Chapter 23

-EDITED-

Ember looked at the door, she swallowed. They arrived earlier than she expected, Ember swallowed as the door opened and she saw a large man. He was wearing a camo suit and held a weapon in his right hand. Atherton had returned to his puppy form. Ember's piercing violet eyes met with the man's piercing green ones.

"Pack and be ready in five minutes to head out." The man said. Ember nodded, and he shut the door.

Ember took in a deep breath as she had held her breath the whole time without realizing it. Ember grabbed as many as men's outfits as she could and shoved them in a bag. She gazed at the messy room as she had torn apart it over the two months she had been here. The only thing she hoped for when going to the military base was that time passed quickly.

As the door opened once again, Ember was putting her hair in a ponytail. She had noticed some changes in herself, but her hair was the main one. She had noticed that her hair had gotten longer and was now touching her shoulder blades and it bothered her. She didn't enjoy her hair tickling the back of her neck or touching any skin.

"All right, lets head out." The man growled and grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards the entrance of the palace where a black berion stood, waiting for them to arrive.

Without words, he shoved her into the berion and shut the door. Ember looked at Atherton and he just shrugged, as one can as a dog. Ember sighed and laid on the seat of the berion. She knew she wouldn't sleep tonight, but it wouldn't be the nightmares she stayed awake for. It was her not trusting the people in charge of this berion.

It was difficult trusting people that are sending you to your death. Ember hummed to herself to keep herself awake. But as the night passed, she dozed off at random times and then being woken up by Atherton barking at her.

By the seventh time she was woken, she gave up on her quest to stay awake throughout the journey. "Just let me sleep, Atherton." She muttered as she snuggled against the back of the seat. As her violet eyes fluttered closed and the rocking of the berion sent her to sleep, Atherton yawned and curled up against her and fell asleep.

When they awoke, it was because of the large man they had encountered the night before yelled at them. As Ember stepped out of the berion, she noticed that the sun wasn't over the horizon and ahead of her was a large fortress, shielded from the outside world with touch rock walls and large towers. From inside she could hear yelling and the sound of boots hitting the ground as the military marched around.

Ember muttered curses silently to herself as they led her into the base. She huffed as they opened the gates to let them inside. They pulled her back as a group passed by and a few stared as they glimpsed a young Neko girl being held against a large man.

It was a rarity to see a woman in the military, let alone a Neko. You would never find a different species in the military for a range of reasons. First, no one would want to serve the people who mistreated them. Second, they weren't allowed to. No one opposed that law as it had no real impact on the people. While you could not be in the military, they could train you to be a guard for certain people.

Even then, it's mostly humans who are guards. As she walked through the base and looked around, she noticed a pattern. This place was a mess while being neat and tidy. Such as there was a lot of trash on the ground, such as plastic spoons and forks, but the way around was simple and orderly.

Although she wouldn't doubt that it took a lot of threats from keeping the newbies from messing with the tents. As more groups passed by, Ember heard a few whistles within them but no comments. Probably because they didn't have enough time to violate her sense of pride and dignity if she had to take a guess.

As they approached a large building, she felt a sense of uneasiness. When the door opened to reveal what was inside, it made sense why. Inside was a range of weapons, tables, and a singular desk. The weapons ranged from melee to long-range and upon the tables laid maps and battle plans. But what terrified her was the man sitting at the desk, with a dark look on his face when he made eye contact with Ember.

Ember swallowed as the man straightened, reaching his full height. The man holding her arm brought her forward and sat her down then left. Ember looked at the man behind the desk. She shuddered mentally by the look he was giving her. It was invading in so many ways, as if he was attempting to kill her, see her secrets and violate her at the same time.

"You are the Neko that the Queen sent us to train, correct?" The man asked, his voice cold and empty but his eyes told a different story. His dark blue eyes were filled with disgust but an attraction.

Ember made a point by putting her arms around her chest to remove his stare from them. "Yes, I am," she said.

"All right, what's your name and your birthday." He asked as he looked at the sheet of paper that held her information.

"My full name is Ember Rose Fulton, and I was born on the 9th day in Quil." She stated, and he nodded.

He stood from his chair, strolling behind her. Ember tensed up as he placed a singular hand on her shoulder as he leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"Do you know why I even allowed you to be here?" He asked as his hot breath blew into her ear, making her shudder.

"No, I don't know why." She muttered, trying to keep her voice low as her tail twitched back and forth from uneasiness.

"It's because when I looked at your full body picture, I knew that I would enjoy you being here and training you." He grinned. Ember's ear lowered as she kept silent, he wasn't even doing anything and she felt grossly violated.

"Let me show you to your tent, Miss Fulton." He whispered into her ear as his hand moved closer to her chest. Ember jumped up from her chair and shook her head violently.

"N-no, I'm fine. I'll find my way to my tent. Thank you for the offer t-though." She said as she began to walk past him.

He harshly grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him, "No, let me show you where it is, you'll become lost if you try to find it by yourself." Ember pushed away from him, stepping away from him.

"I said, I'm fine." She stated as he approached her.

"Oh, come on, you'll love it." He grinned as he stood in front of her. He was way taller than her, but she remembered something from Wilbur's training.

"Ember, you will encounter people that will wish to harm you in more ways than one. Now I hate to break this to you, but you're short. Short for your species, which will give the impression that you are an easy target, but you have to show them you aren't." He stated as Ember stared at the pull-up bar.

"Okay, cool, but I can't do pull-ups." She muttered as she stared at the pole.

He placed a hand on her hip with a small smirk as he finished what he was saying. "Now come on, anyone would die for what I'm offering you." He whispered.

"I said, no!" Ember yelled as she swiped at his face, clawing his right cheek. Ember gasped as she stepped back from him as she watched blood drip from his wound as he cried out from the pain.

"O-oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." She stuttered before she shook her head, "I take that back, I'm not. Never touch me again or I'll aim for your eye this time." She growled and pushed past him.

She closed the door behind her and let out a huge sigh of relief. "I don't have a clue where I'm meant to sleep, but I would much rather sleep out here than what he was offering." She muttered to herself as she walked down the path.