Wings of Avaloria

Chapter 1

"Father, please make her stay!" Mikayla's voice cracked as she pleaded, tears spilling down her cheeks. My sister's grip on my arm tightened, causing me to wince slightly from the pressure. She pulled on my arm tightly, her desperation growing with each passing second. Our eyes met briefly, and I saw the pain and loss in her gaze before I turned away. I looked down at her; her curls ran down her back, and some loose hairs around her face stuck to her because of her sweat.

"Father," I said, my voice steadier than I felt, "please help me get her off." I glanced at my Father, silently begging him to intervene. In response, Mikayla pulled me closer, wrapping her arms around me in a vice-like embrace that threatened to suffocate me with its intensity.

I couldn't help but feel embarrassed by her display of emotion. I had expected this reaction when I told her my decision to start the Admission Trials today, but I didn't think she'd go this far. I knew that deep down, she wanted me to stay here in the palace, living the life of a princess like she did. But that life wasn't for me.

For the past four years, I had trained relentlessly, determined to become strong enough to begin the Trials once I turned eighteen. For centuries, the Hunters have protected our Kingdoms from the Felelf's risking their lives, so sending out your children to try and become Hunters is the most honorable thing to do in our Kingdoms. That's why parents push their children from the age of four to train, and the more children you have, the more your economic status will rise. This world is designed to take us away and to create twice as much as we lose. That's why I don't want to feel like I'm not joining just because of my title as a princess. I'm not the only exception.

I refused to be a fragile princess who relied on others to fight for her. Today was finally when Admissions started, and I was ready to prove myself. I know that every other person who will be there today has trained

their whole lives for this moment. I promised our mother a promise that I never genuinely understood when she told me to become a Hunter and help end the war. Fourteen-year-old me didn't have any idea what she wanted from me. Still, I knew I didn't just want to see our kingdoms in a constant panic because of Felelfs reeking chaos everywhere, destroying everything we love, killing innocent people, and taking anything they wanted. I wanted to be more than just a princess who stood there and watched, sending out our Hunters and soldiers to win a battle I was not helping in.

I just don't know what my mother meant when she told me I was the key to helping win the war, but in her final stages of life, she was perplexed about everything, and then the sickness took her, so maybe I will never know.

I turn to my Father and look at him pleadingly to get my little sister off me. I know she's only thirteen, but she didn't act like this when our brother Monte joined the games. But I am her big sister, and I understand she thinks I will never return. And to be honest, I am scared to, but I want to do more, I want to be more. "Enough, Mikayla," my Father finally spoke up, his voice firm yet gentle. Reluctantly, my sister released me, her desperate grip loosening. I stepped back, rubbing my sore arm, looking at the three people who meant the most to me.

"Thank you, Father," I murmured, half-grateful and half-annoyed that he hadn't stepped in earlier. "But I need to do this."

He nodded solemnly, understanding my determination. "I just want you to be ready if you choose to do this. You've only been training for a few years. Everyone out there will have been trained up for their whole lives. They know the ends of everything that happens at Avaloria and the Hunter Academy, and Monte wasn't allowed to tell you everything under his oath to the Academy. Hence, you are still at a slight disadvantage. All of that to say, I think it's perilous. I almost died on my first attempt at the Trials. I just want you to be safe, Marcella. It is a grueling climb, and the games get harder each year. We just want you to be safe." He says to me.