A Prologue Part Two ~ Growing Up(sample)

Chapter Three ~ Everything Changed Part I:

Months went past like days, and before Reine knew it she had been alone for a whole year; except for her father's daily visits. She grew four inches over the course of the year and her training was now her life, while she did excel at the skills she was being taught and that made her proud. She had accepted it would be this way for quite some time; eventually, she even stopped asking her father when she would be allowed outside again.

The answer was always the same, vague and avoided at all costs; however, she grew lonely - even though she liked her training. She woke up on her birthday to the smell of bacon; which meant that she was having pancakes too. She rolled off her cot and landed easily on her feet, as she stretched and walked to the small cupboard; before she grabbed her tray and made her way to the table.

The young girl sat down at the table and started eating, which did not take her long to finish and her routine had started to blur; before she knew it, she was doing her flexibility exercises. That took about thirty minutes; by the time she finished, she heard her father coming down the stairs - this time, she heard another set of footsteps as well.

Her father had never brought anyone with him before - so she ran to the closet and hurriedly dressed herself. She put on a black pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt, before she ran back out toward the stairs and noticed they were already near the center of the room. The girl standing beside her father was shorter than her, but looked about Reine's age.

Zaül chuckled and spoke happily, "Whoa there, git - calm down. This is Deytria Neptur, my gunner's daughter."

Her father pushed the girl, and Deytria went stiff; the new girl nervously brushed blonde hair styled in a pixie-cut from her green eyes and took a few steps forward. He considered the two for a moment, as they stared at each other awkwardly. He gave them a crooked grin and spoke.

"You two will be great friends I'm sure, but for now you two will be sparring partners."

Deytria smiled and tilted her head to the side briefly, before she reached out to shake her hand; she spoke shyly, "N-nice to meet you, my father says that one day you'll be my boss. Just like your dad is his boss."

Zaül laughed and shook his head, as he watched the exchange unfold with excitement. His daughter took and shook the girl's hand with a bright smile. She spoke kindly to the blonde.

"My name is Reine Xavior, I'd rather be friends than your boss - I think our training is just different. Maybe, I am just being trained to be the leader."

"You may be right about all that, git - but in order for the crew to be successful you will need to be the boss, not just friends."

Her father interrupted them, and she shrugged, as she let go of Deytria's hand. The other girl blushed and smiled, while Zaül walked to the rack room. The blonde shuffled her feet and looked down at them; she abruptly stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek, before asking in a hushed voice.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

She jumped in surprise and blinked in confusion. She blushed and looked Deytria over, while she noticed the girl wore a comfortable looking pair of gray, short shorts and a white, tight fitting t-shirt. Reine replied in a whisper.

"I'm not a boy."

The blonde tilted her head, also surprised as she asked, "How about being my girlfriend then? I like you."

Zaül came out of the rack room, and Deytria took a step back. She was still blushing, but tried to act innocent; which she was actually very good at. Reine could not hold back a smirk, as she shrugged and looked around trying to distract herself. Her father approached with two sets of padded gear their size; before he dropped the pads between the girls and looked briefly between them, as she replied out of nowhere.