Ivan

PART SIX

Sonia knew why she was here; Mirabell had come for her with his men. He thought she was ready. Well she wasn't ready, she would never be ready and they could fool themselves all they wanted but the cold reality would still be there. At least, as long as they made her wear this dress. She hadn't worn a dress for years and was feeling somewhat uncertain about it. If anyone said anything to her about her dress she would kill them right then and there. She was in an enormous hall lit by six sizeable braziers and lined on the left wall with many galleries filled with people, conversing loudly. She remembered the hall. In front of her was a long, flat bridge, at the end of which some steps led up to a wide, flat space. There stood three men. The last time she had been here was when they had condemned her to stay in the cold forest.

 At a sign from one of them the noises died down. Sonia suddenly realised with horror that the man was now pointing at her and beckoning. She stepped forward onto the bridge. It seemed very long. Sonia was sure everyone was passing silent judgement and ridicule on her and wished desperately that she was somewhere else, preferably her hut or some nice dark, safe place. At last she reached the other side and walked up the steps. The man in the middle smiled condescendingly down at her. Sonia glared back at him.

“Sonia! he said, in a loud voice which reverberated around the hall, “Are you ready to become a member of our force and live your life as one of us?”

She was sure she recognised him from somewhere, but she couldn't quite remember where.

“To face the dangers of...” Ah yes, now she knew, “...and the cold and exposure of the frozen plains? What is your answer?” Sonia leapt at him and had him on the floor before he knew what was happening. The two other men started forward, but the first man waved them off. He appeared rather amused.

“I will never join your force, not as long as you are part of it, Ivan!” she hissed. She let him rise. “Still as spirited and unmanageable as before I see.” he brushed himself down, “My mother and Mirabell will have to see to you.”

“Your mother? She's not your mother. Your mother was poorer than mine!” His face began to redden.

“You have no right to say that, you daughter of a comma!”

(A comma is a small, black animal 30.48-46 cm (12-18.11 inches) long, which eats pretty much anything that is not poisonous and doesn't fight back or look dangerous. On the frozen plains it is the symbol of cowardice because of its fear of perhaps getting hurt).

Sonia forgot about the crowd and the guards and hit Ivan's nose with her fist as hard as she could. She watched in satisfaction as he fell back onto the floor with blood trickling from his nose. Next moment she was seized by the guards and dragged away to the other side of the bridge where they chained her to a column and left her. Sonia watched Ivan as he was taken away to have his nose seen to.

Ivan had been in the training force with Sonia and they had hated each other with a deadly hatred. One day he had put a baby cardan down her neck while she was eating, and another time he filled her hair with burrs so it had to be cut off. On that day Sonia had vowed she would hate Ivan for the rest of her life. Ivan was an orphan, found in the mountains by their leader Chrystal and then adopted by her. He therefore held authority over almost everyone there, which meant he could pretty much do what he liked. It also meant Sonia couldn't get back at him very easily, but she somehow managed to, and one thing led to another and ended up with her in the cold forest.