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The dream shifted then, and she was suddenly back in Shiganshina, but it was not the Shiganshina she remembered. The streets were empty, the buildings crumbling, and a heavy silence hung in the air. She wandered throug...
"Time to get up, Victoria! You don't want to be late!"
V's eyes shot open, flinging herself out of bed. It was not like she had actually been asleep anyway. She was too excited. Today, she was turning 15. More importantly, today, she was joining the Cadets.
Standing in front of her mirror, as she looked at the scar on her forehead that had refused to fade away, her amber orbs glittered with anticipation. She'd grown about a foot taller this last year, and the vigorous workouts Chisaki had been putting her through had seriously toned out her muscles. Chisaki Hano might have seemed like a sweet, gentle man, but when it came to basic combat drills, he was downright devilish.
Today was the day.
With a practiced salute to the mirror, she began to get ready.
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Brushing her hair proved her biggest challenge. It had gotten long and unruly this last year. She hadn't had the time to maintain it properly. At this point, cutting it off seemed like the only option. Eventually, though, she got a brush through it and braided the dark bronze locks. She braided them just like her mother had, intricately wrapping the braid around her head like a crown and pinning it into place. She wouldn't want it swinging around during combat training.
Victoria sighed. She missed her family. It had been hard without them. But she knew that if her parents could see her now, they would be proud of her and how far she had come.
The cadet uniform had been delivered a few days prior. Wrapped in brown paper and placed into two boxes, Victoria had been waiting for this morning to open them. Undergarments on, she turned to the old rocking chair in the corner, where they had been waiting.
But they were gone. Panic began to take over as her eyes desperately darted around her bedroom. Not on the dresser. Not by the mirror. Not by her bookshelf.
"Chisaki! Where's my uniform?" she cried out, dropping to her knees to dig under the bed. Maybe they had fallen somehow. "Have you seen them? I need to start getting dressed now!"
"Hold your horses, kiddo," Chisaki Hano walked into her bedroom, carrying a dark brown garment bag and a box. He wore his usual forest green military coat, its labels pressed and proper. "I've got them right here." He laid down the bag on the dresser and opened the box for her.
It was a pair of over-the-knee boots. They were soft and worn, but well taken care of. Victoria picked one up, fingertips running down the length of the polished tan leather. She could tell from the stitching at the heel that the soles had been replaced. They were unlaced, but new laces lay coiled up neatly in the box.
"I went to have these maintained for you," Chisaki murmured, sitting on the bed. "New soles, polished, the works. I know you would want to look your best for the first day of boot camp." He smiled at her, a gentle gaze. "As well as those," he pointed at the garment bag. "I had everything ironed for you. Everything should lay right."
