Chapter One [u/] Coralie's POV I opened my eyes. Slowly, all of my senses came back to me, as if they had been lost in the wind. First came sight, and I saw the white room around me. Then came taste, though I wished it could have waited, because all I tasted was bile. Then smell, and hearing, and lastly, touch. Three faces peered over me, one a clean-shaven young man, one an older gentleman, and one, a pretty blond woman. It was the woman who spoke. "Coralie," she said. "Welcome to the world."
They led me down a long, empty hallway with the woman's hand clamped around my arm. She glared at me. I looked back up at her and gazed at her defiently. She swallowed a bit nervously and looked away. I was beginning to feel like I had some sort of power over these people, the two men also. They wouldn't meet my eyes, and kept their distace from me, like I was some sort of wild animal. And I wasn't sure why until we reached the door at the end of the hallway.
I must admit, I freaked out. But I think I had a right to be pissed. I mean, what kind of people bring a normal 16-year-old girl to the COLOSSEUM of all places! Of course, they said I wasn't normal. They said I was special, genetically enhanced so that I had a better chance of winning every fight that they threw me into. And I guess they thought that made this okay. If so, they are SO wrong! But they threw me inside that training room anyway and left, saying that they'd send somebody to bring me to my room at the end of the day.
Everyone knows that first impressions are important. You know, your first impression of something can completely change how you think of it for the rest of your life. Well, here is my first impression of the training room. 1. Stinky 2. Disgusting 3. WhatthehellwhyamItheonlygirlhere???
I glanced around again, hoping that I had just overlooked the other girls. And then again. And again. I probably looked around that room twenty times before I accepted the truth. I was the only girl. And since scary-blonde-lady and those two guys had left me in here, I had no choice but to train and hope I didn't make a fool of myself in front of all these men. For some reason, I was strangely attracted to a thin sword that someone had left leaning up against a wall. I approached it and grabbed the hilt. It was a simple sword, not encrusted with gems, and there was no fancy metalwork adorning it. Yet it was beautiful, strange as that seems. And the moment I lifted it, everyone in that room knew it was mine. Karl's POV I had never seen her before in my life, but there was something strangely familiar about her. I quickly went over all of the places I could have seen this girl in my mind, but I was a gladiator, destended to die in the Colosseum, and I had limited access to the outside world. But I had chosen this life. The stench of the other gladiators, and the blood-stained arena were both unavoidable, and necessary in order to feel that thrill of fighting that I yearned for. However, that didn't mean that I couldn't make some friends along the way. So I walked over to this new girl, preparing to welcome her to our (not-so) merry band of gladiators. It would've gone well, but the closer I got, the easier it was to notice her beauty. She was absolutly gorgeous. Not your normal gorgeous, with blond hair and blue eyes. No, she was more exotic. Short black hair, tan skin, and a perfect body, toned and muscular. She didn't fit in with all of these sweaty, disgusting men more than a rose did surrounded by cacti. I started to believe in love and first sight right then and there, and I was going to walk away, but my feet had other ideas. I strolled right up to her and leaned against the wall. "Hey gorgeous," I said, grinning. "Haven't seen you around before. You new?" She looked at me, and glanced at the floor. I could've sworn she was blushing. Then she looked back up. "Yeah," she replied. Then she stuck out one hand. "I'm Coralie. Nice to meet you...what's your name?" "Karl." Then I shook her hand. Could I be blamed if I held it for a second too long? I could've stayed there talking to Coralie for the rest of the day, but it was my turn in the training arena, so I had to go. Right as I was leaving, though, I heard Coralie say, "I'll see you later, Karl!" It was the perfect goodbye.