Did her whole life has to be a deception? First, Erini and now, Vakenes. None had shown her their true nature. Erini was deceit on its own, with its people's backs turned against her. Vakenes was strange, full of unknown territory, with thousands of lies covered up. Yet, somehow, in her heart, she knew she wanted to stay here. She wished to call this foreign planet her home, and for that, she had to uncover all of its secrets.
And so, she rotated the lens of advanced binoculars in her hands and eyed the horizon, watching the Vakenians go by their businesses in a disorder. She was surprised to see that all the faces she saw were young, as though they just hit their mid-twenties, but she knew that too was a deception. She didn't want to know how old they actually were.
She saw children hopping around, chasing each other. Some were performing errands, carrying bags or books in their arms. The adults swiftly performed their businesses as they disappeared from Calista's view and appeared somewhere else in her area of vision. They were using their super-speed powers.
The place she was looking at appeared to be some kind of bazaar, with wooden shops shaped like cabins lined neatly at the sides of the roads. She spotted a square with a fountain sitting majestically in the middle, a child leaning down to gulp water from its pool. Everyone's red eyes seemed to glint in the morning sun.
She spotted some unusual people as well; men and women with unusually bright gold skin. Their hair was brown, shimmering with tiny golden specks. The orbs in their eyes were gold and brilliantly reflected the morning light. They wore gold and brown robes with long trailing cloaks pinned at their shoulders. They always seemed to move in a group of three. Calista recognized them as Serafiels.
They gracefully glided across the expanse of the Vakenian land. Calista noticed how the people around them lowered their voices to a hush and stepped out of their way as they approached, patrolling. Even the patrolling Vakenian royal guards dressed in red seemed to scurry away from them.
One day, as she focused on the trail of a trio of Serafiels, one of them, a sturdy tall man whose hair was braided, looked up and seemed to stare right into Calista's eyes through the binoculars. His eyes glimmered as bright as the sun itself. Instinctively, Calista dropped to the floor, hiding behind the thick railings of the balcony where she stood, her heart drumming wildly. She looked around, confused. How could the Serafiel have known she was looking at them when she was far away within the walls of the castle?
That night, she perched on her bed with a book about the Serafiels. She knew that the atmospheric conditions of Vakenes changed the color of its habitants' eyes to a crimson red, but the same did not seem to apply to the Serafiels. Their eyes forever remained a brilliant gold, proving that no conditions could acclimatize the Serafiels because of their immense powers.
They could kill the immortals themselves, without the help of Rexil and that's how they gained their fear within the community. The Serafiels were considered loyal to the Vakenian royal family, and partook in many of their wars, resulting in many victories.
The large tower with a glass dome at the top, that hovered above the Vakenian expanse, belonged to the Serafiels. Calista felt like she could stare at the awe-inspiring building for hours. A mansion spread over a wide expanse, patched with glass windows on either side of the gate. A giant brown gate fixed at the center was open most of the time during the day, the Serafiels strolling in and out of the building. The most marvelous thing about the whole architecture was the minaret-like tower that felt like it was touching the pink clouds. A spiraling staircase lined outside the minaret, reaching the top, till the glass dome chamber.
The building was a living breathing magnificent proof of the Serafiels' importance in Vakenes and overall, in the immortal community. She remembered the first time she had found herself face-to-face with the chief of the Serafiels in Erini. The memory seemed to belong over a decade ago. Alastor, the Chief, had opened them a portal to Vakenes. The encounter was brief, with no introductions or greetings passed but she remembered the eerie sensation she felt when he stepped out of the woods. At that moment amidst the darkness of the woods, he looked like the definition of radiance and power. Although she had witnessed Zayden using his powers for their defense once before, even he looked close to nothing in front of the Serafiel.
One day, Calista was perched up on a stool in the courtyard in front of the throne room, staring at the Vakenian people for the umpteenth time. She spotted a group of children huddled close together in the sand, their arms on each other's shoulders, as though they were conspiring a secret plan among themselves. The children suddenly whooped and cheered and scattered all over the place, anywhere vacant. A little girl with two braids on her shoulders seemed like the only one left in the middle. She covered her eyes tightly and began shouting something. Calista suspected it was numbers. One by one, she saw the hidden children come forward and poke the girl in the shoulders, in the waist, on her belly, on her head. The girl lunged forward with her arms stretched out, trying in vain to capture her friends, looking adorably focused with gritted teeth. The children around her laughed and mocked her and Calista found herself laughing with them. Suddenly, the desire to go and experience Vakenian life, even as a tourist, intrigued her more than ever. There must be some way, she thought, to convince them. Or maybe...
She looked around, glancing at the empty balcony courtyard. Her desires gnawed at her insides but she knew how to control and cage them; she had done that her whole life back in Erini. But back then, there was nothing to tempt her. No official transports traveled in and out of Erini, only some were arranged in cases of extreme emergencies. Imported goods only arrived once a season, and most of their needs were prepared and met in Erini through factories and tough labor. Being confined their whole lives to the tiny island, only some expressed their desire to have passenger ships or ferries for traveling outside. Calista reckoned only the mayor was seen once fly outside of Erini for an emergency meeting. His transport was arranged by a foreign authority.
So, having little to no facilities for traveling outside of Erini, Calista had always had to suppress her urges. But that little creature of desire had once again awakened having landed in Vakenes. It gnawed at her every single day as she stared through her lens at the Vakenian population, as she read the words and stories about the planet's civilization and reigns, as she educated herself on how the locals dressed, what they liked to eat, how they talked, how they interacted with each other. The Vakenians were especially social creatures.
Every single thing in Vakenes tempted her. The portraits hung in the courtroom tempted her to learn about the previous reigns of Vakenes, and so she did. The dresses everyone wore at the castle tempted her to know about their culture and taste, and so she educated herself. The meals she had every day with Aurora tempted her to know about the different food cultures of Vakenes, so she read about them. Looking at the pinkish clouds in the sky and the red sunsets, she wished to know about its atmosphere and its effects, and so she learned about the different types of weather that befall Vakenes. Now, for the past few weeks, as she stared out at the Vakenian population, she realized that her temptation to go out and experience a life other than Erinian had risen once again.
She'd walked those small streets all her life, she'd gone to the same school for ten years, and she'd lived in the same house for eighteen. She'd never experienced moving or transitioning or getting used to a new place. Even her future college was only two miles away. She'd strolled on the same shore every summer, befriended only one person, memorized and seen the same faces every time she went out.
All of that changed once she'd seen those mesmerizing unfamiliar red eyes. Unfamiliar. She liked how that word sounded on her lips, how it brought new meanings to life, how it meant a truly different world. It was the perfect word. It brought uncertainties and new fears, it changed a person's whole perspective, and all she'd ever wanted was to get a new perspective, a new way of seeing things, a new side of the world except for just the Erinian walls that closed in on her. The feeling that came with the word 'explore' was only curiosity for her until Vakenes. And Zayden brought all of that. Vakenes provided all of that.
At that moment, gazing at the Vakenian horizon, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
Calista glanced down one last time at the small houses and oblivious purposeful people at a distance from her room's balcony, feeling only inches
away from them. What she was about to do will no doubt do just that for her.
Her ginger braid dangled on her shoulder, a few strands on her forehead disturbing her eyes. For the first time in weeks, she had ditched her long dresses. She'd found a comfortable pair of dark satin trousers and a crimson tunic in a maid's closet. She tucked the tunic into her trousers so it wouldn't be so baggy for her. The boots she wore were made of leather, their laces so long that Calista had to tie them on half her leg on top of the trouser. The outfit made her look more like Claudia in her armors.
She chose to wear a red hooded cloak along with her dark attire to not get recognized. She wouldn't be lying if she said she'd stolen the cloak from another servant's closet, thanks to Twinkle who had led the way unapologetically.
Escaping from the castle wouldn't be an easy task during the day, but it was a risk she wanted to take because exploring at night would have been almost impossible, both outside and with Claudia constantly switching the guards outside her room for a watch. She took deep breaths, reminding herself that she needed to be back by nightfall or get prepared for Claudia's wrath.
Before getting herself changed, she had seen Claudia running around the palace corridors. Seeing Calista, she'd stopped and asked her about her plans. Calista's heart instantly sped up, thinking Claudia was going to give her something to do, ruining her plans of escaping that day. But she was relieved when Claudia smiled apologetically and told her she wouldn't be able to join her at the library that day. Calista assured her not to worry about it, while she was giddy inside. That was good news. Claudia was going to be busy all day long, leaving Calista enough time to go out and be back by nightfall. In and out, she reminded herself.
Back in her room, Calista prepared a small bag with some essentials; the gadgets of Twinkle, the hoverboard, and a tiny blade for her protection. The blade was a precaution that wore down on her because of the constant reminders of Claudia and Aurora that danger would smell her as soon as she stepped outside the palace, she had heard them after all. She slung the bag's strap over her shoulder and under her arm and tied the cloak over her body.
You don't need to do this, Naomi's voice rang in her ears.
She knew it was the stupidest decision she had ever made, but she also knew that it was now or never. The odds were in her favor so far, and she wasn't going to get an opportunity as good as this one again.
Calista reminded herself that she was strongly relying on her luck, instincts, and positive thoughts as she let Twinkle lead her through the trails of the palace. She had strictly instructed her – Calista had decided it was a she – to her out of the way of Claudia or Aurora or anyone else who knew her by face in the palace. The red hood still on her head, she casually made her way around the halls, avoiding any interaction with the passing servants. They appeared oblivious to who she was, because of the same red cloak they wore.
After descending a myriad of stairs and passing through unlit corridors, she found herself in a vast well-lit room. The many counters and the utensils on the shelves told her it was the kitchen.
She whispered to Twinkle, "Why am I here?"
Twinkle gracefully flew towards the closest counter and lowered herself in front of one of the dishes covered with red fabrics.
Just then, an obese man with a heavy voice bellowed, "Get the dumplings into the carriage now, you sluggish creatures! Even all that incredible speed does no good to you!"
Dumbstruck, Calista stared at the man's young and chubby face. He glanced at her, his eyes locking on hers. Calista reverted her eyes quickly but it was too late.
"Have I seen you before?" he asked, and Calista looked back at him. He was glaring at her, eyes burning fire.
She didn't know how to answer once she realized it was the same man who served them breakfast every morning. Had her red hair been visible through the cloak, he definitely would have recognized her.
Calista managed to choke out a reasonable response, "I... I work here."
The response did no good to ease his anger. He bellowed even more loudly. "Then what in Ionov are you doing standing there?! Get the dumplings out in the carriage. NOW!"
Calista recoiled at his obnoxiously high tone and grabbed the nearest dish of dumplings covered with the red fabric. She followed the other servants in red cloaks out through a door.
In a wild moment of realization, Calista knew she was out of the palace. But not yet outside its boundaries, she needed to get to the gates.
The servants around her momentarily disappeared from her view and their motion became blurry. Calista realized they were using their supernatural speed to get around. Secretly, she dumped some dumplings into her bag and popped one in her mouth, running to follow the servants.
Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw where the queue of the servants was leading her.
The gates.
To freedom.
She struggled to keep herself steady and not skip her steps in joy as she followed them. At the threshold of the giant golden gates, she paused momentarily, taking in a deep breath. She was so close and yet a tiny sliver of hesitation gnawed at her. She was surprised at her sudden apprehension.
It is a wonder how a human mind seems incapable to grasp the possibility of their dreams coming true, even if it's right at the threshold, about to cross that line between impossibility and a dream come true.
She noticed a guard eyeing her, breaking her trance. She shook her apprehension away for now, following the other servants with red cloaks to freedom.