They met by chance.
The girl ends up saving the boy at a cost. The boy enters her world and sees that she needs saving as well.
However, neither one of them are strong enough to take on the evils they will soon face. Nobility and politics are conc...
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~Spotify Song Choice for Chapter 1: Feel Again - Jovan Perez (playlist can be found on Spotify by looking up the book title or clicking the attached link to this chapter)~
It was my first day back in the barracks since Alai helped me 4 weeks ago. I've been away for a while because I was taking some time off to let the whip marks on my back heal. Turns out the doctor wasn't supposed to wrap my back and it ended up delaying my recovery.
As I walked to the check-in point, I could feel the rest of the soldier's eyes on me and hear their murmurs. It was mostly about how I didn't go back to the soldier's quarters in that busted shack they housed us in. How I didn't look as disheveled as they did anymore as I wore clothes that weren't tattered and patchy. My hair was combed and freshly washed. I gained some healthy weight as well. A lot of those murmurs were filled with malice and jealousy. I tried to tune it out because I wanted to solely focus on earning my keep at the commander's house and repaying Alai's generosity. I walked in one of the lines of men and women headed toward the check-in when someone stepped on the back of my shoe. I turned around to see a girl looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It's just that today's my first day at the barracks and I'm really nervous." the girl says looking around in what I think is either amazement or fear or both.
"It's fine and don't worry. You'll do fine." I say to her.
"Thanks. My name is Kayleen" Kayleen says extending her hand out to me. I shake her hand and return the introduction. "My name is Raphael", I say turning back around and moving up in line.
There was some silence as the line kept advancing and then there were only two people left in front of me. I felt a small tap on my shoulder and I turned to see Kayleen.
"I'm sorry if this is rude but there are some rumors going around about you and I wanted to know if you knew." She says apprehensively. I subdue the laugh from coming out and I give her a slight nod. It's quite hard to ignore rumors like "he must have sold his body to someone in The Commander's house" "Maybe he is marrying into nobility" and the even more outrageous ones that I will not acknowledge.
