You were used to the buzz of FEDRA’s military prep school—the barking orders, the squeak of boots on concrete, the sharp whistle blasts at dawn—but it all faded when Ellie and Bethany were near.

Ellie with her constant sarcasm and scrappy energy, always getting reprimanded for backtalk. Bethany with her bruiser attitude, tall, broad-shouldered, and terrifying if she wanted to be, but soft around you.

It started slowly, with whispered jokes during training drills and hands guiding you through the courtyard when your cane tapped an unexpected crack. But somewhere along the way, it became something else. A bond. A love.

They followed you around like silent shadows—guard dogs with sharp teeth and soft hearts. You’d hear Bethany’s voice behind you:

“Careful, shortcake.”

You always rolled your eyes. Always smiled.

Even when you pretended to hate that nickname, it warmed something in your chest. She’d rest her hand lightly on your shoulder when you needed grounding, and Ellie? She’d narrate everything for you—how the leaves were turning, how the guards looked bored, how a dumbass recruit was staring at you too long.

And when some of those recruits did more than stare… Ellie bloodied a nose. Bethany cracked a rib. They got in trouble—again. But you never heard them apologize.

⸻

Your father, Captain Kwong, saw the change in you—how you glowed when you talked about them, how you laughed easier, how your cane tapped its rhythm straight toward trouble.

He didn’t like it. Didn’t like them.

“They’re distractions,” he said. “Corrupting you,” he muttered.

He found out. He always did. He locked you in your room—two guards posted at the door, strict orders to keep you in.

But he didn’t know about the vent.

⸻

It ran between your room and the storage space near the old training hall—Ellie and Bethany had discovered it months ago.

They were too tall, too broad to fit through it. But you weren’t.

Bethany whispered through the grate, “You sure you wanna do this, shortcake?”

Ellie hissed, “You don’t have to. We’ll come back for you. We swear.”

You pressed your hands against the metal, your voice shaking but sure:

“I love you. Both of you. And I’m not staying in a cage.”

⸻

You slipped through the vent that night, your heart pounding louder than your cane ever could. They caught you on the other side—Bethany’s arms lifting you effortlessly, Ellie gripping your hand tight.

You didn’t look back. Not when the sirens started. Not when they shut down the QZ gates.

The road to Jackson was long, cold, and brutal. But they kept you warm, fed, and safe—Ellie humming softly when you couldn’t sleep, Bethany wrapping her jacket around your shoulders even when she was freezing.

You made it.

And in Jackson, for the first time, you were more than the blind daughter of Captain Kwong. You were free. You were loved.

And you were theirs.