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confined so tight that I feel like they're in my throat. The dress is cut just above my knees, which is nice and all, but I much prefer wearing shorts or pants or anything that I can run around in.
    I think I was seven when I really knew what I wanted to become. I mean, I knew all along that I wanted to fight and kick Demon butt, but it finally clicked in my head that day. I was with my best friend, Perry. She's downstairs waiting on me, surely wearing a similar outfit. Except we're polar opposites, so her expression is probably genuine when she smiles. She loves this kind of stuff. She's the kind of daughter a Guardian wishes she had: a girly-girl to the core. She loves attention, and she's someone who properly speaks, acts, and dresses.
    Perry loved playing with other kids at school and at home. She'd invite the girls to have sleepovers and gossip and watch Earth movies. I dreaded it. I sat there with the girls wishing I was outside in the Viel air, running, leaping, and pretending to fly like our Guardians do.  
    I hated being confined to these identical houses that have barely anything in them. I still do. It completely freaks me out having to live in a box and not have wings. I can't fly down the street or go to the library without my Guardians' help. It's just hard to be stuck when I know there's so much more out there untouched, undiscovered by me.
    I almost hate it as much as being chosen.  
    I take a final glance in the mirror before I make the descent down the stairs into a room, that I'm sure, is full of waiting Angels. For some reason, I'm nervous. I'm typically a calm person and not a lot fazes me, but my pulse has intensified to a level I've never felt before. I focus on my breathing to calm myself down.
    All I want is to be a Fighter. I need gray wings. I need to train so I can fight and be with the other Fighters. Please, Rem, grant me this one wish.  
    And then I take the plunge.  
    One step in front of the other, I finish my walk down the stairs. I realize that this is probably the last time that I'm going to be walking and using these useless steps that are hard against my small feet. Once the transition takes place, I'll have wings like my two Guardians and will be able to fly. We can finally get rid of these clunky stairs that take up most of the front room of our home.
    The first eyes I catch once I'm down are my mother Guardian's. They're already red-rimmed and filled with tears, like she's been anxiously awaiting this moment her whole life—which in all actuality may be true. I smile reassuringly to her and continue to let my eyes roam around the group, taking in the best day of my life.
    My father is standing next to my mother, his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. My Guardians met when they were chosen, although they claim to have noticed each other from afar long before turning sixteen. Their baby blue wings are almost identical in every way. Other than the fact that my father's are taller and a little thicker, you couldn't tell the difference between the two from behind.
    Perry waves at me from behind my Guardians, so my attention is drawn to her. She wasn't chosen, thank our ruler Rem—that would be a nightmare in and of itself. She's out of control, but she's a Virtue. She claimed her white wings the day she turned sixteen, and I've hardly seen her since. She's probably learning how to make miracles by now. I'm really happy that she got what she wanted.  
    The last face I see before I take the final step into my party is Tab. He gives me a smile that says "I love you,"and I try really hard to convey the message back, but the truth is, I don't love him. Love really isn't on my radar right now, to be brutally honest. Until I obtain my own personal goals, I don't care about love or much else. Being chosen kind of ruined that, though.
    "Thank you all for coming!" I call out to the crowd like I know I'm supposed to. Some faces I recognize, others I don't. But it's no matter to me on my special