Cassiopeia

Conscripted

It's hard to say whether it was easy to predict if i would be picked for the war. I suppose it was only a matter of time. I mean i can fight well, but most people in my class could. I can shoot straight with a bow but it's not exactly hard. The battles got harder for our people and near all of the army were picked off by the enemy until they had their brightest idea. Peace! No I'm just kidding. Send in the children to fight! Thats a good idea am i right or am i right?

The letters came and slowly what semblance of school people could manage with a war on came to an unspoken halt as gradually teenagers were sent the letters and carted off. Made into their little robots. I think the war is reasonable. The magicks just want us to mine all the lunalium until there's no Cassiopeia anymore. They use it for the magical weapons and to charge their spell casting. Things that are, hmmmm. Unnecessary.

Its not like we didn't try to achieve a compromise or whatever the fancy war term for it is. But we all knew people with witch blood are unstable anyway and now look where we are.

The letter came through the door while we were eating tea. I say tea. Eating food at teatime. It was sandwiches from the freezer my mum decided we should stockpile. She looked like a madwoman then, before it all kicked off, buying all that bread and tins and shopmade sandwiches and yet now who's mad?

My mother froze and put down her sandwich. It wasnt like post was common in a war but every time the letterbox clinked she froze up. The magicks took my father I didn't know how she would manage without me. Now she has to.

I saw the government stamp on the envelope and that gave it away before i even opened it. I was conscripted. I pulled the letter out and skimmed through it. It was all, please and unprecedented times and sorry and you have to. I felt sick looking at it, what would my mum do without me.

I slumped to the floor, back against the wall, staring at the words without taking them in. And then i ended up at a train station with two dozen other kids. It's all a foggy blur beteeen that moment on the stairs and being stood here.

I remember lots of crying but I'm not sure whose. I remember packing my stuff away and it feeling final. I remember walking out the door and looking at the sky and it being an ugly shade of purple as the rain began to fall.

Stood on the platform I don't feel anything other than numb. I was on my my way to a training camp where i will be taught to kill other human beings. And whilst the people i will use this knowledge on are somewhat less than human it feels so... wrong.

The train is one of the maglev designed ones, and we arrive quickly. The doors open onto a place that could have been either a high school or a prison. The buildings are set out like school blocks but they looked like factory buildings. All metal, with no real windows, only a few skylights on some. We step out and are herded to an area filled with a mixture of weapons and people our age.

"Choose something you know how to use for today please!" Someone yells.

I gravitate towards a bow and arrows and watch as people picked up swords and clubs. There's a girl sat sharpening a sword on a stone stool, with two buns on the top of her head.

She looks up and frowns," what are you looking at?"

I sling the sloppily made thing holding the arrows over my shoulder and tie my hair back into a long ponytail. I spot a target practice area and walk over slowly like I don't mind being here at all. I do.

I ready the bow and shoot but im nervous. I can feel someone watching me. It hits the wall behind the board. The person watching laughs.

I turn around feeling like growling. This is my territory now.

Its the sword girl. She's wearing a green sweater dress with stars on. It looks like it's been a while since she's worn anything else. I wonder how long she'll be allowed to keep it. How long I'll be able to keep my skirt. They're nearly the same colour, her dress and my suspender skirt.

"If that's how you're going to shoot you won't last a minute. I've not been here long either but I've been here long enough to see kids like you who can't shoot straight not come back."

Can't shoot straight. I almost laugh back. I feel like Katniss in the hunger games when she's about to shoot the apple. I ready the bow again and this time I don't rush it. I pretend she's not here.

Twang.

Bullseye. This time i do laugh. The girl doesn't, she only scowls.