Cleo Jackson
Age: 22

Cleo has found her training to be very useful.  She's had to use some of it maybe two or three times.  All against rebels.  It seems like more and more people are joining the rebellion, and are overpowering those who are still loyal to the Jusleada.  Like her.

She would never go against Skylar.  Partly because of the tradition of the conclave, but there was also the part of her that might have a been a little afraid of what their Jusleada could do.  Skylar was...powerful.  And she had absolutely no problem with the way the bunker was being run.  Why would she?  Skylar's done nothing wrong.  How could you hate the bunker?  It's basically impossible.  For her at least. 

She wasn't complaining about being alive.  Unlike the rebels.  She absolutely hated them.  They did nothing but fight.  Fight with Skylar, fight with those loyal to her, and fight with each other.  They acted like they knew better than everyone, but especially Skylar. Why did they hate their leader so much?  She is the rightful leader, the bunker is being run smoothly, and problems are being dealt with.  So... what was wrong with the bunker?  As far as she was concerned, they were merely complaining about being allowed to live. 

Even though she still draws at times, she doesn't do it often anymore.  She hasn't written anything in years, but her book continues to be filled with sketches.  Filled with her memories of the surface.  She's gotten better at drawing over the years, and is now doing more detailed sketches.

The more time that passes, the more training she does.  She never knows when she could need it.  To defend herself, or someone else.  Her training has gone well, and she's not the weak, bubbly girl who entered the bunker anymore.  She's not the strong, fierce warrior she wants to be though.  She's something in the grey in between the two.  On the bright side, she can now use a longer blade effectively, and isn't afraid to use it.  She's learned that she simply cannot use a shorter blade, like a dagger, but she can use a long blade, like a sword. 

She's not using her words nearly as much as she used to, though she still has a way with words.  If she wants to use them, that is.  She is still friendly and chatty, but now she has a bit of an edge to her, and can be a whole lot more sassy, and maybe even a bit colder.  Not too much colder though, just a subtle bite in her voice, a trace of ice instead of sunshine. Barely noticeable.

But there is no way of mistaking her for the girl who entered the bunker, that's for sure.  Even at a first glance, you could see that she was different.  She was clearly more confident than she had been, and her whole expression had changed too.  While before there was always a smile on her face, and she laughed at almost everything, now there was hardly a smile on her face, and her eyes were icy, frozen.

Yet there was a fire roaring behind her ice-cold eyes.  A fire of ambition and confidence.  A fire she didn't bother to keep in control. 

Her sweeter side had gone up in flames, and was Burning to Ashes. Where she used to be the sun on a midsummers day, now she was the wind from the winter solstice, taking her delights in the cold. But ice burn can hurt more than fire or frostbite.  What will rise from these Ashes? 

A/N

One more chapter left!  Maybe one more!