Elora's point of view:

I had heard my parents and sister were coming back with their new commander. I mostly communicated with Lorelei's husband, Mihn. He was the only one who wasn't bustling around all the time trying to make sure the trip was successful. All I knew was that when he informed me that my father had lost his leg in a blast caused by some insane guerrillas, I just about lost my mind.

Mihn also informed me that the doctor said my father had to retire. He was almost sixty, the time was about to come, but it was about ten years earlier than what he planned. He didn't want to be a veteran yet, he didn't have to tell me face to face for me to know that. Mihn also informed me that he was absolutely irate when he was informed he was going to lose his leg and he couldn't fight anymore. My mother was still going to work, and so was Lorelei apparently. But my father would have to take to the sidelines. I was told he was screaming and wouldn't let anyone see him while his procedure was starting. Now he had to retire, that couldn't be good for anyone.

"When are they coming?" I asked my sister, Carina, as she held her baby girl Kamila in her hand. She was so cute, a perfect mixture of Carina and Peter.

"I'm not sure. I think Mihn told us the plane would land sometime around noon," she replied. I nodded and sighed as I twiddled my thumbs on my lap. I was sitting down in an armchair, hoping they would arrive home soon so I could see them. Not to mention, their new commander would be staying with us for a while until he could find some permanent residence in Washington. He lived with his father until he died, and now that he didn't have that place anymore, he needed to find somewhere else.

"I want them here now," I stated. This made Emmaleigh laughed and shook her head with a smile. Emmaleigh was all about joking and laughing, and I could usually go along with it, but now I was plain paranoid that Lorelei and my parents wouldn't get back safely. It was rather worrying.

"They'll come, don't worry. Just because dad is hurt doesn't mean mom and Lorelei can't deal with it. I'm sure everything will turn out just fine. If you worry like this you'll lose your hair," Emmaleigh replied. Carina nodded in agreement but she was rather occupied by Kamila, who was beginning to whimper.

"You know me, though, I always think something is going to go wrong. Never rule out that it won't," I replied. Carina and Emmaleigh shook their heads at me and went back to what they were doing. This was when I stood from the chair and exited the living room. I went out to the balcony of the first level of the house. The swiftly cool March air swam around my skin as I crossed my arms and shivered. It was beginning to get warmer now, but it rained a lot and there were days that the overcast just never seemed to leave, this came with strong winds or moist, sharply cold air.

My dark brown, sort of red, hair blew in the wind. My father would always say it was the colour of cherry mahogany, which made it seem better than brownish-red or something like that. My hair was really long, it went down to the far middle of my back in waves and was even longer when it was straight. My skin was pale like that of my mother's, of which I took her Nordic genes. My eyes were also a similar colour to hers, a green, but much paler. My mother's eyes were like an evergreen forest, whereas mine was more of a sea green with hints of blue wandering around in the mixture. My height was a little below average but I wasn't nearly as small as Lorelei and my mother. When they were five-foot-two, I stood three inches taller. I still looked small compared to some of the larger people I knew, Max Keller for instance. He was a giant man, nearly three inches taller than my already massive father, and made me look like a mouse next to a bear. The whole of my family, save Lorelei and my mother, was dark, but I had the palest complexion out of all of them. I was almost paler than my mother, who seemed to be lighter than a vampire at times.

Despite my, at times, rebellious ways and behaviour, I worried the most as well. Lorelei was casual and lived in the moment, Carina was a little uptight but she was rational, and Emmaleigh barely had the word 'fear' in her vocabulary. My mother used to be quite worrisome, as my father said, but when she joined the army she became looser and a little more at ease with things, it sprung higher when she had five kids to take care of and remained levelled through the whole thing. My father was a trouble maker from birth and he passed it on to Jacob, but me, well, I was a different story. All I did was worry about what could happen, and it never did, not really. I didn't know why I was so neurotic, but it spawned from early childhood and never left me after that.

I went out all the time, I would see boys or girls or both, and when I was I didn't worry as much. I was having fun so my mind was taken away from all anxiety I felt beforehand. However, it still picked at me when we went to do something that was a little less than acceptable. I never did anything they did, I just stood and watched and waited until it would end and we'd move on. No one seemed to notice that I did this, because my behaviour with boys seemed to deflect it.

Even then, I didn't want my life to be boring because of my worries. I wanted to have something wild happen to me so I could think back on it for the rest of my life. Something so revolutionary that I could tell my grandchildren of it, or even hide it from everyone because it was so clandestine and dangerous to be exposed. That was what I wanted. I wanted what Lorelei had, she was this massively tough soldier that didn't care if she was a girl or if her parents were famous. She just wanted to fight. I was not interested in being a soldier by any means, but I wanted to have something like that.

Eventually, the cold air got to me and I had to go back inside. The clock on the wall read that it was nearing ten, and I was already ready to go to bed. I wanted to stay up for my family though, so I would push to keep up for another hour or so. If they weren't back by then, then I would go to bed. Carina had gone to bed in the guest room we set up for her, she wanted to stay here to see mom and dad and Lorelei. Peter was working late and wouldn't be back until the early hours of the morning. Emmaleigh was getting ready to go to sleep in the bathroom, brushing her teeth based on the sounds I heard. It seemed to me that I would be spending the rest of the night alone.

"Hey trouble," I heard the voice of my brother Jacob sound through the living room. I turned to him and smiled as he held his newborn son, Percy. He was so cute, the perfect picture of him. It was like Percy was a baby Jacob clone.

"Hey, daddy," I replied. He chuckled and walked over to me. I was looking out the window since the balcony was too cold. I loved watching the outside, it was like my house was one universe and the outside was another. It was sort of like being in space but not.

"Someone couldn't sleep, noticed you might be in the same situation?" Jacob asked. I shook my head and crossed my arms along my chest. Jacob was getting better at being a father as the days progressed. He wasn't depressed that Mai was gone anymore. He still was in his mourning phase since it had only been a few months since that dreadful day, but he was better now and he was able to be a proper father to Percy. We could all applaud him for working so hard for his son.

"I'm exhausted, but I'm waiting for mom and dad to get here," I replied. He nodded and walked up beside me. I held out my hands so I could hold Percy for a while. He handed him to me and it looked like he was relieved to have some weight taken off his arms. I loved holding Percy, he was so soft and smelled so good.

"You shouldn't keep yourself up. They probably won't be here for another few hours or so," he replied. I shrugged my shoulders and gently swayed Percy in my arms. He was slowly beginning to shut his eyes and fall asleep. Even though Jacob had the father thing down, he still had trouble setting Percy down to sleep. He often asked for the help of Carina when she was available. Sometimes it was me and Emmaleigh, there were nights when he could do it himself.

"May as well. I have a feeling it doesn't matter how tired I am. I'll be restless for the night anyway," I replied. Jacob watched as Percy began to fall asleep, little sounds radiating from his tiny mouth.

"You ever think of having kids?" Jacob asked. I had thought of it, but I didn't want them now. I wasn't even twenty-one yet, I had all the time in the world. Not to mention having a baby required finding a husband, of which I knew no potential males to fit the job. Maybe I was picky, but I didn't want to settle for anybody. My family was notorious for finding spouses they were meant to be with, none of them had settled. Carina didn't, Lorelei didn't, and my mother definitely didn't.

"Maybe later. I don't really have a man to help me with that," I replied. Jacob laughed and shrugged as he watched me rock his son to sleep.

"You'll find one. Hey, maybe Nash's son'll take you out? I hear he's pretty close to your age. Well, maybe not close, seven or eight years," he replied. I knew that Flynn Nash was the new commander that worked with my dad, but I had never met him before. I had no idea what he was like or what he did in his spare time. If he was anything like his father, then he was probably an exemplary man.

"I doubt it. But thank you for the pep talk I feel much better about my marital status. As if I haven't heard enough from Carina," I replied. I had no idea what happened to her. Carina was the typical housewife and she loved it, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. Granted, to each our own, I just wondered why she thought marriage and children were the only important things in life. Now that she had this beautiful family, I understood why she was so elated, but there was no adventure!

"She'll say that until she's blue in the face. I would get used to it if I were you," he replied. I laughed and nodded, knowing fully well that he was right.

"Well, you two should go to bed, and I should get ready to do the same. Here," I said as I silently and carefully handed Percy back to Jacob. He said goodnight and retired upstairs to go to sleep. This night had turned out uneventful, to my expectation. I would just have to wait until morning to see my parents and baby sister.

•••

Morning sun hit the glass of the window in the right of my bed. My eyes had opened and I sat up tiredly. Letting out a yawn, I realized that today was the day my family had to be coming home. So, I busted out of bed and ran down the stairs to see them.

The first person I saw wasn't my parents nor my sister. It was my grandfather, who had been staying here since they left for Vietnam a second time. He volunteered to come just so he could keep a close eye on Emmaleigh and me while they were gone. Carina spent most of her time home with Peter and Kamila. My grandfather, the kind and gentle man he was, smiled at me as I entered the kitchen.

"Morning, Elora. How are you?" He asked me in his still thick German accent. Even though he had been in America since my mother had, which was since the ending of the Second World War, he still had a German accent. It was impeccable, and we all knew it would never leave his voice.

"Fine grandpa, is my mom or dad home yet? Lorelei?" I asked. He nodded and told me he saw Lorelei and Mihn sitting out at the veranda. I thanked him and ran out to the dining room where the door to the veranda was.

Lorelei was definitely standing there, Mihn tall at her side. They were facing away from me and staring out to the yard. It was warm for a March morning, although a little dewy from the moisture of last night. He had his arms wrapped around her to keep her warm while they watched the outside. I found myself wanting to be held the same way she was. Not by Mihn, I felt no attraction for him, he was a good man who treated my sister like a queen, I just wanted to be in love like he was. I spent my days prowling around places looking for men that could potentially want to see me for more than a few weeks. I had yet to find that man, I used to wonder why but I knew now that it was because I was too flighty. I was never in one place for very long, I always moved to explore what was there. I wished I could find someone who would move around with me, who wouldn't stay still, but would always be with me.

"Lorelei!" I said, snapping myself away from my trance. She turned around to see me and a wide smile skipped across her sharp, pretty face. She looked so much like mother it was at times hard to differentiate.

"Elora!" Lorelei shouted happily. She left Mihn's side and ran for a hug. I returned it and squeezed my sister as I held her for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her as we left the hug. Mihn had since walked up to us at the door. He was grinning in approval as my sister smiled.

"I'm alright now. Granted, the first bit was a little crowded and stressful. Dad is feeling better now, so things calmed down a little. Thank God," she replied. I nodded and hugged her once again. I knew how full of dread my father was when he first lost his leg. It was good he was beginning to manage. He'd still have to have months and months of physical therapy to heal completely, at least he was functioning.

"Speaking of which, where is he? I'd like to see him and mom," I asked. She nodded.

"I saw mom at the car. I think she's just finishing bringing in the bags. I don't know if she's still there but she's around. I don't know where dad went off to," Lorelei replied. I nodded and said hello to Mihn before I ran off to find my mother. She was indeed beside the car, in the midst of closing the trunk. I skipped over to her and quickly ran to hug her, taking her by surprise.

"Hi, honey," she said with a smile as she held me back. Even though I was almost twenty one years old, I treated my mother almost the same way as when I was younger.

"Hi, mommy," I replied. She turned to me and hugged me tighter. "Do you know where dad is?"

"He's in the backyard by the oak tree I believe. He misses the house. I'm sure he'd love to see you," she replied. I thanked her and kissed her on the cheek, running off to the oak tree that sat beside our house. My father was there, sitting in a wheelchair and staring up at the tree. There was a man by him, standing tall beside my father in the chair. I didn't know who that man was, but it hardly mattered, I was only concerned with my father.

"Father!" I shouted as I galloped over to him and the unknown man by the tree. He turned his head and saw me, still sitting in the chair. He smiled but his eyes were tired and discouraged, and with a crutch in his hand, he carefully stood up. His missing leg came into contact with my eyes, and I did my best not to step back in surprise.

"Hey, Elora, I look a little different, don't I?" He asked. I didn't know the right answer, how to tell him that he did look different without insulting him.

"It doesn't matter, you're still my dad and that will never change," I replied. This seemed to make him feel a little better, as his eyes went up at this response. It was then that he motioned to the man beside him.

"Elora, meet Flynn Nash," he said.

Note: How is this for a first chapter? Does it seem like it may be interesting. I really hope this starts the kick off of the Soldier Series, and I hope you like it! Be sure to vote and comment on what you think. Also be sure to follow me for updates on this or any other story you may read of mine. Happy Reading!