Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 9

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Kayla passed her years at Madam Georgia's in quiet determination. Rose was never friendly to her again, offering only snide remarks about her disrespectful attitude in class or when they passed in the corridors. While the other girls condemned Kayla as vulgar and uncultured, and the teachers admonished her for talking back, she studied hard, and began to earn grades as high as the rest of her peer group. With time, she saw them grudgingly accept that she wouldn't be kicked out.

As she grew older, fantastic daydreams about hunting monsters in the night faded, and she realized she couldn't know what the future held. All she knew was the single rule she had clung to as her guiding light; she must never quit. Her schoolwork demonstrated the power of that oath. She pushed to the top of her classes and was shocked to see representatives from universities across the League messaging her to offer scholarships. If Kayla had learned nothing else, she had gained the insight that no doors were closed to her if she didn't want them to be.

She also saw that behind the jokes and the sniping, she scared her Helvet classmates. In their minds, success was supposed to come from family, connections, or reputation. Colonists were backsliders, running from their responsibility to civilization. Neither the girls nor the teachers could understand what drove her. They had no idea what the Academy was, but its exclusivity and mystery convinced them that it had to be a path to greatness in their world. Their culture was too narrow-minded to see any other possibility. Kayla's dogged ambition could only have looked like the attempt of a colonist to climb the social ladder higher, so she could kick down at them. That thought usually made her smile.

While she often doubted her memories of the fateful day she lost her father, there was one conviction she never let go of. As Urtiga had promised, if she made it to the Academy, whoever was waiting for her there would offer her a choice. And then, finally, she would be able to figure out how to save her home from whatever was trying to destroy it.

On her eighteenth birthday, Kayla wiped dirty hands on her jeans as she settled into her usual nook at the top of the bell tower. After working out in the gym, which she did religiously, she liked to pass her time contemplating the unmatched view of the wilderness outside the city. Sometimes, Caldera's magma-scarred moon rose as she watched the sunset, reminding her of all the death that hung on her conscience. She followed the news feeds from Zula, and though there were fewer attacks every year, each one left another small scar on her soul.

As the sun dipped closer to the horizon, Kayla's phone buzzed, and she smiled when she saw that it was Jack. They had become very close following her father's death. Nothing could replace her true father in her heart, but Kayla knew that he would have wanted Jack to take his place.

After her mother sold the farm and moved away with a new boyfriend, Jack offered to adopt her. Kayla had agreed without hesitation. She could never forgive her mother for moving on so quickly. They hadn't talked in several years, and that didn't bother Kayla one bit. Now she had a new parent; one who deserved every bit of her loyalty and respect.

"Happy Birthday!" Jack congratulated her.

"Oh... yeah. Thanks, Dad," Kayla said. She had forgotten and wasn't sure she cared.

"You're visiting soon, aren't you? I already got you a present."

"You didn't have to."

"Sure I did," he said. "You need a new pair of socks."

Kayla laughed. "I have a vacation in two weeks. I can't wait to see you."

"After you meet the Academy graduate?" Jack asked.