Exitium

Chapter One

. I .

Beyond the city walls, there lays a land. A land so beautiful, so peaceful, it is said to be a myth. There are people who claim to have seen it, but those are false rumors. Tales spun from the imagination just so the 'adventurer' can become famous. As far as anyone's concerned, no one but those of higher power have gone past the gates in hundreds of years. That's exactly how they want it to be, as if they're keeping the rest of the civilians locked inside of the city like caged beasts, too wild to trust in the outside world.

That's just the problem, though. No one goes out of the city, no one comes in. The city's isolation was a huge downfall. Shops lacked the goods that needed to be transported in, there were no farmers, let alone farmland.

Isolation was just one of the many problems. There was death, crime and disease all across the large city. The only way to get past the age of forty was to become one of the seven lords—or to marry into one of the families.

However, Avra was determined to escape the city one way or another. She refused to stoop down to the level of seducing an old man just to guarantee her survival. Her mind was set, and there was no stopping her.

"Avra," the man beside her said. "This is dangerous."

Avra smiled and placed her pointer finger to her lips, "No one will know it was us. We'll be out of here soon anyways. Now, shush your mouth, you will draw too much attention to us."

The man hesitated, then nodded. "You'll be the death of me someday," he whispered harshly.

If she wasn't in the position where silence was important, Avra would have laughed at her friend. Oh, how he amused her so.

They were sitting on a tree across from one of the lords' houses, waiting for the inhabitants of the house to be claimed by sleep. Yet, her friend didn't seem to mind helping her break inside. Sure, he was complaining, but that was just what he did. If he really didn't want to intrude into one of the city's most important person's house, he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

"Oh, Savvas, I think we both knew that long ago," she finally replied, her smile just growing larger. Why he had decided to stay with her all of these years, she had no clue. He must be crazy, she decided.

Savvas frowned, but his eyes glimmered with amusement.

Avra's attention snapped back to the window she was sitting across from. The lights from the candles flickered out and the house fell into silence. It was time.

She turned to Savvas and flicked her head towards the window. He nodded once again, understanding her meaning. Avra stood into a crouch, measuring the distance between the tree and the window. It would be close, and it was possible that both of them wouldn't make the jump. Just one wrong move, and they'd be caught. Their dream of escaping would be ruined and they'd be as good as dead.

She took a deep breath, steadying her rapid heartbeat. There would be no failure tonight. They had to succeed.

With a last worried look towards Savvas, she took a leap towards the window. The wind formed around her as she clumsily flew through the air, not letting her eyes leave her target. It was only when she started descending too quickly did she realize that she had underestimated the distance.

She was falling.

She reached out as far as she could towards the window before she was too far away. Her fingers clasped around the stone, catching her falling body. She bit her lip as she struggled to pull herself up. She had to do this quickly, and silently. Oh, how glad she was that she didn't scream with the rush of falling.