Chapter 3: An Unreachable Goal?

General Pierce raised his right wing, calling forth everyone’s attention. “Good morning to you all!” His voice echoed throughout the grounds, and everyone listened intently. He continued, “I am grateful to see so many young men and women showing such interest in joining this defense force! We are the protectors of not only this grand village, but the entire Amber Empire!”

He paused for a moment, letting the crowd cheer and whoop. After a minute, General Pierce raised his wing again, and the crowd was silenced. “However, I will not lie to your faces and say you all will have a pass,” he turned his head, gazing at the sea of applicants, “but, if you all have a fierce flame in your hearts, then by all means…PROVE ME WRONG!”

Once more, the crowd erupted in roarious applause. General Pierce’s words only fueled their resolve. Both Captain Jesse and the guard Charles smiled, seeing just how passionate this group was. While his stern expression did not change, General Pierce was ecstatic to see such zealous youth. As he continued scouring the crowd, his eyes locked onto Laura standing in the very front of the group. He tilted his head, curious why she was the only one who did not have any armor. Not to mention her unusual attire. General Pierce walked to the edge of the state, hopping off and landing on a couple of feet in front of Laura and Cello.

The entire front row went dead silent as General Pierce made his way closer. He stopped only a few inches away from Laura, his towering figure casting a shadow over her. Some of the people next to Laura took a few steps back, but Cello stood her ground next to her friend. Laura looked up at this titan, clenching her fists and straightening her back a little more.

“State your name, ma’am.” General Pierce coldly ordered. Laura, unfazed, took a step forward and cleared her throat. Enunciating every word, she replied, “I am Laura Amber Clare, sir. Daughter of Ferral Amber Clare and Nia Clare.”

General Pierce cocked his head to the side, then lowered his head for a better look. “Little Laura? My, I haven’t seen you since you were a small child,” He raised his head back up, “You certainly look much different. Change your hair?”

Laura nodded and said, “Yeah, I dyed it. Mother doesn’t like it.” She chuckled. General Pierce blandly replied, “Mn. Your attire is certainly… interesting.”

Laura looked down at her robes, then looked back up with a smile. “Cool, right? They were inspired by this Chinese romance novel I read,” she began rambling, “I based it on the main villain of the story. He’s a demon prince who learns the value of trust and love and…” Before Laura could finish, General Pierce raised his wing, and she stopped.

“You mean to tell me you are wearing men’s clothing?” He questioned, Laura, nodding without hesitation. General Pierce chose not to think much of it and continued. “On the topic of attire, may I ask, where is your armor?”

Laura pointed at Charles, who was still standing beside Captain Jesse. “That guard over there told me there wasn’t any more.” General Pierce twisted his head back, waiting for Charles to respond.

He took a step forward and replied, “She’s telling the truth, sir. Some of these applicants didn’t receive armor; we didn’t account for there being this many.”

General Pierce turned his head back to Laura, then flew off the ground and back onto the stage. “It has come to my attention that a few of you did not receive armor. My apologies, an error on our part. For your safety, you may come back here tomorrow at the same time and take the entry test. Private Charles will write your names down as you leave.”

After he was finished, several people towards the very back began leaving. Private Charles walked off the stage to meet with those leaving. Twenty of the applicants exited the grounds…except Laura. She stayed in the same place she was before; some of the other applicants were confused why she didn’t leave. General Pierce took notice of this and looked down at her.

“You will stay?” He asked. Laura nodded, proudly raising a fist to the general. “Yes, sir! I’ll pass with or without armor!” General Pierce quietly scoffed, then said, “Determination with a hint of arrogance. You are much like your father.”

Those words were only fuel to the fire in Laura’s heart. General Pierce wasn’t going to oppose her decision and proceeded with the entrance exam. “For the remainder of you, you will take a test created by the first emperor himself. The Trials of a Thousand!”

The crowd murmured, curious and questioning what these trails could be. Even Laura had no idea what they were. General Pierce continued. “You will start by running a thousand laps around the entire village. Then, you will do a thousand push-ups. Followed by a thousand sit-ups, and finally a thousand pull-ups.”

The crowd glanced at each other, seemingly unbothered by this test. Someone from the front of the crowd commented, “That seems pretty easy.” General Pierce had waited for such a comment, and the sides of his lips curled into the faintest of smiles.

“There’s not enough time in the day to tell how many times I’ve heard that,” he said, “but that’s not where it ends. You all will have two hundred-pound steel weights strapped to each wrist, ankle, and around your waist. Forming a total of a thousand pounds, and I can assure you…there are more than enough for each of you.”

Suddenly, the color of the crowd turned a ghastly white. Five gorilla soldiers came walking into the grounds, carrying two large metal boxes each. They dropped them in front of the crowd, each box containing the weights. They walked off and out of the grounds. The crowd was still left silenced, Laura taking a few steps and taking a look at the weights. They were in the shape of short cylinders and hollowed out in the middle. She could hardly believe her father would’ve created something so intense.

After giving the crowd some time to gather themselves, General Pierce continued his speech. “Because of the large number of you, Captain Jesse and I will split you into two groups. This is not a team effort; if you happen to finish before the others, then move on to the next task. If, for whatever reason, you are unable to complete these trials, then there is no shame in leaving and trying next year.”

The crowd didn’t move, collectively taking a nervous gulp. With no objections, General Pierce and Captain Jesse split and crowd down the middle, separating Laura and Cello. Laura smiled and wished her best friend good luck. Cello did the same. After forming into neat lines, everyone took the required number of weights and began the trials. Cello’s group is leaving first. After a couple of minutes, Laura and the rest of her group went off, being led by General Pierce.

Everything seemed to go perfectly fine for Laura. She may have been at the very back of the group, but she kept up with them without a hitch. However, once she was through with her fifth hundred lap, Laura began to wheeze and gasp for air. Her chest was puffing out so far between breaths that one might be worried something would explode out. She tripped and fell onto her knees. Laura dug her finger into the ground, panting heavily. She looked up, her vision blurry, but she could see the rest of the group getting further ahead. General Pierce, who flew at the very back of the group, noticed the struggling Laura and landed beside her.

“Having a hard time?” He asked. But Laura shook her head and got back. General Pierce added, “Your father had told me about your condition. If you are unable to continue, there is no shame in stopping here.”

“I’m fine!” Laura replied in almost a snapping tone and ran off after the rest of the group. General Pierce watched as she left, shaking his head. “Truly like her father.”

Through each trial, Laura could only get about halfway finished before nearly collapsing from exhaustion. But she refused to quit and eventually got it done. A little more than half of her group had called it quits by the third trail. Everyone watched as Laura blacked out, only to quickly shake her head and continue. Their expressions were a mix of concern and astonishment; they were all shocked she was even doing these trials. They were simply waiting for the moment when Laura would collapse and be unable to get back up. Yet to their surprise, she managed to finish them all. Dead last, but stood with her head held high.

After both groups were done, they all met back together as an exhausted and slumping mess. Cello found Laura resting on one knee and jogged over to her. “Laura! Are you alright!” Cello was just about to place her hand on Laura's back, but she raised her hand to stop her. Her breaths were heavy and shaky. “I’m…fine…” She replied, the words tumbling from her mouth.

Laura stood up, then nearly fell over if it wasn’t for Cello catching her. After getting a stable footing, Laura faced the stage just like the rest of the crowd. In total, less than half of the hundred applicants had stuck around. General Pierce and Captain Jesse stood side by side at the edge of the stage, gazing at the tired crowd.

“Congratulations to all of you!” Captain Jesse applauded, “You all have passed the Trials of a Thousand! However, there is only one final test remaining.”

General Pierce picked up the speech. “Two of you will come up onto this stage and engage in a sparring match! The one who wins will be accepted into the force, but those who lose must come back and take the exam next year.”

The crowd erupted into complaints and curses. Captain Jesse’s voice boomed as she silenced the angered crowd. “Quiet, all of you! If you have a problem with this method, then you can face off against one of us instead!” The crowd slowly quieted down. Captain Jesse continued. “You lose through surrender or being rendered unconscious! I will read off two names, come up when you hear yours!”

Laura gulped. This was her big chance to join the force, and she wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers. She would win on the first try and blow everyone away!

Captain Jesse called out first names, “Laura Amber Clare! Rux Smith!”

Laura was surprised to be the first up, but her face filled with determination headed straight up to the stage. Following her was a tall, muscular hyena experiment. He wore a tank top with a leather jacket and ripped jeans. The two walked onto opposite sides of the stage, but before they could start, General Pierce pointed at Laura.

He told her, “Miss Laura, please remove your sword and other tools you may have on your belt.” Laura nodded and took off her sword. She took out her flute and placed them both on one of the steps behind her.

After that, the match proceeded. They charged at each other, Rux throwing a punch that Laura blocked with both arms. She slid back, Rux charging in and delivering a flurry of kicks. Laura blocked and dodged them all, swaying to the side and delivering two solid punches across Rux’s face. He hardly flinched, swiftly jabbing Laura in the nose, knocking her back onto the ground. He jumped into the air, slamming his heel into her stomach. Laura coughed out spit, growling before slapping his foot off. Laura spun back up and went on the offensive, blitzing through Rux’s defense and unleashing a barrage of punches. Finishing her assault with a kick to the gut.

Rux slid back, holding his stomach for a moment. However, he raised his head, seemingly fine after such an attack. Laura panted heavily, still not fully recovered from the other trails. They went on a small back and forth, Laura landing blow after blow, and yet unable to falter, Rux even the slightest. Rux uppercutted Laura’s gut, then spun and kicked her across the face, sending her flying back. She slammed against one of the wooden pillars before landing hard onto the stage. Rux stopped, thinking he had won, and to his surprise, Laura started to get back up. She gasped and sputtered for air, but still remained determined to win.

The two continued to fight for a while longer. Laura’s technique was flawless, and she was able to counter Rux’s moves. And yet…her attacks did nothing. Everything she did in this fight seemingly meant nothing. Her only option was to wear him down. But after a while, when they had some distance apart, General Pierce stepped in between them.

He raised a wing, pointing at Rux. “We have a winner!” The crowd looked at each other, puzzled. Even Rux himself was bewildered by this sudden victory. Laura stood to the side, wide-eyed and fuming from exhaustion.

Rux walked over to Laura and extended his hand. “Uh, good fight, I guess.” She smacked it away and stumbled toward General Pierce.

“Hey…what’s…going on?” Laura asked between breaths. General Pierce turned to face her. “You will not win.” He responded coldly but assuredly. Laura spat, “What?! No, I’m not done! Resume this fight!”

“No, Laura, you cannot continue.” General Pierce’s voice remained calm, “You are not strong enough.” Laura grit her teeth and snapped back, “What are you trying to say! I am strong! Strong enough to win, I can show you!”

“Miss Laura!” General Pierce raised his voice, the crowd getting startled. “You are unfit to join this force because you simply lack the strength to do so. You push your body to its absolute breaking point, putting your own wellbeing at risk.”

He turned his back to her. “I am sorry, but for your own good, you will never be able to join.” General Pierce walked back next to Captain Jesse, who watched in silence. She, too, knew this was for Laura’s own good.

Everyone watched in silence, feeling awkward by the scene that had just unfolded. Laura stood in the middle of the stage, her head down as she clenched her jaw tighter. Without saying a word, Laura got off the stage, grabbed her stuff, and stormed out of the training grounds.