Air Warrrior

Leaving home

I ran back to my mother who wrapped me in her arms and cried, "please don't do this Sky." I could feel her tears soaking the collar of my dress. I felt Judy clinging to my leg.

"Don't worry mum, I will be fine."

"Don't let them know who you are, keep your powers hidden and remember the rules your father taught you." Dad always made sure we knew the proper educate on how to address the royal family.

"The unfancy Rulebook of how to be fancy" I laughed as I said it out loud. My mum smiled at my words and dried her eyes.

"Don't go Sky, please! I'm sorry I ran away. This is my fault_"

I got on my knees and held her shoulders, "Don't think for one second that this is your fault, Judy. Do you hear me?" She looked at me and sniffled as she sobbed. "Now, I need you to help mum around the camp, okay?" She nodded to let me know she understood. "And most importantly, I need you to take care of Baxter for me."

"Really?! You mean it?" Her eyes lit up with joy as she let out a happy squeal. I couldn't help but smile at her pureness. Baxter was a stray cat that I used to feed in the woods, he meets me at the same spot every day.

"There is no one I trust more in the world to take care of him. Tell him I'll see him really soon, okay?" She wrapped her tiny arms around me and gave me a quick hug as she ran into the house. I got to my feet and mum walked with me. She helped me pack a few dresses and essentials. I folded my staff and placed in between my clothing so that it wasn't visible. I looked around our small home and sighed.

I stepped outside and saw the man with the scar on his eye coming towards me. "Ready to go miss?"

"ye...yes sir." I stuttered out. His large figure intimidated me. My mum pulled me in for one last hug and Judy joined in. "I love you both so much, I'll visit as soon as I can." I gave them both a kiss and followed the man towards the carriage. I climbed in and looked around at the three other girls in the carriage. They looked around the same age, maybe a few years younger than me. Two of the guard's rode in the carriage with us, including the bearded man who had selected me. I could feel him watching me as we headed towards the castle. I did my best to avoid his gaze.

A soft voice startled me, "I'm Abigal, you_you're J_Judiths s_s_sister, right?" I studied the face of the girl speaking. She was pale like me, her eyes were so dark that they almost seemed black but as the sun hit them you could see the flecks of brown in them. Her lips where thin and her clothes were ripped and covered in dirt like mine. I recognized her from my camp.

"Yeah. You have a sister a few years younger than her... June?" She smiled and gave me a quick nod. Her face lit up at the fact that I recognized her. "It's nice to officially meet you, Abigal."

"I just_ just wanted to_ to_ to say that it was br_brave what you did for your s_s_sister." Her stutter got worse when she got nervous. "s_s_sorry, I_ I s_stutter when I'm ner_nervous." She put her head down trying to hide the redness of her face.

I bumped her shoulder slightly, "I think it makes you unique, don't be embarrassed. I'm Skylar but, you can call me Sky." She laughed slightly and the carriage came to a stop. The doors opened letting in the sunlight that burned at first glance. We all climbed out and the men lead us inside. Waiting were women dressed in similar grey dresses and aprons.

"This is the head servant, Miss Ruth; she will be in charge of your duties and assigning you sleeping courters. Do as she says, and you will be just fine." One of the men shouted. The all turned to leave and headed back towards the horses.

"Welcome ladies, I will have you in groups of two. Your partner will be your roommate and assigned the same work duties. Every month the duties will change, you will find your duties listed on the board over there." She pointed to an old board above some of the spices in the food storage area. "Please, write your names down and I will pair you off." All the ladies lined up and wrote their names on the paper.

When it was my turn, I wrote my name and looked at the women who was giving us the orders. She was short, no taller than 5ft. She had curly, red hair that fell to her shoulders and freckles peppered all over her face. She had a round face, but she was average build. She had a missing tooth in the front. I realized she was reading off names as I was staring at her. "Skylar and... Abigal, room 107. You will be in charge of polishing armor this month."

"I'm glad to_to have yo_you as roo_roomate." Abigal smiled wide as she nudged me. Honestly, I was happy to have someone who I was familiar with as well.

The lady finished assigning our duties and told us all to go to our rooms and get settled in. She told us we had uniforms waiting for us in our rooms and we were in charge of making sure they were clean and washed. We headed down a dark hallway lit slightly by a torch. "Are you sure she said it was this way?" I turned to look at Abigal and she nodded as she looked around, unsure. I saw a door a few feet away and a rusted sign that read 107. I opened the door, it stuck a little, so I pushed with a little force. We walked in, it was dark, but the sunshine was peaking in through the closed blinds. I walked over and flung them open.

"Home sweet ho_home." She giggled as she spoke. The room wasn't too bad. There were two beds, one on each side. We had a desk with a small chair by the window. We only had one Wardrope so, we would have to share but, I didn't mind.

"Left or right Abigal?" I smiled and looked at her.

"Abby, only my m_mum calls_s me Abigal. You pick."

I nodded acknowledging her request, "I will take the left side." I said sitting my bag down on the bed. We unpacked what little we had, I left my staff folded in my bag and hide it against the wall and my bed making sure it couldn't be seen.

Miss Ruth told us dinner was at 8:00 after they had served the royal family. We would eat outback at the table behind the kitchen. I wasn't really feeling hungry so, I told Abby to go on without me.