The ride to the Motherwealth was emotional, and for most of it, Yuri was nowhere to be seen. I assumed he was somewhere eating all the food he could find.

We passed over small towns, I couldn't help but wonder if they looked like Hell. All the Commonwealths were so isolated from one another. By design of the Motherwealth. It only left room for questions.

Did those towns have other scouted people? Did they feel just as lost and confused as I did? Were they also in hovercrafts, being taken to a place they had only read about?

Preparing myself for what I would go through in the Motherwealth is useless when I don't know anything about it. The last scouted person from Hell never returned and Mr. Green could provide little information about anything related to the Talent Program.

"Telvi, buckle-" Yuri shouts, running out of a room with what looks to be a cake in his hand.

Lights overhead flash off. Before I have time to react, an alarm rings so loudly it gives me an instant headache. The hovercraft jerks to the right, throwing me onto the ground. My eyes meet Yuri's begging for answers.

"Are you ok?" Yuri asks, rushing to my side, helping me off the ground.

I rub my head, feeling a lump appearing. Sharp pains radiate from it.

"Looks like you got your head pretty good." Yuri lightly touches my head.

I push him away. He is not to be trusted, just like anyone else from the Motherwealth. My mom trusted the Motherwealth before she lost her mind. I would not make the same mistake.

"I'm ok," I say, getting up from the ground to the nearest window, hoping to find out what caused the hovercraft to react in such a way, but through the dark of night, I see nothing. "What was that?"

He shrugs, wiping his hands on his pants, letting bits of crumbs fall to the ground. "I have no idea. But we're about to land anyhow."

He stands beside me and points out the window. In the distance I see a sea light dots. Quickly these dots turn into buildings. They stretch as far as the eye could see. Even in the darkness, the buildings still shine brightly. Hell was nothing but a few streets, but Regal looks as if it could fit 1,000 Hells.

The hovercraft descended within an opening in these buildings. It shakes lightly as it connects with the ground solid. I stumble into the wall as Yuri remains still.

"You get used to it," he says as the back door of the hovercraft slowly opens. "Welcome to the capital of the Motherwealth."

"Regal," I breathe as bright lights shine into the hovercraft.

The buildings in front of us have screens with bright lights and displays. Some even move like a movie. Hell had nothing even close to this.

Yuri clears his throat and walks out of the hovercraft. I follow behind him. My mouth is dry. Never did I feel so small as I do in front of these buildings that touch the sky.

"This is Regal," Yuri hums, swinging my bag over his shoulder. We walk towards another black shiny car, but my eyes were anywhere but the vehicle. The streets glitter under the lights of the buildings. Everything sparkles, shines, glitters. It's blinding. It's the opposite of Hell which was dull, dark, and gritty. "This is my home. Welcome."

How could I feel welcome in a place that has nothing familiar? I'm a fish out of water, gasping for air in a place that has none. No amount of reading could prepare me for this.

The car lurches forward. We pass people walking in bright coats and bold hair styles. There are so many things. People, signs, cars, shops. The Motherwealth did have it all.

"Any questions about Regal?" Yuri asks as we pass a busy intersection.

I am unable to tear my eyes from the windows. People pay little attention as we pass as if we are nothing special. But they are special to me. Regal was grand, I knew that, but this was exorbitant.

"Are you from Regal?" I ask.

"Not originally. From another town in the Motherwealth. But I've lived here for a few years now."

"Does all of the Motherwealth look this grand?"

"Not all of it looks this grand...." His voice trails off; his eye drift towards the driver then out the window. "But Regal does have everything you could ever want."

The other cities still must have been beautiful though. They were not like the Commonwealth. They were the Motherwealth for a reason. We were told all of the Motherwealth was spectacular. They were right. It is spectacular.

"So you will be staying in the training campus for all talent," Yuri explains. "It's just a few more minutes down the road. You will live and train there. On Sundays, you are permitted to leave the campus to see the Motherwealth. You will be given a small stipend that you can spend on your free days."

I nod, although his words do not sink in. There are too many things to look at. Like the woman walking a racoon on a sparkly cord. In Hell, racoons were not treated like that.

The car stops in front of a tall black metal gate with an emblem on the top. Yuri gets out and I quickly follow his lead.

On the other side of the gate stand a group of brick buildings close together. They have the same red brick color as some buildings from Hell. At least that is something familiar. But even then, these stand taller, wider, bolder then anything I am familiar with.

"This is Pinnacle Campus. Most people just call it Campus. As mentioned before, all talent comes here from all over the Commonwealth to train. We have people in sports like yourself, academics, music, you say it we have it," Yuri says as he walks through the gate with my bag in his hand.

His polished leather shoes clack against the brick path. There is very little snow here. Only a dusting covers the grass, but nothing is on the bricks.

"The walkways are heated so no need to worry about slipping on snow getting from play to place," he explains with a smile.

Could the Motherwealth get any grander? A small amount of anger bubbles within me. People back home are worried about freezing every winter and the capital wastes energy by heating the walkways?

"Everything within Campus was planned for the trainees in mind. We made this place for you."

There is a sort of prestige in his voice as he talks about this place. But my anger only grows. This is wasteful. There could be more effort given in the Commonwealths, not withing Regal or the training program.

"So, enough about the history about this place." He sighs, sticking his hands in his pockets.

I am so busy looking around that I forget to listen to the last things he says. I want to ask him to retell the missed information but hold myself.

Yuri shivers. Our breath turns into fog in the air, but it's not the deep-freezing temperatures in Hell. The light snow shows that.

"You'll be rooming with a girl named Eydis," Yuri explains as he pulls out a small circular high tec thing from his pocket. He pushes a button as information lit up in front of us. He waves his hand over the circular item and the screen shifts. He keeps waving through maps, numbers, and other information until the screen flickers. "Walter. These damn things never work well."

The bright image in front of us dies out. Yuri stuffs the tec in his pocket with a scowl. "Well, lucky for you, I already know where we're going. You will be staying mainly on the west side of the campus." He points in the direction of a three story with windows lining the sides from top to bottom.

It looks different from the other buildings we passed thus far. This one looks newer as opposed to the other buildings which had more of a historical look.

"And the ice rink is right beside it," he says and points to a large domed building lit up with bright lights.

The skating is inside. That is something I only dreamt of doing.

"And there is ice all year round?"

Yuri chuckles. "Of course there is. You need to practice every day; how would you get better otherwise?"

I am proof that you don't need to train every day. I only skated in the winter but still I improved throughout the years.

For a moment I stare at the massive structure. Something pulls me towards it. I want to run inside now to see what it looks like, smells like. Was the ice as smooth as I thought it would be? Tomorrow seems so long to wait.

"Telvi, come. I'll show you your room," Yuri calls out to me, already ahead by a few yards.

I tear my eyes from the building and run to catch up. Skating is the only thing on my mind. Maybe I did want to be here and skate. Maybe I did want to be the best. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

Together we walk into the building the smells of soap and flowers. In the dead of winter that seems like such a novelty. Did they really wash the floors in flowers?

He walks to an elevator and pushes a button. We wait for a few moments before he sighs and looks down the hall. "Looks like the elevators are down. Or just running slow. I think we need to take the stairs."

I never rode an elevator before, so I was not disappointed by something I knew nothing about. The stairs are familiar. One more thing to add to the familiar list. It wasn't long, but at least there was a list.

"You will like your room, I'm sure of it," he says as we walk up the stairwell then down the hall to a wooden door with 234 on it. "This is it." He hands me a small yellow metal chain with orange-colored beads. "This is how you get in. Just put it to the handle."

The chain looks more like jewelry, not a key, but I don't question. Instead, I put chain to the handle and the door beeps.

With a deep breath, I step inside the room with two beds. One side of the room is already decorated with little trinkets and books. It looks well lived in by the messiness of the bed. On the other side stands an empty neatly made bed. It's simple with blue sheets on a wooden frame. No trinkets, no textbooks, just the bed and one chair at a desk.

"Looks like your roommate is not around. Maybe she is doing some evening classes. That's a shame because I wanted to introduce you two before I leave."

"You know her?"

Yuri nods. "Oh, Eydis and I go way back."

"Yeah, way back. All of one year ago," a voice rings out from behind Yuri.

A tall girl with short wavy black hair walks in with sure steps. Her dark eyes lock onto mine as she places her narrow tan hands on her blue jeans. She towers over me, making me stand a little taller.

"She's my roommate?" she asks Yuri.

Yuri nod then gestures to me. "This is Telvi."

"Hey. Eydis," she says with a wave.

I freeze. She's beautiful, from her neat hair down to her long legs. Her eyes are unwavering. She looks like she has it all together and would put up with little crap. I'm an emotional wreck. This meeting will set the tone for our relationship. I should have prepared a monolog or something. How could I be so stupid?

My cheeks feel hot. With a deep breath I straighten out my shoulders. "Hi," I whispered out. It's barely audible.

Yuri smiles at the both of us then stuffs his hands into his pockets, showing the green rope wristband again. "How have you been, Eydis?"

Eydis shrugs, walking into the room with confident steps. "Alright. Training is kicking my eyeballs out." She rubs her eyes. "I am not sure how much more I can take studying calculus."

"Sorry."

"Hey, it's fine. It's what I signed up for."

Yuri nods then claps his hands together. "Well, I do need to get going. Telvi, Eydis is really the best. You're in good hands. I promise you."

My eyes widen. Wait, he can't leave so soon. I want to go with him. At least I kind of know Yuri. Eydis is tall and catlike with more grace than I had. She commands the room, making me feel out of place. I don't want a roommate, and I don't want to be with her. I know she's judging me. She will spread rumors about me. I can't have that.

"I'll keep an eye out for her, promise," Eydis says with a smile.

"I know you will." He smiles as he clasps her hand with his. "I'll see you around."

Eydis nod. "Yeah. See you."

My eyes meet his, begging him to stay. Hoping he would. But Yuri leaves without another word.

As the door clicks shut, Eydis flops down in her messy bed and sighs. She looks bored. I don't know if she wants me to sing and dance for her, but I will if I have to. "So, where are you from?"

"Hell."

She laughs hard enough that tears come to her eyes. When she sees me not laughing, she stops. "Talk about archaic. It's been years since I've heard that word. To be honest, I think most of these people don't believe there is such a place...although most deserve to be there..." her voice trails off. "Wait, you're serious?"

I swallow. Already laughing at me. Great start. "Yeah. It's a small town on the edge of the Mandania Commonwealth."

"Oh god. Mandania. That's way up there, isn't it?" She snicker. "Kind of ironic that you're from way up there when hell is normally..." She points towards the ground.

I nod.

"I heard that Mandania gets over 10 feet of snow every year, is that true?"

"Sometimes, in some places, we get more."

"Goodness. I'm from Solano, in the way south, in the Dotna Commonwealth. I've never seen snow before coming here. It doesn't get that cold."

Dotna is a place I know so little about. It is in the south, right next to the ocean, very far from Hell. We are from two completely different places. How could we see eye to eye?

She lays down, letting her wavy hair drape over her pillow like a river. Even from across the room, I can smell a hint of sugar on her. "So what are you here for? What's your skill?"

"I-I ice skate," I say, trying to raise my voice to sound confident. I'm not sure if it worked.

She grins widely. "Now that's exciting. I have only watched the figure skaters once or twice before. There isn't many of them. I'm here for math. That's what I'm best at. Maybe one of these days I'll have to watch you skate. I love a show."

Great, more expectations. However, even through that, I find her chattiness starts to put me at ease. Her smile feels like it is designed to melt any fears. Could she melt my fears? Only time would tell.

"Anyhow, what do you want to know about this place?"

There are so questions, but I hold my mouth. Overbearing is not what I want to come across as. Besides, I am on Motherwealth's ground. I have to watch out for what I say. One wrong move and they will throw me out and I could say goodbye the stipend.

"I have been here a year as Yuri mentioned, so I can really watch your back."

Right now, that is exactly what I want. For someone to watch my back. But was she the right person to do this? She is the only person I have, whether or not I like it.

"You don't say much, do you?" Eydis chuckles. "That'll work out just fine because people tell me I say too much."

I smile as I sit down on the bed across the room from her. I sink down in it. It is soft but stiff all at once. It feels new, unlike my bed in Hell which is well worn.

"Yeah, I know, the beds are nice. We had nothing this nice in Solano. But you will learn that Regal is a different kind of fancy." She stretches. "Well, I won't keep you up any longer. Feel free to unpack. The bathroom is just down the hall to the left." She points towards the direction of the bathroom.

"I don't have much to unpack," I say, showing her my bag.

"I was the same when I first came. I collected most of this stuff as I have been here," she says as she gestures around the room. "You will too. I promise. So, did Yuri give you a schedule?"

I shake my head. "No."

"That slag boy. They have such a simple job, and they can't even get it done right. He's lucky I'm your roommate. I'll get it for you. You just stay here and unpack," she stands up from the bed.

She walks out, leaving me alone to look out the window. Below, I watch a few people laugh as they walk into the building. They look happy, happier than I had seen any one in Hell before. I wonder if Eydis is happy. Could I be that happy here?

"So, looks like your training will start at 7:30AM tomorrow," Eydis says as she walks back into the room with a paper in her hands. She hands it to me to look over.

Our hands brush and I notice how smooth her skin is. In the winter, mine is never that smooth.

"It's not too complicated to remember," she says, reminding me of the paper in my hands.

My eyes fly over the schedule as I try to make sense of it. Every aspect of the day is full. Based on this schedule, I would be busy from 7:30 to 6. I am used to being busy, but I thought I would ease into training. Worry bubbles within me. What if I couldn't keep up?

"Before you ask, yeah, your schedule is normal. They like to pack it in," Eydis says as she laid back on the bed. "Well, make yourself at home. I'm here if you need me."

My eyes glance at the schedule again. I do not feel at home. How could I? She says it so casually as if that is possible. I bite back tears.

Breathe, Telvi. I can do this.