𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘿𝙀, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘧𝘪𝘤

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎

LOCAL AMARIA

Jaeden Griffin was shocked when she saw the poster advertisement. "The king? Needs help? From teenagers?" She chuckled to herself when she realized the irony. "What did he do now?" She asked herself. Jaeden thought back to the time where he implemented the higher tax, forcing even more villagers into homelessness and poverty; and the time where he was hunting and his gun slipped out of his hand, accidentally shooting two of his guards; Jae still remembered when the Queen died of cancer and the King immediately replaced her with a far younger lady who did all of the dirty chores for him like a maid.

Soon, Jaeden was drawn out of her trance. "Hey, girl," A man with dirt-crusted hands spat, "get outta the way!" Jaeden swallowed hard before stepping back. She glanced around, stuffing her hands in her black sweatpants. A tall boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes caught her attention. He looked at Jae curiously. He walked over to her with speed without trying to seem too guilty or shady. 

"Hey, do we have a problem here?" The boy asked, putting his arm around Jaeden's waist. Jaeden shook him off with a disgusted expression. He moved his hand to be on her shoulder.

The man with the dirty hands shrunk under the boy's tall stature, shaking his head violently. "Good." The boy said with a venerable tone.

"Have a nice day," Jaeden added critically. "Thanks." She said to the boy as she turned to face him. "But I didn't really need your help." She let out a huff and giggled.

"Girls." The boy muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Jaeden snapped. "Please walk away from me before I go call the police." She said carefully.

"Jeez. Okay." The boy said before hurrying away from her.

"And keep your hands off me!" Jaeden shouted sourly after him. She shook her head to herself. She turned to the fruit stand that had been set up next to her. The owner stood behind his little shop setup, and he must have watched the whole encounter, because he was watching Jaeden. She met his eyes and he quickly looked away as he wiped his hands on his jade green apron.

Jaeden walked away, thinking to herself about her recent encounter with people, and the flyer she saw. What was the date it said? She knew it was soon. And, considering how those two people just interacted with her, she had a point to prove.

. . .

CHANG HOUSE/AMARIA

Kylie Chang shrugged her long, maple-colored coat on and called out to her mom. "再见," Bye, she said to her mother. 

"小心的," Her mom, Jiang Chang, shouted back to Kylie from the Chang's dining room table. Be careful.

"I will, don't worry about me, Mother." Kylie reassured. 

"You sure?" Jiang attempted. "You never be too careful when lot of people around." Since Chinese was Jiang's first language, sometimes her English was not the best. However, since she had been going to school, Kylie's English had only gotten better.

"Yes, Mother. I'll be careful! See you in a bit!" Kylie said with an edge to her voice. She had been wanting to get out of the house for a while. The air in the Chang house was thick as Jin Chang's death had been almost a year ago. As Kylie's father and Jiang's husband, the only male figure in their household and family, the passing of Jin was significant. 

Kylie closed the front door behind her and started the quick walk to the local market in Amaria. Even though she wasn't close with a lot of people, Kylie liked to observe the different people in her kingdom. It's ironic, she always thought to herself, the king is always so happy as he waves to us in his parades, but he doesn't do anything for us. Amaria was full of poverty and people who relied on their farms and shops to stay fed, safe, and alive. She liked to talk to her two best friends, Hailey Bo and Emma Berlin, about a lot of things, but the two topics she typically avoided were her father's death and the king's style of ruling.

The amount of people in Amaria Square was overwhelming. There were people bustling around to buy flowers, food, tools, clothing, and sellers trying to catch the attention of passersby. Kylie unbuttoned her jacket to reveal her lacy white tank top and her rosy-brown skirt. Her black Mary-Jane style shoes click-clacked on the pavement as she walked around. 

She looked about, noticing the posters and flyers on the solid walls nearby. "JOIN THE ARMY," one said, and another "HELP AMARIA WIN, GO AGAINST GROWIER!" Kylie looked closer to read the poster. 

"The King wants strong, fast, and tough teenagers to come to his castle to train for battle. The ongoing war with Growier is causing problems for Amaria's economy, and we must take action. If you are interested, please arrive to the King's castle on Tuesday at 2 P.M. sharp!"

Kylie thought to herself, how curious! She decided she'd give it a shot. At least, it's something to do... 

Little did she know, the experience would forever change her life and her viewpoint of people.