A/N: And now, we really begin to kick off the story. I do hope this chapter is written better than my last attempt at it; chapter one of the initial fic was one of the ones I hated the most. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 1
Growing up in this place was a nightmare. Then again, she didn't know how her life would have turned out somewhere else; she'd been here all seventeen years of her life so far. It wasn't the town itself that gave her hell – she loved it here, the environment was perfect – no, specifically, it was the people in it. The stares she received, the taunts she heard... it was all related to one thing and one thing only.
Karla Chernikova was more than pleased to finally get out of this hell hole.
She stood at the tiny train station, suitcase on the ground next to her. Virnikov did only have one train station, and only one train straight from North City ever arrived at it. After all, the town was dependent on the large city for some things, and there was no way they would get them otherwise. It was a damn good thing the train was coming today, or else Karla might have never gotten out of here.
As she stared impatiently into the distance, the earlier argument she'd had with her mother about this popped up in her mind. The disapproval from Liesel Chernikova had been blatant and irritating.
"Karla, are you insane?" she'd demanded. "You can't go off out of here on your own! How you're treated here will only be echoed tenfold in the bigger cities!"
"Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to let that stop me?" Karla had shot back. "I know how to deal with it, Mother, thank you. I was raised by you and Father, after all."
Liesel had sighed just then, a look of faint defeat etched in her features, and Karla had almost felt sorry for her. Almost being the key word, until Liesel's next comment.
"I don't understand why you intend on joining the military anyway. You know they haven't helped us in the slightest. Damned cowards never show their faces here."
At that, Karla had slammed her suitcase shut, and had turned to face the blonde. "Why the hell do you think? I intend to change that. Besides, I'm an alchemist, and I won't get anywhere by staying here. I'm leaving, damn it, and there's nothing you can do to stop me or convince me otherwise."
In retrospect, Karla realized it probably would have been an incredibly good idea to have apologized before her swift exit. Of course, idiotic and headstrong as she was, she hadn't even thought of that at the time. Then again, this hadn't been the first time her temper had gotten the better of her. There had always been jokes made that the redness of her hair was her aggressive nature physically manifested, and while she'd always outwardly denied it, it was one of her criticisms she'd secretly agreed with.
The sound of the train arriving at the station just then interrupted her thoughts, and she picked up her suitcase. Three people disembarked just then, an older man and two teenage boys. The elder boy approached Karla and looked her over, a sneer on his face.
"Where're you going, Chernikova?" he demanded. "Back to Drachma with your scumbag father?"
The redhead fixed him with a glare, resisting the urge to pull her knife on him. "Fuck off," she answered, roughly shoving past him to board the train. His mocking laughter echoed through the station, and it bothered Karla so much in particular that she could practically still hear it even as the train departed. Oh, thank goodness she was getting out of here.
The journey to North City, despite its few stops, was longer than Karla had thought it would be. Two days of sitting on a barely-populated train and she wasn't even there yet. The conductor had kindly informed her, after much asking, that they were more than halfway there, but there was still at least half a day to go before they would arrive.
"Damn it," she muttered, returning to her seat after checking her location again. "I hope I'll get there in time."
The next three days were majorly uneventful. She had arrived in North City and had gone to the military headquarters, but had been told that the state alchemy exams took place in Central City. Since then, she'd stayed the night in North City, then had taken a train out to Central first thing in the morning.
Now, she was standing outside the Central train station, glancing around in confusion. She'd never been here before, and the first thing she noticed was that it was far too warm for her taste. Karla sighed, going over to the nearest person she saw. "Excuse me. Could you inform me where Central Headquarters is?"
The woman looked her over for a moment, and Karla was prepared to shut her up, but the woman pointed down the street. "All the way down, then make a left."
"Thank you." The redhead nodded at the woman, then proceeded to follow her directions. In a few minutes, she was standing in front of the headquarters, staring up at the massive military building. Well... here she was, finally. This was where her life would really begin.