Roughly oval in shape, the coliseum was an open-air venue

Holding Coco’s hand, Alana got up from her seat and made her way toward the floor’s exit. Squeezing past the seated audience members was a slow and arduous task. There wasn’t much leg room, so the audience members had to stand, lift their legs, or turn to the side to let her and Coco through. By the time Alana reached the exit with Coco, the next match was already underway.

Coco ran up to the knight standing guard at the exit. “Can you tell us where the recovery room is?”

“Are all commoners this stupid? Get lost.” He flapped his hand in dismissal.

She lowered her chin.

Alana wanted to slap him. But she held back, because she didn’t want to cause a scene.

She grabbed Coco’s hand. “Just ignore him. We can find it ourselves.”

His jaw dropped when he saw Alana.

He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know you had such a beautiful friend! The recovery room is on the main floor. I can take you both there.”

A grin spread across his face.

He’s treating me differently because of the way I look? This is lookism.

“No thanks. We’ll be fine on our own.”

“I insist. Guaranteeing your safety is my duty.”

I can’t accept his help after how he treated Coco.

“Oh, really? Didn’t you tell my friend to ‘get lost’ a moment ago? Don’t you care about her safety as well?”

His cheeks reddened. “Well… uh…”

“You’re one of the most despicable human beings I’ve ever met.” Alana turned to leave.

“How dare you, a commoner, talk to me that way?” With flaring nostrils and barred teeth, he reached for her arm.

Alana glared at him. “Touch me and I’ll be last thing you’ll ever touch.”

“You-you think I’m scared of you? You commoners are all the same - broken in the head! I’m going to make you regret your words!”

She felt a hand grip her arm. “Frozen Touch.”

Frost crept up his hand. When he tried to pull away, his frozen hand broke off. Dropping onto his knees, he clutched his arm and screamed in agony. Frozen bits of his hand littered the floor in front of him.

Coco stared in silence, with her mouth open.

Alana looked down at the knight. “Get out of my sight.”

He whimpered, before scampering away.

***

Alana walked with Coco, in silence, down a dark, windowless stairwell. The stairwell was lit by the occasional torch along the wall. The only noise she could hear was the sound of their footsteps.

Why is Coco so quiet? She hadn’t spoken a word since the incident. Is she terrified of me? Any normal girl would be, after seeing what I can do. Wait a minute... why do I care so much about her opinion of me? Now that I think about it, why was I so upset when the knight was rude to her? This must be what humans call ‘bonding.’ According to the books I read, I should resolve relationship issues before they get out of hand. Otherwise, the ‘bond’ that I’ve formed with her may be compromised.

Alana turned toward Coco. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What are you talking about? You were awesome!”

“Awesome?”

“Of course! That man was so mean. You sure showed him.”

“How come you were so quiet?”

“I thought you were feeling bad about what you did to the mean man.”

“No, I couldn’t care less about him. He had it coming. I was more worried about you.” Alana was surprised to hear her own words.

Up until now, the only person she’d ever cared about was Hupo. But now there was another person who was important to her.

Coco giggled.

“How come you’re laughing?”

“You’re acting like you’re my mama.”

Alana smiled and patted Coco’s head. “You’re so cute.”

She’s not your average girl.

***

The recovery room was filled with patients, all wounded, some bleeding, some dying. The floor was sticky and red with blood. Alana covered her nose and mouth with her hand; the stench was sickening, hot and metallic, making her head swim. Some of the more badly wounded patients were moaning, some even screaming. Others were dead-eyed, white.

She caught hold of Coco’s arm. “Where is everyone? Why are there only a couple of monks here? These people need more help.”

Coco shrugged. “I guess it isn’t a priority.”

Alana approached the closest monk. “Excuse me, is Claire here?”

The monk sighed. "She left a while ago, as soon as she could move. We tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen."

"Which bed was she in?"

"That one". The monk pointed at an empty bed near the wall.

The bed's blankets and bed sheets had not been changed yet and were stained with blood.

Coco's shoulders slumped. "How are we supposed to find her now?"

"There is a way.” Alana touched the floor with the palm of her hand. “Summon Hound.”

A small black mound emerged from the floor. As it rose, it pushed her hand upwards and began to take the shape of a lean, black dog.

The dog began licking her hand.

Coco shrieked. "You can make doggies?"

"I summoned a hound. It can lead us to her." Alana picked up one of the bloodied blankets and held it next to the hound's nose. "Find her."

After sniffing the blanket, the hound barked and darted from the room. Alana and Coco followed closely behind.