The Warrior

Day -1

The sun began to rise as the birds started to sing, whilst the townspeople stirred and their daily chores started as the morning sun awoke shining brightly over the green lands. Skylark was brushing her knotty chestnut locks while looking in a dirty mirror. Her tasselled hair fell and feathered her tanned face surrounding her forest green eyes which highlighted her face contrasting against her pale pink lips making her face look innocent.

Tuesday 21st May 2222, the day she dreaded was upon her, the day of the selection. Nobody knew what the selection actually was. Some say that it was where the monarchy selected his spouse, others say that it was a way to get tons of money for your family by being an assassin. It might of appealed to some people but once you are selected, there's no going back. Skylark's parents made her enter her name out of honor, otherwise it's a sign of cowardice and it brings shame upon her family name.

This event is called The Selection. The Selection was simple, the chosen 50 from each gender fight and compete in several rounds to gain a space in the Top 10 and becoming a warrior. It wasn't just about fighting though, the kings of the realm oversee the training and look for warriors who are strong-willed and able to cope with high pressure situations.

Skylark wore a dark midnight blue dress which ended halfway up her thighs and was decorated with silver crystals which made the dress have more elegance about it. Every year Skylark protested against wearing these kind of dresses because they were expensive. Her family weren't rich, which made her feel guilty about being ungrateful towards the dresses she's given, in her parents eyes. Skylark complied when her mother forced her to wear a silver flower in her hair. The flower shined in the sun and the blue specks matched perfectly with the dress and shoes she was wearing. A small thing such as pinning the hair back to stop it clouding the face, was significant to if she got picked or not, as the pinning of the hair back showed confidence even when nervous.

Skylark headed out of the door and began her walk to the petit village square. Normally, the village would be buzzing with life as the elderly did their shopping, and children screaming with excitement ran down the streets creating an image of chaos, but the chaos gave the village more character and spontaneity. Today everyone was heading to the village square to see if their child got picked for The Selection. When she arrived, the square was decorated with vivid tulips lining the roads and pink blossom on the trees. Overhead, the village had handmade bunting to make this seem a joyous occasion. For Skylark, this seemed to make her mood far worse.

Arriving at the village square, she was registered by giving a drop of blood on some paper, signing a blood pact and making sure her loyalties lie with the monarchy. Skylark began to grow butterflies in her stomach, but she didn't understand why as she wasn't nervous, rather she was dulled by the whole fiasco. To settle her boredom, Skylark scanned over her programme she was given and unlike most people, she knew the deadly challenges were increased each year.

After finding her seat with the help of a few strangers and knocking over a cup of coffee she pondered about the piercing blue eyes she'd got help from. Snapping her away from her thoughts was the King clearing his throats to give his over-rehearsed annual speech.

"Subjects of this realm, I welcome you to the Choosing. Many years ago a human gene mutated which gave us new powers. The Selection gives candidates a chance to work in their powers and develop new ones before becoming warriors." The king spoke with authority, "The 50 girls who are Chosen please stand up."

To be Selected, your necklace which every legal person owns will start to glow and vibrate indicating that you've been chosen. Skylark knew instantly that she was Chosen and her necklace started burning up. Skylark's world stopped and just shattered in front of her eyes and she couldn't refuse to go, because it equals the death penalty for Treason of the Monarchy and deserting.

On the exterior she was smiling and acted grateful, like a robot being programmed to smile and wave, but on the interior Skylark was consumed in doubt and fear.

She knew what happened next, and she began to run and the helicopter lowered itself for precisely two minutes before taking off. Skylark knew she had to pass the first challenge otherwise it would be shameful on herself. Two minutes was nearly up and Skylark was inside the helicopter as it took off to leave her parents behind and start her new life as a warrior.