Thursday night at dinner, Edmond announced, “I’m going out of town for a few days. Your shopping trip is planned for Saturday, behave yourselves. All eyes are going to be on you. It’s an election year.”“We’ll behave,” promised Eason. Mason and Nyla nodded in agreement, their mouths full.“I’m having guards go with you, to protect you,” Edmond added casually.Mason gasped. “No!”Edmond glared at his daughter. “Watch yourself if you really want to go Saturday.” She started to roll her eyes and then hastily stopped, dropping her gaze to her plate. “Eason, you’re in charge of everyone.”“Okay.”Edmond turned to Nyla. “I’m giving you access to the family account, get whatever you need.”“I never get access!” gasped Mason. She shot daggers with her eyes at Nyla as if she had asked for the privilege

Nyla sat on the edge of her chair in the tucked-away coffee shop, with her back perfectly erect. Sargent Ryan sat across from her stirring his coffee with the little spoon given to him. He glanced around them with uneasy eyes. Answering the unspoken question, Nyla said, “If Eason said he can give us an uninterrupted twenty minutes, then so can he.” Sargent nodded once before lifting his gaze to eat up Nyla’s face.Breaking the silence again, she admitted, “I’m so happy to see you, Sargent Ryan.”“Call me Lance, please. I’m not a Sargent anymore. I’m done with the war and everything it brought with it.”“Okay, Lance.” The name stuck on her tongue, unfamiliar and strange.He inspected her. “At first glance, you still look like you, but the more I look, well, it’s almost like you’re someone who just resembles the Nyla I know. Hell, you smiled at me.” She felt a ne

A knock on the door disrupted Nyla’s homework. She was sitting on the floor and looked up to find Edmond poking his head into her room. The sight was so bizarre she stared in shock. Without preamble, he started, “I have a rally in a swing section of the District tomorrow. I need you to go with me.” Automatically she agreed. “Good. Eason will be going as well; Veronica and Mason are unavailable. I’ve given you a speaking time slot – just do what you did last time. It was excellent.”Nyla couldn’t help it - the praise warmed her from the inside out. Disgust at herself rolled in after the glow – the approval of a man who had started a war for a resource was not the type of approval she wanted. She tried to hide her displeasure as he left the room.The next day followed the same routine the other rally days had taken. They left early in the morning and met at the rally site, where Nyla was prepared by the same three mus

“Oh.” Eason turned round eyes to Nyla.“I’ve had excessive training on obstacle courses. I find them quite easy. But it’s been quite some time since I’ve practiced. Who knows how long it’ll take me,” lied Nyla. She walked over and stood before the peg wall, grabbing a peg in each hand. All she had to do was pull herself up the wall by placing a peg in one of the many holes going up, again and again, until she reached the top.Taking the peg in her right hand, she reached up and placed it in the highest hole she could reach. She followed with her left and then pulled herself up using just her arms. She froze with her feet off the ground, she counted to ten before removing the right peg and reaching up again, placing it in a higher hole. After counting to seven, she did the same with her left hand. Once both pegs were secure, she pulled herself up again. Repeating the pattern, Nyla inched her way up the wall, counting in be

Pre-discharge Report – Nyla Braun            The agility, speed, and strength of Nyla have deceased quantifiably – however, levels are not where they should be given the length of time wearing the ring. A new, stronger ring might be necessary, although Nyla does not display any outwardly hostile or dangerous behaviors.            Dr. Fredrick reported sub-par results from her psychological exam as well. He noted facial ticks several times, along with unsatisfactory answers. Three times he suspected her of lying, although he had no way to prove it. Her discharge was still approved, although conditional on further exams.             Nyla sighed, unsurprised. “I knew I didn’t do very well.”    &