"All my life, I have waited for this moment, when finally, I would rise victorious in your cruel and twisted game." Violet began, the words trickling out of her mouth so deliberately, she was sure he would feel the sting of every single one. "You had me pinned for so long, and sometimes, I never thought this day would come. I thought I would have to live forever with the humiliation of what you had done to me, you terrible, sick monster, but of course, you should have known better than to let me get away so easily."

A slow laugh slid out as she carefully continued. "I have grown stronger since we last fought, better, smarter. There will never be another day that you won't be cursed by the sound of my name, haunted by my laughter, or tarnished by my presence, because now, I will finally be victorious. Brace yourself, because this will be your end, my dear friend."

With another chuckle, Violet raised the pie and smashed it into Bishop's face.

"Are you serious?" Bishop turned his head slowly, a forkful of scrambled eggs hovering halfway between his plate and his mouth. Whipped cream steadily dripped off his dark hair and onto his armor while chunks of pecan crust caught on his nose. The entire right side of his face was a mess of pie guts. "I got Mayberry juice on your armor like, a month ago. You can't really still be mad about this."

"Believe it, I am." She laughed and pulled up a chair. The dining hall was such a racket, no one had even noticed their squabble. Even if they had, she doubted anyone would have been interested. It wasn't uncommon in Home for fights or arguments to spontaneously erupt in the dining hall, so much, that it had become a daily part of life. Hungrily, Violet shoveled piles of breakfast food onto her plate and began to dig in.

"Well, this is wonderful," Bishop mumbled as he bent over his breakfast. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the pie off his face.

"You know you deserved it." Violet piped up, her mouth stuffed with scrambled eggs. "Mayberry juice stains terribly. And I had laundry duty that week. If anything, you got off easy."

"I have banana cream dripping down my back. I think I paid my price." He glared sternly, but Violet only giggled.

"Dang it. Did I miss Violet's revenge?" Violet glanced up at Em, who was standing at the edge of the table, laughing his head off. Immediately, her heart jumped, but she couldn't tell if it was from fear or excitement. Ever since Em had joined The Guard, she had fallen in love with him, not that she ever had the guts to tell him.

He had eyes the color of a cloudy, summer day that seemed to brighten when he laughed, and reddish-blonde hair that turned silver in the sunlight. Phoenix tattoos sent spinning, black ink designs up his arms while beacon flowers dotted the lines with gold. His skin was a tapestry of artwork but was rarely seen with the armor he wore. Just like every other member of The Guard, he was dressed simply in dragon skin armor; black, cotton pants and a navy blue robe that fell to his knees. Strips of dragon leather were wound around his forearms, shins, and waist to protect him from blades and fire, while the hilt of a dagger poked out from beneath the belt. He had named the blade Alex, after his brother, which she knew was something he didn't take lightly.

If his looks weren't enough to make her heart melt, his personality was. Em had a laugh that made her heart melt all over again and a smile that was brighter than the sun. He was filled with mischievous little ideas but always knew when to take a moment to be serious. There was never a moment when she knew she couldn't depend on him.

"Oh yeah. There was a monologue and everything." Bishop answered, and Violet shook the thoughts from her head. There was already too much to worry about. She didn't have time to dwell on messy feelings.

"Hey, if I buy you another pie, will you do it again?" Em joked as he pulled up a chair. "I still can't believe you didn't wait for me." Violet smiled mischievously as she tried to hide her childish crush.

"You buy me another pie and I'll shove it up your nose."

"Well, that sounds right about what you would do." He shrugged his shoulders and began to load his plate full of food, hardly fazed by her threat. "So, I miss anything else?"

"Just the pie," Bishop noted sarcastically. He had started to wipe the sticky mess off his face, although Violet bet it would stain his uniform for at least another week.