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General Kozu silently sharpened the blade in his hand while his army trudged here and there through the caravansary they had set up in the marshes. He felt the stone warriors stop abruptly. He paused in his work and lifted his cold eyes to see two men dressed in armor being dragged towards him by their necks.

"Imperial scouts!" announced the warrior who'd caught them, throwing them at his general's feet.

"Kozu . . ." one of the soldiers breathed in disbelief.

The army head gave a last swipe of rock against metal before aiming the sword at the man's throat. "Congratulations, gentlemen," he spoke in a taunting manner. "You've found the Stone Army."

The other stone warriors sneered at the scouts, some laughing and some scowling. A few even closed in on them, cracking their rocky knuckles and extracting their weapons. They didn't attack only for the sake of not receiving permission from their general.

"The Emperor will stop you," threatened the second man, glaring boldly up at the massive form of General Kozu.

The leader smirked, eyes gleaming maliciously. "The Emperor invited me himself. He challenged my strength when he'd asked the island to be split." Kozu ran a thick, grimy finger over the sharp edge of the blade, appearing completely lackadaisical about the whole situation.

"I'm here to play the Emperor's game," he continued, eyeing the scouts malevolently. "Go on, tell him to send his strongest armies to stop me. I'm ready."

Kozu waved a hand and the two men were released. They scrambled to their feet and ran thudding through the forest at the left. Kozu watched them flee. He observed them for a few seconds before turning to his archer, smiling wickedly.

"How many soldiers does it take to deliver a message?"

The archer caught on. He picked out an arrow and readied his bow. He aimed it at the running figures of the scout, particularly the one who was lagging behind.

"One," the archer answered.

Then, he let the arrow loose.

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◽~Skylor's POV~◽

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"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty!" I cried out in Nya's ears.

She jolted awake, shooting up and nearly hitting my nose in the process. "No, Kai, I did not steal your muffins!" she yelled, sounding half-asleep with one eye open. She suddenly realized where she was and immediately began rubbing her eyelids.

I smiled. "Aww, missing your brother already?"

"Ugh, wha time izzit?" she mumbled groggily, pushing her short hair back from her face.

"Time to get ready for the first day of military training!" I announced buoyantly, pumping a fist into the air.

Nya finally regained her alertness and grabbed my shoulders without a warning. "Oh no! We're going to be late!"

Hastily pushing me away, she scrambled to her feet. Her sheets got tangled around her ankles, causing her to crumple back to the ground. I watched wordlessly from the side as she muttered curses and frantically pulled off the knotted sheets. That's when I realized that I probably should've woken her up an hour earlier as she had a habit of panicking in the morning.

It took a while but we eventually managed to dispose off our sleepy states and donned our training uniforms. I was casually doing my hair, pinning it up from all sides and thinking about the challenges of the army. My musings were interrupted when Nya threw her helmet and whimpered.

"Would you please tell me why you're so worked up right now? I asked, frowning disappointedly at my sister-in-law.

Nya peeked cautiously out from the tent before popping back in, looking hysterical. "I'm worried about Jay," she said, eyes wide.

I couldn't help but smile. I think a giggle or too may also have escaped. I walked up to Nya and cupped her cheeks in my hands. "Nothing is going to happen to your sweetheart. Stop fussing about it."

Her face turned from wheatish to pink in second but her eyes narrowed down sharply. "What?" she exclaimed, moving away. "No! I'm talking about him recognizing us. He knows there are no Nayal and Sky in our family and he seemed very suspicious yesterday."

I pouted. "So you're not worried about him risking his life in battle?"

Nya rolled her eyes so intensely, it was a wonder they didn't get stuck back there. "Why would I be concerned about him risking his life when I'm doing the same thing? Besides, crying after men who go off to war is what sissy girls do. I'm here to join the army, not weep pathetic tears while waving around a handkerchief."

I gazed at Nya, silently communicating my underlying concern with her. Finally, I spoke. "You are being inspiring and stupid at the same time and it's weird."

Nya shot me a fake smile. "Why, thank you!" Then dropping her cheeriness, she scowled at me. "Now, what's the answer to our problem?"

"I don't know!" I stated, throwing out my arms. I was getting stressed out at the growing complications that our plan acquired. "The best we can do is keep our faces covered, draw less attention and not interact with Jay in the least."

Nya seemed unconvinced but she knew we didn't have much of a choice. Sure we had piqued the curiosity of Captain Lloyd, our commanding officer, (because the way we handled things yesterday was really, really bad) but giving rise to Jay's suspicion was even worse. He knew us better than anyone in the entire camp and that would all but put our secret at stake.

After blessing ourselves with multiple pep talks, me and Nya quickly made our way to the grounds. We had the cloth masks on and hoped that no one would object to their presence. Without the armors to conceal us, we had tried our best to make ourselves look masculine. However, it wasn't much of a problem since half of the recruits were shrimpier than we were.

We reached the group of men that had gathered by the archery targets and blended into the crowd. Unfortunately, Cole, the guy from yesterday, was still pretty peeved at Nya because he yanked her by the arm and glared at her.

"Hey there, Nayal!" he said in mock happiness, his lips forming a wicked smirk. "Are ya hungry?"

Nya looked petrified, trying to free herself from Cole's grasp. I hissed at him to let her go but he ignored me.

"I believe I owe you a knuckle sandwich," he said through clenched teeth, aiming a fist at Nya's pale face.

"Soldiers!"

Everyone stopped. The three of us looked up and saw Captain Lloyd purposefully striding towards us. Cole immediately released Nya and acted innocent. Scowling at him, I grabbed my sister-in-law and pulled her closer to me. At the sight of the captain, the other men scrambled around to get in line and we did the same.

Nya nudged me and fearfully nodded down the row. Next to Cole stood his tall friend, Zane and none other than Jay. He wasn't looking at us. Instead he gazed straight ahead. I gestured at Nya to pay no attention to him and resumed my attentive position.

"You will assmble swiftly and silently every morning," Lloyd instructed sternly. He untied his shirt and pulled it off, revealing his toned arms and broad chest. "Anyone who acts otherwise will answer to me."

Compared to the captain, I suddenly felt weak and small. The first pang of panic trickled through me and I realized why Nya was so agitated back in the tent. All that we were planning to do now seemed impossible. Nya must've sensed my nervousness because she slowly closed her fingers around mine.

Or maybe she needed reassurance herself.

Lloyd picked out a bow and a quiver of arrows, hoisting the latter onto his bare shoulder. He strode in front of us, his authoritative aura rendering a sense of obedience into all. Well, everyone except Cole.

He scoffed as Lloyd walked by. "Show off," he muttered sourly.

Zane glared warningly at him but it was of no use. Lloyd stopped in his tracks and spun around, bow loaded. The entire row shifted backwards, leaving only me, Nya and Cole standing alone, clueless. I quickly moved back, pulling Nya along with me.

Cole looked dumbstruck at the arrow Lloyd had pointed at him. He then aimed it upwards at an angle and let it loose. The arrow flew through the air and hit the very top of an exceptionally long beam.

"Thank you for volunteering, Cole," Lloyd announced happily, smiling as he shrugged off the quiver. "I want you to retrieve the arrow."

I saw Cole's frown deepen as he bowed in submission. "I'll get that arrow, pretty boy," he hissed quietly, walking towards the beam. "And I'll do it with my shirt on."

A snort involuntarily slipped from me and I heard Nya snickering. Our brief moment of fun quickly faded when we realized that there was now only Zane who separated us from Jay. The ginger was currently focused on Cole so we had nothing to freak out about . . . yet.

"Everyone," Lloyd called, causing Cole to stop in his attempt to climb the beam. "Our volunteer seems to be missing something." At a nod, Hutchins appeared with a heavy case. His face was twisted with the effort in lifting up the box and his knees were shaking from the weight.

Lloyd opened the case and pulled out two big gold medals that looked like oversized coins. Each was fastened to a strap of cloth to hold it. They seemed extremely heavy but Lloyd held them up with ease.

"This represents discipline," he explained, raising one medal and hooking it onto Cole's right wrist. Cole, who was generally well built, jerked downwards due to the force. Lloyd displayed the second medal, saying, "And this represents strength." He hung it on Cole's left wrist, resulting in Cole being hunched forward.

"You need both to reach the arrow," Lloyd concluded, looking at the crowd.

We all observed as Cole lifted his overburdened arms and wrapped them around the wooden pole. He tried to climb it but the weight of the medals brought him down with a thud. Men chuckled and grinned but I was dreading my turn. Cole made a second attempt and failed again. And so it went on.

One by one, all of the soldiers had a go but none were able to reach the arrow. I noticed Captain Lloyd's worry increasing. We were letting him down. Nya winced loudly when Jay tumbled down the pole and hit his head on the ground. I knew she wanted to go to him but she held herself back.

Finally, it was our turn.

The captain eyed us warily and I began to lose composure. If the other men couldn't do it then we were bound to fail horribly. Lloyd pointed at his face, indicating the masks that we wore.

"Why do you still have those?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Nya coughed into her fist, clearing her throat. "We, um, we have severe allergies," she rasped, faking another cough. I only nodded along.

Lloyd walked closer to us, his searching eyes ablaze. He came to a stop a few inches away and folded his hands behind his back. I stared up at him, trying not to squeak from the queasiness in my stomach.

"People who are down with allergies have no place in the army," the captain said slowly, his voice steady and commanding.

I gulped, certain that every eye in the camp was upon us. Lloyd's glare was making me feel as if I was sinking through the ground. He stood straight, expecting something from us. His eyes slightly shifted more towards Nya. Turning my head, I saw her reach up to her face and undo the knot of her mask. I silently screamed at her to stop but she continued.

Captain Lloyd was watching us closely and the other recruits seemed to be waiting with bated breath. Nya pulled off her mask, lowering her eyes as if that would partially conceal her exposed identity. All gazes on me now, I quickly removed my mask and tilted my head downwards. I did not dare to check and see if Jay was looking.

Lloyd was unfazed as he had seen our "controversial" faces before and nodded at the pole. "Sky, how about you fetch the arrow for us, hm?"

I took a deep breath, haltingly extending my arms so that the medals could be tied to my wrists. Now, I've carried many things in my life. Bags, dinner trays, Kai's dirty laundry and probably children in the future if I miraculously survive the army. But nothing was as agonizing as hauling those gravid, massive medals to the pole and then attempting to climb it with them strapped to my arms.

I ascended only a few inches before I experienced gravity at its best first hand and crashed to the ground painfully. A lot of men laughed openly and Nya rushed forward to help me up.

"Stop!" Lloyd ordered.

Nya paused in her tracks and glanced at the captain askance. He was glaring down at me. "Get up."

I tried not to groan as I picked myself up and pulled off the medals. I may have caught Jay's narrowed gaze in the process but I immediately turned away. Passing the load to Nya, I came back to stand in line. I rubbed my wrists, frowning at the red marks where the strap had bit into the skin.

There was a heavy grunt and I lifted my head. Nya had managed to wrap both her arms and legs around the pole and monkey-climbed upwards, the medals visibly pulling her down. She went a little way higher than I did, sweat glistening on her forehead.

"Come on, Nya," I muttered under my breath, fists clenched in anticipation. "Come on, you can do it."

At that moment, Nya's limited strength gave way and she slid down the little distance she had covered. Her posterior collided with the earth, arms and legs still around the pole. Lloyd huffed moodily, running a hand through his messy blonde hair.

"We've got a long way to go," he murmured languidly as Nya got rid of the medals and approached me, massaging her behind with a wince.

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