“This room is nothing like the living room,” commented Tara. “Your collection of weapons is impressive; nothing is missing.”
“We do our best to conserve them over the centuries.”
Tara approached the wall. She recognized one of the swords her missionaries had used during the Battle of Constantinople, as well as a sword they had fought with before the Renaissance. She felt closer than ever to her past.
As she looked into the mirror in front of her, she suddenly felt something pass her by. It had come dangerously close to her ear. Immediately after, she saw Nina land on the tatami and perform a series of back flips. She was fast and light on her feet. Her movements were so swift that her limbs seemed razor-sharp. Suddenly, Tara heard heavy and rapid footsteps approaching her at an alarming pace. She didn't even have time to turn around: Hugo had already grazed her while running at full speed towards Nina. The two legionaries stopped in front of each other on the tatami. Nina had both hands on the ground, one leg bent, the other stretched to the side. She looked at Hugo, smiling mischievously, anticipating the battle that was about to take place. Everything about her was feline. As for the young man, he was standing in his fighting position, ready to attack.
Tara watched the scene in wonder. Was Nina, the frail-looking young woman, really going to fight with Hugo, the stack of muscles? To her surprise, it was Nina who started the fight. With a powerful impulse, she spun around on her two hands with her legs in the air. With a forceful push, she propelled herself upwards with the intention of kicking Hugo in the throat. Hugo moved aside, narrowly avoiding her, while simultaneously grabbing her by the shin. With all his strength, he used Nina's momentum to throw her against the wall. The young woman wasn’t impressed. Prepared for the inevitable impact, she bounced off the wall and landed on the ground, her two feet on the tatami.
Breathless, Tara smiled in admiration at the coach’s prowess. Nina then took two steps forward and raced towards Hugo. When she was close enough, Hugo threw her a left-right uppercut with all the power his muscular arms could muster up. Nina dodged them to perfection as she plunged towards him, violently hitting him in the throat. The impact made Hugo fly backwards, paralyzed.
Nina seized the opportunity to lift her left leg, almost perpendicular to the ground, and then brought it down on him with all her strength, hoping to hit him on the shoulder. Hugo however, was able to grab her leg just in time, immobilizing her by brutally kicking her in the stomach before she had time to attack him. Nina flew several yards backwards before falling to the ground, breathless. Panicked, Tara ran over to help her up. When she arrived at her side, Nina’s face was pressed against the ground and she noisily gasped for air.
“Nina! Are you all right?”
“Of course she's okay,” Hugo replied, laughing. “Let her get up and finish the fight.”
On these words, Nina lifted herself up off the ground. She struggled, but once she was standing, she walked towards Hugo with a determined step. Tara contemplated her with fear and admiration. The coach's face was flushed.
“That’s enough young ones,” interrupted Emily, who hadn't missed a thing.
“Let me finish beating him up,” replied Nina, who stared viciously at Hugo.
“You're not beating anyone up today,” said Emily categorically. “You're going to train Tara.”
“I can't let this pompous little bugger get away so easily,” exclaimed Nina. “Give me two more minutes Emily.”
“No.”
“Okay, one minute!”
“Out of the question.”
“Thirty seconds!” bellowed Nina. “Thirty seconds, and I'll knock him out.”
Emily looked at her watch and took a step back to free the tatami:
“You have thirty seconds.”
Tara turned to Nina who was already smiling victoriously. Hugo returned to his fighting position. He too smiled with excitement. The missionaries seemed to find their pleasure in the heat of battle. Tara had never seen them so happy. Nina ran at full speed towards Hugo.
“Twenty-five seconds,” said Emily, looking casually at her watch.
Nina was now in front of Hugo. She was agile and incredibly fast as she kicked relentlessly in the direction of his face. Hugo was no longer smiling as he dodged her kicks with equal speed.
“Twenty seconds…”
Nina bent all the way down. With her head upside down and both hands on the ground, she grabbed Hugo by the neck with her feet. With a sharp jerk, she bent her arms and pulled Hugo forward by the head. In spite of himself, the young man was propelled forward where he landed on his back with a hard thud.
“Twelve more seconds… I'm proud of you,” Emily said, as she stepped back on to the tatami.
Nina stood up, obviously proud of herself too. Meanwhile, Hugo sat on the ground, complaining that his back was aching. Tara looked at Nina in amazement: she was absolutely incredible. She would never be able to fight like her. The young woman had the dexterity of a tornado when she was in the ring. All she could do was admire her.
“In a few months, you'll be fighting like her,” Emily proclaimed, giving her a look that left her no choice.
She immediately felt a lump in her throat: how could she ever acquire Nina’s expertise? She could barely do a cartwheel when she was in primary school. Fighting like that, with her hands on the ground and her feet in the air was totally unthinkable. She nearly choked on her own saliva.
“Leave her to me,” said Hugo, pointing to Tara. “I'll have her trained in just a few weeks.”
“Don't even think about it,” replied Emily, categorically. “Nina, she’s all yours. You have nine months to turn her into a warrior. And I'll take care of her diet.”
With that, Emily turned around and left the room. Tara suddenly felt abandoned to her fate as the two missionaries scrutinized her from head to toe. Nina looked at her with cold and distant eyes. She certainly didn’t seem impatient to start.
Ill at ease, Tara approached her in the hopes of starting a conversation and softening the atmosphere:
“So, it seems that in nine months I'll be able to fight like you, turning upside down and kicking at the same time...”
“Give me ten laps around the room, as fast as you can and without stopping,” interrupted Nina dryly as she turned towards Hugo.
Tara didn't respond, dismayed by Nina's condescending attitude. Did she really hate her that much? Nonetheless, it was her first workout and she didn't want to look pathetic, so she complied without complaining. The room was humongous. The ten laps would be long.
As she started to run, she saw Nina and Hugo take out the boxing equipment and bring the punching bags down from the ceiling.
Then, as she turned her consciousness back towards herself, she suddenly felt overweight. With every step she took, she felt her generous bosom rise and fall heavily. She hadn't chosen the right bra: the skin on her breasts stretched painfully with every movement. Her run would be very long…
After only a few minutes, she felt her body weaken and her breathing become increasingly difficult. Her thighs rubbed against each other, slowing her down and tiring her out, while her arms rubbed softly against her slightly plump ribs. Her body was far from being as slender as Nina’s cat-like figure. The difference between the two of them was now obvious to her. For the first time in her life she felt fat, as the sweat poured down her face and back, making her clothes stick to her skin.
While she was in the midst of a femininity crisis, the gym door opened, and the Viking walked in. Tara almost tripped over her own feet. Her disheveled hair stuck to the back of her neck and her face was as red as a crayfish suffocating in the sun. And to top it all off, she felt as heavy as a Christmas ham. It definitely wasn’t the right time for anyone to be entering the room. And to make things worse, she noticed he was watching her as she ran alongside the wall towards the other end of the room. She wondered if he was taking pity on her for her hippopotamus-like posture and pace. She felt so ashamed that s
he couldn’t continue a second longer. She decided to put an end to her arduous running session and stop making a fool of herself immediately. But Nina wouldn’t have it; the moment Tara slowed down, she stopped hitting the punching bag and yelled to her in a harsh and authoritative voice from the other end of the room:
“Who told you to stop? You've only done two and a half laps, you've got over seven left to go. Get back on track and speed up, you look like a slug!”
In terms of preserving her dignity, she hadn’t gotten very far. She realized that Nina enjoyed humiliating her. Hugo and Mark now had their eyes fixed on her. If she could have, she would have buried herself in the ground. She had only run two and a half laps around the room and she was already failing. As for entering the gym doing backflips and fighting upside down while standing on her hands, she’d have to come back and try again in her next life! Maybe Sofia was right after all, maybe she would never be able to reach the level needed by Diane to accomplish her mission on Earth.
Nonetheless, she didn't want to die. One way or another, she’d have to improve. If Tara Châvignier didn’t reach the level that was expected of her by the angels, Emily would dispose of her body in a year’s time so that Diane could reincarnate into a body better adapted to the task.
She couldn't let it come to that. Without realizing it, she quickened her pace and attempted to motivate herself: she was perfect the way she was. She didn't need to lose weight, she needed to tone up, improve her cardio, and learn how to breathe.
She was so determined to succeed that she accelerated her pace, straightening her back and putting more energy into her stride. She glanced at the Viking to see if he had noticed the improvement, but instead, he was totally absorbed in hitting the punching bag with all his force. She admired his large muscular arms as he struck the bag, making it sway from side to side under his powerful blows. As she walked past him, she saw the veins that ran through his firm muscles. He was much more powerful than Hugo, and much faster.
“Concentrate!” shouted Nina. “You think too much, you're going to embarrass us all. Stop watching Mark and run!”
What utter humiliation! Tara straightened up and resumed her run, trying to keep her head up. She feared she would be taken for a nymphomaniac whose only desire was to shake her backside in her tightly fitting jogging pants. It was the most embarrassing moment of her entire life!
When she had finished her tenth lap, she fell to the ground like a sea elephant. She was dizzy and her vision was blurred. When she opened her eyes, Nina came over and knelt down beside her:
“What do you think you’re doing? Get up, act like a warrior!”
Tara tried to lift herself off the ground, but she immediately fell back down with a loud thump. Her head was spinning so fast she had to grab on to the tatami to help it slow it down. Then, after several unsuccessful attempts, she got up and stood as straight as she could. She didn't want to disappoint Nina. The coach’s respect was important to her.
“You're as slow as a turtle,” concluded Nina, who turned her back on Tara and continued punching the bag. “You should never have come here. You're not up to the task, you don't even know who you are. I wish our paths had never crossed.”
As she continued striking the bag, Tara looked at her, stunned by what she had just heard. Even Hugo and Mark, who had heard their discussion, stopped working out and looked at Tara with apologetic expressions. Nina’s words felt like a dagger that had stabbed her in the heart. Trembling, Tara felt tears rising in her eyes. Her words were unjust. She wouldn’t allow her to speak to her in that way:
“Nina!” she began, still dazed. “You know how difficult it is for me to be in this situation! I’d obviously prefer to be the great warrior I once was and know how to fight and access the Sphere!”
Nina continued punching the bag without paying attention to her.
“Nina!” shouted Tara, tormented by the coach's indifference. “Why do you always ignore and reject me?”
On these words, she felt her throat tightening. She hadn’t done anything right this morning. Not only had she been unable to enter the Sphere, but she was a million miles away from fighting like a missionary. As for Nina, she glanced over at her once, before immediately turning back around and continuing her workout as though she wasn’t there.
Tara watched as she ruthlessly punched the bag with fury and speed. The young woman was so impressive that she seemed almost unreal. Standing on the tatami, unable to do anything else but stare at her, Tara thought back to all the moments she had spent with her since they met at Cesucom. What could possibly be motivating the coach to be so hard on her? Was she jealous that Tara was a seraph while she herself was only a legionary, despite the fact that their angels possessed the same power?
Nina continued punching for a long time without giving Tara a second thought. It was only once she had finished her workout and caught her breath that she deigned to look at her. Tara felt her heart leap in her chest as Nina walked towards her in her naturally feline manner, her body dripping with sweat and her hands red from the punches. When she arrived in front of her, she looked at her from head to toe before taking on a softer tone and expression:
“I'm not rejecting you Tara. Everything I do, I do for you.”
Tara’s heart was beating so furiously that she was unable to respond. Instantly, her legs quivered, making it difficult for her to stand.
Without waiting for an answer, Nina went back to her workout, only stopping for an instant to add:
“Give me a sequence of twenty push-ups, followed by half a lap running at full speed and the rest at moderate pace. Do this sequence eight times and come back to me when you're done.”
With butterflies in her stomach, Tara did as she was told. The first round was torture. Little did she know that her suffering had just begun... Nina showed her no mercy, ordering Tara to stand upside down nearly half an hour, while trying to cross the room walking on her hands; she made her do five hundred sit-ups even though her abdomen could only handle twenty; she made her run forever, and then stretch so much that her limbs nearly came out of their sockets. No part of her body was spared. When the clock struck noon, Tara had already been working out for four hours.
As Nina, Hugo and Mark left the room for lunch, Tara remembered what Emily had told her: she wasn’t allowed to eat anything until the evening. Being isolated from the others while her hunger tore her insides apart, was nothing less than agony. She sat there alone on the tatami, doing the muscle strengthening exercises that Nina had ordered, while the others filled their stomachs. When the coach returned, her pain and suffering continued for four more unbearable hours, as she prayed to God to make her nightmare end.
Shortly after six o'clock, she finally returned to her room, exhausted. Her entire body was throbbing: her thighs were on fire, she could barely move her legs anymore, her arms no longer had the strength to carry themselves, and her clothes were so full of sweat that she went straight into the jacuzzi, fully dressed. She was so tired she didn't feel hungry anymore. Her hunger had been replaced by the intense fatigue that had taken over her whole body. Her head was still spinning, but her stomach had given up on crying famine. Her whole being was in a state of shock.
She slowly undressed, carelessly dropping her wet clothes on the floor beside the jacuzzi. She felt so dirty that she first washed her body with cold water and soap before running a bath. The cool running water was like a soothing balm on her over-heated skin and burning muscles. She could feel it pouring down her boiling head and neck and continuing its path over her back and breasts. The pure soothing water then rinsed her stomach and legs, before she poured it over her reddened face once again. Her heavy eyelids felt revitalized thanks to the coolness of the crystal-clear liquid.
She took a deep breath and then exhaled all the tension her body had accumulated. She finally started to relax. After washing and rinsing her body, she began to shampoo her hair. Her thick blonde mane was so long that it reached the top of her f
inely shaped buttocks. Once she felt clean, she ran a lukewarm bath, hoping it would deeply soothe and refresh her tired body. When the jacuzzi was completely full she lay back and let go, imagining she was lying in the rough moving waters of a river out in the wild.
The bathtub was big enough for two people. Tara, with her small size, felt perfectly at ease in the water, her body completely immersed in the purifying liquid. The energy in Emily's apartment was such that she really felt as though she was bathing in a river in the middle of a pine forest. She could hear the water flowing all around her, and she could smell the fragrance of moss and pine trees in the air. Soon, she would be able to feel the rocks on the riverbed graze her skin.
“It's cool, isn’t it?” said a hoarse voice behind her.
Tara sat up with a start, hiding her breasts behind her hands. She turned to the door and saw Nina leaning against the entrance of the bathroom, next to the multitude of switches on the wall.
“Don't worry, I’ve seen naked women before,” said Nina, sensing Tara's anxiety.
“What are you doing here?”
“Grand Canyon, Alpine Forest, Provence, Mediterranean Sea... You also have Tropical Storm, Atlantic Storm, Sunny Morning. It’s pretty amazing, don’t you think?”
Tara, suspicious as to why she had come, didn't respond. Then, she noticed the switches on the wall next to Nina.
“I turned on Alpine Forest... The flowing river, the smell of pine trees…it's almost as though you were really there... The fragrance diffusers are placed all over the room. As for the sound, it comes out of the speakers on the ceiling. You can do the same thing in the bedroom. I use Tropical Storm most nights, it helps me fall asleep…”
“Have you been here long? I didn't hear you come in.”
“Long enough for you to think you were in a forest,” Nina answered with a smile. “Stop hiding your breasts, it’s ridiculous.”
Tara turned bright red. Reluctantly, she let go of her breasts, abandoning them to the water.
HAGEN: 1. Revelations Page 20