12 Months before

A brown-haired, blue-green eyed, girl stare back at me. No freckles, nor blemishes mar her skin. She doesn't look like me. I can stare at my reflection for ever, but I still wouldn't get used to it. To me, I haven't changed much over the years, but other people might disagree. My eye catches Yuna. My best friend since little school. She's so focused on braiding my hair for the summit, she doesn't notice me staring at her.

She always loves to play with it, because my hair has such a different colour brown, it would take on a golden colour in the sun. My eyes return to myself in the mirror, the first thing that catches my attention, the very first thing that always catches everybody's attention, is my eyes. I have soft blue eyes, with green spots in them. It looks like a part of the ocean is trapped in my eyes. That's what my grandmother always told me to make me feel better about them. Of course I hate the colour. It would always attract unwanted attention and the attention that is wanted, is never for the right reasons. Guys would ask me out on a date just to brag to their friends that they went on a date with 'the girl with the weird eyes' or girls would pretend to be my friends just so that they could call me a freak behind my back. Some people would say I'm a witch because of it, others would say it's unnatural and steer clear of me. It's been like that for most of my life, but luckily I found friends that excepts me for who I am, and makes my life a little less unbearable.

I sometimes stare at my reflection and wonder what my mother looked like. My grandmother always said I remind her of my mother. She was also part of the Guardian Core, she was one of the mytiest troops we ever had. I don't know much about my father, only that he died with my mother when I was at a young age and my grandmother had to take care of me.

She told me how my parents loved me, she could see that I made them truly happy to be together. They loved each other very much, and when I was born, it brought more joy to the family. A sad smile appeared at my lips. I sometimes get this aching feeling when I think of them, and wished they were still alive. I miss them so much, even though I don't know them.

"I know that look, you're thinking about your parents again, aren't you, Snow?" I heard my friend ask. I looked at her in the mirror. My friend had dark brown eyes with hair so dark, it looks almost black. A few loose curls hangs over her shoulder. She is the eldest in our group, with the age of 19 years old. I am only 17. Cinthea, our other friend is 18, the second eldest.

"I can't help it, every time I put on this uniform, I think about my mother. How she looked when she wore it." Yuna nodded, she looked at me with sympathy in her eyes. She also lost a parent. Her mother. That is how we bonded in the first place. She still has her father and she once told me she can't imagine a world without him. Though I can't imagine a world without him either. He's like a second dad to me, watching me grow up and treating me like a second daughter.

"You really don't have any photos of your mother?" I shook my head. I'm sure grandmother would have many photos of her, but she never showed any of them to me. I think it might be to hard for her. Yuna tied my hair and put her arms around my neck.

"There, don't you look beautiful. I've really gotten good at this, don't you think?"

Yuna braided my hair perfectly so that my helmet would fit fine. I turned my head in the mirror to see how it looks,

"Do you like it?" Yuna asks.

"Yeah, it's beautiful, thank you, Yuna." I turn to look at her.

"It's my pleasure. You know I like to braid your hair." She smiles down at me, pushing a few loose strands behind my ear.

"Finish up, it's almost time for the summit." She told me, patting my shoulder. She climbed off my bed. She was already dressed, she just needed her helmet, then the look was complete.

We wore grey uniforms with a pink mantel on the one side, the helmets were also a grey colour, with a pink stripe on the side all along edge.

I stood up and immediately felt that familiar flutter in my chest. Not the romantic kind, but a powerful one. Though I can't explain the feeling exactly. It started a few days after my seventeenth birthday, a couple months back, and it haven't gone away since. Its uncomfortable and weird sensation, but these past few days it feels stronger. Like its waiting to bubble to the surface. I got ready and headed down to the area where we were suppose to meet up. I took the stairs to the entrance hall. The foyer was spacious with dark colours. The doors on the right side, leads to our training hall, and the doors on the left side leads to our massive dining hall.

Almost everyone was already here. Cid, our captain, was at the head of the group talking to a few of the King's own personal guards. I saw my friends and headed toward them.

"You're finally here!" Cinthea threw her arms around me, giving me a bear hug. She was a whole head taller than me with blond hair reaching her waist. I always envied her beauty. She has slender, tanned legs, curves in the right places and full breasts. She's got the perfect look, and I know she knows it too, but you didn't hear it from me.

"We thought you would be running late again. Cid would not have been very impressed," Fay said. She is short and smart with dark red hair and purple glasses. She too got a brilliant set of dark blue eyes, but her colour is more natural than mine. She is also one of the youngest, with the age of 16. Our newest recruite group. A year younger than I am.

Sixteen is our youngest recruit group. They just finished at the academy. When you graduate from there, you become part of the Guardian Core, where you receive extensive training, learning to patrol and guard the city. After five years of training, you get promoted to official Guardian, where you're sent on missions and get your own patrol schedule until you turn thirty-five. Not everyone succeeds in their training. Those who didn't, must find jobs in the city. Everyone gets a decent education, and no one is forced to join the Guardian Core.

The eldest group is 35 years old. Then they retire, because don't have enough stamina and energy to continue being a Guardian.

"Well, we would've just covered for her, wouldn't we, Fay?" Thea bumped her shoulder against Fay. She is slim with black hair, cut in a bob. She too is 16 years old. There are others too in their age category, but Yuna knew these two before hand, so they immediately became part of the group.

"Yes, but we can cover for her only so many times." Fay shifted her stance, pushing her glasses up her nose.

"Well, you are the smart one aren't you and besides we're her friends, we have to." Thea crossed her arms, smiling lightly.

"Pretty sure, that's not how friendships work, Thea." Fay began to give a definition on friendships and began to explain that covering for friends if she is running late all the time, is tiring and not part of the definition on friendships.

I already tuned out their bickering when the man Cid was talking to caught my attention. It the king's general. He was a scary man. Always so serious. He had a scar on his right eye. As if sensing my gaze, he turned his head in my direction, looking straight into my eyes. He was an old-ish man with a shaved head. Swords hanging against his hip. He didn't look surprised or annoyed to find me staring at him and with that thought, I quickly turned my head away.

A few moments later, Cid clapped her hands to silence the chatering. All the heads turned to her. The General was already gone.

"Alright Guardians, you know the rules, no abandoning your posts, except when given the order. This is not a social gathering, we are there to protect the King and prince Noctis -"

"The prince is going to be there?" One of the girls interrupted, looking excited. I bristled. She interrupted Cid for that?

Cid looked equally annoyed, ''Yes, he is." She said in a stern voice, which got drowned out because of the excited chatter. I rolled my eyes at them. I couldn't see what the big deal was. He is a cocky prince with no regard to rules what so ever. Everyone says he is devil dressed like an angel.

"I can't believe we get to see the prince!" Cinthea squealed, interrupting my thoughts.

"I have never seen the prince in real life, but I heard he is super handsome." Thea gushed.

"I heard he is obnoxious and don't care about rules. He is the prince for goodness sake! He is going to be King in six months and he is behaving like a child." Fay crossed her arms, glaring at the girls gushing about meeting the prince.

Yuna and I shared a grin. She is well aware of the way I feel about prince Noctis and I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to feel this way. Yuna doesn't really agree with anyone. She doesn't talk bad about the prince but she most definitely does not have a crush on him like all the other girls.

"Quite!" Cid yelled and immediately the voices died down. "I say again, this is not a social gathering! You will not communicate with the prince, neither with the King. You will be like statues watching and waiting. Everybody knows there is rebels who will do anything to stop this treaty from getting signed. So you will be on your guard. Understood?" Cid glared at the crowed in front of her. 'Yes, mam's and captian's' followed her speech, but that was all, no one said anything about the prince further.

"All right then. Let's head out." Cid turned around and headed toward the two big glass doors. Everyone began to follow her and then we headed to the summit.