Tests of the Apache

III

"Open up, Lea!" Kaci whines as she pounds on the door. With a sigh of annoyance, Lea walks towards the door and opens it to allow the girls to enter. She quickly steps out of the way as three of her friends fall into the room with small sounds of surprise. Quickly regaining their composure, they all take their usual places in her room. She sighs again and closes the door softly, taking her time as she moves to sit on the window seat. She looks around at the faces that stare back at her from different places within the room, nearly bubbling over with excitement and questions.

"Alright ladies," She sighs, dreading the next part of her sentence. "Let it out."

Instantly the girls erupt into squeals and chatter filled with excitement.

"Lea, you could be looking at your next queen." Kaci says, flipping a piece of hair over her shoulder. Neema glares at the blond with mock venom.

"You wish K. You've got as much chance of being queen as I've got being a pig. It's not going to happen." She states teasingly, poking her friend's ribs.

The read head in the chair by the desk rolls her eyes as a small smile spread across her lips. Her gaze turns to the girl in the window seat and her lips arch down in a small frown of confusion. The others note this small action and turn towards their friend looking out the window.

"Lea?" Ren asks, moving over to the window seat and wiggling herself into the small space.

Lea's head turns to look at them and her eyebrows crease together as she studies their faces. "What?" She asks, her eyes flicking form face to face. Her eyes finally rest on the green eyes of the girl next to her and she cocks her head. "What?" She repeats.

"What's wrong? I was expecting you to be the most excited about the news, but you seem.......disappointed." Ren replies, resting her hand on Lea's.

Lea sighs and shakes her head, looking back out of the window. After a moment, she decides to speak. "All I've ever wanted was to become the best Bellator and eventually become part of the Unseen. I don't care about becoming queen, but when I talked to Drena after we got the news, she seemed set on me becoming queen." She says, turning to her friends with tear pricked eyes. "I just want to find my mother and become a Bellator. That's it. Is that to much to ask?" She asks them, feeling overwhelmed by the events of the past month. She runs the heel of her hands over her eyes to wipe away the tears pricking her eyes. She sucks air into the lungs to calm her nerves. "Sorry. I'm just stressed." She mutters, keeping her eyes on her hands in her lap.

"Don't be Lea." Ren says, gently stroking her arm. "We understand why your stressed. You've been working so hard with Drena on top of regular training sessions and you haven't gotten enough rest. We'll leave you alone so you can rest." She says, slowly getting to her feet.

"Yeah, that's it." Lea agrees, trying to sound convincing. 'If only you knew the half of it.' She thinks as they make their leave.

Resting her head against the window, her eyes close in the warmth of the sunlight that filters through the glass. She breaths deeply, finally relaxing for a moment before a hand raps at her door again. With a groan, she opens her eyes and walks over to the door.
"What?" She growls as she opens the door wide. The growl dies in her throat as her eyes meet the striking blue eyes of the man on the other side of the door. Her face instantly lights up and the weight disappears from her shoulders as he steps forward a briefly kisses her.

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Short I know. Let me know what you think and what can be added to make it better!
-K