Cora spent the night tossing and turning. Today was the Sorting Day the day that would decide her entire future.
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The Sorting Day is the day where every young Thessionian between the ages of 17-20 competes in a series of challenges to see what career they will be assigned to. The top 50% get into the Prestige Program and become very successful. The bottom 50% usually work in sanitation, factories or fixing things. You may attempt to get into the Prestige Program as many times as you want.
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No matter how hard she tried she couldn't sleep. If she was ever going to become a great warrior she would need to get into the Prestige Program and soon.
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Her eyes drifted to the stolen sword lying on her desk. Just looking at it made her feel uneasy. She couldn't shake the feeling she had made a mistake. Maybe I should put it back. She thought to herself. No, she couldn't, surely all of her competitors would have swords of their own.
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She couldn't stop thinking about the boy. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get his cold red eyes out of her mind. Who is he? Why is he here and not at the resting grounds? Does anyone else know he's here? Should I tell someone? These were all questions running through Cora's mind.
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As the sun rose Cora quickly got dressed and then heard a knock on the door.
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She quickly hid the sword under her bed. "Come in!"she yelled.
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Her father entered the room with one hand behind his back followed by her grandmother. "Good morning, sunshine. How did you sleep?" Her grandmother asked.
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"Like a baby," the blonde lied.
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"We've got got a little something for your big day." Her father said removing his hand from behind his back to reveal he was holding a sword.
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Her blue eyes lit up with excitement. As she closely examined the sword. It was a light silver color with turquoise jewels. It had a blue handle with the face of a lion at the end, her favorite animal.
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She threw her arms around and hugged him tighter than she can recall ever hugging anyone, nearly forgetting about his injured back. She eventually let go and proceeded to hug her grandmother.
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"I love it but, what will Mom say?" she questioned.
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"I'll talk to her," the girl's father responded. "You just focus on doing your best."
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"I will," But she couldn't focus. All she could do was think about the boy and the sword and the passage until she arrived at the building where The Sorting was going to take place.
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The building was swarmed with people roughly her age. It was so loud she could barely hear herself think. It was so overwhelming, all she could do was stand with her mouth open, staring at all the commotion.
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She overheard several conversations. "Did you hear about Prince Lyon?"... "Is it true he's really here? ... "I wonder what he's like in real life."
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A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. She turned around to see a woman about half her height holding a clipboard.
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"Name?" the woman asked tiredly.
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"Coraline Bowman."
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"What's your address?"
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"127 Seaview street."
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"Come with me."
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Cora followed the woman into a small office.
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"Have a seat, let's not waste anytime," the woman said. "If you make it into the Prestige Program what class do you plan on taking technology, politics, or..."
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"I want to be a warrior." Cora interrupted.
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"That's an honorable aspiration," The woman said. "Your parents must be very proud."
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The young girl said nothing. She couldn't help but think of her mother's words
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The woman stuck something to the back of Cora's sweatshirt. Upon further inspection Cora discovered it was a target.
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The woman shook her head and let out a deep sigh. "Good luck, kid." She said as she escorted the girl out of the office.
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Cora was on her way from the office to the main hall where the rest of the competitors were, when she saw a strange looking shadow. She blinked and it was gone. She pushed the thought aside as a figment of her imagination, a side effect of sleep deprivation, until she felt hands grab on to her. She tried to scream but, the stranger placed his hand over her mouth. He came too close for comfort, put his sword on her throat, and whispered in her ear.
"Here's how this is gonna go, you're gonna tell me everything you know about the Blood King and if you scream, I'll kill you."
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"I don't know what you're talking about." She said gasping for air.
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He threw her face down on the ground and her nose began to bleed.
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"Don't play dumb with me!" he yelled.
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She reached into her sheath and pulled out her sword and blocked his incoming blow. He attempts another swing but she barely dodged it. On his third strike he finally landed a hit on her arm. She winced in pain but, she knew she couldn't stop fighting. She seized the moment and knocked the sword out of his hand. But to her dismay, he pulled out two more swords from his sleeves.
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He began to slowly walk towards her. She ran faster than she'd ever run in her life through the hallways, never once looking back to see how far behind he was until she was back in the main hall with the competitors. She nearly collapsed on the couch still barely able to breathe. Her vision was blurry.
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"Are you all right?" she heard an unfamiliar voice ask her.
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"Yes. Maybe. I don't know," was all she could respond.
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"Is there anything I can do for you?" the voice asked.
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"No."she responded politely.
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"Well, if you think of anything your wish is my command," He said as Cora's eyes shifted back into focus. Standing in front of her was a tall, well built man, undoubtedly a few years older than her. His skin didn't have a single mark or blemish. His eyes were like sparkling emeralds and he had long scarlet hair that went far past his waist. His clothes looked as if it would take a year's wages to be able to afford them.
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Even though Cora was never really interested in the royal family, she still recognized him right away. "You're Prince Lyon!" she exclaimed.
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"You are very observant," He said, glancing down at his heart shaped ring. "Tell me, how did you figure it out?"
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The Thessionian royal family is very private and hardly ever makes public appearances and has a strict ban on photographs.
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"It's your hair. Thessionian kings are supposed to really long hair right?"
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"Yes, it was believed by the kings of the past that it would give you strength like Samson. It's mostly just tradition now," he said.
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Cora was about to speak, but she was interrupted by a group of girls in matching white armor. They all curtsey before Prince Lyon, then one of them spoke.
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"Greetings, your majesty. I haven't seen you since the charity gala," she said.
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Prince Lyon stared at the girl for a few moments raising his eyebrows slightly trying to identify her. "You're Governor Martinez' daughter aren't you?"
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"Adriana," she corrected seeming slightly offended.
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"I heard the White Diamonds were ranked as one of the best high school guilds in southern Thessionia," he said.
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"We've been in the top ten high school guilds for the past five years," she replied.
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"How is your sister?" he asked looking around the room.
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"Same old Val, you shouldn't concern yourself with her," she said inching closer to him.
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Cora just sat in silence trying to wrap her head around that fact that she was attacked by a shadow and now she's meeting the prince this was too much for her to handle.
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Then all of a sudden a voice came through the loudspeakers. "We regret to inform you that instead of our usual half, the Prestige Program will only be excepting the top 25%. Thank you for your cooperation."
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Those words made Cora's heart sink. She had no idea what she was going to do now.
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