I jump out of the bed and look at him.
"What are you doing in my room?" I ask him through wide eyes.
"Your room?" He asks with a questionable expression. "I claimed this room first."
I peer around and feel embarrassed. This is his room. I then look down and realize that I am only wearing a thin, see-through white tank top and ripped jeans. My pink bra is extremely noticeable and I quickly reach for the thin blanket folded at the end of the bed to pull around my torso. The blanket is cold and stiff, but I make it work in wrapping it around my body. I like him, but I don't want him seeing me like this.
"I'm sorry." I squeak while backing up towards the door, but he jumps out of bed and walks towards me.
"Mistakes happen, and some are better than others." He says with a smile, but I feel too embarrassed to return to grin. "You can stay here for the night if you'd like. I don't mind sharing the bed."
"Are you sure?" I ask while gripping the blanket tightly to my chest.
"Yes, I'm positive. We can sleep back-to-back if that will make you feel more comfortable."
"Okay, thanks." I whisper while crossing the floor for the bedside.
I slide back into the bed and allow my back to face him, but it feels more awkward this way. We aren't talking. I am just laying with my back to him, ignoring him like he isn't actually beside me. I debate on turning over, but that would mean I would go against his suggestion. I decide to do it anyway and when I do I notice him sitting up on the bed with his legs crossed on the blankets and his elbows are resting on his knees. His head sits on his hands while he looks to me with the widest grin imaginable.
"What?" I ask.
"You came to my room thinking it was your room? That is the oldest trick in the book."
"Go to sleep." I mumble while turning back over to face the window.
"I'm sorry that I am too attractive for you to resist, Nora. Next time I will try to conceal my attractiveness so that you don't come wandering into my bedroom at night in search of a pretty face."
"Goodnight, Brenan." I say in a louder tone this time.
"Well, you know, if you are in search of a pretty face, you can always result to a mirror." He says in a more serious tone now and I feel my cheeks growing warm from the sweet compliment. "Goodnight, rebel girl." He whispers and I allow his warm back to press to mine.
I look out through the window and his warmth penetrates my skin through my thin shirt. I feel tense at first, but eventually I relax and allow myself to fall into a deep sleep. The sound of Brenan's light snoring acts as a lullaby and soon enough sleep ebbs its way into my body.
***
The next morning I awake to light pouring in though the tall window next to the bed. I pull the pillow over my head to block out the sunlight, but when I realize that it is impossible, I decide to get out of bed. I pull on my jacket and my cloak and trudge into the living room to grab my pistol. Brenan is nowhere to be seen and even when I walk into the living room and kitchen, he is gone without a trace.
I decide to shrug off his disappearance, slip on my boots, and walk out into the hallway where Roth stands with Harley. I look to the handsome young Commander who is addressing the young boy. He shoots me a smile and winks at me and I then remember the deal I made with him last night.
"Good morning, Nora? I'm guessing you and Brenan slept well, or did you guys stay up half the night?" Roth addresses me with a wide smirk. "Harley tells me that he saw you walk into Brenan's room after you left my room."
"How did you know that?" I turn to the innocent looking boy who is now giggling.
"I couldn't sleep so I was wandering the halls and I saw you walk into Brenan's room."
"You're a little snitch." I say jokingly and he smiles.
"Matten said we should meet him in the meeting room when you wake up, so are you ready to go now?" Roth says.
"What about Brenan?"
"He went to work on the Rouge Shadow this morning. I saw him leave his room around six." Harley says.
"Next time I want to learn something I'll be sure to go to you, Snitch." He laughs at the new nickname and Roth playfully ruffles the boy's golden locks.
Harley walks beside me while Roth leads the way down the bright hallway. By now there are soldiers everywhere and some seem busy with paperwork while others are casually having discussions. A little boy with large round glasses passes me with a wide grin stained on his thick lips. He looks to be younger than Harley and his white lab coat seems to be too big for him.
"It's about time you got here." Commander Matten addresses us when we enter the meeting room.
The room is large and bright with one large table in the center of the floor. The walls are bare except for the multiple lighting fixtures that protrude from the wall and ceiling. I watch in amazement as a soldier walks to the large table and types something into the tabletop. Then the table comes alive with bright blue three dimensional images that shoot into the room. I can see a map of our nation-state, but it is mainly zoomed in on the city of Dumani. Towers shoot up from the table in shades of pixel blue while every detail seems exact. Then a beam of blue light shoots from the table and hits the ceiling. I look up and see a picture of a man I don't recognize. He has piercing eyes, short hair, and a narrow jaw line.
"Lieutenant Yereck was the soldier who was assigned to kill the Tetron spy originally, but your father took on the mission without orders. He was rumored dead when his airship crashed into the ocean nearly a month after your father escaped the city. We have found proof that he is indeed still alive, but there has been a new twist in the story." Commander Matten begins.
The image of the city becomes distorted, but the man's evil face still gleams on the ceiling. I now watch as the table shows a different city and labeled below is the word Metropolis. This must be the soul city of Dumani's nation-state. It seems to have a more futuristic appearance to the structure and all the buildings are different heights with different numbers of windows.
"As it turns out, there was no spy." Matten says.
"What?" Roth slams his hands on the table and looks to him through wide eyes. "How was Commander Hope found guilty of murder if there was no victim?"
"It was all planned and faked. Who was the one who told the council he was guilty of murder? It was the same person who was supposedly dead less than a month after the incident. Lieutenant Yereck was the spy this whole time. Of course Tetron would want us bombed. They learned everything about us through the person we trusted the most. He just wanted the rest of the army to put all their focus into killing someone who had nothing to do with anything. The chase for your innocent father was a way of distracting us from reality." Matten explains and I feel taken aback by this.
"How long have you known this?" I ask, anger prickling in my fingertips.
"We have only known this for a little over a month, but Dumani's council refuses to listen. They have blocked all communication from our base because they consider us corrupt now. They think we just made up the entire thing."
"So, let me get this straight. This man was the spy all along, he convicted my innocent father of a crime he never committed, he supposedly died less than a month after the incident, and yet the council still believes their hunch in broadcasting my father's death in hope of the bomb threats to cease?" I ask and he nods. "How do we convince them that they are wrong?"
"Secret interrogation." He says, walking around the table.
"What's that?"
"In two days I will send two of you to Metropolis where we assume the Lieutenant resides and from there you will locate, question, and then return with findings on him. I will ready the equipment for your mission tonight. You have these next two days to prepare and decide who's leaving." He informs us. "With the information we record, we will be able to send it to the council to prove Commander Hope's innocence. Then the army will focus their attacks on Tetron once again."
"That seems like a reasonable plan." I turn to see Brenan leaning on the pane to the doorway. "So, who's going?"
"I nominate Nora and I go." Roth says with a grin.
"I second that." Matten adds.
"Well, I think it should be Nora and I going." Brenan says.
"How about we let her decide?" I feel thankful for Matten's suggestion considering I will have some time to decide who to go with. Either way, I am still going to end up going, but it is a question of who I pick to join me.
"Fine." Brenan says.
"Fine." Roth repeats.
***
After the meeting I decided that I needed a break from both Brenan and Roth. Since I was given the opportunity to choose my ally in this mission, they have been smothering me. Roth has already offered to treat me to dinner and Brenan offered to take me on a walk across the beach. Luckily, I was able to confide in Harley who is starting to adjust to me.
"Look." I stop in place and look out over the ocean where I can see a two dolphins jumping in the sea.
Everything about this place screams peaceful. The sand is light and carefree. The sky is always filled with beautiful clouds and squawking seagulls. Even the thin patches of green grass blow in the salty breeze. The breeze is always gentle and never rough, but it always carries the salty scent of the ocean across the island.
I turn to see Harley standing with his boots in the foam of the tides. He has a smile scorn into his thin lips and is still pointing at the graceful dolphins. His golden locks are blowing in the breeze and his sapphire eyes glisten with happiness at the relaxing scenery. It's amazing that a boy his age is permitted to even be involved in the regiment in the first place. He should be in school and learning the history of our nation, not running around behind a mentor.
"They are beautiful." I whisper while approaching him.
"Yeah I know. My parents used to take me to the beach for vacation when I was younger. We used to build sandcastles in the sand and my father thought I would grow up to be an engineer." He explains. "I guess that didn't exactly work out."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He smiles, shaking his head. "I have learned to cope with the fact. I've learned that you can never truly forget a loved one, but you can adjust. Death is lifelong change that will affect you every day until you learn to cope with the new change in reality."
"You're very smart for your age, Snitch."
"I just read a lot."
"No, I doubt that." I say.
"You doubt that I read a lot?"
"No, I doubt that you learned the majority from a book. I think some of it is just natural." I say and he smiles to me warmly in gratitude.
There is a long pause while we stand side-by-side and watch the clouds churn overhead. The warm breeze is comforting and I feel all the stress flee my body at once.
"Roth likes you." I turn a quick glance at Harley and raise an eyebrow at his random remark.
"Excuse me?"
"He told me that you seem to have potential. He said that he respects you and that he wants you for an ally. The reason he wants to go with you on this mission is to see if you can fight. He trusts you already and the two of you have just met. Trust issues are a barrier for him and getting past those barriers is hard, but you seemed to have been able to just talk to him and remove them with ease. It took me over a month to remove them."
"I don't understand. He barely knows me and yet he already trusts me?"
"That's what he told me." Harley says.
The stress returns and I feel confused by Roth's sudden trust towards me. Why does he trust me already? What did I say or do to gain his trust?
"I don't know who I'm going to choose." I whisper. "Honestly, I don't think it is a huge deal, but they all want me to pick for something so dumb as going on a mission."
"You have some time to pick." He says with a smile.
"Thanks, Snitch."
"Don't mention it."
"Hey, can you show me how to make one of these cool sandcastles you mentioned?" I offer and his face lights up at the idea.
"Yeah I'll show you!" He says happily while turning and falling to his knees in the sand. "First, you have to find the best sand. It can't be too dry or it won't pack. It can't be too wet or it will drip."
I sit back and watch as he builds a sculpture out of sand. I laugh a little at the sight of him focusing on every detail of the castle. He has me digging for the "perfect" sand and every time there seems to be something wrong with the sand I dig up.
"Why don't you try building one of your own?" He offers. This is the sign that I am not doing a very good job as the assistant.
"I doubt it will be as good as yours, but I can try."
I stand up and look for the "perfect" place to build it. Dark sand is too wet, but white sand is too dry. I roll my eyes at the boy's words echoing in the back of my head. I finally decide to kneel in a spot close to the ocean about ten feet from Harley. I dig my hands into the moist sand and begin building. Maybe building a sandcastle right here and right now isn't the greatest idea with everything happening, but I need something to clear my head. I need to take my mind off of the stress that continues to build inside me with each answer I receive. So far I have learned more about my father in the last few hours than I have in the past sixteen years. Everything is sinking in so fast and my head is constantly spinning with new information. A few days ago I knew nothing about Dumani, but now I know everything I have been wondering. I know why he left and I know why he never told me. Now I just need to find this Officer Yereck guy and bring him to justice so that things can return to normal.
"What on earth is that?" I look up to see chocolate orbs looking down at me.
"It's a sandcastle."
"I thought it was the bottom half of a snowman. It's rather round for a castle wouldn't you say?"
"It's my first time. Give me a break."
"Sorry, I guess Harley tainted my expectations." He says while pointing to Harley's masterpiece.
His castle is "perfect" and even has a moat and a drawbridge. I then look to mine and feel embarrassed by my sad attempt. My castle is a dome with a hole for the door. Beside it, a leaf ruffles in the wind, but its stem is lodged in the sand and forbidding it from carrying away in the wind. Roth leans down next to me and sticks the leaf on the top of the castle.
"No castle is complete without a flag." He says while looking to me with a smile.
I look into his eyes for a few minutes and feel mesmerized. His face is flawless and his eyes glisten in the afternoon sun. His smile grows, but then his eyes go to my sandcastle. I follow his glance and watch as a wave comes and washes away my dome. The tide retreats and all that is left is the top half with the leave still protruding in roof. Roth plucks the leaf from the sand and stands up.
"You can take my castle, but you can never take my pride nor my flag!" He shouts to the ocean while waving the flimsy leaf in the air. "I read that quote once in an old medieval book."
"Seems promising." I say while smiling to him. "I wouldn't expect a man of your status to even spend a second to glance at a novel."
"It's not like I am illiterate. I just don't always spend my free time reading. I only read the book because the cover looked cool."
"That is a great reason to read it right there. I think there is another quote that you might know that says 'don't judge a book by its c-"
"And for you my lass, I will entrust you with my flag. It is my last statement of pride in this land, but my love for you is undying. Hold it with pride and allow it to wave because I will one day return and that very fabric will lead me home to your blessed heart." He recites with an accent while handing me the leaf.
"Thank you my knight. I shall keep it for as long as it stays green in loving memory of my failure to construct a worthy sandcastle." I say and he laughs.
"It really wasn't all that bad." He says.
"Stop trying to humor me. You and I both know that it was terrible."
"I know nothing of the sort." He says.
"Yeah, okay."
"You know, it is only noon. We have the rest of the day to do whatever we want, right? Care for a swim?"
"I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion."
"That's okay. Neither am I, but watch this magic trick." He says while grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it off.
I watch as he tosses his shirt to the sand and walks over to me. I feel my heartbeat speed up as he picks me up in his muscular arms and carries me to the tide. It feels a bit awkward to be carried by him, but at the same time it feels like I have known him for years. He acts like we are the closest of friends.
"Roth, don't!" I yell as he laughs and carries me farther into the ocean.
"Don't what?" He asks while laughing. "Don't drop you? I could never do that."
"You better not." I say, but the smirk on his lips confirms that he is about to.
"Too late." He says while releasing his grip on me.
I fall into the cold water and paddle to the surface. When I come up I wipe my eyes and listen to his loud laughs. My clothes stick to me and my ponytail drips down my soaked back. When I look to him he is still laughing and leaning on his knees. I quickly splash him with a wave of water and he looks to me through wide eyes. His surprised expression turns into a challenging glare and I watch as he pushes a wave of water at me. I splash him back and a laugh soon leaves my mouth. I have forgotten how long it's been since I laughed like this. I have forgotten how long it's been since I had fun like this. I was never allowed to have this much fun. My father would always shoot down my fun with a punishment or a chore of some sort. I could only ever have fun when I was with General Merak, but this is different. This sort of fun is completely different then the fun I am accustomed to.
We eventually decide to head back to shore and he offers me a ride on his back. I except the offer and allow him to carry me back to the beach where Harley is still perfecting his sculpture. I then unwrap my arms from his neck and drop to the sand. He turns around to face me and a smile is still plastered onto his thin lips. His chestnut locks are dripping water down his eyes and he is blinking quickly and shaking the droplets from his bangs. He looks so much older than me and he is. He is an adult where I am still a child. He is twenty and I am only nearing sixteen. There is a four year age difference between us. It doesn't matter anyway because there is no issue with us remaining friends.
"You're a little wet." He says while pulling his dry shirt on over his drenched body. The action is pointless because the water soon soaks into the shirt and causes water spots to dot the front and back of the white shirt.
"Yeah, maybe just a little."
"Hey, Nora, come look at my sandcastle!" Harley yells from across the beach.
I smile to Roth before walking towards Harley's sculpture. He is standing up beside it with his hands behind his back. I look down at the castle and feel amazed by it. Every detail is exact. There are shutters drawn next to the windows, the tower has bricks drawn on, the door has tiny seashells outlining it, and the windows shine light into the main room that is carefully dug out. It is amazing. It truly is the perfect sandcastle.
"That's incredible, Harley." Roth compliments him.
"Thank you, but it's not complete without a flag." He leans down and pushes a large leaf into the top of the tower.
"Nothing is complete without a flag to show its nation's pride." I watch as Roth salutes to the castle and Harley does the same.
"Come on. Let's go grab something to eat." Harley offers while leading the way towards the base.
"Last one there pays." Roth yells before taking off in a sprint.
"Not fair. You got a head start!" Harley yells before bursting into a sprint after his mentor.
I allow a laugh to leave my mouth again while taking off in a sprint over the sand. They both act like children, but I like it. I like the freedom and the difference. People here are like birds. They are free and they are wild and carefree. Roth is always in a good mood from the looks of it and is always trying to make another person laugh. Harley on the other hand is shy, but he has his inner child locked inside him somewhere. They are both opposite from each other, but they work together perfectly. Opposites attract, but wouldn't that mean that my father and I would attract and become friends? We are polar opposites, but are we capable of ever seeing each other with respect? I like to think the answer is a simple no, but after hearing his past, his legacy, I begin to think differently.
Roth allowed me to pass him and came in last. He paid for our lunch and we all ate more than we should have at the restaurant in the base. Afterwards he said that he was tired and wanted to go take a nap in his room. Harley decided to do the same, but I wasn't tired at all and after I was changed into dry clothes, I carried my leftovers to the landing dock where I assumed Brenan is.
When I arrive in the hanger, I notice the room is empty except for him. He is sitting on the edge of the Rouge Shadow's wing with a sandwich in his hand. He looks up at me when I approach, but his face fails to change.
"I was wondering if you were hungry, but I see you found some lunch already." I say in an attempt to start a conversation.
"How's Roth?" He asks.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how are you two?" His voice is high with sarcasm.
"I don't understand."
"Come with me." He says, jumping down from the wing and leading me towards the gaping hanger door. "Look down there."
Gripping the metal pane, I peer around the open door and notice the beach. I can see the ocean and the spot where Roth, Harley and I were playing. He must've seen us all together.
"I thought I told you to stay away from him." He nearly growls at me.
"He came to us on the beach. I was with Harley and he was looking for him."
"And yet you still go to lunch with him?"
"What is wrong with going to lunch? We were just talking. I was planning on coming to see you which is why I brought you something to eat. I was thinking about you and yet you still blame me for talking to him." I explain and watch as he rips the bag of food from my hand and throws it out the gaping door. The paper bag plummets down the hillside and disappears within the greenery of the treetops.
"I don't need charity." He says while glaring at me.
"What is wrong with you?" I ask loudly.
"What is wrong with me?! You are the one hanging around with him. Need I remind you that he is the enemy and has been unforgiving towards me for all these years? I was the one who broke you out of that cell and yet you turn to him. I am the one who brought you here. I was the one who asked you to stay away from him."
"You are unbelievable. I understand that you two had a hard past together, but he has been nothing but nice to me since we met and your jealousy is not going to get in the way of my choices." I yell and watch as he digs his hands into his scalp and turns around to release a heavy breath. He then turns around and pushes me into the wall.
His fingers close on my shoulder until it hurts. His eyes are emerald flames and he is baring his teeth at me like a dog. I am not afraid, but I am questioning his anger issues. The simplest things seem to set him off. He is a bomb with a short fuse.
"You think this is all about jealousy? I am looking out for you because I know how manipulative he can be. I know firsthand at how he is and how he can change personalities in the snap of a finger. I'm trying to protect you because I care about you and you don't realize it now, but in time you will." He stands over top of me with his hands still on my shoulders while looking into my eyes. I don't like being short when I am being lectured. This is how the General would look at me when I had made a mistake. "I don't want him to turn you against me."
"He won't turn me against you." I whisper while pressing my forehead to his. "I'm by your side."
"Good." He whispers while tightening his grip on my shoulders.
His hands are so tight now that it hurts, but his breathing begins to thin out. He is calming down. I have noticed that it takes him at least five minutes to completely calm down. His fire on his fuse is dwindling out with each relaxed breath he takes.
"I want you with me for this mission." I say finally while he pulls me away from him and looks into my eyes. He pushes a lose strand of hair behind my ear and a forced smile begins creeping onto his thin lips.
"I was thinking you were going to want him with you for the mission."
"I barely know him."
"Well you barely know me." He whispers.
"How about we change that tonight?" I say. "You and I can go for a walk on the beach and just talk. How does that sound?"
"I like that idea, but first I want to finish working on the Rouge Shadow. Would you care to help?"
"Sure." I whisper and he leads me back to the airship.
***
The afternoon drags on while I sit on the edge of the wing and peer out the hanger door. Seagulls fly by and the clouds begin to turn into a shade of reflecting sunlight. The once blue sky is now a romantic orange mixed with pink and warms the forest below. Everything seems so peaceful. The sky is alive with birds of all kinds and the breeze whistles past the gaping door. Lights buzz overhead while they flicker and crackle from bugs hitting the interior with attempts of escaping the glass prison.
I look over my shoulder only to see Brenan halfway in the panel of the wing. I stifle a laugh at the sight. I can hear metal clanging and him grunting to reach something. His jeaned backside wriggles back and forth while he groans and curses the machine. He finally pops out of the panel and looks to me through black stained goggles. I reach over and wipe the oil from them. This time it doesn't feel awkward and his bright jade orbs glisten through the smeared plastic as he smiles warmly to me in gratitude.
"How about we take that walk now?" He offers while hopping off the wing and assisting me down.
We walk side by side towards the door leading to the hallway, but when we open the door our eyes go to the floor. There, sitting on the floor, is a woven picnic basket. A red cloth protrudes from the brim along with a folded piece of paper. Brenan leans down and takes the sheet from the handle. I can just barely see the name on the front. It is from Roth.