The Hope Collection

Hope's First Mission(unedited)

            Apollo and I spent the rest of the evening together in each other's arms. At almost midnight we cut the date off, we both had work to do in the morning. I kept tossing and turning in bed just thinking about what all had happened during our date. The night had started out with playful flirting and ended with us agreeing to date and making out till we had to part. It truly was a magical night Maybe we would get married after we got settled down into our new environment. I knew of people who had gotten married at the age of twelve, even before they had graduated from basic schooling.

            Most of those couples ended up stuck in a haze of artifitul love. A love that always seems so happy to everyone else, but to the couple life felt torturous and unkind. I didn't want that to be what becomes of Apollo and me, so I decided to wait for a while, just to see what happened in our relationship.

            I could barely keep my eyes open when I woke up at six the next morning. The thin pale curtains covering the large window in my room didn't remove the light from the room at all. If anything it seemed to allow more light into the room than there already was without the curtain. I climbed out of bed and left the blankets a crumpled up mess for the maid to deal with like she always did in the mornings. I was most definitely not ready for today. Today was the day I got my first mission and I was afraid of the unseen death looming over me already.

            I took my time playing with my bowl of oatmeal that morning in the cafeteria. I watched as at least twenty people came and went before I left to go see the king. I hadn't seen Apollo at all that morning, I wanted to tell him bye before I left. I never didn get the time to, though, because as I was headed to the control room a guard stopped me. He led me back the king's office for my mission instructions. The king's warm smile as I entered his office reasurred me and I pushed my fears to the back of my mind.

            "Welcome back to my office. I heard from a little birdy that you and your partner from the games are now offically dating," King Riley's eyes gleamed with amusement.

            "Who told you about Apollo and I?! We were alone," I sounded distrested and worried.

            "Oh but you are not. There's someone watching and listening, and today that will be you, my spy, on our enemies," the king laughed, his voice sounded excited, just as a madman's voice sounded.

            "What is my mission if I may ask, your majesty," my face was hot and I could tell the king knew I was embarrassed by the way he dragged out the conversation.

            "Oh, yes, I almost entirely forgot why I had summoned you here," King Riley nodded off another fit of laughter.

            He leaned back in his chair and pulled open a drawer with a silver handle. The handle didn't have as much wear as the other handles on the desk, so it wasn't as much as the other drawers were. King Riley pulled out a pale blue bracelet with a watchface-shaped screen on it. The pale blue was the Heroine Kingdom's national color. Believe me, it doesn't make for a very intimidating flag or army color.

            The king motioned for me to put my arm out, and I did. He clipped the bracelet around my wrist and fastened it accordingly so it fit snug to my wrist and wouldn't fall off if I got into a tussel of some kind. It was made of a comfortable but strong dyed leather strap. I moved my hand around to see how it felt when I moved. It felt just as comforable as when I wasn't moving and I barely noticed it was there.

            "There, you're ready to go. Your mission is to spy on an important meeting today at three p.m. at our mortal enemy, the Baskilisks, kingdom's castle. I expect you to be inside the castle at about two and back by eleven tonight. I have a horse waiting in the stables for you for your trip. Now go and find out what our enemies are planning and good luck, you are going to need it," King Riley shooed me out of the room as soon as he was done speaking, just like the first time I spoke to him.