Primus felt a wave of heat pass him on both sides and he pressed Viola's body closer to him as he gritted his teeth. The heat quickly faded, the smell of charcoal flooding the lower level as Primus dared to pry one yellow eye open. Gasping lightly, he stared up at the tall, looming figure that stood with their back to the cowering teens. The hallway was silent for a moment, quiet enough for Primus to hear his heartbeat in his throat. It pulsed and rumbled, almost making him want to throw up.
"Hmm, my my, your manners continue to slip I see." If Primus wanted to throw up before, now he was on the verge of passing out as the voice of Aden Hook came from the body standing in front of him. It invaded his chest like a cement block with every mocking word that escaped his lips. He couldn't see it for himself, but Primus could just feel the irritated aura surrounding the man as the woman who attacked them dropped her foil, the sound of metal against concrete echoing loudly as she dropped down to one knee.
" Aden," She swallowed thickly, her arms started to tremble, "I…"
"I thought I was very clear with my orders." Aden hummed, almost as if he was considering the idea that he was somehow not clear. Which was an idea that was almost laughable. Not even glancing back at the teens behind him, Aden strode up to his subordinate. Primus shivered every time his boot hit the concrete floor, the loud echoes sounded like contained explosions. Shifting Viola in his arms as she groaned, Primus dared take his eyes off Aden to look back at the other two. Mark was sitting slouched against the wall, holding a hand heavily against his side as his shirt was stained by a red blotch of his blood. Near him, Yuro was on his hands and knees, slowly gaining control of his breathing. Both of them were past their limits, and feeling Viola's blood trickled down her face and onto the fabric of his jacket, Primus knew she wasn't going to be any help either. He still had a good amount of strength left, but it wouldn't do him any good if he had to protect his friends and fight Aden.
"I'm sorry, Aden. I'll do better next time," The woman shot him a nasty glare before looking back at the floor, the shadow of her bangs covering her eyes from Aden's curious gaze. Cocking his head to the side, Aden put both his hands in his pockets, quizzically gazing down at the woman before him.
She'd been working for him for almost two years, and had successfully set up two other bases in other small cities. He remembered first seeing her eyes shine with pride as her newly formed army tore through a northern Dust mine, looting everything inside after crushing the Atlas army standing guard outside. The strength that resonated in her voice, the loyalty for him that oozed from her eyes, and the desperate love that shone through every pour every time he praised her. She was one of the best recruiters he had, a perfect subordinate in every sense of the word. Smirking, he resisted the urge to laugh. And for all her accolades, he couldn't remember her name.
"Of course you will," Aden turned his back to her, cape fluttering behind him as he turned his gaze on Primus. A thick lump lodged itself in Primus' throat as Aden's grey eyes soaked in the sight of his target beaten down on the floor. What a wonderful surprise. Earlier in the rally, Aden spotted Primus in the crowd as he struggled to open the door. Aden could see the Lune insignia stitched into the back of his clothes, and a rush of giddiness filled him when Primus and his team were forced to stay and watch, so he decided to put on a bit of a show. He gave the woman strict instructions to keep them from leaving the room the rally was hosted in, and she assured him that all exits were locked prior to the rally to prevent any disturbances. He believed her. Which is why it took everything in him not to throw the mike down and snatch her by the neck when he saw the group escape out a side door.
Now he couldn't just chase after them. No. He needed to address his followers, and convince the new recruits to follow his dream faithfully. Finally stopping only inches away from Primus, Aden gave the boy a rueful smirk.
"So this is the heir that managed to dodge two of my elite fighters," Aden's smile grew as Primus said nothing, but glared up at him, "I trained them myself you know, I'm rather proud of them. So you must understand why I'm so curious about you, Primus Lune."
"You'll have to forgive me, because I did not want to meet you. At all." Primus sassed, trying to think of a way for them to get out of this. Mark and Yuro were somewhere behind him, more than likely unconscious if they weren't making any noise. He might be able to carry them all out, if he made them light enough, but he would have to walk. Clenching his hands on Viola, Primus knew that there was no way he was walking out of here, so that wouldn't work.
"Understandable." Aden hummed, eyes drawn down to Viola, who was struggling to force herself awake, "Not many people are interested in facing the one who will pass down judgment for their sins." Looking further down, Aden saw the two boys who managed to take down his guards. Neither looked particularly important, but they're strong enough to take down so many guards. As expected of students of Reverie Academy.
"Primus," Viola struggled to stay conscious as two pairs of eyes snapped down to focus on her. Primus muttered for her not to worry, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. Watching the exchange with interest, Aden ignored the sound of feet as the last few guards came into the hallway, instantly freezing when they saw him.
"Mr. Aden, sir," one of the guards started, words failing him for a moment before he gathered up enough courage to continue, "What are your orders, sir?" Slowly dragging his grey eyes back to the heir before him, Aden tapped his finger to forehead in mock contemplation.
"Well I certainty don't need any extra prisoners, and they've proven themselves too strong to be let go." Aden shrugged lightly, "Take them to the other side of town and dispose of them. They're no good to me. You," Aden turned back to look at the kneeling woman on the floor, "Restrain the Lune boy and prepare to transport him to Headquarters first thing in the morning." The guards nodded as one marched forward and roughly grabbed ahold of Viola's arm, paying little attention to the boy holding her.
"Wait!" Primus clung tightly to Viola as one of the guards tried to yank her from his hands, looking over, he saw Yuro and Mark being gathered off the ground rather roughly. Digging his fingers into Viola's arm, he prayed she'd forgive him for the bruises.
"Really, don't be so dramatic about this. It's going to happen one way or another so stop with the theatrics." Aden scoffed as Viola was finally torn from Primus' hands. The boy fell forward, grunting a bit as he brought his arms up to stop his fall.
"Dang it," Primus' eyes snapped up as Mark began to come back to reality. He was still bleeding heavily, but tried to squirm out of the guard's hands, unsuccessfully. Mark blinked heavily, as if his eyes were drenched in syrup. He hadn't fully passed out, but he was out of it for a while. Eyes slowly sliding to the side, Mark could see Yuro fully knocked out, his head hanging limply as the guard threw the boy over his shoulder.
"Leave them alone!" Primus bit out, pushing himself up to his feet and glaring into Aden's eyes. The man was around the same height, if not an inch or so taller, but Primus felt impossibly small under his ashen glare. "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go safely." Bile rose in his throat as the guards marched away with his friends in tow. No. No! His eyes filled with frustrated tears as he reached for them one more time, knowing that he would only grasp air.
"Please," Aden barked out a laugh as the woman came up behind Primus and grabbed his arm, her long manicured nails digging into his skin forcing a hiss from his mouth. "You have nothing to offer me, hell you don't even have any rights within your own company," Aden leaned forward, "Daddy kicked you out didn't he? The only reason you're considered the heir to keep anyone from going after your sister while she's still young. As soon as she grows up, you'll be dropped." Aden laughed as Primus' face flushed red with anger and shame. The woman forced both of his hands behind his back and cuffed them together, standing at attention. Giving her an approving nod, Aden watched as the woman tried to push Primus forward, but he leaned back against her and held his ground.
"You're right, I'm not the real heir," Primus ground out, "but the rest of the world thinks I am. My father won't just ignore my disappearance; it would make him look bad. He'll come looking for me just to save face." At least, Primus hoped so, "If you let them go back and tell Headmistress Rangi, then they'll defiantly know I'm alive. My dad will do or pay whatever you want to get me back. If there's no proof I'm alive, he won't give you squat!" Primus' face fell a bit when Aden burst out in a full bellied laugh. The sound echoed through the halls.
"I don't want him to give me anything," he emphasized the words, "I'm just going to take it. Sorry, but you're not as important as you think you are, especially when my men go get your sister." Ignoring the horrified look on Primus' face, Aden waved the guards off. Thick, heavy tears rolled down his cheeks as he let out a primal roar of desperate rage. How could this have happened, why did he bring them here? Primus struggled against his bonds as his friends were taken away. Digging his heels in the ground, he let out a frustrated wail as he was pulled in the other direction.
XXX
Throben sat against the windowsill facing the academy gate. His breath fogged the cool glass as his patience began to wane. Hickory watched Saffron pace back and forth, rubbing down the carpet with each step. Turning fast on her toes, Saffron chewed on her lip. Morning was coming and they still haven't heard a word from the team. Everything in her screamed that something went wrong. Her mind flashed back to the
"Its been way too long," Saffron broke the silence, eyes blazing as she reached over and grabbed her scroll off her bed, blinking quickly as her eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the screen. "I'm gonna call Mark."
"Don't," Thorben snapped, never taking his eyes away from the window, "We don't know what's going on, you might draw unwanted attention to them if his phone goes off." Thorben ran his fingers through his hair as Saffron gave a loud groan. He had to restrain himself from agreeing with her. The stars were beginning to fade, and a few birds had started to warm up for their morning serenade. Clutching his own scroll in his hand, a fierce scowl came over his face.
That idiot was supposed to be back by now, and now Hickory, Amber, and Saffron were freaking out, which was leading to him freaking out. No matter how much he tried to block their emotional energy, a bit seeped through and it was frustrating. He couldn't make a clear decision like this. They were supposed to wait till the sun came up, but Thorben wasn't sure if that was a good idea.
Tailing Team WSZP should have only taken three hours at most, and the fact that neither team came back yet was alarming. Taking a deep breath, Thorben shoved himself off the windowsill and walked over to his closet. Yanking out a sweatshirt with the school insignia and pulling it over his head, Thorben walked to the door.
"I'm going to tell Vin," Thorben pulled the door open, when Saffron slapped her hand on the doorframe, using her arm to block Thorben's way. One hip jutted out, Saffron gave him a soft glare.
"Are you crazy, he'll kill you for waking him up this early if you go alone." Saffron stepped out in front of him, throwing him a halfhearted smile. "I'll go with you." Thorben gave her an odd look before just giving in and following her out the door.
"Call me on my scroll if you hear anything before we do!" Thorben called back to Hickory and Amber. The pair walked through the campus, Thorben's bare feet barely making any noise against the ground. Thick puffs of air escaped their mouths with each breath, but they didn't say anything as they approached Vin's housing near the edge of campus. Licking his lips, Thorben contemplated how much his funeral might cost, and if his parents would invite the entire town to the event after Vin's wrath destroyed his fragile body, which it more than likely would. The man was sarcastic and irritating on a regular basis, but could be downright nightmarish when angry.
"Any final words?" Saffron joked as Thorben raised a trembling fist to the simple wooden door. Knocking firmly, Thorben's bear ears twitched as he could feel an omounious presence drip from inside the house. Sometimes he really hated his Semblance.
"I'm going to kill Mark." Thorben muttered, but Saffron couldn't find it in her to laugh as the door swung open. Vin stood before them in his nightwear, rubbing the sleep from his eyes roughly as he stared down at the two children before him with irritated glower.
"Do I even want to know what you brats are doing here at this time of night?" He drawled out, leaning heavily against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest impatiently. He was having a nice dream and he'd like to get back to it as soon as possible. However, with the way these two were fidgeting under his gaze, he doubted he'd be that lucky.
"Some of our teammates didn't come back last night, we think something bad might have happened to them." Thorben suppressed a yelp when Vin took a daunting step towards them, now fully awake.
"What do you mean they didn't come back?" Vin growled out, letting his arms fall to his side and balled his hands into fist. Thorben swallowed loudly and leaned back a bit, intimidated by the man's sheer presence. Vin's arms flexed and relaxed over and over again, the muscles bulging with the effort not to grab the two students by the collar and drag them to Rangi so she could deal with it. Then he remembered the tired look on Rangi's face, the way her hair wasn't as neat as usual and the way the bags under her eyes aged her, and Vin let out a breath.
"Well you see, its kind of a long story," Saffron stuttered out, panic making the words fly out of her mouth before she could process them, "Its really only one of our teammates. Mark, and parts of Team PAVY. You see, we were hanging out downtown tonight and, well, we saw Team WSZP and they were acting all weird. Like weirder than usual because they're pretty weird already. So Primus wanted to follow them and," Saffron jumped a bit when Vin's fist collided with the doorframe.
"Primus Lune, again?" He was almost yelling as he yanked both students inside his house and slammed the door behind him. Stalking around the house, he quickly got dressed, and yelled out "keep talking!"
"Well he, Viola, Yuro, and Mark went after them, but they haven't come back yet." Saffron moved out of the way as Vin came stalking back into the main room, dressed in his day clothing and tugging his fingerless gloves on his hands. "That's about it."
"Have you tired to contact them?" Vin grabbed his scroll and sent a fast text to the city police office. The more eyes he had looking for these kids the better. This was the worst possible time for this to happen. Primus was missing in the middle of a major powershift, for all they knew he might have been taken. Vin bit his lip a bit, and if the others were with him, they were most likely dead. Whoever was kidnapping the heirs seemed to have no interest in leaving witnesses.
"I've been sending text since midnight, but I didn't want to call and risk getting them in trouble if they're in danger," Thorben forced out, his back aching from standing so straight.
"Damn it, you disobedient brats." Vin scowled them, lacing up his boots, "You two stay here, if I come back to an empty house," Vin paused, remembering his status as a teacher, "Well lets just say your parents won't know how to put you back together again."
XXX
"Good work, child. I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our little rendezvous tomorrow," Aden paused as the light voice over his scroll became a tad concerned, "No, no I'm sure this won't be a problem, hmm, is that so?" Aden ran his fingers over the wall, feeling the little bumps of the cement. The voice on the other end continued to argue their case, and he listed patiently, "What do the others think," he paused, "How noble of you. You've always been such a spoiled child, far more so than my other students. However, I won't indulge you this time. You're staying where you are, is that clear?" A small laugh escaped him before he hung up, shaking his head at his student's rebellious antics. They could sass him all they wanted, as long as they understood their place when it mattered.
"Sir," Vin slowly turned to look at the woman with green hair, she stood at backbreaking attention with two guards flanking her from behind. Tucking is scroll away he turned to fully face her.
"Is everything taken care of like I asked?" Vin questioned flatly, not really in the mood to spend a moment more in Dorado than he had to. He wanted to move Primus out of the city as soon as possible, less commotion that way.
"The Lune boy has been prepared for departure, and the others have been taken to the docks. They'll be disposed of as soon as you're train leaves." The woman felt an itch in the back of her neck, but didn't dare scratch it. Giving her an exasperated look, Vin ran his fingers roughly through his dark hair.
"Any particular reason why it isn't being done now? Like I asked," Vin crossed his arms over his chest impatiently, "I thought we already had our talk about following orders." The woman froze under his gaze, the mask covering the lower half of her face dropping when she frowned a bit.
"Of course, sir, we just wanted to make sure there was no way their deaths could be traced back to you or anyone in the organization. They police and Academy will start sniffing around when they find the bodies, so the sooner the Dorado recruits are evacuated the less chance we risk of them finding us." The woman brushed a lock of green hair from her face, waiting patiently as Vin mulled her response over.
"How long will it take you to shut down this base?" Vin raised a questioning eyebrow.
"No more than six hours. The new recruits are being assigned to their new training areas now, as soon as we hand them their new uniforms, they'll be ready to move. The rest of the time will just be destroying this floor and any trace of our existence. I want to be thorough. " The woman bowed as Vin waved her away dismissively, walking into the shadows.
"Have it all done in four. I don't want to risk anyone figuring out we were here, the sooner we leave the better," He paused for a moment, and glanced back over his shoulder, "and as soon as everything is done, relocate yourself to Atlas, you'll be serving there under the commander. The Dorado elite team will stay here until I say otherwise." The woman's eyes widened, a silent breath filling her lungs as she protested.
"But, I was supposed to join the elite team here in Dorado, you promised," She stopped when Vin turned back to look at her. Her stare robbed her of breath as the insatiable bloodlust in his grey eyes threatened to knock her over.
"You promised," He mocked, "That tonight would go smoothly, you promised that no one knew we were here." Aden gestured towards the damaged hallway, cracks and craters in the walls in the floor from the previous scuffle, "Does this look like it went smoothly? Its pure luck that someone on the surface didn't hear all the fighting and come down to check! We could have been uncovered tonight thanks to your stupid mistake." The woman recoiled back into herself, blinking away the tears as he laughed cruelly at her faults. How could he be so cruel, after she served him so faithfully for so long? Did he not care for her at all? Did he not respect all her success up until this night? The woman stared brokenly at the ground as Aden scoffed at her and walked away, the guards on her side stayed silent and patiently awaited her next orders.
She brought a hand to her heart, feeling it pulse under her hand as she tried to calm her breathing. All of her work and struggles were destroyed the mere instant she allowed those brats into her base. Now, her chance of joining the ranks of the elite, of becoming something more than a babysitter for new recruits was gone. She dedicated years of her life to the cause, to Aden, and yet he still looked at her with such dismissive eyes and mocking pity. It was clear that he would never love her, not in the way she loved him. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he remembered her name.
That thought stabbed at her chest, making her tremble a bit in her heartbreak. It was always a long shot, she knew that, but she hoped that if she proved herself by moving up in the ranks, he'd at least take notice of her. Take the time to get to know her, and then maybe, just maybe love her.
She remembered the first time she looked upon him, the way he towered above the mass of bodies. People were screaming, thrusting signs of protest into the air. Down with big business. Down with low pay and high risk. Down with seventeen hour work days six days a week. She herself was covered in a layer of grime, the sunlight stinging her eyes as she emerged from the Dust mine with dozens of other protesters.
"Raise the pay or lesser days!" She chanted over and over again, her throat burning from the dryness of the unforgiving sun. Her water rations had long since run out, and she refused to give into the temptation of abandoning the protest to get more. Sometime you have to suffer for what you believe in, she reminded herself, wiping a thick layer of sweat from her forehead. Glancing down, she almost gagged at the sight of her arm covered in a layer of dirt and grime, now smeared messily against her skin. More than likely some got on her forehead, but she tried not to think about it. There was nothing glamorous about working in a Dust mine. No one would judge her.
"There you are!" A faunas with vibrant yellow hair stained and dulled from years of working underground. Careful of his droopy dog ears, he muscled his way through the crowd and flashed her with an excited smile. "I've been looking for you for an hour, when did you get out here?" She rolled her eyes and pumped her sign in the air, ignoring the cramp in her side from dehydration.
"I'm always one of the first people out here, Dug, you know that." The woman snorted haughtily, blowing a greasy strand of hair from her face. Dug laughed at her, plucking the sign from her hand and joining in merrily. Resisting the urge to smile at his enthusiasm, the woman continued her chant even louder this time. Dozens of sticky, dusty bodies surrounded her, all chanting the same songs one by one. As the day rolled on and her voice went hoarse, more people abandon their mining to join them. She couldn't help but smile as their dozens grew to hundreds. Even when her head grew light and her skin burned under the sun and started to peel red, she stood proudly at the front of the mob, shouting and yelling with Dug by her side.
Closing her eyes and throwing her head back, she couldn't help but let out a carefree laugh. She'd been working in these mines for years, since she was legally able, to help support her family. She, her father, mother, and uncle all worked fifteen hour days, six days a week but only managed to earn enough to keep their little shack standing and a meager bowl of watered down soup and warm bread in their bellies. Her mouth started to water at the thought of her mother's bread.
"Uh oh," Dug cringed; shading is eyes with the sign as dust trails kicked up in the distance. Snapping her eyes open she watched the armored ships speed towards them, hovering low to the ground. "We're in trouble," Dug whined, dropping the sign. She watched, memorized, as dozens of human and robotic guards marched out of the ship and stand across from the protestors. The contrast was laughable. The guards stood in sleek, white, reflective uniforms while the miners stood in rags, covered in thick layers of dirt. One of the guards raised a megaphone to his lips, screeching at them to get back to work or risk their jobs. Mummers started to go up in the crowd. That was to high a price for many of these families to pay. The woman watched helplessly as more and more people put down their signs and trudged back to their mines. Breathing in deeply, she reached down and pulled the sign on the ground up into her arms and started screaming the chant once more.
"Raise the pay or Lesser days!" Over and over she shouted, her own voice scratching at her throat as she heard herself echo among the silent crowd. Were they really just going to give up like that? They finally had the guards standing across from them, now they had to listen. This wasn't the time to be silent, she had to say something! Dug gave her a curious look that she couldn't decipher, before he started chanting too. Their voices rang out loud and scratchy as others joined in, louder, and louder.
The guard only scoffed at them, and sent his men forward. They pushed at the crowd with spears that crackled with the very Dust these people painstakingly gathered from the ground. But the protesters held their ground, the woman leading the group in their chant. One of the guards grabbed her arm, making her yelp at the pressure that threatened to snap her bones in half. Dug was there in a second, separating them and lunging at the guard. A fight broke out.
Later that night, the woman sat around a fire with a dozen or so of the other miners, listening to the flames crackle against the wood with a blanket draped around her shoulders and a mug of weak tea in her hands. Her skin stung in the places where the frayed blanket scratched against the cuts and bruises on her skin. A man came over to her, and laid a heavy, wrinkled hand on her shoulder, giving her a knowing look.
"I'm so sorry, there is nothing that can ease the pain of losing a friend." The man's trembling voice soothed over her as she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, holding back a sob as she thought of Dug. His happy smile and gleaming eyes that always found her in the darkest parts of the mines and lit up her day. She met him on her first day, and he kindly followed her like a loyal puppy since. She went over his house for dinner, got to know his charming mother and hellish elder sister. There were moments when she even thought she wouldn't mind settling down with him one day. The old man noticed her silence and continued, "Is this your first time losing a friend in protest?" She took in a sharp breath and looked at him. He said that like there would be more.
"Yes, it is." She whispered lightly, "It was my fault. He was only watching out for me and they shot him. They shot him because he was out there with me." Dug wasn't a confrontational soul. Had she not pressed him to go with her to every rally, had she not insisted on being a bigger part of the movement, Dug would have never taken part of those rallies. He would not have been there to get shot.
"It is not your fault child, your friend was the victim of circumstance. I heard of what happened, it seems there was little reason for the man to shoot other than he was afraid." The old man did not flinch when she tore the blanket off her and there it to the ground, glaring at him angrily.
"But why? They never even had to come near us in the first place, we weren't doing anything wrong! We have the right to protest!" The woman bared her teeth, the picture of Dug's body stained in her mind. The old man sighed, and stared into the flame.
"There is little reason to these types of things, child. Rights and fairness are often fickle things. Always changing with man and his ever changing values. But that is not a bad thing, it allows us to improve, even if for every step forward we must trudge through chaos and death. We must never stop moving forward," he looked over and gave her a gentle smile, "you must never stop moving forward."
Later in the night the major leaders of the protesters gathered around the same fire, Kiki scooted in close to hear every word, now more invigorated than ever. She would not let Dug's death be in vain. She would see this movement through to the end, no matter what. Although, as she started listening to these men talk, she had her doubts. They wanted to do another walk out? After the tragedy that just happened? Eight protesters were killed today, but they wanted to do another peaceful protest? Should they not arm themselves, the guards obviously had no problem hurting them. Her opinions pushed at her lips, threatening to burst out when a man stood up in the crowd and the leaders looked to him with annoyed interest.
"Who are you?" one of the leaders snorted, noticing the man's clean clothes and well kept hair. He was obviously not a miner. Then she looked at him, and her heart felt like a ticking bomb when he gave them all a gracious smile, like a king politely pitying his foolish subjects.
"That's matter little for now. I am more interested in your protest for tomorrow." His voice smoothed over the fire with a breeze, teasing it lightly as everyone fell silent and stared curiously at this intriguing new man. "How long will it take you to realize that this method of protest will not accomplish anything? How many more of you must bleed out in the sun before you realize that peace is pointless because they don't value your lives as much as they value the rocks in that cave?" It was like he stole the words from her throat, and twisted them in a more eloquent and thoughtful way. He strode forward slowly, a prince among peasants as the group parted quickly to allow him to get closer to the leaders in the middle.
"It is the only way," One of the female leaders bit out, "Unless you know a better way?"
"Of course. It is simple logic to understand that if they will not listen to reason, to truth, to desperate pleas, then we must make them listen another way. They feel nothing for your suffering because they live in luxury far away from here. They do not see you, and even if they did, they would be to disgust by your existence to hear you. Your protest now relies on the principal that no person wants to see another suffering, but you've been proven wrong over and over." Aden turned his back to them and faced the crowd, "They don't care about you or your suffering and they never will. If you want change you must take it, you must force them to listen."
"Violence then?" The old man from before pushed himself shakily to his feet, a deep scowl on his face, "That's a dangerous road to go down, sonny. Especially when most of the people here are weak from long hours of work and have no experience with fighting at all." Aden regarded him with a polite nod of the head.
"There are many among you have potential to be great fighters, far greater than those who fight to protect you now from the Grimm. I can teach you, I can train you to be strong. These people that oppress you do not listen to weakness, so you must talk to them in the only way they understand, through power. Follow me, and I can show you the way." The woman listened to cheers and yells go up through the crowd, a surge of excitement and hope flooded through her as Aden's eyes met hers. The cool darkness of his eyes drowned her in their depths, in their power, in their promise. It was then that she realized how miraculous this man really was, and she wanted it. She wanted to reach out and get a touch of that power, to do her part in ending this madness.
The woman came back to the present as one of the guards cleared his throat. Fixing her mask, she turned back to them. Now calm, her face was a perfect mask of grace and pride once again. This was not the time for musing. Folding her hands in front of her, she took one gingerly step forward.
"Begin the preparations for departure instantly. Tell the guards to move all the recruits to the west room and start tearing everything else down. Aden wants everything done in four hours, so I will have it done in three." She still had her pride, and as she walked down the hall she could feel her confidence returning. This was not the end of her. Tilting her head to the side, she could hear the mummer of the recruits getting ready, "There will be no slacking off, anyone who doesn't complete their assignment in time will face me." With that the guards left her to convey her orders. Inhaling deeply, she painted a smile on her face. Just like she didn't give up at the mines, she would not be beaten here. She would prove to Aden that she was more than worthy of being part of his elite. After all, her name was Kiki Mora, and she never gave up.
A/N: Thank you for reading, and please, please, review. It really helps me and motivates me to write faster. The SYOC will close today at 7:00 PM Central Time. No submissions by review will be considered. I will start contacting authors who submitted characters tonight to make possible changes. Remember just because I ask you to make some changes does not mean the character is accepted. If your character is accepted I will literally tell you "[Insert name here] has been accepted."