Soldier

1. Beginnings

Chapter 1 - Beginnings

Emilia's Pov

I watched the small figures before me, lighting the dark room as they talked to each other. Our television was small, but bearable. We only needed it for sound. Sometimes to fill the empty silence that roamed through our small home, or just to inform us on the war.

It had three years since the war started between the current Capitol and the rising one - Whitham. It had also been four years since Mum and Dad had passed. Although losing them was terribly gut-wrenching and horrible, my siblings and I couldn't have been more pleased with how they died. They always said die doing what you love. And that's just what they had done. My parents lived for adventure. They climbed many large mountains, skydived, swam with sharks, even camp in the amazon jungle during their early years. Their last event was simply malfunctions in the cord. They planned to bungee jump off Tower Bridge in London for their 23rd year anniversary. If they had known the cord would snap they would have made it. But it hadn't registered fast enough that it broke, and they were forced into the water with great pressure. The impact was too strong for them to handle, it was proclaimed they both had died on impact.

I knew they loved us greatly, which is why my mourning time hadn't lasted as long. It was awful the first few weeks but my eldest brother reminded me how they would want us to be strong. That even when they themselves have sustained great injury, they still were strong. The only tough part that was left, was explaining or making up excuses to our little sister who was one at the time. She would cry for our parents but we would only make an excuse that they were away until she was old enough to fully understand.

My brother is now my legal guardian as well as to our little sister. Nathaniel has been our rock through everything. Not once has he doubted that we would not make it on our own. When our parents died, he was of legal age, but for my sister and I, we could have been out in foster care. Being fourteen at the time, I, more than likely, would've stayed in their care and Adelaide who would have been one almost two, would have been easily been adopted. But without hesitation, Nathan had been determined to keep us all together and became our guardian.

Although now being eighteen myself, I refuse to leave my family. But I did get myself a job just down the street at a bakery to help Nathan and take some of the stress off of him. The owner is the nicest lady you will ever meet. Her name is Marie and she's about seventy-three. She knew our parents well, and was aware of our situation. So I'm thankful she lets me bring Addie to the bakery and watch over her in the kitchen or the back room. We can't afford for her to get her an education, and I haven't finished mine, so for now she's stuck with us until we figure out how to get her one. I work for about four to five hours a day, and have off Saturdays and Sundays like Nathan does. He works in an auto-body shop a few minutes away from home. He's excels past anyone that I have ever seen, but that doesn't say much considering I've only compared him to a few others.

Nathan also refuses for us to be anywhere but the bakery and home. He's overprotective, and worries for both of us beyond what he should. He's known Marie since he can remember and trust her as if she was our Nan. On our days off we like to spend it watching our tv screen, with Addie playing with her dolls I made her.

Which is how today started.

Nathan sat on the far end of the old couch, paperwork sprawled around his lap, and pen in between his teeth as he did his calculations. Addie sat in front of him, making her dolls walk on the ground and talk to each other. Whereas my eyes were set upon the male on the screen. I'm always focused on the Saturday night news. Being on the outskirts of our Capitol - London, meant isolation from what was happening within the Capitol. Isolation is all I know living in our home and our very small town. We're the last town to know anything that is happening.