Pain shot through Emily's body as she finally awoke from her deep slumber. Her whole body ached and somehow lessened the pain of her shoulder and her hand. Her mouth was unbelievably dry, and she glanced around for a glass of water. She almost screamed when she saw a boy sleeping in the chair next to her infirmary bed.

"Who are you?" she rasped but didn't wait for an answer as she took a sip from the glass of water on the nightstand.

"Samson," he answered. "Celosia ordered me to take you here and let her know when you wake up."

"So, I'm in the infirmary."

"Yes."

The two of them sat there in silence for a moment until Emily connected the dots.

  "You? You carried me here?" Emily gasped. She sunk back into the infirmary bed pillows. "I don't like that."

The boy raised his eyebrows. "I think the words you are looking for are thank you."

"No," Emily said. "I think the words I'm looking are get out."

"Look, I'm not too thrilled about being stuck here either-"

"I don't want hear it. I just need to talk to Celosia and not talk to you anymore," Emily retorted, wincing as her shoulder strained.

"I don't like you," the boy said.

"Really? Well the feeling's mutual. I'm just glad I'm officially Celosia's right-hand man."

Before the boy could say another word, they both froze as they heard Celosia's voice outside of the infirmary curtain. She glided in, long, red cloak gracefully trailing behind her. Her mid-length hair had been pulled up into a tight ponytail. This was the first time Emily had seen her up close, and she didn't look like what Emily was expecting to see.

Emily always envisioned Celosia as a worn, haggard woman with an appearance so unsightly you could only assume she was evil. Evil like the villains in the storybooks her aunt used to keep in her living room cabinet.

A feeling of missing her aunt and home suddenly flooded Emily's head, but she couldn't let it hinder her focus.

Celosia curled around the infirmary bed on the opposite side of where the boy sat.

"We were all wondering when you would wake up. I had Samson stay here for days to keep an eye on you," she began.

Emily's gaze shifted to the boy named Samson. She certainly wasn't expecting that name.

"But enough of that. How is my right-hand man doing?"

  "The champion was stabbed," Emily drawled, still slightly in a daze from just waking up.

Samson winced at this comment, as if Emily made a huge mistake by replying to Celosia in this manner, but instead, Celosia laughed at her answer.

"Good sense of humor...anyway, congratulations on winning the Placement and becoming my right-hand man!"

Emily shot Samson a smirk.

"Well, almost," Celosia added. "Not quite."

This time it was Samson's turn to send Emily a smirk.

"What do you mean?" Emily coughed. "What do you mean by almost?"

Celosia shifted to the end of the infirmary bed. "There have been a couple of complications."

"Complications? Like what?"

"Complications which aren't to be shared with all of you. The only thing I can say is that it is not time for you to be my right-hand man. You need time to heal and time to learn the mannerisms we have here. I would teach you, but with these various complications, unfortunately I cannot at the moment," Celosia explained.

Emily felt like her head was about to explode. I can't believe I almost died, and I still haven't reached my goal.

"I understand this is disappointing, but I have found a solution," Celosia said.

Emily waited for Celosia to actually tell her what the solution was, trying her best to be patient with her.

"Until I decide you are ready and it's time, you are going to be an apprentice," Celosia said.

Emily coughed again. Samson looked smug.

"An apprentice?" Emily asked.

"Yes, with one of my most trusted instructors," Celosia replied. "Samson."

Samson's smile dropped.

Emily's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Forgive me, but is this a joke? I have to work with him?"

"Forgive me, but Celosia, we never discussed this," Samson added.

"Right, we didn't. This was a last-minute decision I made a day ago. It is the most plausible decision I came up with," she said.

"Please don't make me work with him."

"Please don't make me work with her."

"Celosia," they both said. "We already don't get along!"

"Well, then you need to learn to. We already have enough problems, and we don't need to be at each other's throats, do we?" Celosia asked.

Emily nodded, but she still had a vivid scene of Sylvia in her head that said otherwise.

"I don't want to hear anymore complaining from either of you," Celosia warned. "Complaining is ill-advised."

Emily shrunk deeper into the infirmary bed pillows as Celosia's eyes cut straight through her.

"Be congenial, understand? Samson take care of the champion," Celosia said.

After narrowing her eyes one last time at both of them before swishing her cloak and leaving the infirmary. Now it was just Samson and Emily.

"This sucks," Emily said.

"You're telling me."

Silence again.

"No, no. I'm not going to complain. We're going to get through this," Emily suddenly said.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I'm sure we can find a way to reach an agreement. A deal perhaps. So, we don't get on each other's nerves."

Samson didn't say anything.

"Or we just continue on as we were earlier, but could you at least get me out of the infirmary?" Emily paused. "How long have I been here anyway?"

"Four days. Which means I've been here for four days. You woke up a couple of times, long enough to drink some water. But I'm guessing you don't remember that."

"Right," Emily said. "But I am hungry. Can you get me out of here?"

Samson shrugged. "I suppose if I get you out of here, it means I also get out of here, so, yes, I will help you."

   As Samson helped Emily stand up, it was then she realized how short she was compared to him. He towered over her and it suddenly made her self-conscious.

"Something wrong?" Samson asked.

"No," Emily said. "Nothing's wrong." She glanced down. "Except this dress. Do I have to wear this outside of the infirmary?"

  "Your clothes are in your room, so yes," Samson answered.

"I look utterly ridiculous though! What if people see me?" Emily exclaimed.

"I highly doubt they'll think anything of it. Everyone knows who you are, so they would probably have a level respect for you," Samson said.

"Are you just saying that or—"

Samson ignored her and opened the curtain. Emily walked through and Samson let go of the curtains. Emily peered around as they finally made it to the halls. Samson led her down one of the hallways. She hoped no one would pass by and save herself some embarrassment. She found herself becoming more and more irritated by her stiches in her shoulder.

This Samson character walked around like he was the in charge. Ha! She would show him she wasn't someone to have an attitude with. She couldn't believe his pompous answer of "I think the words you are looking for are thank you."

"If you keep looking at me like that, it will eventually stick," Samson said, glancing behind at her.

She immediately softened her expression and rubbed at her forehead. Had she really been glaring? How careless of her, she wasn't playing the part of a Red Cloak very well.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked.

"You wanted different clothes I'm assuming," Samson replied.

Emily bit her tongue. "Yes, you assumed correct."

"We're going to the dorms."

"The dorms? Don't you mean the barracks?" Emily questioned.

"No, I mean the dorms. The barracks are for those who are part of groups. Someone like Sylvia will be sent there," Samson explained.

A shiver went down Emily's spine when she vividly remembered the look in Sylvia's eyes at the arena. She shook her head and continued following Samson. She followed him up the winding staircase at the end of the hallway.

"There's your dorm room. Right there," Samson said, pointing to the dorm room right across from them. He handed her the key.to her room. "Mine is over there."

Emily glanced a few doors down and nodded. Samson left her to herself in the middle of the hallway. Emily gripped the cold, weathered key in her hand and went to her dorm room. In the room, to her left was the bathroom. A few feet ahead, the dorm room opened up to reveal a large bed. Emily couldn't help but feel amazed by how nice the room was.

The bed was covered in red blankets, sheets, and pillows. On the bed, Emily found her "uniform". She slipped out of the infirmary dress and pulled on the uniform. Her shoulder ached, stiff as it could be, but all she could think about was how thirsty and hungry she was. She had been in and out of consciousness the last few days after all.

It occurred to her that Samson never told her where the dining hall was, but she never thought to ask. She pondered to herself and realized it probably wouldn't be too challenging to find the dining hall on her own. Even if she did want to swallow her pride and ask Samson, she had already forgotten which dorm was his. Finding the dining wouldn't be hard though, right?

Emily was completely wrong.

She was fairly certain she found every other place except for the dining hall. It was safe to say she knew where the pool was though. Maybe she should have spent more time listening to the tour than glaring at him the entire time, imagining the day when she wouldn't have to work with him. He was too, something. She couldn't put her finger on it though, but there was something about him that irked her. When she decided to couldn't find the dining hall, she eventually gave up and asked someone passing by.

"Can you point me in the direction of the dining hall?" she asked them.

   The girl turned up her nose. "I'm actually kind of busy right now." Emily locked eyes with her and the girl let out a gasp. "You're the champion! I apologize for my disrespect. I'll show you to the dining hall at once."

Emily rolled her eyes and followed the girl to the dining hall. Any other person asking for directions would have been immediately pushed aside. That bothered her more than it probably should have.

  A lot of people were sitting in the dining hall when she reached it. The giant clock in the room read twelve thirty. Emily tried not to look as disgusted as she felt with the food. Carrying her tray of food, she spotted Finley sitting with her group. Finley must have seen her too because she gestured to come sit with them. Emily obliged and sat next to Finley.

  "What are you doing here?" Wells sneered.

"Why would I not be here?"

"Wells, leave the girl alone," Finley scolded.

Emily stifled a laugh after watching Finley scold the man. Emily felt her stomach twist into her knot, and it wasn't from the food. She may have been biting off more than she could chew with this. What if her plan didn't work and she was caught? These thoughts were buzzing around in her head so much she thought her head might spin off of her shoulders.

Samson had decided to head down to the dining hall early and was about to go knock on Emily's door. He fixed his uniform and glanced toward the mirror near the bathroom. His parents had been so pleased when they sent him off to join the Red Cloaks. He remembered the day. He had been around the age of seven at the time. They told him it was a huge honor to serve them and told him he was to uphold his family reputation. Of course, telling this to a seven-year-old really wasn't the best idea? He never really found out what his family reputation was. All he knew was that his parents were in close connection with the leader of the Red Cloaks and they didn't want him to screw it up.

Celosia was not the leader of the Red Cloaks. No, there was another leader. Someone else had more control than Celosia. They all referred to this leader as The Shadow. Why exactly was this name bestowed upon him? Well, this wasn't exactly a challenging question to answer. Samson had only seen him once when he was younger, but The Shadow had a dark aura about him which made the name appropriate.

  His parents volunteered him, and The Shadow had gladly taken him. He introduced Samson to Celosia who had been eleven years old at the time. From there, The Shadow had continued to recruit people through Celosia. The Red Cloaks had been growing even more for the last almost eleven years.

Samson knocked on Emily's door, but there was no answer. Samson wasn't too shocked. He could always return later, or just not return at all. Samson had been to every single Placement since he had been here, and Emily's had been one of best ones so far. He had to admit she had strong fighting skills, but she lacked the behavior needed to be Celosia's right-hand man. He, however, didn't want to become friends with her. He only wanted to teach her and then part ways like they never met in the first place.

  He finally reached the dining hall, immediately spotting Emily amongst the Red Cloaks. She was talking to Finley, who was one of the more competent people in this place. She handled things in a mature manner. Wells on the other hand, was not exactly one of Samson's favorites. Samson was reserved. He wasn't friends with a single person in this place, because the last time he had made a friend, he had been killed weeks later. He never knew what happened to him.

But Samson was always reserved, and strict for that matter. Wells was like a giant man baby. He was on the verge of exploding at any minute, and most of that exploding was done to Felix. Even if Samson didn't want to admit it, he wasn't too surprised Felix helped Autumn escape and run for it as well.

Emily saw Samson making her way over to her table. Finley turned around as well. Samson sat next to her on the bench. Finley raised her eyebrows and Emily only shrugged.

  "I'm not too surprised to find you down here," Samson said.

  "I was hungry," Emily said curtly.

  "Ah," Samson replied.

Silence again.

  "Samson?" she whispered.

  He hummed in response.

"That guy over there," she began, subtly gesturing toward Wells. "He already hates me; I don't have the faintest clue to as to who he is."

"Well, you're not exactly a piece of cake," Samson muttered.

"Look, I know you and I have our own issues, but at least we know each other now. I don't even know who he is," Emily said.

"You're the champion, right?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with—"

"Can you remember how you received that wound in your shoulder?" Samson asked.

Memories of the Placement flooded Emily's head, a vivid image of Sylvia suddenly popping up in her mind. She shivered.

"Sylvia."

"Exactly. You were the one thing standing between her and becoming Celosia's right-hand man," Samson replied. "But your question was why Wells already has a built-up hatred for you."

"Right."

"Well the answer to that is simple. You were the one thing standing between his daughter's chance of becoming the right-hand man," Samson said.

It took Emily a couple of seconds to connect the dots, but when she did, she let out an audible gasp. She covered her mouth, eyes trailing over to where Wells sat. He was glaring back at her.

"They're going to kill me. I'm dead," Emily squeaked. "I'm so dead."

"You do have some large shoes to fill," Samson noted.

"Well, an apprentice is only as competent as the mentor," Emily said. She glanced down at her empty plate. "Was that food safe to eat? Like actually safe?"

"You want an honest answer?"

"Preferably."

"Probably not," Samson said, taking another spoonful of soup.

Emily wondered if the food would be the first thing to kill her over everything else in this place. Nevertheless, she had to do this. Her thoughts were interrupted by Samson nudging her.

"What?"

He pointed in the direction of the dining hall entrance, and Emily saw Celosia making her way to the middle of the dining hall.

"What is she doing?"

"That's a question I won't be able to answer."

  Emily folded her arms like a child who needed a nap. Celosia found herself in the center of the dining hall where everyone could see her.

  "Emily, stand up," she said.

  All eyes flickered to her.

  "Stand up," Samson hissed, and Emily slowly rose to her feet.

  She calmly approached Celosia in the middle and felt the nerves melting away.

"I am sure most of you attended the Placement five nights ago. Emily proved herself worthy and will soon enough become my right-hand man. Once this happens, I expect all of you to understand she has almost as much as authority as I do," Celosia announced. "I believe it is fitting for Emily to have a name, a nickname per say. After all, she did compete in our hardest Placement."

  Emily couldn't help but shoot Samson a proud smirk.

  "All of you will now refer to her as the Phoenix. She has a certain fire about her that I believe correlates well to the bird of fire," Celosia said.

All of the Red Cloaks stood up and clapped for her, including Samson. Emily assumed it was a considered a great honor amongst the Red Cloaks to be given a nickname by Celosia. The clapping died down and Emily went back to sit next to Samson.

  "That wasn't exactly a meeting," Emily muttered. "More of an announcement."

  "I'm sure we'll have an actual meeting soon. We have another matter on our hands, regarding treachery," Samson said. 

"Betrayal? Treachery? Who would betray us?" Emily questioned. She had to make it seem like she really felt shocked by the news.

  "Felix, from Wells and Finley's group."

From Finley's group? So, Finley was a leader. This made things even better. Finley had more control over certain things. On the other hand, Emily wanted to know more about Felix.

"I have another question. Why did Felix betray us?" Emily asked.

"Celosia is after a girl by the name of Autumn. Even I couldn't tell you the reason why. Anyway, Celosia and all of the Red Cloaks for that matter, want her dead. We actually managed to catch her, but Felix helped her escape. On the same day you came actually," Samson explained. Emily saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye. "Beside the information I have told you, I don't know anything else yet."

Emily slumped against the dining table. She still didn't know much about Felix. All she knew was he betrayed the Red Cloaks, and if anything, that was good news.

  "Sit up straight," Samson said.

Emily reluctantly listened to him and sat up. Her shoulder seemed to be giving her a bit of trouble. Her arm seized up whenever she moved it, which was technically understandable considering she had stitches in her shoulder. She was stuck in between Samson and Finley. As long as she wasn't seated next the man who Finley scolded earlier, she would be fine.

"When is the meeting going to start?" Emily asked Finley.

  "There's going to be a meeting?" Finley answered. She shrugged. "We don't know if there is a meeting until Celosia calls one, and she hasn't yet."

"How did you know Celosia was going to call a meeting?" Emily asked when she turned back to Samson.

"You can tell when she's going to, and it's about time she called one to discuss Felix," Samson said.

Celosia was still talking with a select few of the Red Cloaks in the center of the dining hall. She pointed to different sections of the dining hall and the Red Cloaks made their way back to their seats. Emily could only guess she was about to start the meeting.

"Everyone, quiet down," Celosia said, but no one paid attention at first. "EVERYONE QUIET DOWN!"

  Everyone besides Emily and Samson jumped in their seats.

"I believe it is time to start our meeting. Now I'm sure all of you remember five days ago, that we not only had our Placement, but that one of members committed a great crime against us. Now I don't even think it's necessary to mention his name, as most of you should know at this point who he is. Now regarding how to handle the situation, I believe it's best not to do anything quite yet, but I do have a solution once the time is right. Where is Finley and where is Wells?" Celosia said.

Finley and Wells stood from the bench.

"I am entrusting you with bringing Felix back here. On Monday at dawn, you and the rest of your group will set out to search for him. I hope both of you are aware of the fact that Felix will be sentenced to death for treason," Celosia said.

  "I'm aware," Wells replied, a grin slowly appearing on his face.

  "Splendid. That's all I have to say for now then. Continue with your lunch," Celosia said and left the dining hall, boots clicking against the concrete.

Finley sat back down. She had the sinking feeling all along that this would be the outcome. People were executed frequently in this place, but Finley knew this execution would be much different. Celosia never sent people to catch the person who ran away. No one actually ever ran away. Most of the people who were executed were caught doing something they shouldn't be doing by Red Cloak standards. It was horrible really. Even worse, it was what most of them wanted. They wanted violence and chaos. Sure, they always promoted the idea of unity, but that wasn't what they really wanted. Not even close.

Wells was so pleased with himself for whatever reason. Finley knew he couldn't wait to find Felix and be the one to kill him himself. It made her sick to her stomach. She still, and would probably never, understand why Wells hated Felix so much. There was absolutely no reason to in the first place. If he was simply jealous of Felix, then that was truly a sad thing. So jealous that he would want to kill him. Emily sat still beside her and tapped her foot. Samson's expression was unreadable.

"So, what do we do now?" Emily asked.

"I suppose we should start with training soon, but I'm not sure how well that would go with your shoulder," he replied. "You just left the infirmary."

"And what of it? I've been asleep for six days after all."

Samson pinched the bridge of his nose. "If you happen to rip open your stitches, then you're back to square one. Do you want that?"

"No, I guess not."

"I'm going to be blunt with you. I find you quite annoying, but I think you find me annoying as well. So, the sooner we start with training, the sooner your apprenticeship ends. We can start with mannerisms today and physical training later. Does that work for you?"

"I'll ignore the annoying comment and say that does work for me," Emily replied. She held out her hand to shake Samson's. "When I become Celosia's right-hand man officially, we don't have to talk anymore, but for now, we need to get along. Deal?"

Samson shook her hand.

"Deal."

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Note: So that was Chapter Seven! I am happy I was able to introduce Emily and Samson. Thank you for reading the story so far!
-IML