Waging War | The Amber Duology #1

1 | Walls and Boundaries

There was one rule in Ninjago City: never leave the walls. For all her life, Skylor Chen has never seen past the concrete boundaries that trapped her and everyone else inside the city–given she has never really left her house–the curiosity never left her mind. With the country at war, a giant stone wall surrounded the city from all sides, separating the people from the world.

No one goes in and no one goes out.

Every day, for the past 10 years, she would look out the window from the attic of her house–since it was the highest place she could go–and imagine what could be outside. She tried to ask her father about it once, but that did not go well.

He dismissed her to her room and forbade her to talk about it ever again, which–in Skylor's opinion–only piqued her interest more.

What could be so important on the other side that no one wanted to answer her question?

It was not like she was allowed to leave her house either, making crossing the boundaries a little far fetched for someone like her. But being able to see what the city looks like through her windows, she wished to do the same with the walls.

"Admiring the walls again?" Her best friend inquired, taking a sip from the Starbucks cup in her hand. Skylor was thankful her father had allowed her one friend and she couldn't have asked for anyone else.

Skylor smiled, resting her arms against the railings of her balcony. "Aren't you at least a little curious?"

The girl let out a chuckle, taking a good look at the high concrete boundary in front of them as well to try and understand what got her friend so invested in them. "I am. But not in the way you are."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Nya?" She nudged her shoulder before taking a sip from her own Starbucks cup.

"That left when my brother decided to never come back."

Skylor sighed, knowing she touched a sensitive part of Nya's life. Every time she brought up her brother, the conversation never ended well. But she understood what the girl was going through.

"Is that why you didn't enlist?" Skylor turned her head to get a glimpse of her reaction, studying her features as she did so.

Nya sighed, ignoring eye contact with her. "Even if I didn't, I don't have a choice." Rolling her eyes playfully, she nudged her back. "You're lucky you don't have to."

That was the only problem that stopped Skylor from finding out what was behind the walls. She would exchange places with Nya in a heartbeat but she knows her father would never approve it.

"It's not as fun as you think." Skylor looked down at the cars that drove past her street. Thinking how nice it would be to have that same freedom.

"I would give anything to stay here."

"That's because you can't live without Starbucks."

"You act like you can!"

They shared a laugh, knowing well that they both wouldn't survive a day without being able to spend their money on useless things they only found captivating for the first few minutes of seeing it. Their parents didn't mind, for they were often too busy with their own careers.

"You could have everything you want, but you choose to leave the one place you call home. Why is that?" Nya thought out loud, voicing the questions Skylor thought of herself.

Skylor hummed. "If I could have everything I wanted, then my father would allow me to enlist." It was true. Her father was way too overprotective despite her age.