Prologue
Aella –
“Please, don’t send me away. I’m begging you!”
“There is nothing to be done for you here. The Academy is the best place for you.” An elderly woman in white moved around the room, placing items in a small bag. “If the school cannot help you, then we can only pray that they can kill you quickly.”
Tears were pouring down my face as the only person who I considered family packed away the last bit of clothing I owned. I looked around the barren room that has been my home for as long as I could remember.
The bare wooden walls, the single cot with a threadbare blanket, one small desk on the other side of the room and a rickety closet dresser were the cornerstones of my life here.
A single window showed the moonless night, a black inkless void that I was going to be thrust into whether I wanted to be or not.
“Please, Mistress Cate, don’t,” I sat on the edge of the bed, gripping my simple dress in my fists, “please, I will try harder, just … just don’t send me away.”
It happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react. Her hand came flying out and struck the side of my face, leaving a red mark on my cheek that throbbed and burned.
“Enough!” she snapped. “This is why you must leave. You are weak. You are a pathetic little girl who does not deserve the name!”
I cowered under her words.
I never asked for this. I didn’t want this name. I didn’t want to be the one who had to carry this burden.
I didn’t want it!
I could feel the anger burning in my chest as I tried to breathe through the emotions.
Curse the Fates!
“You will go to the Academy. Learn what you can. Try to grow.” She stood in front of me with her hands planted on her hips as she lectured me. I couldn’t look at her stern face. She raised me, taught me everything that I knew and still I wasn’t good enough for her. “Try to become worthy of the name destined for you,” she glared at me as she turned around and moved to the door, “if you can’t, then die quickly.”
I kept my eyes to the ground, barely restraining the urge to flinch at her harsh words. For someone I considered a mother, it was devastating to hear her speak like that to me. Not that she was ever affectionate or overly kind, but still, it hurt to hear her complete dismissal of my existence. As if, who I am right now is a waste of space.
Not needed.
But as I sat there, I felt a sense of duty to her. She took me in when my own mother was going to cast me out. She raised me, taught me things that helped me survive this cruel world, even if, she herself were cruel at times.
I wanted to make her proud. I wanted to make her acknowledge me. There was this need to have her validate my existence, even if she was pushing me into a life I didn't want.
I didn't want to disappoint her.
“Mistress Cate,” I called out, surprised that she actually stopped, even though she didn’t turn around. I stood to my feet, “whether it is for me to become worthy of my name or to die, I will try my best.”
I watched as she tensed her shoulders only to let it go with an exasperated huff. “Listen girl, just,” she turned, her normally hard eyes softened fractionally, “just do your best.”
I wiped my eyes and stood tall, nodding my head.
Her eyes went back to that hard glare before she turned around and moved out of the room. “You have a few minutes left. Change clothes and bring your bag outside to the car.”
“Yes, Mistress Cate.”
I collapsed back onto the bed as she closed the door. The last few minutes of the life that I have lived for the last 19 years would soon be a memory when I stepped outside that door and headed towards the prestigious Palin Academy.
There was no point in delaying my departure. Mistress Cate would demand that I leave and if I refused, she would have me physically removed.
It wouldn’t do any good to start school with bruises, so it would be easier to just go on my own.
Taking a deep breath, I stood, took one last look at my room and gathered my small bag. “Goodbye old me,” I whispered, shutting the door to my life.
“Listen carefully, girl,” Mistress Cate as soon as I shut the door. “Harlow and Nikki will be accompanying you. They will be there to serve you in any way that you need.”
I stared at the two girls who also had their bags packed, but unlike me, they almost seemed excited to leave. I suppose they would be since they have never left the compound either. They were born here and raised under the strict instruction of Mistress Cate, so now that an opportunity to leave was made available, they would want to grasp it with both hands.
Thankfully, we all got along, but I didn’t like the idea that they would serve me while we were at school, but that was something we could talk about when we were alone.
“I have spoken to the headmaster of the Academy and the three of you will be sharing a room. I expect all of you to work hard and bring honor to our great house."
The three of us lined up and bowed. This is why we trained everyday as hard as we did. This is what Mistress Cate had been preparing us for our entire lives.
To survive the Olympian Academy.
