To Break A Curse

Chapter 18

The rest of the day I spend with Auggie in the infirmary, running back and forth from the dining hall to fill my ever-empty stomach, and taking at least half a dozen naps throughout the afternoon to rest my aching muscles.

"We're heading up for the night. You're welcome to stay down here if you'd like," one of the nurses tells me as she hangs a white apron on a peg near the door.

"Oh, of course. I'll probably head up in a little bit." I sit up in the full-length bed, careful not to nudge Auggie perched on the bed frame at my head. "Good night then."

"Good night."

Looking around, it's just us two— no, three people in the room, all asleep. Auggie is also fast asleep, eyelids twitching every so often. I wonder what he's dreaming of.

I quietly roll off the bed and check his bandaged wing once more, then head back to the barracks.
Before I can collapse onto my bunk, Clary grabs me.

"We're going out."

"Out where," I ask, confused.

"It's a surprise. Just come with me." She grabs a stuffed bag laying next to her feet.

"Um, ok." This is a bad idea. My body's going to hate me in the morning. "Who needs sleep anyway?"

"Exactly!"

Sneaking down to the ground-level floor of the fortress, she presses a finger to her lips, motioning for me to be quiet. "This way," she whispers.

Most of the torches have been blown out for the night, making it dark and difficult to see. I put my hand on Clary's shoulder to guide me through the hall.

We almost make it to the end of the hall where there's a T- intersection when she suddenly freezes. I go still as I feel the tension grow in her shoulder. Slowly, she moves us as close to the wall as possible and we just make it into the shadows as a guard rounds the corner.

I hold my breath.

He passes right by, not even glancing at us.
When his footsteps grow faint, I let out a breath and let go of Clary's shoulder.

I have no idea why we're sneaking around, but clearly, we don't want to get caught.
She quickly turns to face me. "Almost there."

"Almost where?" I whisper.

"Shhh," she gives my arm a soft whack and smiles. Then, she lightly jerks her head toward the right of the T-intersection to tell me which direction we're going.

We're going to get caught, I just know it. And then they're going to find out I'm not Vandari. And then they're going to punish me.
Or kill me.
If they don't, Fale will.

The anxiety swirls through my mind as I follow behind Clary, wincing every time my boots thud against the hard stone floor.

She stops at a small open window. "Once we climb through here, we're going to run to the closest building, ok?"

I nod even though I have no idea what she's talking about.

Hoisting herself up onto the windowsill, she scans the hall one more time and then looks at me. "As soon as I jump, follow."

Before I can respond, she vanishes out the window and into the darkness.
Well, here goes nothing.

Mimicking her, I swing up onto the windowsill and throw myself out.

Ow.

My ankles sting with the impact. A soft breeze flits through my hair, my lungs inhaling the sharp cold air.

Clary is sprinting, already halfway across the small brick courtyard toward a tall stone outlook building. I take off after her, focusing on not tripping over my tired feet.

"Hey!" A deep, loud voice yells behind me from the window.

I don't dare turn around for fear of being recognized or stumbling. I just keep running as fast as I can toward the building in front of me.
My hands slam hard into the stone to stop myself. Then, I'm pulled around the building and into a thick tangle of bushes and trees I think might be part of the forest.

I can't hear anything over my beating heart. I just see Clary mouthing something at me and smiling. Then I realize that we've stopped.

Relief seeps through my body and I put my hands on my knees to stabilize my breathing.
"What- what did you say?" I pant out.

"I said we made it."

"Made it where?" I can't see anything around us besides the dark shadows of the trees.

"Look."

Squinting my eyes, I can just make out a faint flickering of lights between a small opening in the branches. "Is that- is that the village? The Outcity?"

"Mhm. That's where we're going."

"There? But why?" I have absolutely no desire to go back to that smelly stink hole.

"Because it's the Festival of Tiala! We sneak down every year."

"Festival of what? And who's we?"

"Here, put this on. Hopefully, it fits well enough." She pulls a plain brown dress from her bag and hands it to me. Then she pulls out another one and begins changing into it as she explains."The Festival of Tiala. The Vogs celebrate it every year, well, all Askirans used to celebrate it before the invasion, but now it's deemed as detestable and a disgrace. Dirkin says only pigs would waste their time dancing around covered in muck," she scoffs. "But I think it's beautiful. An old friend took me down here a few years ago and I've never stopped coming back since. A bunch of us come down here, those of us who still appreciate having fun that is," she laughs. "Oh, you'll love it! There's dancing, painting, eating, and singing. It's the best night of the year for sure!"

"Painting?"

"Yeah! Everyone paints their faces in honor of Tiala."

"Who's Tiala?"

"You don't know? Exactly how small is your village?" she asks with a laugh.

I just shake my head and then shove my Vandari clothes into the bag.

"Well, legend says that before the invasion, Tsvera was a land of art, of imagination even. Askirans were known for their esteemed skills in the fine arts. They even say the streets were filled with dancing... and people singing out loud. Can you imagine that?" Her eyes widen with excitement. "But anyway, after the invasion, Askiran leaders blamed our failure to protect our land from the Kiri on the arts and lack of any real physical defense. So they created the Vandari and outlawed any form of participation in the arts so that we would become a people of steel, figuratively and physically. You know how much we like our blades. It was like that until 100 years ago when a woman named Tiala challenged how we thought we should protect our land and people. She claimed that battles were won with more than just our weapons. They were won with passion and the strength of our hearts. She said that life without the arts is like a heart beating with no hope or purpose, and will eventually be destined to grow cold in its cage of steel. Dramatic, I know. But you see, Tiala was once a Vandari herself, which is why she is so renowned. She chose to leave her life as a Vandari and live as a Vog, inspiring everyone she came across to embrace the power of art... and passion."

She chose to give up being Vandari. I would have given anything to be one. "But why do people paint their faces in her honor?"

"Because that's what she did when she led an army of Vogs into battle against the Kiri and won. They all dyed their skin with war paint, patterns that instilled courage within themselves, and fear into their enemies. Sadly, she died in the battle, but because of the victory that day, we were able to take back Valas Miran. Now, every year on the anniversary of the battle, we celebrate her victory not only against the Kiri, but the start of the restoration she inspired. And, if I remember correctly, I believe the majority of the people still living in the Outcity are descendants of the Vogs who fought alongside Tiala."

"That's incredible! But why have they stopped fighting? Think of the impact we could have if everyone worked together, both Vog and Vandari!"

"Easier said than done." She tugs my arm, leading me toward the lights of the Outcity. "But for now, let's go celebrate!"