Chapter 1

Blair's POV

"Blair Worra, get your ass downstairs! Now!" My mom shouts up to my room.

My long dark red locks fall in my face as I drag myself from my nest of sheets. "What did I do now?" I mutter. Papers were scattered around the room, I'd been up late working on a case not that my mom was aware of this. If I didn't get this paperwork filed soon I'd get privileges revoked, meaning no driving, no parties, no free tacos, no special store discounts, nada zilch, nothing.

"Blair!" she calls me again, uh oh this could not be good, she called me twice, meaning I was either late for work or I was in trouble. I got my 'ass' downstairs, sharpish. I look at the clock on my way down the ladder from my room, urgh why would my mom call me at six o'clock in the freakin' morning, I didn't have to be up till eight. I curse under my breath, I needed coffee.

"So happy you could join us baby zombie." My mom says as I walk in the kitchen, I flick my hair out of my face to tie it up in a ponytail, as I press the button on our coffee maker using my elbow. My mom is right though I'm not exactly the sharpest when I first wake up in fact I'm close to mute until I get coffee into my system.

Wait a second. Us? I spin around to see my best friend, Alaric sitting next to her.

"Ric!" I say tackling him into a hug.

"Why are you in my house at six in the morning? Wait, when did you get back? How was the trip?" I say referring to the trip that the royal family took every year for a few days after Christmas to their grandparent's house in the Pyrenees, they usually got back on new year's eve. Oh yeah, did I forget my best friend's the prince of this fine country.

"Slow down. I just got in from my flight, I got back about half an hour ago and the trip was the same as usual, you could have come with us."

"You aren't allowed to bring friends and I had to work."

"Yeah, but you're family, and it would have been work." He says referring to the fact I'm a falcon, not that my mother knows. I really hope she's not listening to our conversation too closely. My mom is ridiculously against the idea of me being a falcon, she knows I'm training to be one but isn't exactly aware I'm the youngest falcon. Ever.

"Shh."

"Kay little red, mami wants you at dinner, see you later, be on time, we eat at six. I have a few other people to go wake up, I thought, your inner sleep zombie would enjoy the early wake up call. Next on my list is Tate, then my beautiful girlfriend Lacy."

"Oh watch out with Tate, he's been a little busy keeping girls warm this winter." I warn waggling my eyebrows.

"He finally got a girl." He says with amazement.

"Had to happen at some point. Somebody was going to be drunk enough to say yes."

He snorts, "I'll see you at six, don't be late my mom will have a fit." He jokes.

"Bye." I say with a wave

"Au revoir." He says with a laugh as he walks out our back door which was used more than the front door.

"Bye Alaric." Says my mom.

"Hey mom, I'm going to go for a run, can you make me breakfast for when I get back, please?"

"Honey, when do you ever run first thing in the morning? You savour as much sleep as you can get."

"Yeah, but I won't be able to go back to sleep and I won't be able to go for my run tonight because I have my summons for dinner." And the ulterior motive of maybe seeing Nik.

"Alright stay safe, I'm going back to bed for another half hour I'll make you breakfast once I'm fully awake myself." She says with a yawn. I'm fine with that I usually run up along the mountain track, go up and back, I do that every day without fail sun, rain or snow the only kind of weather we get here in Adornovica.

We either get extreme snow storms, extreme rain storms or heatwaves there's not really an in between and that's how we live for the 3 months that could be classified as winter and summer in Adornovica we have heatwaves that last for weeks until we get the first autumnal showers of the fall or near constant snow before the spring storms. Weirdest country on the planet.

I stop to breathe at the top of the mountain, I've been coming up here for most of my life and the view still is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen you can see for miles and miles you can see the falcon camp on the other side of the country from here if it's a clear summers day like this

"Hey little red." Greets a familiar low voice from behind me.

"Hey Nik." I don't even need to turn around to see my life's complication; Nik, sparring buddy, occasionally mission partner and secret boyfriend, like I said earlier our relationship is complex.

"You competing tonight?" He asks, I don't need to enquire as to what he's talking about.

Brutality the local underground fighting club, the place where you go to learn to fight, spar or to settle a score, we don't get busted the falcons go there for practice, bets or grudge matches. For the last 3 years I've competed in the yearly competition to find the best fighter in Adornovica, and every year I've won. But after last year's minor injuries that had to be hidden from my mother, I couldn't keep on risking my safety so I retired from fighting competitively. I think 3 time champion with barely any injuries is an incredible feat seeing as you're lucky to survive one match when it comes to brutality there are no rules besides no killing and even that doesn't get to closely followed, by some.

"Nik, I don't compete anymore, besides even if I wanted to I've got dinner at the palace tonight."

"So I take it you don't want to meet up later?"

"I would but I don't know if this dinner will have finished by then. What time do get off work? I have like 3 hours before dinner my mom will be at work until 5 you could come over and watch a movie or something."

"I don't get off until 9 tonight, I'm training the newbies. That sucks, I feel like I never get to see you anymore."

"Tell me about it. Between training, working, going with the royals to events because they need a bodyguard for Bree. Oh and don't forget how when I go back to school I'm not going to have as much time, god this is so hard. Why do you have to be four years older than me?"

"I know, terrible planning on my parents part." I roll my eyes at his comment. He pulls me close and kisses the top of my head, we stand there in silence just staring out across the country. Our country the one we've fought so hard to protect.

"How long have we been up here?" I say into his shoulder my breath puffed out into the cold winter air and yes even at 16 I still pretend to be a dragon.

"Probably about half an hour?" he says before looking at his watch, "Yup, half an hour, man I am good at that."

"You're an idiot." I say smacking him on the chest playfully.

"I may be an idiot, but I'm an attractive idiot."

"Really? Who told you that?" I tease.

"Oh everyone." He says airily with a smile.

"You should probably get going, you do have to shower before work. I know they're new recruits and they need to know whose boss, but can you do that whilst smelling like something that isn't mouldy man stink." I wrinkling my nose.

"Want to come help me torment the little worms?"

"Hmm, I'll have to see." I mean I don't have much planned for today and it's not like we have to hide our relationship on base. Just the rest of the country. We have a saying what happens on base stays on base. "I got to get home, I'll tell my mom that I got told I have an unscheduled training session and I'll help you train the recruits." I say giving him a peck on the cheek.

"I love you." He says with a smile.

"I love you too." I call to him as I run off down the mountain.

Hey lovelies, I don't own any young justice characters at the mo it's just only really Arty whose from young is a sequel to those of you who may have just stumbled upon this so please read the first book dear Wally, this will make sense if you haven't read it, but it does a lot of character introducing that I won't really do a lot of in this book if they were in the first. I own Blair and her friends and the country of Adornovica. xoxox