Chapter I
Thalia Blackley is a Rebel

"Thalia Blackley has been a rebel since day one. It is with much sorrow that I give her this mission, and much regret with which I will live if she does not return. However, I am sure she will do fine and make it safely back to headquarters. I speak for all of us when I say best of luck, Thalia."
The twenty thousand people in the room applauded politely as President Burch finished his speech and stepped away from the podium. I plastered on a small smile as I walked out in uniform, my medals clinking against each other. I stepped up and began to speak.
"First off, thank you, President Burch, for the introduction. Secondly, I am quite sure I will make it back, for my teachers have taught me well, and I thank them every day for that. Also, I must return for my brother, my sister, and my dogs, one of which will be accompanying me on this particular mission. Speaking of which, I believe Henri is here now."
A soldier stepped forward and handed the German Shepard's leash to me. I nodded and he sat.
"As I was saying, Henri will be accompanying me on this mission, and he will protect me. Long live Lee," I said with conviction, saluting and stepping back. Next Major Moratz stepped up and began his speech.
"I have been training with Lieutenant Blackley since she was five, only yae high," he said, gesturing. The audience laughed. "I would be extremely disappointed if she did not return, partly because I feel that my colleagues have trained her adequately, but also because I still need another person to take care of, for I am a very, very lonely man."
Moratz placed a hand on his heart and I smiled for a moment as the audience laughed quietly.
"Lieutenant Blackley has come a long way from being a whiny five year old, I am so proud of her, and I have high hopes she will do a superb job on this mission, just as she has on others in the past.
"It is with great pride that I say the Lieutenant was the top of her class, and has been very diligent when preparing for this mission. Best of luck, Lieutenant."
Moratz saluted before stepping back. The audience applauded as Major Moratz left stage with a wave, and I followed. He walked me to the door and we got on the passenger train and sat side-by-side, Henri laying by my feet. I leaned back in the seat a little, relishing the coldness of my pistol as it pressed against the small of my back.
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Hours later we arrived at the border barracks. We would depart from here in the morning to the border, where Major Moratz would give me weapons and my poison and from there on out I would be traveling as an immigrant. For the party we would have to wear nice clothes, not uniforms, ugh. I hate hate hate dresses with all of my being. But President Burch insists on going away parties every time I have a mission, same thing for the other best soldiers like Moratz- it sucks because I always have to go. I'll bet it's better for the guys because they don't have to wear dresses.
As Moratz and I walked down the hallway to our section, I wanted to scream. When the last group of people in the building were gone I let out my anger.
"AAARRRGGHH!" I yelled, shaking my head as I released my hair from the tight bun it was twisted in. "I hate parting parties! Who cares if our country is formal?! They're so stupid!"
Moratz laughed, patting my shoulder after the storm of hair settled down. "Oh, Thalia."
I laughed too, grinning like an idiot. When we reached my door, which came first, Moratz stopped me and turned to face me. My grin faded to a smile so my teeth didn't show anymore. He lifted my chin to look up at him.
"Why don't you show that smile with other people?" He asked, searching my eyes. "There are some kids in training who think you're a soulless bitch."
I giggled.
"No, seriously, Thals," he said. "You are a brilliant young woman and you should show it to people who aren't me and the dogs and your siblings."
"Well maybe I just don't think they're worthy of being in the presence of such godessness," I said sarcastically, arching an eyebrow.
"Are you afraid?" He asked bluntly. "It's okay if you are, but I want to know."
I began to tremble, and he pulled me towards him, wrapping his arms around my back and rocking back and forth between his feet. I pressed my face into the rough uniform, trying to control the trembling. I nodded a tiny bit.
"Being afraid is a good thing," Moratz said.
"No it's not." I looked at the clock. "Shit!"
"What?" He asked, releasing me.
"We're gonna be late!"
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A/N:
So I hope y'all liked this chapter. As for posting it's really just whenever I'm bored or feeling inspired or productive or avoiding homework and chores and yeah.
For most of my stories I try to make each chapter about the same length, for example I like Knit, Purl to have about 600 word chapters, etc etc. But for this story I feel like it would turn out better if I just leave it and let it be how it wants to be because this is already over 1,000 words and I doubt I could muster up 1,000 words per chapter for however long this book is going to be.
That brings up another thing- I know this is totally random but sometimes I get bored and I have no ideas for a new chapter for something, I just add a bunch of parts to stories so I legit have a story that has 2 published parts and like 70-ish unpublished parts just labeled 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc etc. It's sad. It really is sad.
Okay, now another thing. Why is it that on Wattpad.com, on the computer, when you hit enter it goes two lines down, but if you hold shift and hit enter it goes one line down? And then on the app if you hit enter it goes one line down, but if you hit shift enter it does the same thing? It's so confusing!
Well, at least now I know why some people have extra spaces between paragraphs- they type it on the computer and hit enter instead of holding shift and hitting enter. Duh! *facepalm*
I do try.
Anyway, thanks for reading Rebel Child, and I will try to update soon! Byez!