Painted Reality | Xaden Riorson x FEM!OC

Beautiful and Sinister

As Xaden walks ahead of me, a mental sketch appears in my mind. The way the crowd parts to let him walk through and the way he commands the room. It's beautiful. My fingers are itching to draw him. God, how could I ever find someone's back so attractive? The whole man's attractive who am I kidding? Shut up. And I'm talking to myself again.

Xaden shears off to stand with leadership and I catch sight of my sister's striking silver hair. I walk over to her my arm covered by my sleeve. When I reach her she sends me a 'are you ok' look and I nod.

"Heyyyy" I sling an arm over Rhi's shoulder -whose back was facing me. There are three new boys in our little group and I look at Vi questioningly

"Oh right." She claps her hands and points to me "Guys this is my younger sister Grace"

I nod and shake hands with them. I notice the blond-haired-blue-eyed boy has a relic. They really are beautiful, I must have been staring cause he took his hand back from me. "Grace this is Liam-" She points to relic-kid; Liam is tall and has blond hair but what draws me in are his eyes, blue like the deepest of oceans. I imagine the colours that would be needed to mix up the right shade of blue. That relic swirls up his arm almost looking like vines. Do you think he would let me draw leaves and flowers on his arm? "Sawyer-" She points to a freckled man, slightly shorter than Liam but not by much, he has hair as blond as sand, but there are strands of black/dark brown through his hair. Fuck why do I want to draw and paint all these people? " and Ridoc" Ridoc was shorter than the other two boys but taller than both Rhi, Vi and I. His hair was like freshly made chocolate matching his eyes, his hair looked like he had just woken up. His eyes had a soft centre but almost a sharp outer layer. He can protect those he cares about. 

"Lovely to meet you guys," I smile at them

"I think we're about to start" Vi says and we all turn to look at all the left and see the Wing, Section Leaders and Professors walk to the dais - Xaden among them. The crowd seems to give him a wide berth

"Three hundred and one of you have survived the parapet to become cadets today," Commandant Panchek starts, gesturing all of us - for a moment I wish I could stand where he was, the sketch of all the cadets. The emotions on their faces. "Good job. Sixty-seven did not."

My chest aches. Thats Mira had always told us not to make friends on the stairs. "Almost twenty percent." Vi states absentmindedly, she always does this when she's stressed or emotional - spits facts. 

There were a million thoughts running through my head. Were they fully prepped? What amount were rebellion kids? If the rebellion kids die so does the old Tyrininish culture, we already lost too much of our combined history has been lost to the deaths of the natives.

"I've heard this position is just a stepping stone for him," Someone whispers from behind us, I turn to see Jack fucking Barlowe snickering to his friends. I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the dais "He wants Sorrengail's job, then General Melgren's."

The commanding general of all Navarre's forces. Melgren's beady eyes have always made me uncomfortable every time we've met during our mother's time as working General.

"General Melgren's?" Rhiannon whispers from Vi's other side.

"He'll never get it," I say quietly as the commandant welcomes us to the Riders Quadrant. More formalities blah blah blah

"Melgren's dragon gives him the signet ability to see a battle's outcome before it happens. There's no beating that, and you can't be assassinated if you know it's coming." Violet fact checks again and I put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, I feel her shoulders slightly relax under my hand. Only slightly. 

"As the Codex says, now you begin the true crucible!" Panchek shouts, his voice carrying over the five hundred of us that I think are in this courtyard. The upsides of manifesting a signet. "You will be tested by your superiors, hunted by your peers, and guided by your instincts. If you survive to Threshing, and if you are chosen, you will be riders. Then we'll see how many of you make it to graduation." He sends a glare toward Xaden at that and I don't miss the slight smirk Xaden gives him. Cocky much?

"Statistics say about a quarter of us will live to graduate, give or take a few on any year, and yet the Riders Quadrant is never short vo-" I cut her off and squeeze her shoulder again

"Vi chill," I send her a look "your doing it again" she knows what I mean - the rambling.

"Your instructors will teach you," Panchek states, his hand sweeping to the line of professors standing at the doors to the academic wing. "It's up to you how well you learn. Discipline falls to your units, and your wingleader is the last word. If I have to get involved..." A slow, sinister smile spreads across his face and if I were to paint or sketch it, I would never be able to grasp the intensity of the moment "You don't want me involved. With that said, I'll leave you to your wingleaders. My best advice? Don't die." 

Yeah no shit dumbass