(A/N: IT HAS BEEN YEARS. Nah I'm just exaggerating. I'm soooo sorry for not updating for a very long time... I had a writer's block so I worked on the future chapters, neglecting this. I'll be updating a little slower, but not as slow as this! Here you are guys, enjoy!)

I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock sitting on top of my bedside table. It was my first day of training. I groggily went out of my bed. I expected to hear the voice of Anne waking me up, but then I remembered I was in Creta. I was out of the Selection. I was believed to be dead.

Last night, a fairy named Bella accused me of being the girl in the prophecy. That made me even more horrified. I took a quick, cold, shower and changed into me trainee uniform, a pair of brown pants, a white shirt with the Everlest Soldier crest at the back and big, black combat boots. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and went outside.

After eating breakfast, all the trainees lined up on the second floor depending on their gender, and then their surname. I was between the names: Seeker and Slaughter. General Richardson warned me that most of their trainees had already undergone the basic fighting techniques in their elementary years, so I might get left behind. After five minutes of waiting, General Ivy appeared. They all instantly stood straight and placed their right clenched fist on the left side of their chest, a salute. I tried to copy them as quickly as I could.

We went up the elevator by fives. Once my group reached the training floor, we widened our eyes in sight. Everything was so… modern and machine-operated. The colors varied from blue to white to silver. Huge stocks of weapons were located on one side of the room, and targets on the other. We went back to form the line.

Once everyone was there, General Ivy followed. She went in front and grabbed a microphone on a round table. "Let's start off with the introductions. I am General Ivana from OMEGA or the Administration Rank, and welcome to the Everlest Soldiers training room. Here is where we will train from Monday to Wednesday, and then on Thursday we hit the field. During Friday, we have this so called 'Weekly Completion Test.' Every week, we teach you something new, and at the end of that week, we will set different stages of activities you need to accomplish. This is very vital because it not only affects your training rank but it will also affect your final score and which squad you will go to, besides the Completion Exam at the end of our training."

"There are different squads for you to be in," General Ivy continued. XETA and THETA accept trainees with scores 75 to 79, both girls and boys. KAPPA qualifies soldiers which have scores of 80 to 84. GAMMA squad will require people having 85 to 89 points on the score boards. BETA is for men who are able to have 90 to 94 points and DELTA does the same for ladies. These two are the highest possible squads you can get into for eleven years, but if you are able to break that record, you will get into the ALPHA squad."

I felt my fellow trainees either become tense when they heard the squad name or admire the word probably wishing they would rank that high. "To become an ALPHA, you must be able to attain a great 95 to 100 points on your record. Sometimes, people attain more than a hundred, like Claudia Reaper, receiving a hundred and two points."

"Claudia Reaper hail!" the trainees all yelled. I guess she was even more respected than I expected her to be.

"All of you soldiers are aged from 16 to 18 years old. As you can see we have ten tables set before you. All in all, you are fifty trainees, so we will divide all of you be five to have a total of ten groups. You will treat your group mates as if they are your family, as if you have the same blood that flows in your veins."

General looked at us for a while before proceeding, "Portia Addams, Jaydinalyn and Marcus Jackson, Francis Goud and America Singer, squad one."

Once my name was announced, a storm of whispering broke out. Everyone's eyes were following me as I walked to my table.

"Judgmental people," Jaydyn said as I sat beside her. "They don't know what you're going through America."

"Just let them be," Portia added.

The new face, Francis Goud, was very pale with brown hair and big, green eyes. He looked like he took twenty cups of coffee this morning. He kept on staring at the ceiling.

Once everyone was called, General Ivy asked us to settle down.

"Now," she said. "Let's start with the basic fighting techniques."

It was horrible. We were just starting off with the positions before fighting when I accidentally slipped when I did my first kick. So much for making a good first impression… Most of them were also having a hard time, now that they had to follow correct posture, but it wasn't as embarrassing as what happened to me.

After General Ivy taught us, she called us by pair to joust in the middle. I got paired with Gemma Slaughter, the girl behind me on the line. She had an athletic figure, a boyish physique. Her hair was hastily chopped until her shoulders. She's twice as big as me. My throws were nothing compare to those she gave me. She kicked me in the stomach so fast I didn't see it coming. She also threw punches occasionally. Our 'fight' was just beginning and I was about to collapse. Lucky for me I only stumbled away from her which probably signaled that she already won.

"Good job Gemma, but your position when giving punches needs more improvement. As for you America, well, we need a lot of work to do."

Good thing Francis Goud, Rooka Spice and some girls did no less well than me. Rooka Spice cried out when her nail broke because Jaydyn accidentally slapped her hand against hers while sparring.

"I win," Jaydyn said without emotion.

General Ivy let us take five. I was drinking in my water bottle when Gemma approached me. She took my bottle from my hands and walked closer. She had some other grim looking goons behind her.

"Aren't you that red-head who joined the Selection in Illea?" I nod slowly.

"Huh, no wonder you're so weak. Thankfully, Rooka's weaker than you, or else you'd be the joke of the century." Her friends snickered.

She threw my water bottle back at me so hard that I doubled over when it hit my stomach.

"See you tomorrow, Lady Singer…"

After training, we were asked to jog around the grass field for ten consecutive laps to end the session. Some were starting to faint and collapse during the seventh lap. Rooka Spice and her girls gave up at the fourth one. Luckily, I was able to survive and complete the run. It was only then that I realized that this training session will need much more sacrificing than I did in the Selection.

We hit the showers and changed into our casual wear. I chose a floral blouse and denim jeans to go with it. I tied my hair into a ponytail. We were given the rest of the day for ourselves. Portia, Marcus, and Jaydyn asked me to join them for another horseback riding session.

"Hey Marcus," Jaydyn said. "What do you think of that Francis Goud guy?"

"He's too quiet to even lay out a first impression on," Marcus said.

"I think he's just shy and left out," Portia chimed in.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Since we four already know each other, he must have thought he should step out of the line first."

After ending my sentence, Slay, my horse, suddenly went crazy and started thrashing around the grass.

"Slay! Woah! Wait! Stop!" I kept screaming words and commands. My friends climbed down their horses to help me but Slay ran off into the forest.

Pulling Slay's reigns forcefully was no use. He kept running and running until we reached a big boulder blocking his way. Thankfully, he finally stopped and calmed down.

"Slay, what is it?"

I didn't have time to wait for an answer because the boulder that was blocking our way started to move itself aside like a door. I told Slay to stay by the nearest tree. I slowly walk inside, hearing my feet break the fallen dried leaves below. In the middle, there was a pedestal. I looked on top to observe the black stone. It had something written on the middle.

The doors unlocked for you, so did this pedestal, which means you are my chosen heir. Use this well, better than I did once.

-C. R.

I touched the initials written by the side. Suddenly, the surface opened up. A sword rose from the pedestal. I slowly reached out my arm to grab it. Even though the object seemed so heavy and large, it was as light as a feather when I grasped it in my hands. I read the letters engraved on the side of the hilt.

The Reaper