The next morning a notice was sent out to the elites informing them that I wished to see them tomorrow at the crack of dawn for training. I made up my mind to spend all day today getting used to the castle. Opening the door, dressed in casual wear, I ran straight into Liz."Woah, careful there pumpkin. I almost crushed you!" She giggled lightly."Shhhh! Let me into ur room! Hurry!""Wha-?""I know you went this way!" Arisa yelled playfully from around the corner. Liz squealed quietly and his behind me, using me as a human shield. Not a second later Arisa peeked around the corner. I tried to look innocent, but judging by her face I didn't do to well."Hey

A week later we waltzed through the castle gate looking as normal as we possibly could with torn clothes and dirt caked faces. A broad smile on each of our faces. Everyone felt stronger than before and closer as well. Jade had a dark sense of humor and was brutally honest. Apparently she got her scar from Levi himself. She, a talker, did not enjoy Levi's silence and got into a "small dispute" according to her, to which Levi simply smirked smugly. Levi does talk, much to my surprise. He is actually rather sarcastic and funny; I find his silence comforting. George can be a real hothead, but he is a good guy. He has a tendency to speak his mind and had the most trouble with our training, his loud angry voice often giving away his location. He has come a long way as he silently walked next to me, perfectly content with not speaking.

"So Veronica, what was the message?" The dinning table silenced with my question. The clinking of glasses and utensils ceased. She raised a napkin and wiped her mouth, clearly stalling for time."Your Uncle wished for me to tell you 'Don't think you can hide from me. I will steal all which you hold dear before killing you slowly. Including your little sister'" Veronica said, clearly not enjoying relaying such a dark message. I continued calmly eating my dinner."Was that all?" I asked rather amused."All?!" Veronica said clearly astounded by my aloofness in such a tense situation."This was expected. Did you really think I would be able to keep Liz hidden all these years when she's around me? Why else would I h

Veronica decided in the end not to give Core Arisa's blood, as she was not happy being played like she was. We could not put the blood back into her body though. Dr. Emerson explained that now her body has changed into that of a shifter, it will no longer accept human blood and would make her sick for a few days.It made me think of my mother. Raise managed to somehow survive the change, whereas my mother did not. I tried to bring my mother's face into the forefront of my mind, but the image seemed blurry. I could not get specific details.I remember the color of her eyes, an emerald green, the color of her hair, light brown hair, her face shape was that of Liz's. The rest was long gone from my memory. I missed her.None of us knew what type of shifter Arisa would be, but we atte

"Begin!"For a second, no one moved after she spoke. He shot one arrow and I slide to the right and made a break for it towards him. He shot off several arrows, each barely missing their intended target, me. I flipped up into the air and brought down my leg which he blocked with his bow. I was pushed back and landed on my feet.Instead of waiting to catch my breath like he seemed to expect me to do, I shot forward again, this time sliding slog the ground. I made a swipe towards his feet. He jumped up into the air and tried to shoot an at my chest. I rolled away just as the arrow was shot. He landed a few feet away from me, panting hard. Archers don't normally have to move around as much as they are not normally used for one-on-one battles. Seems as though he's close to reaching his limit.I ran towards him again, picking up the arrow on my way. Just before I reached him he shot at arrow off towards my head. I jumped back and threw the arrow I picked up tow