Viktorija could remember every detail about her short life, she could even remember the day she had been born. The moment she had opened her eyes, it was something she kept to herself as she imagine that she would never be left alone after that. The warmth wasn’t theirs; it belonged solely to her, Mama and Papa’s words belonged to only her. Their love was something she kept to her heart as a dragon with their hoard.

None of that would belong to anyone else.

Mama’s and Papa’s blood going onto her face, as the Snake of Envy’s fang tore into their shoulder, then their tears. For the good and the bad, it didn’t matter to her, as she didn’t understand what was happening at the time, the moment her Papa had died from the poison and blood loos, Mama had sealed her spirit into her mind space with the snake.

Before her body too died hiding the ground with a loud thud.

She didn’t get to meet her Mama until she was four years old, along with being shown the snake’s holding cell. A giant metal cage in a field of trees covered in thick mist, dark blue flowers popping up on the ground, it was the spot in the forest she felt safest. A group of villagers had taken it too far and she had almost died before any of the Garde found her.

It was then, that she started training to join the Soldat and it was then, that she started being able to defend herself.

“The hunters turned into the hunted,” Viktorija whispered to herself looking at her cracked mirror, in a building where she was the only living soul. Brushing her short brown hair, she placed two clips to keep her hair out of her face. Now that she was officially part of the Garde, maybe she could grow her hair to the length of her Mama’s had been. “It’s so sad, that no one ever did find out what happened to them.”

Chuckling, she pulled a black dress along with a pair black biker shorts and fishnet stockings. She never did like sleeves, so she had picked something that hugged her neck and avoided her shoulders.

If she had to wear something warmer, she always carried a jumper and jacket, in one of her white bracelet’s. In a seal that was hidden on the inside of her leather bracelet, she always carried a year’s worth of supplies in her. Thus, she had two bracelets on her right arm and four on her left.

No one knew the seals were there and she wasn’t planning on telling anyone any time soon.

Putting on her knee-high boots, she jumped from her apartment window onto the top floor of the building next to hers. Before making her way to the Academy.

--

When Viktorija walked into the room, she didn’t talk to anything and no one spoke to her or look at her. She merely chose a random seal and sat down, necklace hanging around a black choker that had the Kazlauskas Clan crest. A crimson rose embroidered into the dark material, something that her two months to make.

“First!” two girls shouted, Viktorija knew who they were without having at the door. Their horrid voices enough; Gisella D’espirt and Ismay Martin. Both were fangirls, and both were the most annoying people Viktorija had ever met in her life.

She ignored them as she unsealed a sketchpad and some pencils, which she placed them next to her sketchpad.

“Muet Viktorija, move!” Ismay shouted at her as she stood in front of her table, making Viktorija look up from her picture of a small brown cat. One that she had seen on her way to the Academy that morning. When she didn’t move or say anything, Ismay put the pencils back into her case and caught it.

Violet eyes investigated green ones, as Viktorija tightened her grip on Ismay’s fist. Tight enough that it threatened to break the fragile bones underneath the skin.

“Why should I?” Viktorija asked her.

“Because I want to sit next to Lord Atspoguļo,” Gisella told her, flipping her long dark blonde hair behind her shoulder, while Viktorija just glared at her. “So, move, sans valeur.”

“Let me tell you both something, just because you want something. Doesn’t mean you’re going to get it,” Viktorija huffed not letting go of Ismay’s hand. She knew that the dirty blond would try to hit her again and last time, Viktorija was tempted to stab her with a pencil. “You want to sit next to the emo bastard, and I want people to stop glaring at me. Want to know they have in common, neither are going to happen. So built a bridge and get over it.”

Both Ismay and Gisella looked at each other, in the end Gisella sat next to one of her father’s friends’ children. A kind male with brown hair and brown eyes, Alix D’Faire. While Ismay just sat down next to Viktorija with a pout on her lip.

Etienne only looked at the board, he was just glad he wouldn’t have someone asking him out on a date as he plotted his vengeance. Crossing his hands on the table, he went back to thinking about that man’s underneath his feet.

Viktorija tuned Duron out as she continued to draw, she had heard this speech more times than she care count. It never changed, he gave it to them after the end of each day, and to the class before they even took their Soldat exams.

How the Will of Fire burnt brightly in all of them, how they would protect their villages and teammates lives. That neither should be taken for granted, since both could be taken away from someone in a heartbeat.

“Team Seven; Viktorija, Ismay and Etienne,” Duron told them before Viktorija went back to ignoring the man. Great, she was with Ismay and Etienne, she was going to have to work with it and hope her own life wasn’t lost. “Now be back here in an hour.”

“Etienne, do you want to have lunch?” Ismay asked as Duron left the room, the rest of the room slowly following. “You know… as a team?”

Viktorija rolled her eyes, even she knew the answer to that question, and she didn’t pay that much attention to Etienne. Other than making sure her promise was being kept to the man that had been a brother who loved her so much for the first five years in her life.

Viktorija only blinked at her, before smiling at Ismay as she took a hold of Etienne’s arm. Her pencils and sketchpad placed back into the seals. “You know, we both know the real reason behind your words. You only want a date; you have no pride. Putain désespérée.”

--

Viktorija looked at the sky, her arms resting up her sides as she started counting clouds. The grassy hill was soft underneath her; she had heard someone mentioning that cloud watching was comforting and dull.

She was starting to prefer her drawing as a relaxation method, but Viktorija was usually willing to try something once. She had dropped Etienne at his compound and left. She had only done it to annoy Ismay, nothing more and nothing less.

She didn’t know why people weer obsessed with Etienne; it wasn’t like he did much. He didn’t try talking to people and yet, he had almost the entire village bending over backwards. And still somehow, he was the most abused child in the village. He was the most abandoned, almost as if mothers didn’t leave their newborn babies in alleyways.

Viktorija had taken more then one infant to the hospital only for the poor thing to die on her, others made it and now had happy homes. She knew orphans who never saw their tenth birthday, knew that she was lucky to make it to fifteen.

She sighed as dirty blonde hair blocked her vision, she had hoped that Ismay would go bother someone else with her problems. She didn’t care that they were on the same team now, she wanted to spend as much time as she could away from the banshee.

“Where did you take Etienne?” Ismay asked her, Ismay thought since they were on the same team then she would tell her, after all, Etienne was her true love. “Do you like him?”

“No,” Viktorija hissed.

“Why?”

“Same reason why I don’t know where he is. I don’t care.”

“But you’re the one who took him from the classroom.”

“You know, he has these things called legs, right? He moves around just like the rest of us.”

“Huh?”

“Your head is filled with nothing but air, I swear.”

“Why you don’t you know where he is?”

“Me no give two shits.”

“But -”

“It’s great that you like him,” Viktorija told her putting her hand over Ismay’s mouth, she had to move her head and thus the girl was still leaning over her. Viktorija didn’t want to know what it looked like to anyone else. “It shows how boy crazy some people in this village are, along with how power-hungry their parents are.”

“I’m not boy crazy,” Ismay protested the moment Viktorija moved her hand.

“Never said that you were. But I’m glad you know yourself so well.”

“But -”

“Besides from Antoinette, ever single girl in that class is going to die.”

“Die?” Ismay only looked at her, Viktorija was the smallest person in their class. She was the same height as most eight-year-olds. She was also the most childish looking, Ismay could only blink at Viktorija’s words.

“You’re the weak link in this team,” Viktorija told her, putting her hands on Ismay’s shoulder so she can stop her in case Ismay tried to attack her. “The enemy will always go for the weak link.”

“Lord Atspoguļo will protect me!” Ismay shouted at her.

“You’re talking about someone who wants to kill one of the few remaining members of his family and ignore the existence of the others,” Viktorija told her tightening her hands on Ismay’s shoulders, she had a feeling she would need to push away soon. “You know, that right? He doesn’t exactly keep it a secret.”

“He doesn’t.”

“Doesn’t care about anything, only revenge.”

“He doesn’t.”

“I’m not going to talk to you about something so stupid.”

“Lord Atspoguļo -”

“Shut up! Stay blind.”

“I’m not blind!”

“You dress like you are.”

Ismay only blinked at her words, she loved her body-hugging green dress and black shorts. Like Viktorija could judge her, her dress barely went to her knees and her jacket wasn’t zipped up, her boots went to her knees. “Mum says I look pretty.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree.”

“You’re ugly.”

“Very mature.” Viktorija pushed Ismay away from her, pushing herself onto her feet. “I don’t care about your interest; I don’t care what you want. I don’t care about my appearance.”

--

Ismay wasn’t happy, Viktorija had disappeared before she could anything about her comment and she had been around girls who cared about their appearance. Her Mum always told her so, that one thing female Soldat’s could use to their advantage was their sex appeal.

That and she couldn’t Etienne, which didn’t help her mood.

Viktorija was drawing in her sketchbook, she just glad that Ismay wasn’t talking and she didn’t care what Etienne was doing. She only promised to keep him physically keep safe.

“Their late!” Ismay screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping from her seal and walking to the front of the classroom, walking back and forth. “He’s three hours late! All the other teams are gone, Duron is gone.”

Viktorija only sighed, closing her book and throwing a blank scroll at Ismay’s head. Ismay only looked at her with wide eyes, no one had ever thrown something at her before and she didn’t know how to react to it.

“You know, you might die within the next two years, but I swear I’ll kill if you’re this loud during a mission,” Viktorija told her. “I’m not going to risk my life, because you can’t shut your mouth for a few hours.”

“You can’t.”

“Says who?”

“The law.”

“Out on the field, Muet, the law means nothing.”

“The rules -”

“All rules are meant to be broken.”

“But -”

“Shut up, or I can kill you this minute,” Viktorija told her, while the classroom door open. A man with black hair poked his head in, with dark blue eyes. “It would seem our Soldat teacher has finally decide to turn up, how lovely.”

The man just looked at her, like he was expecting Viktorija to do something. She was a Kazlauskas and pranking was something her clan just did as training, at least, that was her Mama had told her and she believed her Mama.

“Meet me on the roof in five minutes,” he told them. “I’m Emilek.”