Zachary was waiting patiently while leaning against the entrance door on the ground floor of the multi storey mansion that belonged to his brother Sean. He had been anticipating for his sister Zelina to get ready for them to attend their interview assessments at the Ronas Recruitment head quarters.

His sister, Zelina always took her time getting dressed up even though in Zachary's view her appearance never mattered. The boys were always staring at her in awe whenever she entered any room whether it was at Phoenix academy or palace gatherings or at any simple birthday party. The power call of Zelina was too great for any warlock to resist and also she was as many boys put it " fit".

Zachary tried to blank out all the complimentary comments directed at his sister most of the time. But he never had to act to protect his sister from all the attention though. Well luckily for him, Zelina was a tough girl to mess with in any way. Also no one dared make a move on her because Zelina had managed to attract the attention of Phoenix Academy's head junior enforcer, Xanthos, who also happened to be the younger brother to their masters second in command, Xavier. Xanthos had managed to scare off all the lustful male stares simply because he was the most horrifying student at the academy. Zachary had tried so hard to keep his sister away from him but anyone with his influence could get anything they wanted. The rest of Phoenix Academy were lucky now since Xanthos's graduation 3 months ago had put an end to the torment of many.

Zachary came out of his flashback state as Zelina suddenly teleported in front of him " Uh, I am ready brother. Lets take the long route and walk. We still have plenty of time."

Zachary smiled " As you wish milady. I would like that actually. Then it would give me the chance to have the big brother talk with you."

As Zachary opened the door and gestured to Zelina to leave, there was a mini force sphere that struck Zachary suddenly. " Ow, that hurt. Since when do you throw shock spheres at your own brother. Uh it's against protocols you know." He spoke jokingly.

His sister turned to Zachary and looked at him with an annoyed expression " You deserved that. I don't need big brother talk. I can take care of myself Zachary. Besides nobody dares to get close to me these days because my boyfriend happens to be the big scary Xanthos. I get enough protective boyfriend talk time from him. I don't need extra advice." As she said this, Zelina walked out stomping her foot sprinting ahead of Zachary.

Zachary ran after her and grabbed her arm and turned Zelina to face him. He spoke with concern and worry in his eyes " Zelina. Come on. I am worried about you. You haven't even graduated yet and they want to see you. You happen to be one of the very few 17 year olds whom they have picked for long distance training in their senior year. For the next year, you would be surrounded by mature witches and warlocks. I don't like to see you defence less in that environment. I especially don't approve of the company that your boyfriend keeps. Some of them would most likely be your fellow trainees or colleagues. So you can't blame me for wanting so badly to have a talk with you to make sure you know of the dangers."

Zelina freed her hand and carried on walking as Zachary accompanied her and kept the same pace of walking. Zelina sighed " Zachary, you talk as though you are years older than me. Our age gap is hardly one year. You just turned 18 weeks ago. Yes, with your birthday came maturity but it doesn't mean you treat me like the baby sister who needs protecting. I can hold my own. And for your information, I applied for long distance learning. I want to be working alongside my top classmates. Ludwiq, Elisha and Roxana also applied to this program. They are 17 too. But I don't see their siblings trying to watch out for them."

Zachary was frustrated " Zelina. If Evelina was around, there was no way she would have let her sister volunteer to spend her senior year training for governmrnt posts. She wouldn't have let her step foot any where near the interview chambers at all. Well, you cant also follow the example of Ludwiq. He is Larissa's brother. He would fit in easily for his dark track record and his cruel nature. As for Rowlen. I don't think he needs to have a talk with his sister at all. What do you expect? They are Dylan's cousins. No one wants to be on the wrong side of any of the blood relatives of that psycho killing machine. You must keep clear of their path too. Those siblings are bad news."

Zelina laughed " What are you talking about? Rowlen is Xanthos's best friend. Rowlen, Roxana and their dates are going to share tables with Xanthos and I at the The Initiation Dance that they are organising for new recruits. I think you should come too. The table has empty seats still."
Zachary's eyes widened " How did Beatrix allow you to do that? The Dance ends past midnight which means you would have to sleep the night at the hotel attached to the Compound the event it is held in. How did you get her to agree to this?"

Zelina smirked " Well Beatrix is coming too. A head enforcer asked her out. She said yes. We both know that Beatrix is an easy going governess when Sean is not around. Only when he is at home, she has to be cautious and strict with us. I know she didn't let us go to the Autumn banquet but it was Sean's influence since he said "it was apparently hosted by over empathic lunatics". That is over protective Sean."

Zachary didn't look convinced " Uh. This way I have to come too. But they won't let people in without dates. Where am I supposed to find a date at such short notice."
Zelina sighed " do you really have to ask that? We both know, Maxine and Miranda would fight over you to convince you to go with them. After all they are the cousins of the tracker trio. Anybody blood related to Lucia, Tanya and Flora, would fight out of possessiveness to death for their man. But don't look so horrified. I am pretty sure it won't come to that because I know who you are going with."

Zachary was looking at his sister suspiciously now. " What do you mean? Is there something you know that I don't."

Zelina smiled " Why should I spoil the surprise? I would give you a clue. If you don't go with her then her two brothers would teach you a lesson in the dungeons."

Zachary was staring at his sister with his mouth open " Not a chance. You are kidding right. I can't stand Bethany. She is a monster. She would one day turn out to be worse than her her twin brother Blake and even her nightmare big brother Benjamin. How do you know she wants to go with me. How did you come across this?"

Zelina answered playfully " Wouldn't you like to know? I happened to over hear her talking to her brother when he picked her up from a potion club during the holidays she was supervising for girls at the academy. Apparently she wasn't allowed to date until her graduation which was 3 months ago like you. Also Since she turned 18 last week she can now go out with any one she chooses with no supervision at all. of course she can only do that if "a powerful blooded warlock worthy of her valued bloodline" asks her out. Those are Benjamin's words. He was telling her she can only date certain bloodlines and she picked you amongst them. Benjamin even mentioned Xanthos to her but apparently she has no interest whatsoever in him. She called Xanthos a self centred noble with a large ego. But she thinks you are an honourable noble with great pride in your bloodline who acts like a gentleman. Benjamin approved of you too. He said he knew his sister would only associate herself with the powerful and most honourable."

Zachary couldn't believe he had caught the attention of one of the most heartless witches of his generation. Bethany was dangerous at the same level as Xanthos. They were predicted as the academy's power match but obviously she only had eyes for him.

Zachary sounded like he was panicking " This is crazy. I can't stand her. She is too cruel. She just torments people to death for the fun of it for the smallest things like forgetting to not make eye contact with her as she walks. Well I know all nobles expect the middle class warlocks and witches to show respect but her reactions are too extreme. Do you know how many she referred to the execution target practice division just during her senior year alone? do you know how many she sent to the dungeons during her years at the academy? Most of those poor souls were condemned by her for just forgetting to address her as Lady Bethany or address her brother as Superior commander Benjamin when they mentioned him in conversations. she even referred some of the academy trainers to the dungeons. Surely you must remember some of her extreme acts."

Zelina nodded her head " Of course I remember. But I think it maybe a good thing if you date her. Then you would stop criticising my relationship with Xanthos. Bethany and Xanthos are at the same level in terms of their extreme ways."

Zachary sounded annoyed: " if you know that then why do you date that brute then. You could do better. Much better."

Zelina looked away as they were walking faster and faster along the sidewalks and spoke with a sad tone " Come on Zachary you know how it is. I may not have liked how Xanthos cornered me into dating him when I was not ready but I am attracted to him. He is completely a likeable person when i dont make him lose his temper. Even though he is a typical possessive and temperamental future commander, he has never ever raised his hand on me. He is cruel to others but he treats me differently. That is all i ask for in a boyfriend."

Zachary shook his head. "well if you had shown some reluctance to date him, I would have interferred but you accepted his advances so willingly. Sometimes I feel your beliefs are like him."

Zelina frowned "Well I had to date Xanthos when he asked me out. As you know it is the law that you have to go on at least one date if a noble of your class demands it. But I think you are being unfair. His beliefs are irrelevant to me. He is my boyfriend. You just have to accept it. Besides he is not that bad anymore. He is not harassing as many people as he used to. I guess, you could say I am keeping him busy and more distracted from ambushing the weak and the empathic nobles. You should know that . Well, your circle of friends who were empathic in his Eyes used to get a good beating by his group more often than now. Come on, don't look so outraged. He was a junior enforcer at the academy. You wouldn't be recruited if you didn't hold extreme beliefs."

Zachary and Zelina both stopped and looked up at the magnificent building in front of them. They had now arrived at their destination. As they got ready to climb the stairs, they heard the voice the last person they expected to see "Well. It's a nice looking building isn't it. I guess the weak beings are not all useless after all. They are capable of doing manual tasks with our architecture division. The same way they are also useful in the kitchens. Well apart from that I say we have no use for them."

It was his dark aura that always turned heads and brought chills down anyone's spine. As the siblings turned around they were faced with Xanthos and his usual gang members. There was Blake, Bethany, Rowlen, Roxana, Larrisa and Ludwiq. Those deadly nobles were standing tall with their menacing smiles behind their leader.

" Uh hi Xanthos. I expected you to be inside already. You are the model junior enforcer. I thought you maybe there an hour before." As Zelina said this, she walked towards Xanthos and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

Zachary looked away and objected " Uh guys. Don't do this in front of me. Get a chamber for yourselves or something."

Xanthos did not like interruptions. He broke away from kissing Zelina once he was satisfied " Watch it Zachary. If you dont like watching my girlfriend and i making out, then look away. we are just complying with the protocols. Hiding emotions towards our partners are forbidden. Speaking of which, tell me why you are still single Zachary. You are supposed to be looking for potential girlfriends more actively now that you are 18. You will be breaking protocols if you keep passive for any longer. You don't even look at the witches of your noble class in the eye. So I tell you the solution. As you know, there is an initiation dance after the interviews today. I suggest you use the opportunity to get yourself a girl when we go inside right now otherwise the Events Division will arrange a date for you. You have to go with a partner."

Zachary rolled his eyes and kept silent. Xanthos smirked. He knew he had won the argument. No one could argue when a Ronas rule was used as reasoning in an argument. " Never mind. Not to worry. We will help you get yourself a date after the interviews are over. Lets go in now. We want to be early. Not on time."

Xanthos walked hand in hand with Zelina and his gang followed. Zachary sighed and also followed that hateful crowed. He also noticed how Bethany was giving him quick glances. Obviously she was planning to talk to him soon and Zachary had every intention of avoiding her.