A/N: Hello readers! I hope you enjoy this story that I've been pondering for quite a while. Just a warning, this is an AU, so I've been a bit lenient on the ages, and (obviously) the events won't be canon so neither will the setting or any other aspects of this universe. Just as a warning, updates may be sporadic, but I will try to update as frequently as possible. Thanks for reading!

Chapter I

April 2, 713

Jason laughed, a sound that rang in the air and bounced off the trees, as Reyna slashed at his arm. Her dark braid whipped in the wind as her lips twisted and snarled, legs leaping frantically like a gazelle's while her fox-like eyes shined intently. Jason retreated as the edge of her knife caressed the border of his jugular vein, his balance thrown to his heels, before he thrust his sword forward towards her stomach. Reyna stepped calmly out of the way, and Jason was left to face the consequence of his actions, his weight having been carelessly plunged forward in his attack. In a display of utter oafishness, Jason found his face thrust violently into the fresh earth.

Spring had returned again in full color. The cleansing breeze of Persephone tingled upon the skin of the students and the gentle swaying of the trees lulled the children into a sleep-like lethargy. Jason's fourteenth birthday was approaching, yet the drag of each day lengthened the wait, and he felt little more than a slight buzz of excitement when it came to mind. Lupa had questioned him about it in their weekly talks, though he thought little of it. There was too much to do and too much to see in his hyperactive mind. It wasn't hard to lose himself in the comfortable shelter of his friends and ignore the gentle pressure of fate upon the back of his mind.

Reyna peered down at him with her critical obsidian eyes, her cynicism almost comical upon a rosy face still laden with baby fat and deceiving youth. Jason ran his tongue over the back of his teeth and coughed up a wad of dirt before glancing up at the thirteen-year old girl with what he hoped were heart-wrenchingly apologetic blue eyes. Reyna was a bit of a mystery to most everyone, arriving mysteriously in the past year. Some said Lupa had found her in the forest, a wild child with a penchant for raw meat, while others believed she was a sign from the gods, arriving at the gates of the center glimmering with heavenly ambrosia. Some even claimed she was a double agent for the other side, but those were few and far between. Her natural skill, unexplained and superior to many well beyond her age, aroused suspicion and distrust among others her age. Jason knew better than to ask about such things if he valued his limbs.

Reyna clucked her tongue and pointed her sword menacingly at Jason's face, though her expression was more annoyance than malice.

"Three more months, Grace, and you still can't help tripping over your own feet. Gods, you're going to get ripped to pieces."

Jason swallowed, a forced lightness upon his tongue.

"That's three more months of training, Reyna, and I'm sure getting kicked in the butt by a prepubescent girl every day is going to knock some sense into me—if not out of fear then at least to regain what dignity I have left."

Reyna squinted at him, before offering a hand to help him up.

"It's going to take more than sense to pass the test. Get back into position."

Jason sent Reyna a toothy grin before grasping the hilt of his wooden sword and jumping to his feet. He attempted to speak through the barrage of wood and fists attacking him, his breath coming in short pants.

"What do you know about the test anyways? You're even younger than I am."

Reyna sent a particularly aggressive slash his way before answering, biting out her words with more than a hint of arrogance.

"I know enough to have passed it without having taken it. And age, as you well know, is hardly a measure of skill."

"Wait—what? You've already passed it? But that's not—whoa!"

As a result of his sudden bewilderment, Jason was fed the back end of Reyna's wooden knife, and found his behind placed firmly into the dew-soaked grass of the morning. Jason's mind was racing. It wasn't possible that Reyna had already passed the test. She had hardly been here a year, and though her skill was above and beyond even the highest expectations, it required Lupa's own approval, and that of the proctors, to be even remotely qualified. It also required being at least fourteen, which Reyna was most certainly not.

Three more months. Jason tried to wipe the thought from his mind, but it pulsed now, like a constant reverse echo, one that continued to increase in volume until it pounded against his temples. It was just Jason's luck that the test happened to rest directly upon his birthday.

He tried to open his mouth again, but the damp coolness of Reyna's wooden blade upon his neck forced his lips to close.

"I passed it." Reyna's tone scorched Jason's ears, burning in its condescension and utter conviction. "Now get up. The breakfast bell is about to ring."

The sun was nearly setting when Jason found Reyna once again.

Jason had stumbled out from Lupa's room with a migraine pounding against his temples and his hands twitching. It had been a long day of training. Hedge had forced the Eighth Years to run a total of six miles before an intense bout of combat. The training sessions had become increasingly intense as the test drew nearer. Jason had to catch Gwen halfway through the run, as her legs threatened to give out under the mid-afternoon sun. Jason's own skill, he knew, had improved. A sword felt more an extension of his arm than anything, but the morning's events reminded him that he had a ways to go before he could truly be a soldier. Legs sore and arms shaking, Jason had trudged back to his room, only to be snatched away by Lupa for another talk. Her office was crisp and clean, empty but for a bear skin carpet lain across the floor and the emblem of a wolf hung across the wall. Her desk sat in the corner with a single chair. Jason was left standing in the center of the room.

"You are more important than you believe, in this war, in all wars. It is absolutely necessary for you to pass this test. It will take more than skill, more than courage…Jason, you must promise me you will speak of our talks to no one."

Jason had nodded, more out of fear than out of understanding, as Lupa's calculating gaze pierced his brain. He wondered if she could discern the conversations he had had with Reyna and his fantasies of flight from the mangled mess of his thoughts, if she could find the secret compartments of his mind and pry them open. This test was quite literally his lifeline: it was the test, the only one he would ever be submitted to, after which, if he passed, he was to be sent overseas to the army base to fight. Those who didn't pass were killed or sent to work in the mines, a necessary action due to the lack of resources in the kingdom. It was an impossibility for the kingdom year after year to support wave after wave of teenagers.

Jason had had years to ponder such things, yet the gravity of it all only began to slowly settle upon his chest now, like the gentle caress of a boa, slowly yet surely constricting his lungs. He had rushed out, feeling oddly naked and exposed.

Bobby and Dakota had accosted him with a plate of beef and corn, questions on their lips, though when they saw his state, they fell silent. Jason would have to thank them later. He ate quietly at the table, his mind dwelling on Lupa's words. Important to the war? Jason had been brought up believing that everyone played an equal part in the war, that every death was one lost for the glory of the country and the royal family. Jason felt blessed to have been chosen at a young age to become a soldier: it was the highest honor. He reminded himself rather reluctantly that if he didn't pass the test, he would never become one. No one quite remembered where the war arose from, something about an affair and somebody's head coming off, but the bloodied body bags were enough to fuel a generation. And the test…there was something going on between Lupa and Reyna. He was sure of it.

Jason had never liked closed spaces, so when dinner finished and the rest of the students dispersed into their various free time activities, he fled from the confining space of the compound into the open. The center was largely composed of a metal and brick compound, which housed the training rooms and the living compartments, as well as the dining hall and the rec room. Surrounding this mass of steel was a border of grass that melted into dense forest. A small pond had been artificially placed at the edge of the forest, though it had been quickly absorbed by the nature surrounding it. A pair of ducks waddled along the edges of the lake as dragonflies soared and touched their slender legs tenuously to their reflections. The sun rained down in drops of light, a mosaic formed by the filter of the leaves.

Jason found Reyna sitting here with her eyes closed and the tips of her toes tracing the water. She seemed almost peaceful, her braid coming slightly undone at the ends and her limbs limp with relaxation. Reyna was thin and shorter than Jason, yet what weight she had upon her was made up of compact muscle and ferocity. She reminded him often of a wolf, calm and cool on the outside, but thrumming with energy and tension beneath. As he approached, he reached out his hand to tap her shoulder. As the tips of his fingers brushed against her skin, he was met with a steel knife to his throat and an elbow against his collar bone. Reyna's eyes were wild and fierce, her muscles tense, but she visibly relaxed when she recognized Jason. She released the pressure upon his torso, dropping him to the ground and leaving him to scramble to his feet.

"Oh, it's you."

Jason nodded cautiously.

"Go away."

Jason smiled and seated himself next to her.

"I thought you looked kind of lonely here. Plus, I have some questions I need to ask you."

Reyna ignored him.

"Please…just a few questions. I even saved some chocolate cake for you from dinner."

Reyna sighed and glanced at the food. To be honest, Jason had been saving it for himself, but sacrifices had to be made.

"Alright then. Get on with it."

"First off, where did you get that knife? Metal weapons are only allowed in the training room."

Reyna glared at him, violently stabbing the cake with a fork.

"That's irrelevant. Move on."

Jason knew better than to argue with her.

"Alright. Next question. How did you pass the test?"

Reyna was silent for a moment, pondering.

"It was something I passed without knowing it. Lupa knew I had passed the moment she met me. I did not. It was a necessary part of my past, and yet I do not wish it for anyone in the future. It breaks you, and yet, as a soldier, as a bane for this country, you must do it. I cannot tell you more. Lupa's orders."

Jason cursed under his breath. Reyna followed Lupa's orders in a swift, unwavering manner. He tried pleading once more nevertheless.

"Reyna, I'm asking you, not as a student, but as a friend. What is the test? Please. My life may count on it."

An exaggeration, but one that was necessary.

Reyna considered him with hawk-like eyes, contemplation playing across her features, as Jason felt his mind being ripped open for the second time that day as she assessed him. This time when she spoke, her tone was colder. Her eyes bore into Jason's with striking intensity.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any friends. I have given my word to Lupa, and I intend to keep it."

Reyna stalked away, training armor rippling in the blood red sun.

The spring suddenly seemed much grayer.