Chapter 4: Sweet Dreams Pt. 2
{This is for my Alice the Third fan-fic, if you haven’t read the other chapters yet, please feel free to check them out!}
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Mari's eyes flew open. She clutched her hand to her chest in a panic as she came awake, a mere three hours after she had fallen asleep. Her dreams had begun, with warm brown eyes and silver hair, but they quickly changed to the familiar face that always haunted her when she closed her eyes. The nightmare was the same as it always had been, but it was never any easier.
Her hair had come loose in her slumber, and the long waves matted to the thick, sticky sweat that covered her entire upper body. Damn, night sweats. The only minor side effect of not regularly taking her medication.
The cold chains of the two sets of dog tags that balanced above her heart weighed her down with a bittersweet sadness as she took in her surroundings and replayed the last few hours in her head. Her throat was on fire so she slowly got to her feet and made her way to the small bathroom and filled the cup she had found on her nightstand with it. Then she made her way back to her bed and sat on the edge of it.
She was in her room in Cradle. She had escaped for now. Alive. Mari reached for her lighter and tin, hoping to forget everything for a while longer. She went through the motions of slipping the joint out and lighting it, inhaling deep and long. She'd slipped up with her story several times that evening, partially hoping that someone would catch on and question her motives. But they hadn't, she thought sadly, as she took a deep drag and held it in for as long as her lungs would take.
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Several hours later, the courtyard.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Alice asked again.
"Positive," Mari nodded as she rolled her shoulders and turned her head from side to side, stretching. Again.
She couldn't figure out how to turn the lamp in her room on and gave up before she hurled the damn thing down the two stories to the cobblestones below. Not wanting to risk waking anyone, she'd dressed in the dark after her morning smoke session and quietly made her way out to the gardens and listened to music as she'd fallen into her daily routines. The only difference between here and there had been the solitude, and it had been nice.
She'd run into Sirius about an hour earlier and talked with him as he watered flowers and she disabled the blades from the toes of her boots. Alice had met them shortly after with cups of coffee for both, which Mari had downed in two gulps, much to Alice's dismay.
"You do know this is just for fun, right?" Alice worried her bottom lip as she eyed her sister, who had dropped to a split on the ground, her arms stretched to the tip of her toes, pulling back. She loved to feel the strain of the muscles, the aches as they strengthened and strained.
Mari rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to her other leg. "Of course, I'm not going to hurt him." She paused to forward and pressed all of her weight onto her palms, lifting her body perpendicular until she settled into a handstand. "Too much," she added softly.
"Please try not to hurt him. And I'm not talking about the fight," Alice balled her fists at her side and turned her attention as the rest of the Black Army filed out the doors and headed towards them. "It's just... there's another reason I wanted you to come here, not just for the wedding. Will you please promise me to at least attempt to get to know everyone? Maybe you'll even make a friend or two."
Losing focus, Mari sighed and let herself fall forward, landing on her toes.
She could see Fenrir walking with Ray and Luka with Seth, leaving Sirius to follow behind, making sure everyone was present.
"We'll continue this conversation later," she interrupted Alice, not wanting to hear how this was going to end. It would be a real fight, unlike the one she was about to partake. In her world, friends were a luxury Mari couldn't afford to have. She'd learned that the hard way.
She sighed, "I promise to try." Mari gave Alice a reassuring smile and walked forward to greet her opponent.
Fenrir broke away and stopped in front of her; his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Ray continued with Luka and Seth while Sirius beelined towards her sister, who was gaping behind her.
"You ready to do this?" He smiled and held his hand for her to take.
Mari's hand was steady as she took his hand in hers and walked with him towards their battlefield.
"She'll be okay, sweetie." Seth practically sang, but uncertainty flashed behind his eyes for the briefest of seconds.
"That's just it," Alice retorted bitterly. "Mari lies for this. It's a party to her." She sighed and took Sirius' hand. "I just wanted her to relax for once."
Luka's ears perked at her words. "So... she's like Fenrir?"
Sirius' easy smile dropped as he assessed that news. "It'll be like two Fenrir's?"
Fenrir faced Mari head-on from several yards away. He'd been too shocked that she'd pulled her gun on him upon meeting so he hadn't paid too close attention to her appearance. She wasn't what he expected. Mari was several inches taller than her sister, while Alice was delicate and brunette, she had orange hair and she looked dangerous. She had sharp green eyes that made him feel like she could see through him, and her skin was toned and scarred, he noted as she removed her sweater and tossed it to Alice who was waiting with the rest of the leaders off to the side. She had a pair of black cargo pants that were formfitting, and a black tank top, clanking sound of aluminum rang as she tucked two silver tags into the front of her shirt to rest between her breasts.
That was when it hit him that she may be a soldier, but she was a woman, and that thought froze him in his tracks as he saw Sirius give Ray a nod. They were ready. He'd never fought a woman before.
Ray cleared his throat as he took a couple of steps closer to them and rubbed his hands together. "The rules are simple: No weapons, it's okay to hit vital points, though." His eyes scanned over both of them and after neither made a move, having already disarmed, he continued. "The winner will be decided the same way we always do it. The last one standing wins!"
Mari took a slow breath as she sized Fenrir up and dropped into a defensive crouch. He seemed to be hesitant to make the first move, as a lot of others had been. His pose was much the same as hers, but his left side had an opening. So she broke the ice and lunged.
Fenrir's eyes widened, as Mari closed the distance between them quicker than he thought. She drew her right hand back as if to throw a punch but at the last second, she swung her leg up and connected with the side of his head, rocking him back for a second. Somehow he knew she could have put a lot more power behind that kick, this was a warning. Take me seriously, it said.
"Wha-!" Seth shrieked and everyone took one step forward. Luka's eyes were wide. He'd helped rescue Alice from the Red Army's headquarters when she first arrived in Cradle. They'd all helped train her for the war and knew in comparison, she was weak. Mari however...
"You okay?" Mari asked, tilting her head to the side from where she stood only a foot away from him. He got it now. She didn't want him to go easy on her. He'd have to pretend she was Ray and just go crazy.
"Never better," Fenrir smirked and hooked his foot around her ankle with a sharp tug, bringing her down onto her butt. But she was fast and back on her feet in a second, already rushing him with a stream of blows.
They went on like that for a while, blocking, punching, and kicking.
Each time someone went down, everyone held their breath, waiting for the announcement of victory, only to keep watching as Mari and Fenrir faced off, the occasional laugh escaping both parties. They'd been going at it for almost an hour straight at top speed from the looks of it.
"You getting tired, yet?" Fenrir taunted as he sidestepped Mari's butterfly kick. Barely.
She was, but she'd never admit that to him. Mari inwardly kicked herself for all the excess exercises she had done that morning to distract her mind from wandering; she'd used a lot of her energy considering she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday either. Her stomach growled at the thought of food.
Fenrir's ears detected the foreign noise. "Did you get any breakfast this morning?" He frowned. "You should take better care of yourself if you want to be in top performance and health." He put his fists down and dropped the offensive stance, holding his palm up to her. "Let's take a break."
Mari's head was spinning with exhaustion, but she managed a nod. Her vision was getting a little cloudy too, how many hits had she taken to the head? She'd been careless, she'd never put herself in a state like this in front of anyone. It was humiliating.
Fenrir nodded and called over to everyone. "Is there any breakfast left?"
Luka stepped forward, "I can make something, what do you want?"
"It's not for me, it's for Mari." Fenrir turned towards her, "What do you like?"
Mari blinked, his words sounded like she was listening to them from underwater. Audible, but not intelligible.
"Mari?" Alice's voice was high.
The last thing she saw was Fenrir reaching towards her as the ground moved closer, and footfalls thundered closer. Then the world went dark.