The Apprentice's Trial

The Teams

The noise was too much. I hated it. I despised crowds and I despised noise. My ears were splitting, so I dropped my head between my arms, pinning my wrists over them, trying to dull the noise. I was gasping for breath, and I could feel Matilda rubbing my back, and hear Sky calling for quiet.

Seconds later, the cheers died down to a bearable chatter. A few deep breaths calmed me, and I slowly lifted my head. A few people were regarding me strangely, and my cheeks burned with shame.
"Now then. I have many leads on where the leaders of the Hades Alliance are. If we split into teams, every lead can be investigated, and we won't be spread too thin on the ground."

"The first team shall go to South Africa. They shall consist of Wales, Ireland and Iceland. The second shall go to the arctic, and they shall be Greenland, Switzerland and Norway. The third shall go to America, and they shall be England, France and Scotland." He continued reeling off names, but I allowed them to flow over my head. I was going to America. I had never before, and I wondered where exactly we were going.

Although we were going to fight the leaders of the Hades Alliance, I couldn't help but feel a twist of excitement in my stomach. Our travelling companions seemed pleasant too. Pearl was a bit uptight, but Paula more than made up for it. I hadn't interacted much with the Guardians, but they seem decent enough. I had barely interacted with the French apprentices, but they seemed friendly, and their Guardians were formidable fighters on par with Matilda and Sky.

After an age, all the assignments had been handed out, and it was time to go. The Chairman told us all to get a good nights sleep, as we were all leaving at six o clock this next morning. It was already half past nine. Sky and Matilda led us back to our apartments in icy silence, only saying a few farewells to those who wouldn't travel with us. I took Alex's hand, and he didn't shake me off. Once we were safely in the shared living room with the door closed and locked behind us did they speak to us.

"If you don't want to come with us, we understand. We'll send you back to your parents, and find some excuse for you not to accompany us." Sky said in a strained voice, Matilda nodding along with an anxious expression.
"Send Alex back. But I'm staying. One day I'll be a Guardian, and I won't run from this. I'm almost sixteen now, whereas Alex is barely thirteen."
"NO!" Alex yelled. He spun to face me, pain and anger on his face.

"I'm not leaving, especially if you're staying. I'm going to be a Guardian too. So neither of us are leaving. We'll face this together, all four of us." He snapped, and I was surprised at the determination in his voice. Alex no longer sounded like a child. It made me feel both unsettled and slightly proud.
"Looks like it's decided. We all stick together." Matilda said, but her cheeriness seemed somewhat hollow.

"Well, we'll be leaving early tomorrow, so you too should go pack a bag. I don't mean your suitcases, backpacks that can be carried. Pack some clothes, any lucky charms you may have, and any weapons. Oh, and don't forget your armour. If you wish to call your parents, please do. I'm sure they'd like to hear from you." Because they might not hear from you again if this goes wrong. The words hung in the air, unspoken, but there all the same. I nodded, and Alex did the same, though somewhat begrudgingly. He'd had a few arguments with them recently.

We decided to pack before phoning them. After going to my assigned room, rummaged through my suitcase, scooping out my armoured clothes and my weapons and tucking them in the bottom of a dark, light weight backpack. The necklace I couldn't bear to leave behind, and it took up almost no room. I threw a few outfits in, mainly jeans and hoodies, and my good pair of walking boots.  I yanked the zip around and carried it back to the main room. Alex had already packed, but Matilda and Sky were still packing.

"Wanna call them?" He asked, clearly nervous. I nodded, swallowing dryly.
"Wait, what do we say? That we might die?" Alex questioned.
"Obviously not. We just tell them that we love them and that we're going on a mission. If we tell them it's so dangerous they'll pull us." Alex nodded in agreement and I sat next to him.