Let me look at your head!" She called out, turning to us.

Glozelle was frozen with a strange look on his face. "Henrietta." He stated, face softening.

Henrietta picked a pair of shearing scissors up from her basket and walked towards me.

"Hi..." She muttered shyly, motioning for me to turn around.

I gathered my legs up onto the bed and spun myself around on my butt, plotting against the two people keeping me from precious sleep.

I turned my head slightly and peered at Glozelle out of the corner of my eye-he was blushing and staring at Henrietta. Said she-beast hit me on the side of the head and forcibly turned it back to the wall my bed was up against. Bitch.

Some scuffling noises were all that was heard for the next minute. I sighed.

"Almost done, you restless child." Henrietta told me.

I quelled the urge to smack her.

A snipping noise came from behind me and Henrietta patted my head harshly again.

"All done, princess." She muttered sarcastically.

I muttered obscenities darkly.

I turned myself back around, glancing at Glozelle. His head was down, staring at his feet.

Henrietta was back at the door, basket in hand.

"Good night!" She called out, about to leave. I sucked air back into my chest.

"HENRIETTA'S IN LOVE WITH GLOZELLE!" I yelled out. Heh heh.

Henrietta's face went white and Glozelle choked on…air.

Success!

Or not, Henrietta lobbed a roll of medical tape at my head.

"Ahhhhh! I'm being attacked-AHHHH SAVE ME!" I yelled out, as she continuously launched stuff from her basket at me, I ducked and jumped off my bed, diving under the desk.

Hey that was impressive. The desk was across the room. Yeah. I'm pretty good.

The things stopped flying and angry stomps echoed down the hallway, after the door was slammed, of course.

I peeked out from under the desk. Glozelle was still on my bed. Staring. In shock.

Then he did the oddest thing. He started cracking up.

I did too, I climbed out from under the desk, sliding one of the chairs out and slouching into it. Glozelle got up and opened the door, sliding the other chair out from the desk and sitting in it.

"She was pretty angry." Glozelle stated with a chuckle.

"Anger is a passionate emotion!" I exclaimed. Glozelle went a little more red. I grinned evilly.

Glozelle shook his head, hand rubbing the back of his neck like it was sore, and sighed.

He turned back to me. "Char, do you really want to know why I came here?" He asked.

I looked back at him, "Of course, why wouldn't I?" I gave him and odd look.

Glozelle sighed again, looking out the window above my bed.

We sat there in comfortable silence for a bit before he spoke.

"I don't have a family," He muttered, "Not anymore."

My head shot up to look at him. He was looking at the desk.

"Me neither." I told him.

Glozelle's head shot up this time, eyes full of sorrow.

"That's the thing." He replied.

Glozelle ran his left hand over his eyes and settled it under his chin, propping his arm on the desk and staring at me.

"We don't have any family." He stated. "We are each other's family here."

I looked back at him. Tears were burning behind my eyes. Glozelle looked more fierce and real than I'd ever seen him.

"We're all each other has-" He exclaimed.

"Stop, I'm going to cry." I interrupted.

Glozelle's eyes finally lightened from the steely look they'd had before.

"The only girl in Narnia who doesn't like to cry." He muttered, amusement colouring his thick voice.

I scoffed. "All the girls do in Narnia is cry or shriek in terror." I replied.

Glozelle smiled at me. He glanced over at my haphazard bed.

"You should get to bed." He stated.

I looked back at my bed. Oh. Forgot about that.

I smiled. "Yes. Bed. Mmmm. Bed." I slid my other boot off and threw it at the boot already sitting at the edge of the bed. It hit the wall and landed a meter away.

We both cringed at my aim.

"You need to work on that." Glozelle muttered, standing and heading to the door.

I scowled at him. "I'll get better!" I exclaimed.

Glozelle snorted and walked away, closing the door behind him.

That came ridiculously close to being a feel-good moment, I thought as I lifted my shirt off and threw it at the laundry basket beside my dresser. I opened the bottom drawer and pulled a nightgown out, throwing it on before I wrestled out of my breeches and tossed them in the general laundry basket direction.

I sighed and hopped into my bed, minding my sore body as I nestled into the covers and kicked the stuff Henrietta threw on it off.

Dangerously close.