Our Empire

chapter 11: not a cute boy

"Sitis. Mommy was a Sitis."I thought, sighed as I ran through the dream again in my head. "Alright, lets see. I was stuck in a small closet. There were screams and smoke. When I left the hiding place there were bodies. Tons of men in black and red. Or maybe it was white but got stained. Anyway, I was in a cottage. At the back of the cottage there was a woman who called me her baby. My body reacted and called her mommy. So she must be my biological mom. Her hair was blacker than a normal person and thinking back her fingers went from pale white skin to black claws." I pondered the dream.

"Princess." I bit my lip not hearing my new title being called out. "Princess. PRINCESS." A yell by my ear jolted me out of my thoughts. Rubbing my ear I grumbled "What?" "Please answer the question." the teacher told me. Glancincing at the black board I saw complex history questions on the board. "Ummm." "Do you not know how to answer, your highness?" The teacher mocked. "Nope! Your a horrible teacher so I decided to ignore you." I grinned and rose my eyebrow.

"How dare you!" The teacher gasped. "It's quite simple really. I just happen to dare." "What my sister means to say is that she struggles to learn through book reading and hence doesn't quite know the answer." Lucias voice was like cold honey as she addressed the teacher. "Did I ask?" The teacher snapped, her voice becoming somewhat shrill in anger. "My apologies ma'am. I simply wished to clear up the misunderstanding you seem to have gotten." Lucia replied coldly. "How dare you talk back to me!!! Remember you were worthless servants before her majesty, the empress, took you in." the teacher bellowed shrilly. Multiple students leaned over to their friends, whispering, sneering and laughing at us.

"Put out your palm." she ordered Lucia and raised her pointer above Cia's soft palm. 'Not gonna happen, teach,' I thought, grabbing the metal dowl as she swung it as my sister. "What are you doing?" she screeched at me as I yanked the pointer from her hand and promptly snapped it. The class stared at me in shock, whether it was because I was so disobedient or because I snapped a metal rod, I wasn't sure. Probably both.

In the end I got my palms lashed and I was sent out of the one room schoolhouse. "Welp, I guess I'll go train with the soldiers." I told myself walking in the training hall's direction. "Guys! Can I join?" I questioned. "Lola? Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?" Captain Cain asked. "Got kicked out." a graceless, lopsided smile found its way to my lips. "Leave it to you." he sighed, passing me a sword. "John needs a sparring partner." he gestured to a younger man in the corner.

I quickly made my way to the corner. Happiness bubbling inside me because I was about to Hang out with the generals regiment. "Sup John." I greeted him. "What does sup mean? Actually, don't explain." John quickly cut me off as I opened my mouth for an explanation. "Come on kid, let's spare."

"Eeeeep'' I shrieked as I sat down hard. "You alright Lola?" John asked. "Yeah just give me a moment to catch my breath." I reasoned. I licked my dried lips and tried to slow my heavy breathing.

After a moment I got back up and continued to spar. But unfortunately did not do well and lost every time. "You're ridged. Loosen up a bit." General Arane addressed me. "I'm trying." I whined, rolling my shoulders. "Also you need to stay balanced with a strong and mobile . stance." "Got it." I responded, taking a swing at John. A moment later I was flat on my bottom again.

"Its alright Kiddo. Its pretty hard to figure out." General Arane console me and helped me up. "I know. But I haven't improved at all in the past year. No matter how hard I try, I just can't." i groaned in aggravation. "A sword is a powerful thing Lola. it can take someone's life so easily if you know how to use it. However it also can protect. A sword is an extension of you will, and it reveals quite a bit. So if you want to improve, think about why you're trying to learn. What drives you? And are you able to shoulder the responsibility of the sword?" General Arane said and ruffled my hair. "Think about it kiddo. You'll be surprised."

"You really need to work on your sword play." a boy's voice sounded behind me. Turning I saw a boy who appeared to be around thirteen leaning on a stone pillar in the shade. "I know. I need to loosen up and work on my stances and balance," I sighed getting back up again. "There's way more than that. Honestly, you should consider just giving up." he responded flatley.