CHAPTER FOUR

"Honestly, you can't even do a simple job properly!" Sebastian shouts. "Why does it even matter, I washed the dishes, didn't I?" I say annoyed. Sebastian rolls his hazel eyes, "I already told you. Before placing the plates in the dishwasher, rinse them then arrange them according to size while placing them delicately. You did none of that!"

"Oh how tragic. At least the dishes are clean and none of them are broken." I say moving from the kitchen to the dining table. "You don't even sleep here, so why do you have a say in any of this?" Sebastian narrows his eyes and follows me, "That's not the point."

"Well, if you really wanted them done your way, you could have washed them yourself since you're Mr. Perfect and everything always goes your way." I mumble. Sebastian scoffs.

"I swear, the two of you fight like a married couple." Blair comments as Sebastian turns to glare at her. I ended up meeting her two days after I had arrived and she wasn't the beast that I thought her to be. Blair turns to point the spreading knife at Sebastian's head and he backs down. Well, kind of not a beast.

"I know right," Alex cuts in, "It's always 'Sebastian said this' and 'Cora did that' ". "It's pretty hilarious." Nico contributes.

"Who'd wanna marry someone like that?" Sebastian and I say at the same time. "See?" Blair laughs. "Nico take your student, I don't know, go train or something," Sebastian says. "She's already done with her training. I thought I told you, guess I forgot." Nico smiles.

"And it's all thanks to you, Sensei." I say putting my hands together and bowing. Everyone bursts out into laughter expect Sebastian of course. I somehow grasped the concepts pretty easily; it was like they were already drilled into me. Which at first, kind of freaked Nico out but everything is going smoothly for now.

"Seriously?" Sebastian raises his eyebrow. "Yes." Nico shrugs. "I see, can I see the progress report?" Sebastian asks as Nico nods. To me, I honestly don't see any progress. My memories weren't coming back and my mind isn't in a better state than it was when Sebastian found me.

"Cora, are you okay? You seem troubled." Blair says looking worried with her big blue eyes. "Sorry, just lost in thought." I say. Blair gives me a sympathetic look, she probably understands. "I'll just step out for some fresh air," I say standing up.

The forest here helps me calm my nerves, it's peaceful and quiet. I smile to myself as a nostalgic feeling arises in me. Sitting on the grass, I close my eyes. There probably aren't a lot of places in the world that look like this. After a moment, I notice the presence of another.

"Is there something you need?" I ask my eyes still closed. It must be someone from one of the houses. "I'm surprised you noticed my presence." The voice doesn't sound familiar, I can't allocate to anyone I know.

"Was my question hard to understand?" I say standing up. Is it an enemy? I can't see them from any direction. "I just came to give you some advice." Advice?

"Who the hell are you?" I demand.

"Answering that question won't change anything."

My alertness increases, I'm sure it's an intruder. "You can call me whatever you want. An enemy or a friend, I'm just here to speed up the process." I continue looking for the person but it's like his voice is in the wind. "The only person you can trust is yourself, Cora. Be careful, not everyone has the right intentions Trust no one."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot more but right now time is running out. They know where you are but they won't act yet."

"Hey, what on earth are you on about? I was being to get irritated but I could hear the voice get farther and farther away. "Someone is approaching. I'll leave you with something that might help you," the person says, "Hopefully you'll make use of it and pick the right side in the future." His presence slowly fades. "Wait! Don't leave!" I panic and look around, that's when I see it.

By the tree, on the ground, is a box. A wooden box covered in gold decorations. I kneel down and pick it up. I almost open it when I hear a voice. "Miss Aetós?" I quickly put it in my pocket and look at the person.

It's a young dark woman with dark chocolate eyes. She approaches me cautiously and I fight the urge to step back. "My name is Naja and I've been sent to call you by the leader," she says her eyes showing no emotion. She must be talking about Alistair which makes me a little anxious. "Please, follow me."

Naja, do you know the reason why?"

"No."

"Can you think of any reason then?"

"Maybe he wants to test you." It seems like people here really love that kind of stuff. Once again, I'm standing in front of the big silver doors to Alistair's office. What does he even want with me? As I remember his cold grey eyes, a shiver runs down my spine.

"I've done my part." She looks at me and for a second I see sympathy. "Good luck." In a matter of seconds, I'm left alone in the hallway with my hand on the door knob. I take a deep breath and push the door open. I'm met with the voices of two people.

"What's taking her so long?"

"I'm sure she'll be here soon, Sir." I shyly enter the room and the attention falls on me. Although, seeing Alex immediately eases me up. "It's about time." Alistair says.

Alex smiles and waves at me, "Hey Cora, it's been like half an hour." I smile back, with Alex here things should be okay. Alistair clears his throat, "We never quite got past introductions. I am Alistair, the head of Central. I'm sure you're wondering as to why I called you here." He says while retreating to his chair behind the desk table. I stand next to Alex and wait for more.

"There's been recent movement of The Rebellion, especially around Rose. I want you to go to the Underground City to collect information." Alistair says. I perk up at the mention of that. "There sure have been a lot of movement recently, but why Camp Rose?" Alex asks. "That's exactly what I want you to find out." Alistair replies.

This involves the Underground City which I'm somehow related to so it can help me find out about my lost memories. But it sounds like a pretty serious mission. "Are you sure I'm qualified for this mission?" I ask. I wouldn't want to mess it up.

"Nicholas, who is one of my best, trained you correct?"

"Well, yes but I've only been here for a week, so why me?" Alistair smiles, "Why not? Alexander will be with you and he's actually competent when it counts." Alex sighs, "Interesting how everyone's so adamant on downgrading me or giving me double-edged compliments."

"If that's not a good enough reason," he pulls a file from his drawer, "I read your progress report, quite exemplary really. I wish you two the best of luck." Alistair finishes with a smile.

******

Sebastian's POV

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask storming into his office. "Why her?"

"I don't see why not. She is a part of Central now. A trained soldier-

"Yeah, for a week!" I interrupt. Alistair looks at me blankly. "Yet she managed to grasp the concepts so easily, just imagine, a total stranger. Isn't it strange?"

"So what? You're just going to send her straight to her grave."

"Alexander is with her." I clench my fists and try to resist the urge to punch him. He always just does whatever he wants without taking anyone's opinion into consideration. Honestly, how did a guy like this become the leader at the age of twenty-three? "It's not like you to get so worked up over someone you just met. What, do you have a crush on her?" He asks.

"What? Why would…that's ridiculous." I say turning my head. "It's okay Sebastian, it's actually normal at your age. I'm happy for you." I roll my eyes. Alistair suddenly glares at me, "Or is there something that you're not telling me?" The bastard. I didn't think he would notice.

I still haven't figured out where Cora fits in the picture, but there's something special about her. And it took some time, but I don't think she's a bad person. Whatever it is, I can't let Alistair find out. "Of course not. After all, information around here doesn't pass you by." I say staring straight into his eyes. "Good. It would be rather troublesome if you were a traitor."

"Me, a traitor?" I scoff, "I think the fact that I'm willing to risk my life to get metamorphosis DNA is proof enough, that I'm loyal."

"I suppose that's enough for now." Alistair shrugs. I turn to walk away but stop when Alistair speaks up again. "Perhaps this mission might trigger her lost memories." My eyes widen in shock. Why is he bringing that up? Although I know from his eyes that he doesn't know Cora is related to the dead rebels he sent me to check out. But how much does he really know?

"What do you plan to do with her?" I ask. It's always hard to tell whether Alistair is good or bad sometimes. "If we want to rebuild our world, we need every hand to work together. Right?" He asks raising his eyebrow. Damn him and his good memory.