The Battle Within

Chp.1
YEAR: 3915 A.D.

A shadow crept through the room as the candle light grew dim and expired. The heat of day sank away and shriveled into the chill of night. A sickening dampness settled in the air as darkness arose like the coming of war. The sensation was sharp enough to cut a man to the core of his being. Its grotesque feeling was not right. There was something evil in the air this night that had not been there before. The air was crying to be heard, to be cleansed of past misdeeds. It was saturated with the blood of thousands slain and called out to a single soul for repentance.
The 20-year-old girl raised her head and looked out the window. The last shred of sunlight was barely visible through the reinforced glass. She bowed her head once more and realized that her actions had accomplished nothing. She had been crouching here on her throne all day. Her legs had cramped from strain of sitting in one position too long and her black pants and tank top were wrinkled. Her cape fluttered around her as a draft wisped through the throne room.
She raised her head and gazed at the high arched ceiling, popping her neck to relieve built up tension. She stared for a few moments as the room became darker. She could barely make out the lines and curves as she sat wondering about her fate. She moved her head to glance around the room. It was devoid of any form of light. Black was its theme. The cold stone walls were such a contrast to the metal platted floor, a union of two eras, and yet, they both seemed to tell the same haunting story about innocent blood and deep depression. A bitter malicious harmony rang forth from the battlements perfectly in tune within its parts. The dreadful melody that resounded from inside came from the woman’s own soul.
Kayura leapt from her throne of cast-iron and black velvet, her cape billowing behind her. The night came on gradually, sneaking in like a cobra poised to attack, as she walked to the center of the throne room. Insanity tugged at the back of her mind tempting her to loose control. She stopped and closed her emerald green eyes as the darkness of the room pressed around her. Pulling her hair from her face as the menacing moment passed, she opened her eyes and slowly moved around the throne room wondering why she felt so defeated. Her empire was complete. Her power was all she needed...
She struggled to think about what to do and where she was going. The entire galaxy is under my control. My life’s goal is fulfilled. What’s wrong with me? Why does it seem like I can’t go on?! What am I missing? Insanity called to her once again and she fought it with all her might. She fell to her knees and grasped her head between her hands and started to weep. Images of the past came to her and flashes. All the things she had shut out for so long came over her in a flood. She stood and leaned against a pillar only for a moment to rest. Her breath came out in ragged gasps.
She began to walk down into the hall in a drunken sort of daze brought on only by tears and deep misery. It was bright here. The lights kept the halls and corridors easy to see into. A wail escaped her throat as she struggled to stay conscious. The room was like ice, but she was hot with fever. She was soaked through with sweat.
She wandered around the palace taking in her surroundings and thinking, her footsteps echoing on the cold metallic floor. Her palace was death. It held a macabre allure that was beyond mortal comprehension. The darkness that possessed it was brought on by more than just the pitch blacks and deep burgundies of the walls and floors. It was a reflection of her soul.
She stopped roaming and sighed at the sight of the lighting's glare on the floor. She had reached her chambers. Once inside, she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep. A single thought floated past her mind before sleep and memories overcame her.

"There are times in life that we all go through difficult experiences that shape who we become. These experiences become ingrained in our subconscious minds and cause us to grow stronger and wiser or force us into foolishness and weakness. From these experiences, we learn to love life or to hate it.
The following is the story of my life, the story of Kayura Amane Leone Rene Triast, Empress of Kirasha and Queen of Alimara."

She smiled weakly at the thought and prepared her mind for the deluge of memories it would undergo while she slept. She fell asleep with it at the forefront of her brain.

"From these times, we learn to love life or to hate it."

Then the memories came...

YEAR: 3899

"Kyrio wait up!" 4-year-old Kayura shouted stumbling over various rocks by the stream.
"You're too slow. Come on, Mother is waiting for us." Kyrio stopped walking and waited for his twin sister to catch up. They had left their mother's side to play beside the small stream. The time had passed quickly and they suddenly realized that it was getting dark. They had decided to go back to their mother. They eventually found their way back to her and together they went back to the palace.
The palace was a grand sight in the days of Ritrio. The ancient paintings hung from the walls, the colors unfaded by the test of time. The carpeted floor was a deep burgundy in color. The chandelier, primitive in style with candles amidst the ironwork, gave the palace a mystical look. The navy, emerald, and purple silk curtains hung from the lofty ceiling to the cobblestone floor. Kayura loved to watch the curtains flutter in the evening wind as they did that very night. She allowed a small sigh to escape her lips as she gazed upon their simple beauty.
Her mother touched her arm gently and led her down the dimly lit hall. After Kyrio had been put to bed, Kayura found herself being lifted into her mother's arms and carried to her room. The four-year-old girl fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She never realized that it would be the last time she would see her mother alive.



YEAR 3915
Kayura awoke suddenly from her deep sleep. This first memory was of the night her mother had been killed. She dripped with sweat wishing this first memory had been only a nightmare. She got up and splashed water on her face letting the coolness comfort her. She remembered the morning after her adventure by the stream all too well. The guards awakened her early and rushed her out of the room, trying to explain things as they went, the guard tried to tell her what had happened but Kayura's child-like brain couldn't comprehend that her mother was gone. She couldn't comprehend that her mother had bled to death because someone shot her in the neck. Kayura had been confused for most of her childhood as to why someone would do something so cruel.
She and her brother had been sent to a stronghold on an asteroid to be safe while an investigation was being held. Years later, she would conduct her own investigation and uncover the truth. Kayura's anger surfaced as she threw anything she could get her hands on around the bathroom. She clenched the broken pieces of a vase in her hand and watched as blood ran through her fingers. She fell to the ground with tears streaming down her face. She shook uncontrollably knowing that this was not the end of the memories. This was not the end of the pain she would feel before the night was through.
In this night, she would face her past, her present, her fears, her choices, and her demons. She knew that even if she forced herself to stay awake, eventually, she would fall asleep and succumb to this attack of remembrances. She stood in a hap-hazardous sort of way and walked out into the hall in the direction of the dungeon. She was no longer in control of herself. As she strode to the dungeon, delirium overcame her. She stumbled on a sort of drunken despair, wailing and weeping and falling over herself as the corridor swirled and buckled around her. She leaned against the wall as she went, going farther deeper into the dungeon. Her sub-conscious mind had a plan to bring her from her pain and infamy. It knew what must be done. It knew the truth.
Kayura groaned as she unknowingly punched a code into a number pad near a door that led to the most important prisoner kept. The door led to her closest friend and her deadliest enemy, the one that knew her best. The door opened and she stumbled inside. The person in the room turned to her with a sad look.
"What tortures have you come to lay upon me now, My Kirei?" he asked. A closer look told him that Kayura was not herself. She collapsed on the floor hitting the control panel on her way down, closing the door behind her. The man rushed to her and gathered her in his arms. He attempted to calm her, but her sobs resounded from the walls.
"Hush, My Kirei," he whispered.
"Kamlyn?" she managed to say one last time before she passed out in his arms from exhaustion and emotional strain.
"I'm here," he whispered to her unconscious form as she lay limp in his arms.
Kayura did not hear his comment to her as she was drifting off into memories once again. This time she would not awaken until the entire course of her life had been replayed before her mind.

"There are times in life..."

Five-year-old Kayura walked down the long corridor to her father's room.

"That we all go through..."

She knocked on the door before her, but there was no answer. Her father refused to see her.

"Difficult experiences..."

He had decided.

"That shape who we become."

She would leave the next day for the academy.

"From these experiences...

What was left unsaid was a deep hatred of a female heir.

"We learn..."

He wished for her brother to inherit the throne at any cost.
Even at the cost of his only daughter's life.

"To love life…
Or, to hate it."

Thus begins the life story of Kayura Amane Leone Rene Tarisuta, Royal Princess and Queen of Alimara, Empress of the galaxy Kirasha.

Chp. 2
YEAR 3900
5-year-old Kayura walked down the long corridor to her father's chambers. A small pout on her face, she hoped to sway her father's decision on her fate. Having told her that she needed to learn self-defense, her father decided to send her away to the Crimena military academy. What he left unsaid was that he sent her away in order to rip her title as heir to the throne away from her and to bestow the coveted title upon her younger twin brother.

Kayura knocked on the door that lay before her. There was no response. She knocked again much louder, but still no response came. Her father refused to see her. The king had decided; his daughter would leave the following morning for the military academy. After a few moments of silence, Kayura turned with her head held low and walked slowly back to her room. She sniffled a little, not wanting to leave the home she knew.

Her room was bare. Her things had been packed away in storage. All that sat in her room was her bed and a small duffle bag, which she would take with her on the ship. The bag contained a change of clothes and various other necessities. Kayura sighed and plopped down on her bed, her dress and royal robe billowing out with the sudden motion. This would be the last day she would wear a dress in a long time. At least she could be happy about that.

As she lay back, little Kayura acted as if the weight of the world were on her tiny shoulders. She scrunched up her face trying to think of one last way to convince her father to let her stay, but she could think of nothing save her girlish charms, which worked on everyone at the palace but him. The one person she needed to convince was the only one she could not sway. Pouting would not work either. She decided right then and there that her father did not care about her, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to get her way anyway. She was very determined and was tempted on more than one occasion to throw a major temper-tantrum. But, she refrained because of what her mother once told her. Her mother warned her to watch out for herself and to in no way show to be foolish, proud, spoiled, or angry in any way lest her father have reason to give everything she had to her brother. Kayura scowled at the thought of her brother having everything she had. "What would Kyrio do with my music boxes or my dollies? Kyrio is so mean!" She was right to think that. Kyrio only respected their father and only because their father was ready to give him the world. Kyrio was the epitome of an arrogant spoiled brat especially after their mother had died. Kayura felt in her heart that Kyrio would grow to be an evil man. She consistently took the opposite side of anything they would talk about. Their sense of sibling rivalry was beyond a sensible proportion; it was a deadly extreme.

Kayura sighed again, this time in defeat. She didn't know what to do. Her little brain was tired of thinking. She finally decided to do as her father said and hope for the best. This decided, Kayura slid off the bed and walked down the hall to dinner. The dinner that night would be a private affair. Only the family members and servants would be able to attend and the servants only to bring the food. After they served, the food, they left as well. The family would be left to their goodbyes. Kayura ate in silence. She answered questions asked of her in short simple answers and ate little of the food placed in front of her. Kayura wasn't hungry, she wasn't talkative, and she wasn't very happy. After she had finished eating all that she would eat, Kayura got up from the table and went to her room. She fell asleep as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning, Kayura boarded the spaceship "Akanya" which means despair in one of the many languages spoken on their planet. Kayura sulked in the single passenger ship all alone until they reached the academy. The passage was a long and boring one in which Kayura often fell asleep. The Crimena Military Academy was a 13-hour flight from her home world of Alimara to the far off moon in a neighboring system.

In the way as most common to young children, Kayura forgot both boredom and anger as she saw her first glimpse of the academy. As the moments wore on, she couldn’t help but peer through the window as she saw ships docking and loading supplies at the academy’s docking bay. Things were busy here, never stopping, running more quickly than at the palace where a day would pass in a long monotonous uniformity, everyday like the one before, always predictable never changing, since her mother’s death anyway. Kayura had heard tales of the days when her mother was alive and wished she could remember them. Even though only a year had gone by, she had begun to forget. The gleam of metal buildings brought Kayura back again from memories long past. Her excitement mounted as she sat there on her knees, hands clasped to the window seal as she tried to watch for people at the academy. Questions formed in her mind as to what was about to happen in her life. Would she have friends? Was the food any good? Would they welcome her with a special committee? She was their Princess after all.

Kayura’s excitement level grew to the state of anticipation. There was a slight jar when the ship finished docking, but Kayura didn’t care as she was already on her way out the door. The instant the ship landed, she jumped out and ran inside. She stopped. No one was around. No one had come to greet her. The silence of the white walls reverberated around her. She started to walk around nervously trying to take in the disciplined setting she had been placed in. Her footsteps echoed through the academy as she searched for a sign of life. The place seemed deserted, void, without life…

She looked at the doors as she passed by them “TG-126; TG-127; TG-128…” she spoke them aloud as she passed them. A chill swept through the hall as Kayura turned in a slow circle looking for any sign of life. A little farther down the hall, she noticed a set of double doors on her left. Inside the room, there were several teenagers practicing martial arts in white gis. She watched as they practiced their skills, wondering at their power and grace. She became so mesmerized by the motions that she did not hear the person walking up behind her. She jumped as a hand was laid on her shoulder. She turned to find a somewhat heavyset man looking down at her.

“Hello, young lady,” said the man, “my name is Menkah Tuneha. I am the commanding officer on this base. You shall call me General Tuneha if you please, Your Highness.”

She nodded her head as he continued, "Please follow me and I will show you to your room." He walked quickly down the halls; Kayura could hardly keep up. She was out of breath by the time they reached the room.
SQ-199 was her room number.

The only girls' quarters...

Chp. 3
Year: 3915

Kayura’s body was draped across Kamlyn’s lap as he held her unconscious body close to himself. He lightly touched his hand to her forehead to find that she was burning with fever. He knew at once that she must have some form of medical attention as soon as possible. He stood, adjusting himself to be able to carry her without any further problems and walked to the door. He was worried about her. She was not herself. He didn’t know if her sickness was the problem or if the sickness had been brought on by something else. He looked at the key pad beside the door. Only Kayura knew the access code for the cell, but on the other hand there was a finger print validation screen directly above the key pad. Kamlyn lifted Kayura’s hand and pressed it onto the screen. A green light flashed and the door opened with a slight hiss.
He carried her to her room and laid her down on her bed. He got a wet washcloth and laid it on Kayura’s forehead. It had been so long since he had been in this part of the palace. It must have been nearly 5 years ago he said good-bye. What had he done to her? Was everything his fault? Could he have done something, or changed anything to keep this fate from happening?
He knew...
There had been plenty of things he could have done to help keep her from going over the edge, to keep her from spilling so much blood and to keep her as she once was. Instead, he allowed fear to come into their true love and he ran away. 'Running away never solved any problems, it only made bigger ones.' An ironic smile touched his lips momentarily as he realized how true it was. Old clichés, he thought, how true they seem to be...
He reached across and removed a strand of hair from Kayura’s cheek. She seemed to be doing better. He breathed a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He gazed at her face. She was as pale as a porcelain doll. She always was this light-skinned because she refused to tan. He laughed to himself. Always going against the grain, that was Kayura. An image of her flashed before his eyes. It was a memory of the first time he had visited the palace. The sight of her emerald eyes and the burgundy of her dress was burned into his mind. This picture was the way he would always remember her.
He would always regret what had happened between the two of them.

________________________________________________

YEAR: 3900

Kayura sat alone on her bed. She frowned and started picking at a loose string on the sheets. She was so lonely. Her roommate had yet to come by and introduce herself. Before General Tuneha had left, he had instructed her to stay in the room until someone could show her around.
She sat for what seemed like hours when finally a young woman came into the room.
"Hello, my name is Eolanda," she said. "Shall I give you the tour of the compound?"
Kayura nodded her head and slid off of the bed.
“Well then let’s go,” Eolanda said grabbing her hand and leading her out the door. Kayura half-skipped down the hallways trying to keep up with Eolanda’s fast paced walk. The compound covered literally the entire asteroid, 468,612 square kilometers of military training grounds.
”To our right, you can see the cafeteria also known as the mess hall. To our left is the nurse’s office.” Eolanda went around a corner and pointed down the hall way. “Down there are all the offices of the officers who run this base. You do not go down there unless you are told to.” Eolanda turned and went down another passage. “These are all of the classrooms in which you will learn your strategies and histories. At the end of the hall here, there are a series of gyms in which you will do battle training. The rest of the asteroid is actually for field combat simulation. You do not have to think about that until you are older.”
Kayura looked in awe as they passed through the halls. This place is bigger than the palace, she thought. As she gazed at the ceiling being guided by Eolanda’s firm grasp, something obstructed her path, knocking her off of her feet. She snapped out of her trance as her rear hit the floor.
“Ow!” she complained.
“Kamlyn,” Eolanda shouted at the cause of Kayura’s mishap. Kayura looked up to find a brown-haired boy a few years older than her bowing his head sheepishly. “Well, Kamlyn, are you going to apologize to Princess Kayura?” Eolanda asked.
“The Princess?” he nearly stuttered. He fell to his knees before her. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. In the future, I will be more careful.” He looked up meeting Kayura’s green eyes with his own brown ones. Eolanda looked down at the young boy and thought: Such a precocious child, but then again, so is Kayura, at least from what I’ve heard. She’s supposedly advanced in all of her studies. She smiled as she watched Kayura nod her head at Kamlyn signaling that he may stand. Those two look so cute together.
“My lady,” Kamlyn continued somewhat gaining his composure. “If there is anything that I may do to show my deepest and most sincere apologies I will do it. You need only to say the word.”
“I shall let you know,” Kayura replied.
“May I escort you, Your Highness?” he asked holding out his hand.
“Yes, you may,” she replied. “You shall escort me to my chambers. I am finished with my tour of the military compound.”
“So what do you like to do, Your Highness?”
“You speak too much.”
“Sorry, Your Highness.”
“Kayura, my name is Kayura.”
“My name is Kamlyn if you please Your- Kayura” he grinned.
Seven Years Later…

“KAMLYN!” Kayura shouted as she ran down the hall after her best friend. “You get back here with my journal. I swear, when I catch you, I’m going to beat you to a bloody pulp.”
“You see Kayura, that’s the thing. You have to catch me first!” He shouted back. He turned to watch where he was going only to run into General Tuneha. He fell flat on his back. This gave Kayura a chance to catch up. She ran and jumped into the middle of his chest and grabbed her journal from his grasp. Victoriously, she took off back to her room leaving a rather physically hurt Kamlyn and a rather annoyed General Tuneha. Tuneha gave Kamlyn a look and told him to behave before going about his business. Kamlyn was left alone in the hall. He looked around one more time before getting up and taking off after Kayura.
“Hey, Kayura wait up,” he shouted trying to catch up.
Kayura stopped and turned around waiting for her Kamlyn to reach her. “You need to work out more. You’re 14 years old and shouldn’t be winded from such a short run. I am 12 and
I am not winded at all. Perhaps you should cut back on your sweets.” She said before turning around and continuing to walk.
Kamlyn followed her taking note that she had very easily gone back into what he had dubbed “Princess Mode.” She had gone from raving mad to calm and pointing things out that should be improved in a matter of seconds. “So Princess, what are we going to do for fun today?”
Kayura scowled at the use of her title. Kamlyn only used it when he was trying to irritate her. She though it best not to respond until her used her name. “Princess? Oh, Princess? Aren’t you going to answer my question?”
Kayura did not respond.
”Oh so that’s the way it’s going to be!” He jumped in front of her and got on his knees. “Oh most gracious highness, please grant me, thy humble subject, knowledge of how thou wilt spend thy day.”
Kayura just stared. “You don’t get it do you, Kamlyn? I have a name!”
“Oh, sorry Kayura, I forgot how much you hate being called by your title. I’ll try to remember next time” he winked at her.
Kayura raised an eyebrow. “There’d better not be a next time, or I’ll have you put in the stocks.”
“Yes, Ma’am!” he saluted.
Kayura rolled her eyes and stepped around him continuing to her room. “When you get off of your whole groveling routine, come to my room and we can play chess.”
Kamlyn got up and followed her to her room to play a game of chess.

Chapter 4

“Hey, Kamlyn, give me a piggyback ride to class.”
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m tired Kayura.”
Kayura looked at him. “I don’t believe you. Something is bothering you.”
“It’s not anything I want to talk to you about right now, Kayura. Maybe I can talk about it later.” He walked on to his class leaving behind a rather confused Kayura. He sat down at his desk and pulled out his journal.

Journal,
I normally don’t write here, but I’m having serious issues with Kayura. It’s not anything that she’s done; it’s something in my head. I’ve been seeing her differently than before and it bothers me. What is so different about her?

-Kamlyn

He shut his journal and continued to think about his situation. It had only been a few days since their chess game. Why had he even wanted to steal her journal in the first place? He shook his head. Deep down he knew that he really wanted to know what she had put in there and if he had been written about at all. Things were getting too complicated for Kamlyn to want to figure them out. Kayura would just have to forgive him his behavior. He’d have to find out why he’d been acting weird around her and stop it. Just then Kayura walked into the room. Kamlyn flinched when he noticed the look on her face. It was her “I’m a princess and you’d better listen to me” look.

“Do you wish to explain your behavior, or lack there of earlier?” she glared at him.

“Kayura, can’t we just let that go for right now. I’ve got a lot on my mind. You need to stop acting like a five year old.” He sighed and looked down at his desk knowing that Kayura’s eyes were literally burning holes through him right now. Much to his surprise, Kayura just shook her head and went to her seat.

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready and not a moment before,” she said knowing this to be the case.
“Do you always have to point out the obvious?” he asked. Kayura just raised her eyebrows and went back to her work.
Eolanda walked into the classroom noticing that Kamlyn and Kayura were not talking the way they normally would. She made a mental note of this and moved on to prepare for the day’s assignment. This was a strategy class. The students were to learn how to do basic strategy and how to rely on their gut instinct. The assignment she had for them would definitely surprise them. It was more of a game really than an assignment.
“Ok class, today we’re going to start something new. You are going to use all of the strategies you’ve learned so far to try and outwit each other in a little game I like to call ‘Gotcha.’” Eolanda paused and waited for what she had said to sink in with the students. She watched as a few of them shift uncomfortably in their seats. She continued, “You will be given a name of one of your fellow classmates and it will be your duty to hunt them down and shoot them with a water gun.”
A few students perked up at this and started to pay attention. “Here are the rules: This classroom in safe ground as well as your own dorm rooms. No one can be ‘gotten’ in those places. You may also not allow this to interfere with your other classes. I will be giving you a sheet of paper with your person’s name on it and a water gun. You must keep these in strict confidentiality. You will hunt your person and when you shoot them, they are required to give you their gun and the sheet of paper they have so you can hunt the next person. Likewise, if you are shot, you must hand over your paper and water gun to the person that shoots you. You may only shoot the person whose name appears on your paper or on the confiscated paper. When you shoot someone you must yell ‘Gotcha.’ The last one not shot is the winner and will be honored at the end of the year banquet.”

Chapter 5:

Kayura snuck a glance at the paper she held within her grasp. The paper read: Your target is Mahte Kiln. She thought back to whom her classmates were and immediately remembered the boy’s face. The boy was, well, an idiot. She would have no problems taking the boy out. She just needed to follow him around. He had always tried to sneak up on Kayura but had blatantly failed due to his ability or lack there of, of being quiet. She decided to take a quick walk around the compound just to see if he was going to leave his dorm room any time soon.
When it became apparent to her that he was not going to leave, she sat outside of his door and just waited for him to open it up. She stayed by his door all night just waiting to get a shot at him. She wanted him out of this game. He was so horrible in his class work that it would be a disgrace for him to even come close to winning.
Morning came and the door began to open. Kayura gripped her water gun as Mahte stepped out of the room. She stood up and fired the gun. He flinched as the ice cold water hit him in the face.
“Gotcha” she screamed.
“You could at least have waited until I was awake, you know,” he grumbled as he gave her his assignment paper so that she could catch the next person. He stalked off in the direction of the showers.
Kayura unfolded the piece of paper in her hands. As she read the name of the person she was to be sent after, she grinned. This was going to be too easy. Kamlyn would never know what hit him. She would just pretend to be sick for the rest of the week and then when everyone had gotten their person except the one who held her name, she would attack Kamlyn and bring him down. Of course, she would try to wait until Kamlyn had her name that way she would only have to use the water gun one more time. It was a good plan and she as happy that she thought of it before anyone else did. She would play a game of waiting and flush her attacker out.
Her smile widened as she ran and jumped into to bed. In order to pull this off she would need to look sick. She pulled her hair out of its normal ponytail and tangled it as best she could and she scratched her nose to make it look like she’d rubbed her nose raw. She let all happiness leave her face so that she looked completely miserable. She crumpled some tissues all around her bed and turned over on her side and went to sleep.
Meanwhile, Kamlyn was shooting down targets left and right, determined to win this game. The idea that he could really win it was starting to take root in his heart. He grabbed a paper from his last victim’s hand and quickly unfolded it. “Kayura…” he whispered.
“Man, she’s so sick right now. She gets off until she feels better, but after that, she’d better watch her back.”

One week later…

There was a small knock on the door. Kayura got up and went to the door still acting as sick as she could manage. It was Kamlyn. She motioned for him to come in and turned around heading back to bed. She stumbled and fell into bed. She looked back at Kamlyn. He had a rather alarmed look on his face.
“Kayura, are you ok?” he asked her, concern written all over his face.
“Yeah,” she said. “Could you do me a favor and get me some hot soup from the cafeteria?” Kamlyn nodded his head and took off down the hall. Kayura instantly dropped the act and ran to get her water gun. She filled it up, sat down in the hall and waited for her prey to come back with her soup. She didn’t have to wait long; soon Kamlyn came racing around the corner as fast as he could while not spilling her soup. She quickly hid the gun.
“Kayura, what are you doing out here? You should be in bed!” he scolded her.
“Kamlyn, I’ve been in there all week. I needed some fresh air. Here sit down beside me and we can catch up. So, how’s the project been going for Eolanda’s class? How many people have been taken out and so forth?” she replied.
“Well, most of them. There are only two or three of us that haven’t been gotten. By the way, who is your target?” he asked.
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that Kamlyn.” She watched as he closed his eyes and shook his head. This was her chance. His guard was down. She whipped the gun out and shot him before he had a chance to respond.
He looked at her like he was going to kill her. She grinned wickedly.
“I’m feeling better now,” she said.
“Kayura, have you just been pretending to be sick so that I would wait on you hand and foot and then get me at the end of the week after everyone else had been gotten?”
“Yep, pretty much,” her grin widened as she ran into her room and locked the door. Then she realized that she didn’t get the paper from Kamlyn. She opened the door a crack. “Hey Kamlyn give me my next assignment. I want to know who else I can dupe with this.”
“Aw, go hunt yourself!!!” he said giving her the paper. She opened it up and jumped when she saw her own name written there.
“This means I win!!!”
“Yeah, and I wasn’t even going to try to shoot you until you got better. From now on I won’t bother being nice when you’re sick, you sneak. I thought we were friends.”
“We are friends; that’s why it was so easy to fool you. Oh hey, you can come in.” she said going around her room and picking up the mess that she caused by pretending to be sick. “So, will you forgive me?”
Kamlyn sighed. “Kayura, of course I forgive you.” He had been worried about her all week. He was angry when he found out that she had deliberately tricked him, but he could never stay mad at Kayura for very long. “You know, that was a pretty good idea after all.” He laughed when he thought about it. “I’ll have to remember it for future usage.”
“You do that Kamlyn.” Kayura laughed. “So, since I’m miraculously better, do you want to go down to the game room and hang out?”
“That’s sounds like a very good idea.” He said following her out the door.
“So Kamlyn, what do you want to play?” she asked.
“How about pool?”
“But, I’m horrible at pool. You know that!”
“That, my friend is precisely why I want to play it.”
“Fine, but after that we’re playing a game of air hockey.”
“That out dated game?”
“Pool is older.”
“True, but I can beat you at it.” By this time they had arrived at the game room. Kamlyn set everything up and they began their game of pool. Kayura just leaned on the side of the table waiting for him to get it set up just perfectly. She looked over to see him moving the pool triangle back and forth by mere fractions of inches.
“Kamlyn, what are you doing? It’s fine. Let’s just play already.”
He looked up at her and grinned, proceeding to finish adjusting the balls on the table five minutes later.
“Kamlyn!”

Chapter 6:(incomplete chapter)

Two years later…
“Kayura,”
“Kayura,”
The General looked at her.
“Kayura, are you listening to me?”
Kayura snapped back at attention. “I’m sorry sir, can you please repeat?”
“Kayura, you are to go on leave for a month. Kamlyn is to go with you. Your father has requested your presence at the palace. Think of it as a vacation from your studies,” General Tuneha finished.
“Did he say why?” she asked.
“No, and it is not my place to question His Highness.” He replied. “Your ship leaves tomorrow at 1300 hours. You might want to tell Kamlyn to start packing.”
Kayura nodded and left the room to find Kamlyn. She ran down the hall to his quarters and banged on the door. “Kamlyn?”
He opened the door. “Kayura, it’s still early! What do you want?”
“Well, Tuneha told me that my father is summoning me back home to the palace and that you are invited along as well. So you should start packing because we’re leaving tomorrow at 1300 hours,” she replied.
“Ok,” He yawned and shut the door.
“Kamlyn!”
He opened the door quickly. “What?!”
“Aren’t you going to get up? We have class in half an hour.”
“Kayura, that means I still have half an hour to sleep and I intend on enjoying every minute of it.” He shut the door again leaving Kayura looking somewhat upset at his behavior. She took off in a huff and went to her room to get her note book for class before heading to the cafeteria for breakfast.