Nora Smairde walked around in a building of the army campgrounds. She was pushed and pulled, quick apologies blurting out of people's mouths as they bumped into her. She didn't bother dodging any bodies, despite her instincts screaming at her to do so. She simply sauntered aimlessly around the room, waiting for her name to be called out.
She was confident she would be chosen. Her forged papers were realistic enough; mostly good grades, some vandalism around the time the war was declared and one previous job as a shop assistant. Not that she needed to seem credible to enter the training corps. The Seyali government was so desperate they would accept virtually everyone. They were losing, and they were short of recruits. Mostly because most of their former ones were six feet underground.
The small room seemed dull under the filtered light of the midday sun. The dry, frigid air had a way of stealing away all the sweet warmth the recruits had produced with the friction of their gloved palms, the rapid bounce of their leg, the loving embrace of a relative. It dragged them out of their safe space, crawling into their sleeves, their breaths, their hearts. And it did them a favor; it took a cold heart for a cold man to do what the candidates were asked to.
A short, chubby man entered the room. Nobody noticed him at first, but eventually, the chaos ceased and everyone looked at him expectantly. He cleared his throat, evidently nervous to be stared at by dozens of people. He whipped a small piece of paper out of his pocket and started calling out names, beads of sweat forming on his creased forehead like crystal stalactites. Nora crossed her fingers.
"... Ed Teira, Falé Von, Nora Lemmer..."
The moment Nora heard her alias, her hands slackened, and a sigh escaped her lips. She kept her grim face on, though. Nobody must ever look excited about cruising straight to their death. With some hesitant steps forward, she paused at the doorway to glance back at the crowd. Anxious faces littered the room. Some were crying, too. Not everyone had a choice as far as the army was concerned. All men had to serve the country, while some women with strong builds were forced in it as well. Watching these desirous people, she almost felt sorry they would all die for the wrong cause.
It had been only two years since Flouorn's borders had been allegedly marked by the gods. Seyal's territory had been breached, and so they declared war on the former country. Although it was called the Holy War, it had developed into a conflict based purely on greed for land. Nora knew that very well. But she stayed silent. A soldier, a spy, had no say in the decisions of the higher-ups.
"Move it!" A hand clutched her shoulder and shoved her forward, out of the building. Clearly, these savages knew nothing about good manners.
The gentle breeze brushed Nora's face as it blew past the training grounds. A thin layer of snow covered the ground along with the blood, sweat, and tears all the Seyali soldiers had shed during their training. Gazing at the dull equipment scattered across the yard made her want to whine in protest, to go back to her base and explain that she wasn't ready. She felt like the young, useless girl everyone thought her to be back in Flouorn, and quickly remembered the reason she had dragged herself there in the first place.
Soon, the courtyard was packed with freezing bodies. Nervous chatter filled Nora's ears, a constant buzz in her head. She could only make out some of the wonderful words spoken; 'war', 'death', the list goes on. Definitely not the most optimistic bunch, Nora noted.
Two tall people, a man and a woman, stepped out into the field, their chins high and their faces occupied by smug expressions. The man's black uniform shined in the dim sunlight as he strode forward, examining the crowd meticulously. Nora's fists clenched. Here we go.
"Attention, soldiers!" he called. His voice echoed throughout the half-empty yard, rattling his audience. Some of the younger trainees glanced at each other, thrilled at the thought of actually being useful. Nora could hardly suppress a snort. You're not even soldiers yet; they want to make you feel special, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, loud enough for everyone to understand. People started moving awkwardly, and soon they had formed four clumsy lines. Nora moved behind a tall boy, or rather hid. Better be safe than sorry.
The man eyed the flock of naïve wannabe warriors, and the disappointment was clear in his empty black eyes. They swept over Nora, instantly moving to the girl beside her. She released a quiet sigh of relief. The man waltzed around the soon-to-be trainees, circling them like a lion approached its lunch.
Nora regarded the pins attached to the top left of his coat. If she was any less informed, she would gape at the awards. But thinking of her own black uniform laying on her bed at the Flouorn Military Intelligence dormitories, the three single striped ribbons on the man's uniform made her want to giggle. The white embroidered shield on the top of his left sleeve easily gave away his rank. Seriously, a corporal? Her gaze traveled to the woman still standing at the doorway. Nora narrowed her eyes. Two corporals.
Her simple glance must have turned into a glare, and the corners of her lips must have twitched at the pathetic blue and red cloth pins on the corporals' coats. Nothing else could explain the man's sudden urge to stand in front of Nora. That or the gods were playing some kind of sick game with her. "Name. Age. Origin."
"Nora Lemmer, twenty-two." She paused. "Korta."
The corporal's eyebrows shot up, multiplying the already existing wrinkles on his pale forehead. "Is that so? I'm sure we'll get along, then."
She was caught off guard. She wasn't ready to hear the Seyali man speak fluent Gweini, nevermind the Kortan dialect. "Of course." She didn't hesitate. She had faith in her abilities, and even more faith in the poor teachers that had to teach her Seyali, Gweini, Mushan, and Fabali, all in a matter of a few years.
"Gwein's military forces have almost been absorbed into Flouorn's. It was wise of you to come here," the corporal admitted and nodded sharply at her before stepping back and continuing his route. It was way easier to fool him than she had expected, almost too easy. Nora noted in her head to keep her distance.
The brief, awkward introductions lasted for another thirty minutes. The female corporal never left her bench or said a word, not until the very end of their little gathering. "The dormitories are currently empty. Boys and girls sleep separately. Bring whatever you deem necessary." Her terse orders were direct and specific, enough for all the trainees to get the point. After that, the two figures walked away into a massive dull building which bore the symbol of the Seyali army; a blue bird with its wings sprung out inside a narrow circle. Nora kept her gaze at the insignia for a while.
After being dismissed, Nora went straight for the dormitories. She had brought nothing but her small radio and two sets of underwear tucked tight beneath her wool coat, hoping that the Seyali government had the dignity to at least feed their trainees. She looked plain and poor, and she planned to keep it that way.
The girls' barracks looked quite similar to the ones in Flouorn; a short white building with almost no windows and a flat roof. The boys' were identical, with only a small row of bushes separating the two. The inside wasn't anything particular either. The scanty furnishings made the room look bare, with only bunk beds and a dirty carpet filling up the large space. A uniform had been folded and placed on each mattress. Nora picked up the one on the bed she had decided to occupy and examined it closely. A loose dark blue shirt with two white parallel lines on the left sleeve, a pair of similarly colored pants and two black running shoes.
She scowled at the cheap clothing. Were they supposed to run around in the snow in that? She wasn't sure. All she wanted was to get the information she wanted before she had to freeze to death. Before she left, she emptied the contents of her coat on her bed and tucked the radio between the mattress and the wooden boards supporting it.
She cracked the door open, peeking outside. Nobody had arrived yet. With light and soundless steps, the spy stalked towards the large military base that towered over her. The weather seemed to have deterred any guards from lingering outside for too long, as the white, fuzzy snow laid smooth and untouched. Walking in the building from the back door didn't prove to be a challenge either, especially considering the suspicious lack of staff roaming the azure hallways of the base. Nora threw her coat on an old rack next to the door and allowed her moccasins to slip inaudibly across the marble tiles.
It took her four whole levels to realize her soft breathing was the only sound around.
Her resources couldn't be wrong. It was two days after the commencement of the winter festival, around noon. She had spotted the deep blue royal carriage outside of the army headquarters the night before, out of which came the Seyali Prince of Shadows, Kage Sillich, and the Seyali Princess of Light, Ailyn Lacald. Perfect opposites, yet they still traveled together. Besides, the two corporals had left the introduction quite hurriedly. They had to catch the meeting. Something was wrong, something Flouorn could benefit from. It seemed trivial to her commander, who claimed that the rest of the Ascended Council would have joined if there was truly a problem. Her chest felt weird at the thought that that was the reason she was sent there in the first place.
After the most torturous ten minutes of her life, Nora took a turn and finally caught a glimpse of fabric in two symbolic colors; blue and black. That combination had been reservedexclusively for the Seyali Ascended Council. She practically ran after the silky garment until she had the full view of a back. A large one, too. Raven hair, pale skin, a confronting walk that made the man look like he was going to punch the wall at any given time. She couldn't be mistaken. It was Sillich.
Her heart almost flew out of her chest when he turned to look behind him. She managed to slide behind the wall, but the soles of her shoes screeched horribly, making her cringe. I'm going to die, she thought. Worse, that murderer will be the one to suck the life out of me with one of his weird shadow magic tricks. But he kept walking down the corridor, and his footsteps almost faded. She let out a heavy sigh and pushed herself off the wall.
Nora had heard rumors about the prince. Whispers had reached her ears, whispers she'd rather not have heard. He burned down my village, an old Flouornan had spat. He replaced the lives of my family with dark voids of death, one of the corporals at her base had disclosed before she embarked on her mission. The man was cruel, she knew that much. Yet somehow, she had to see that for herself.
"Handsome, is he not?"
Nora jumped so high she could have hit her head on the ceiling. She barely contained a scream when she noticed the Princess of Light standing in front of her. Ailyn's green eyes were gentle and compassionate, not a single wrinkle on her perfect face. Her head was tilted to the side, peering curiously at Nora's startled features. A small golden star was hanging from a chain around her neck. Maybe I could fence this.
"W-Who? His Highness?" She almost shivered with the last words. The Council didn't take spies lightly, and usually just an utter of their name was enough to give the traitor away.
But Aylin's lips simply stretched into a gentle smile. "He can be quite... contemptible sometimes, but he is a capable leader, no?"
As far as Nora had heard, Ailyn was right. Kage Sillich had fought many battles, and his army used to excel at each and every one when the war first started. But even with crippled troops, he kept his chin high and attacked just as mercilessly. He had coal hair and golden eyes, a raging flame dancing in the dead of night.
"I... yes, probably." Nora shrugged. "Will you stay here for long?"
"I hope not. This place gives me a bad feeling," Aylin placed her hands around her torso, seemingly shivering.
Nora's breath caught in her throat once more. It was a good thing Aylin wasn't clairvoyant. Nora counted herself lucky.
The princess cleared her throat. "I must be on my way, then. I think they have started without me." And with that, she disappeared behind the corner. Nora didn't bother to ask what she had missed. She would know herself soon enough.
She waited for a few minutes and then followed the royals' path. A pair of doors sat the end of the hallway. Two guards were standing on each side, gossiping about some cook and his sick wife. With a roll of her eyes, Nora scanned her surroundings. There was a small door to her right and, before the guards could notice a stranger roaming outside a room with two of the Ascended Council in it, she sneaked inside. It looked like a storage room, with infinite papers stacked in piles on an old desk. No wall was visible due to the bookcases covering every inch of the small room. The vent on the ceiling looked way too small, but there was another alternative. The window.
At first it sounded crazy, but as time flowed by she became desperate. She could distract the guards, but she wouldn't have time to hear anything important. She also knew that there was no way the window to the meeting room would be open, but also that the walls were too thick. Desperate times call for desperate measures, she thought and threw the window open.
The cold air rushed in, throwing the arranged files around the room in a frenzy. She cautiously climbed outside, one foot after the other, only to be terrified by the view. She had no idea how long she had been searching for the meeting room or how many staircases she had ascended. All that she was aware of at the moment were the thorny bushes underneath that encircled the military building.
She thanked the building's architect for placing carvings on the walls. Placing her fingers in a tiny niche, she carefully stepped on a plastic arc securing the vent duct. The window's marble sill was close enough to reach, so she grabbed it with both of her hands and hung from it. Her arms already burned, but the happiness that flooded her when some distant voices reached her ears made up for it. Thankfully, the people inside were screaming at each other.
"...ridiculous! I mean no disrespect, but our resources cannot be wasted like that," said a hoarse voice. He was probably the general.
"You don't understand. If it falls in the wrong hands—"
"If a porcelain bird falls into the wrong hands?"
Nora's excited smile fell.
"If the porcelain heirloom falls into the wrong hands, hell will break loose." That exasperated tone could only belong to one harsh prince.
Discreet laughter filled the room. Nora felt like falling to her death at the thought that she had come all this way just to find someone stole a fake bird.
"It contains information relative to Ascension."
The laughter ceased.
Ascension was always weird to Nora. Some people were born with some god's blessing and they somehow gained magical powers? It seemed ridiculous. Yet it was real. One in ten million; that was the chance. They were rare and precious and everyone wanted to be one, but Nora couldn't comprehend why. The ones that did possess powers were more often than not abducted and sold in the black market or just disappeared into thin air. They had great stamina, speed, intelligence, beauty; everything twisted people desired. Some were lucky enough to be selected as a member of the country's Ascended Council, though only Seyal had managed to get away with that.
"What..?"
"That's right. Our predecessors wrote down the criteria to be blessed by the gods and hid the information in a porcelain kingfisher, our symbol. We kept it from everyone, even ourselves. Whoever currently has it can become Ascended. Ridiculous, indeed. Now, be quiet."
"But—"
"I won't ask twice." Silence fell in the room. Nora held her breath, afraid that someone would notice it. Turns out, she didn't have to bother.
She felt something snake around her waist. A strong grip that knocked the air out of her lungs, yet nobody was around. Before she could react, she was pulled up through the open window, inside the lit room. For a moment, the silence lasted. Nora didn't move. The room was crowded with officers, commanders, all kinds of ranks. Everyone was looking at her stunned, except for Kage Sillich. He stood straight, his eyes narrowed. He looked into her eyes, into her soul.
"Seize her."
Nora wasn't sure whether he was talking to the armed men and women in the room or his shadows. Both were equally deadly. She knew it was stupid and that she probably wouldn't survive to narrate it to her grandchildren, but her options were limited. She immediately dashed back to the window. A series of screams and gun cocks followed, but she didn't wait to hear the rest. With a deep breath, she leaped as far as she could, wishing she would land in the hedge fence she had so much loathed up until that point.
Kage's darkness never reached her. Maybe he thought she wouldn't survive the fall. He was mistaken.
Nora was engulfed in the cold air resisting her weight. She felt strangely peaceful. Her hair was ruffled up and her loose clothes were flapping furiously. Suddenly, she stopped moving. She tried to cover her face, but it was already too late. Sharp twigs and thorns were scrapping her head, her arms, her clothes. It hurt, everything hurt. With the shocked glares of the Seyali gone, she could finally feel a thick burn forming on her waist, where the shadow had touched. It fed on her flesh, greedily burying into her skin.
For a moment she contemplated staying there, wishing the Seyali would leave her alone, but Kage's roar was enough to get her on her feet.
"She must not get out of here alive. Fire!"
Nora moved clumsily. Thankfully, the shots meant for her were even sloppier. She rushed into the woods, her whole body burning with exhaustion. She thought she might have dislocated something. Fresh blood was gushing out of her wounds and her head was already spinning. The gunshots seemed more and more distant until they became merely an annoying buzzing. She had trouble dodging the trees, but she had to keep moving. She had just discovered Seyal's biggest secret. She couldn't take it to her grave, not until her commander knew.
I will finally be appreciated. I will finally have a purpose.
After only a few minutes of tottering around the woods, she found a small brown barn. The Stables. Nora sighed in relief. The horses were placed away from the training grounds so they wouldn't be terrified by gunshots and run away. Bless whatever dumbass thought of that. She ran to the container of fresh water placed next to the stable and washed her face, her arms, then her waist. She had to take her shirt off, and the chilly atmosphere wasn't making it particularly comfortable.
She pushed the first stall open, revealing a tall black horse. Its nostrils flared at the sight of a stranger. On the shelf above it, where it couldn't reach, was a bundle of fabric and a note on top. It was a set of male riding clothes; a white shirt, tight pants, boots, and a jacket. She quickly took the rest of her clothes off and pulled the warm, dry suit on her. It was clearly meant for a man. It was so large, she almost laughed. The note was even better, though.
'Have a safe trip back.'
"Good luck with that," she muttered to herself.
The horse was already in blue and black equipment, which would definitely attract attention. A yell from far behind made her forget about all that. She bounced on the intimidating horse, which neighed angrily.
"Move, you stupid stallion!" It seemed to listen to her pleas, because it grumpily walked out of the stall. With a gentle yank of the stirrups, the horse trotted out of the stable. Nora squeezed its body with her aching calves, desperate to escape the increasingly loud voices. The mount broke into a gallop, and she steered it towards where she thought was the road.
"She's right there! I'll shoot--" started a female voice, but the Prince of Shadows' shout cut her off.
"You'll shoot the horse, idiot!"
Nora prayed a desperate plea. Her wounds were rubbing against the rough fabric of the pants she had stolen and she could barely see past her nose. She stayed alert, though. She had no other choice.
"Give me your gun!"
Crap.
Nora heard loud hooves against the ground. She risked a glance behind her. Kage was on another horse, shorter but faster. His eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes an unreadable storm. A rifle was tucked beneath his arm. She may have been out of range for his shadows, but the weapon could definitely do its job. A single scratch could knock her dead at that point.
He raised the gun. She lowered her body, closer to the horse. But even on horseback, Kage was able to keep the rifle steady. He hauled back the trigger and a loud bang sounded, echoing in the empty road. Abruptly, sharp pain bloomed in Nora's right shoulder, spreading numbness to her whole arm.
Black dots filled her vision and, with a yelp caught in her throat, she was consumed by darkness.
***
Please help my suffering soul by voting and commenting, I really appreciate feedback! Also I spent about an entire month contemplating whether I should publish this or not so ugh yeah ;)