Eva's Journal

CHAPTER TWO

"Eva! You're late." I bowed and took off my cloak throwing it on the floor as I had no time to get to my locker.

"Sorry, lieutenant. I have no excuses." She nodded before I joined a group.

"Today we are practising our one-on-three fighting. You are already in groups of 4 so let's get started. Choose your weapons, no hits to the face and when someone says stop, we stop. If you are defeated, you will stop and wait for the next round which will be carried out tomorrow. One round and then we have to get ready for the ball tonight."

A chorus of 'Yes ma'am' was heard as we got our weapons and got ready to fight. I pulled my hand knives from the inside of my cloak.

"C'mon then Eva. You're up first since you were late." I laughed as the three girls lined up and began to circle me. One, a tall slim girl had no weapon, just a shield. The second was a small, muscular girl with blonde hair tied into a bun, carrying a large spear. The third girl was holding throwing stars and seemed to keep several up her sleeves.

I lunged first cutting the spear in half and threw the end back at her. She grunted before moving to the side due to being 'killed'. The other two moved in closer and I closed my eyes breathing deeply before lunging forward cutting the third girl's arm forcing her to drop the throwing stars. She pushed me back to the floor, not before I was able to throw another star that if I didn't re-aim would have been stuck in her head.

"Another one out. Carry on Eva, you're doing great." Lieutenant Maggie Smith encouraged me to continue. All other groups had stopped but as I was winning, I carried on until the last girl was down. Her shield was no match for my knives which cut straight through and with one more swipe of my blade it was over. The girls cheered and clapped as I picked myself up from the floor, helping another girl up in the process. I quickly apologized to the other girls before picking up my cloak and walking into the changing rooms.

"Eva, see me when you're changed." I nodded to Lieutenant Smith and grabbed a couple of things from my locker before heading to her office.

"Eva, Captain Hera, the leader of our army, has something to discuss with you." I smiled at Hera as she looked at me smiling. When I was born, she raised me with all the skills I needed as a maid and as a warrior. She founded the women's army shortly after I was born.

"She is very interested in you and your skills. We want your help in creating a small elite force of warriors to protect the future of Borealis." I stood there speechless as Hera and Maggie discussed the details with me. Once they finished, I collapsed on the closest chair and tried to properly process what had happened.

"Eva, I know this is a lot but you've been training for this since you joined the academy at 6 years old! I believe you can do this but you need to believe in yourself. I saw your skills out there just today. Think about how you could inspire others to become just as great as you." Hera stood up, smiled at me and left me in Maggie's office.

The question on people's minds when they hear that I didn't accept the offer right away is 'why?'. Why didn't I jump at the chance to lead an army? Why did I hesitate? Why did I suffocate under the pressure of something which as a leader I was born to do? The only truthful reason I could give is I was scared to fail. I was scared that I was not enough.

The walk back to my room was a lonely, long one. I didn't know what to do, what to choose, what is the right move. How could I know? I sat on my bed in my towel and thought about the previous events. I stretched, changed into a formal gown and walked back up to Anna's room.

"Anna, can I come in? I need to get you ready for the ball." There was silence in the room, so I knocked again. When there was no answer again, I pushed open the door and Anna was stood on the balcony. As the door creaked open, she turned around, a flower in her hair and a smile on her face.