Rogue: Part 3

I did eventually return to my slumber, and awoke at dawn. It was a Saturday, so I didn’t have any training. This also implied that I could do whatever I wanted. 

First order of business: breakfast. I wasn’t much of a cook, but I could make some seriously good scrambled eggs. Scrambled eggs were probably the full extent of my cooking abilities, actually. Although… I could also make bread and butter. 

Every Saturday though, I always awake feeling like the day is going to be great, when I can do whatever I want. It’s actually more of the thought that I could do whatever I want that was exciting, as oppose to the ability. I usually couldn’t think of anything to do and just hung out all day doing absolutely nothing in particular. 

For a little while I did stuff on the internet, mainly consisting of trying to think of what to do on the internet. After what Lark had said at training yesterday, I kind of lost all of my motivation to practice ballet, so I decided not to do that. 

After quite a while, it dawned on me that maybe Alistair was still around. He seemed interesting, and the fact that he ran away from Delhaven, although it was against Delhaven laws, was interesting. I hated rules anyways, so the fact that he broke one made no difference to my outlook on him. Maybe it even made a difference positively. 

I quickly changed into a white short sleeved tunic, over which I wore a brown leather vest. I tucked my simple brown trousers into my knee high riding boots, and braided my hair into another horrible braid. 

I walked up to Lark’s house, which was practically identical to mine, painted white with a black roof, except the garden was thriving, and I was pretty sure it was quite a bit bigger. Knocking on the door, I stood there for a couple of seconds before it was answered. 

“It’s Saturday. You don’t have training, Kyla,” Lark said, looking like a mess. It did not appear as though her got any sleep last night. 

“Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if Alistair was still here,” I explained. 

“No,” Lark replied, but then his reply was proven a lie as Alistair appeared in the doorway. 

“Hello,” Alistair said, smiling. That boy never appeared to lose his smile. 

“You’re timing is consistently horrible, Kyla,’ Lark grunted. 

“Ah, one of my greatest assets is my sense of timing,” I replied, and Lark rolled his eyes. Alistair chuckled, leaning against one side of the doorway. 

“Father, I could need a break anyways. Kyla, would you like to train with me?” Alistair asked, and I nodded. 

“I guess I don’t have a say in this matter. Alistair, just make sure no one sees you,” Lark said, and Alistair smiled mischievously. 

We snuck behind all of the houses, carefully avoiding everyone who was outside. Once we left the main town, we were able to sprint to the training ring, without having to worry about being seen. 

The training ring was basically just a circle of sand, where people worked on their one on one melee combat. I didn’t use it too often, considering I didn’t really have anyone to fight against. Being a Warrior though, even if he had quit, he would still possess a natural skill in one on one and melee. 

“Choose your weapon!” I shouted out, like an announcer. Alistair went for a steel sword and a shield, as expected from someone of his class. I chose the two silver daggers, both with a sturdy black hilt and a curved, sharp blade. I could rely on my flexibility and agility for defense. 

“Choose your armor!” Alistair shouted out, trying to mimic the voice I had used. Placing my blades on the floor, I slipped on the lightest armor, a thin layer of silver plating. Alistair went for the heaviest and strongest. We were being very predictable in our choices thus far. 

“Fight!” We screamed together, entering the ring. Circling around the ring, nothing occurred for the first couple of minutes. Eventually though, Alistair made the first attack, just a jab though, and so I easily avoided it by spinning around. 

Delivering small attacks, we were just trying to find each other’s weaknesses. He attacked, and I dodged. This was the pattern for quite a while. Then Alistair seemed to become more focused, a concentration flickering in his eyes. His attacks became fiercer and faster, complicated patterns that he skillfully performed. I continued to dodge though, cartwheeling and lunging. I still couldn’t find an opening. 

Wanting to make an attack, I delivered a strong roundhouse kick, slamming his shoulder. He was barely affected, and continued to sweep and jab. I finally found something though. A slight delay in his left leg, probably an injury to his knee from when he was younger, that had never completely healed. 

On Alistair’s next attack, I lunged down, swinging my right leg into his left. He lost his balance on that one leg, which gave me the opening I was looking for. Standing back up, I elbowed Alistair in the side, distracting him enough for me to sweep out his right leg from under him. He fell onto his back, as the sand flew into the air around him. 

I stayed standing, my left leg directly behind my right. I extended my right dagger at his neck, and kept my left arm bent back, that dagger pointed directly at his chest. 

“Kyla wins! And the crowd goes wild!” I exclaimed, lowering my blades and cheering. Suddenly, though, I felt my feet get swept from under me, and I fell to the sandy ring beside Alistair. 

“Never let your guard down,” he taunted, laughing. Of course I did not appreciate this embarrassment, and so I did what any refined lady would do. I sat on him. 

“I still won!” I exclaimed, having pinned Alistair to the ground. We sort of stayed there for quite a while, my making fun of him until his strength overpowered mine, and he eventually managed to shove me off. We fought a couple more rounds, where I won three and he won two, until he was exhausted. 

Rogue: Part 2

I awoke slowly, everywhere aching from training. Stretching out all of my tender muscles, I stood up. I walked over to my window, seeing that it was now nighttime, the sky pitch dark but alight with millions of little stars. In the city centre, I saw Lark and someone else talking, and I took the initiative to join them. 

Not even bothering to change back into formalwear, I sprinted outside instantly regretting not putting on a sweater. The frigid, night air was accompanied with a brisk breeze, feeling severely cold against my skin. 

“Is this she?” The figure I could not recognize asked, pointing towards me. Lark nodded in reply, not looking very pleased at my sudden appearance in the middle of their conversation. 

“Who are you?” I asked, ignoring Lark entirely. I raised a single eyebrow in questioning, as I was unable to see the figure underneath the shadow his long black cloak cast upon him. 

“Curious lass, aren’t you?” The figure replied in question. I was able to decipher the accent as one from England, based on the other English folks in Delhaven. one of which is Lark. Still, I could not see his face. 

“Yes, something I believe is a weakness,” Lark declared, still angry at my sudden and uninvited presence. 

“Ah, but without curiosity, how does one ask the questions they need to be answered? My name is Alistair,” the figure said, and finally revealed his face. I was very surprised to find that he didn’t look more than a year older than myself. 

“You’re, you’re so young!” I said, but Alistair just laughed. 

“Ah, one can do so much in fifteen years!” He exclaimed happily. His shaggy hair was dark blonde, and covered with dirt. His eyes were a pale hazel, standing out, even at night, against his olive skin. The first thing that I could gather about his personality is that he seemed very happy. 

“Alistair here, is my-”

“Son, I’m his son. He doesn’t like to admit that some outrageously outgoing and adventurous, not to mention not very careful, boy is related to him,” Alistair quickly interrupted. Lark’s son? Lark had never mentioned such a thing, but then again, Lark didn’t tell anybody anything about himself. 

Alistair and I shook hands politely, with Lark actually smiling, to an extent of course, beside them. As I looked closer, back and forth between, I started to see similarities between their muscular build. Beyond that, Alistair appeared to be Lark’s exact opposite. 

“So, why the sudden appearance?” I asked both of them. Lark looked over at Alistair, giving him a look that probably meant that Alistair should be the one to answer. 

“Can’t someone visit their father every once in a while?” Alistair eventually replied, but something about how he said it made me believe that he had some other motive for appearing so suddenly in Delhaven. I knew Lark well enough, and knew Alistair not well enough, to know that I shouldn’t vocalize my suspicions. 

“So are you from Delhaven?” 

“I was trained as a Warrior for a little while, but then I got distracted and quit.”

“You were allowed to quit?”

“No, not really, I kind of ran off.”

“Well, that explains why you’re turning up in the middle of the night,” I said, as he had proven my suspicions about him. 

“Yeah, so, I think it would be best if we keep my presence on the down low,” Alistair replied, shrugging and looking way, embarrassed. That would also probably be a reason that Lark never brought his son up: leaving Delhaven, and your training, is strictly forbidden, and those who attempt such things are either punished severely or outcasted entirely. 

“Of course!” I laughed, making sure that this conversation wasn’t going to become awkward. I hated when things got awkward. Not as much as I hated rules, but I did very strongly dislike awkwardness. 

“Okay, so, I think you should go back to bed, Kyla. Alistair, you and I should probably continue our discussion elsewhere,” Lark suddenly interjected, and I glared at him. Alistair shrugged, but as he walked away with Lark, he turned back towards me and smiled, a big, crooked smile. I liked him, and how much unlike his father he was.

Books.

Okay – so I haven’t posted anything in a while, and still have to finish a lot of documents, so I thought I’d do a post on my favourite books. Because, well, why not?

The Fault in Our Stars – John Green (teen, romance, comedy, drama) (My favourite author. Actually, one of my favourite people. Ever.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth – Carrie Ryan (teen, zombie, dystopia, fantasy)

Fire – Kristin Cashore (teen, historical, fantasy, romance)

Leviathan – Scott Westerfeld (steampunk, sci-fi, historical, teen)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jane Austen Satire (satire, historical, drama, romance, fantasy, zombie)

So yeah – pretty short list, although it does take a lot for me to really and thoroughly enjoy a novel.

Tides: Part 3

“It hasn’t changed a bit!” Fleur said excitedly. The small lake gleamed a bright aqua, sparkling with the reflection of the sun. Several small waterfalls fell into the lake, but my favorite fall was the one that fell onto a large, mossy rock, making many smaller falls. A steep  but considerable small mountain drop created a wall surrouding the lake, and on the mountain the density of the forest, the luscious green trees created a vibrant barrier.

Fleur laughed joyfully as she jumped into the lake, gracefully diving with a huge smile on her face. Aidan went next, taking time to find the highest point to jump from. He lacked Fleur’s grace when he jumped, but knowing Aidan , he was probably having the time of his life.

“Are you going to join us?” I asked Jude, carefully slipping off my boots. I placed them beside where Fleur had left her flowers, and then turned to face him.

“In a little while. I prefer savoring this paradise through less physical means,” Jude said, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air. I shrugged, but understood what Jude meant. That did not imply I was not going to get in the water. though.

Instead of jumping in, I climbed down a vine on the wall of the drop, right next to my favorite waterfall. Halfway down, I held my hand out to the side, and felt the cold water against my arm. Continuing down the vine, I reached the bottom and stepped down onto the mossy rock.

Sitting on the side of the rock, I dipped my feet into the water, swaying them back and forth, savoring the smooth coolness. My feet splashed the water into the air, and one splash managed to slap Aidan right in the face. When he managed to get the water out of his eyes, a mischievous smile grew on his face, and I knew I was in trouble.

Before I could think, Aidan was already gone, just a silhouette skillfully gliding through the water. I was laughing too hard to actually consider taking action myself, and soon enough I felt two strong hands grip my ankles.

Aidan pulled with all his strength, every once in a while coming up for breath, and I knew my strength was nowhere close to being capable of keeping myself on the rock. I eventually just let go to the moss I was gripping, and slid into the water with Aidan.

I was laughing under the water, and swam back to the surface to breathe. Aidan was already taking action once again though, and was splashing the water towards me.

“Oh, I do believe you have made quite the mistake,” I exclaimed, splashing back. I suddenly switched tactics, resorting to a more defensive plan. I breathed in as deeply as I could, and dived under the water, using the strength of my legs to propel me forward and deeper.

Looking back, I saw that Aidan was still after me. Suddenly, I felt someone tug at my waist, and turned around to find Fleur pulling me faster and faster away from Aidan. The smile had yet to leave any of our faces.

Fleur and I swam back to the surface for air, and looked to see that somehow Jude had managed to drift off in the midst of our little water war. After a couple seconds, we realized that Aidan was missing, but then he came back up to join us.

“There’s, there’s an opening. A hole, in the wall, underwater. I, I’m going to check it out,” Aidan said, jittery with the excitement of his discovery.

“I’ll come with,” I said, sharing Aidan’s excitement. Fleur nodded, implying that she would join our expedition. We dove underwater, following Aidan to where he found the hole. It wasn’t too deep, and once we saw it, we knew that our curiosity would force us to continue forth.

The opening was quite large, and thus surprised me as to how I had never seen it before. Aidan turned towards us, nodding towards the opening. Both Fleur and I nodded, and we swam through.

On the other side of the opening, the water fell onto the floor of a hollow room, and then appeared to drain through small holes on the floor. I fell the small drop to that floor, and landed on my arm in a painful fashion. I sputtered and choked, and Fleur and Aidan  joined me.

“Oh lord, are you okay, Cora? I am so, so sorry! I did not mean, I did not want you to get hurt!” Aidan said, worried. He crawled over to me, guilt in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” I managed to say, my voice raspy. I sat up, and felt my arm to see if it was anything serious. I was pretty sure the impact would leave a bruise, but nothing any worse than that.

“Thank the lord, thank the lord. I’m so sorry, Cora,” Aidan exclaimed, hugging me tight. I managed to laugh, which made him a little less worried. Fleur came over to the two of us, worry all over face.

“Stop worrying you two! I’m okay, just might leave  bruise. And it’s not your fault, Aidan. As soon as I catch my breath, we can swim back up, and make sure Jude has not yet awoken and noticed our absence,” I explained.

“How could, how is this here? The cliff, this couldn’t be here naturally. Someone must have dug this place out,” Fleur said, feeling the rock surrounding us on the walls. I realized she was right, and got up to join her, looking for anything that could tell us about how this place got here.

“No, Cora. You should sit for now, allow your breathing to return to normal. I’ll help Fleur,” Aidan said, ushering me to stay on the ground. I wanted to lessen his guilt, and thus complied. Crawling to one side of the room, I leaned against it, watching Aidan and Fleur search the walls.

I was about to say I was okay to swim back, when Fleur suddenly jumped back from the wall, gasping. She then ran back to it, tracing something with her fingers. Once she stopped tracing she called Aidan over to her, and while he was distracted, I stood up and joined them.

“What is it you found?” I asked. Aidan was too entranced by whatever it was to mention my standing.

“There is a crack that runs through the wall. And then where the crack ends, it feels as though the other side of the wall is hollow,” Fleur explained, without taking her eyes off where I now noticed, a very thin crack stopped.

“You believe that there is another room, like this one?”

“I am almost convinced so. I can hear noises too. Put your ear against the crack, Cora,” and I did. At first, I heard nothing, but then whispers appeared. They were too silent to make out what exactly they spoke of, but there was definitely more to this room than it seemed.

“Should we examine this more?” Aidan asked curiously. He obviously wanted to, but knew that were not exactly in the state to do so. Aidan  also wasn’t the type to continue if we didn’t wish to.

“I do not believe we can, without the necessary tools. We should probably return anyways, although I do believe we should come back here soon,” Fleur decided, and I agreed. We did not know who exactly was whispering on the other side of the wall, and we were running out of time. I had to return to my manor soon.

“I believe we should keep this quiet, though,” I said.

“What about Jude?”

“I do not think we should tell him, not yet, although I believe we should bring him when we return.”

“Soon,” Aidan said.

“Soon,” I promised.

Tides: Part 1

“Cora Hadley, you must awaken this instant! ‘Tis your ceremony in not but several hours!” Mother shouted from beside my bed. I sat up suddenly, although instantly regretted it due to the aching pain in the my lower back. I turned my head towards my mother, who was joined by quite the army of stylists.

“Uh, ‘tis it not possible to postpone such matters until I am in a less rugged state?” I groaned in reply, stretching out my shoulders and neck. My body responded with unpleasant cracking noises, arousing small gasps from some of the stylists. Mother did not hear, or more likely, did not care, as nothing would be able to sway my mother from her current mindset.

“Of what nonsense do you speak, Cora? Today is the day in which we celebrate your fourteenth year! The ceremony must occur on the exact day of the fourteenth year for the ceremony to be legitimate,” she screeched, horrified at my ignorance. Grabbing my wrist with her slender, but considerably strong, fingers, she pulled me out of bed. She then directed me through our house to the styling room.

“You will not defy what these master stylists wish to do. You shall sit patiently, and not move a muscle until you are summoned. Do you understand? I shall be out with Jude’s mother until your ceremony, so stay put!” Mother asked sternly, crossing her arms over her chest. For a woman of her age, she did not look a day over twenty; jet black curls tumbled about her shoulders, and lively bright blue eyes, with thick black lashes, against her extremely pallid skin.

After father perished, when I was not but six, mother had grieved for quite some time. But then she realized that she wasn’t exactly the most capable woman to raise a headstrong girl, so she scoured the land for potential suitors, who all seemed to come and go. Around my tenth year, her beauty attracted a man with quite a bit of coin and a good education. Just when mother thought he was the one, though, he ran off, never to be heard from again.

“Of course mother,” I said, rolling my eyes. It was inevitable that I would not be able to accomplish such a restrictive feat, and was already developing my plan.

“Yer gonna go out, aren’t ya?” One of the stylists, Mary, asked, smiling. I nodded mischievously, and she and the other stylists chuckled.

“Well then, you better be back soon enough that we can actually do our job and make you look like a noblewoman,” Annabeth piped up, and I agreed that I would be back before noon.

Throwing all of my bedding onto the floor, I slipped on a pair pale brown trousers and a brown undershirt covered by a white blouse, both of which I kept hidden so my mother would not discover I wore men’s clothes. Mary quickly ran a brush through my the long, dark tangles of hair, which I tied back in a black ribbon. Slipping into the leather riding boots that had once belonged to my father, I quietly snuck to the front door, and slipped out without being seen by mother.

Delhaven was not not a large town, but this caused nobility to no be an issue. Everyone was acquainted with everyone, and no cruel-hearted or selfish people stayed in our town long before the liveliness and the closeness of all the people drove them away.

I ran to the front gates, my boots kicking up dust behind me. I narrowly dodged several merchants when I finally reached the opening to Delhaven, where everyone was already waiting for me.

“Ah, there you are! We were beginning to suspect you were not coming!” Fleur de Clare said, delighted at me presence. Fleur had moved to France but five years ago, but has yet to replace her strong French accent with the English accent of the Delhaven folk. She was by far the most beautiful girl I had ever met, with golden hair that cascaded to her waist, always beautifully braided across one olive-colored shoulder. Her pale hazel eyes were always glistening lovelily, her pale pink lips always smiling. The sleeves of her white dress puffed like clouds, and by gathering at her waist, perfectly accented her flawlessly petite figure. The dress floated about her knees, and blew with the slight breeze of the summer air.

“And miss my final hours without responsibility with my friends? Never!” I shouted in response, hugging Fleur.

“The ceremony is just a representation of adulthood, Cora. It does not make any implications of responsibility,” Jude Crowson explained. His jet black hair was cut raggedly, and covered his deep blue eyes with shadows. If I had to pick someone in our little group to be the least exuberant, I would have no hesitation in selecting Jude. He was very philosophical, always pondering the meaning of things, although sometimes Jude was quite brooding.

“Ah, but marriage, marriage is the responsibility ushered upon you,” Aidan Julian, the final member of our group, interjected. His blonde hair was darker than Fleur’s, and cut cleaner than Jude’s, although still flopped around his forehead. He raised his eyebrows at me with his statement, his pale green eyes teasing me. Aidan  was only slightly taller than myself, but much taller than Fleur, although his height could not compare to that of Jude’s towering stance.

“And ‘tis the responsibility I’d wish the most to not acquire,” I responded. I was the youngest of all four of us, Jude two years older, and Fleur and Aidan  but a year my senior, and when I was around them, I was to never forget it.

“With a mother like yours, I doubt you will ever have the option. I, myself, cannot wait to meet a man who can sweep me off my feet and carry me away on his trusty steed into the sunset,” Fleur laughed, and she was right about my mother. Mother would force me to marry eventually, even if it meant she picked my husband. The other three had yet to marry themselves, and were lucky enough to be without such a controlling mother to force them to do so any time soon.

“Well, I believe we best get going, as I have to return by noon in order for the stylists to, well, style me,” I giggled. No discussion was needed as to where we were going, as even though today was my ceremony, today was also a celebration for the last of the four of us becoming an adult. We had planned it all out quite a while in advance.

The Ajaxia: Part 2

I picked up the picture of Tyfanni and I a couple months before she caught the plague, looking lively and carefree. Her long, golden brown locks were perfectly placed and her sort of golden hazel eyes were sparkling not unlike the way the Chief’s had.  She was pretty much smiling, her lips curved upwards, so not as eccentric as the Chief’s smile, but it was much more natural than mine had been in the picture and still was now.  

“I did it, Tyff. I made it onto the fleet! I’m lieutenant, or as I shall be referred to from now on, Lieutenant Dawn. This boy Zadrian Archer is chief now, and he reminds me of you. He’s so cheerful. I miss you so much Tyff, and I promise that I am going to rip the stone cold heart out of every last Zorak, and then I’ll find the cure. I swear on my life, Tyff. I love you,” I said to the picture, and if I had the ability to cry, the tears would’ve come easily, but none fell. 

I carefully put the picture into the bag, and then looked over at the picture at Mom and Dad. It was when they were younger, maybe late twenties. My mom was laughing so hard, her shoulder-length blonde hair flying around her and dark blue eyes filled with love. Dad was laughing too, dark brown hair gelled up, his arms around Mom, with his face buried into her neck. His smile was so big it made his eyes close shut, only letting a little bit of the dark green hue through. 

I think I was the only one in my family who didn’t possess the ability to even remotely smile, and was probably the least joyful of the bunch. Tyff and Mom and Dad were always having fun, but I was always out hunting or practicing fist fighting in our old yard. 

I packed that picture too, along with a few more of the whole family. I quckly changed into the uniform, and pinned the lieutenant sign on my left breast. There was nothing else I could think to bring, so I started to make my way up to the docking station, to find that Chief Archer was already there. 

“Hey,” he said, and walked over to me. He had a small bag not unlike mine, and probably about as full. 

“Hey,” I replied sullenly, the wind blowing my hair into my face, so I was practically unable to see Zadrian, other than flashes of raised lips and a dark uniform. 

“Are you excited?” He asked, seeming very excited himself. He seemed quite childish for what his age appeared to be, bouncing on his knees and twiddling his thumbs anxiously. 

“Um, yeah, I guess?” I answered, just wanting him to stop talking, and thank the Gods, The Ajaxia flew down from the sky and onto the dock. 

It was definitely huge, lengthwise being exactly 1, 554 feet long. In the front there were two jets, and in the back there six, all sprouting blue and white firepower. On the side, in elegantly printed white letters, ‘The Ajaxia” was scrolled. It was all black metal, so it could be nearly impossible to see in the middle of the galaxy against the darkness. A giant door on one side opened, and Commander Donnika appeared. 

Her red hair reached her hips, and was tied into a very long braid. Her piercing green eyes could probably kill with a single cold look, and she wore her Commander badge (a golden, silver and black star all intertwined) proudly. Surprisingly, she only looked to be about 25, which was very young considering her status. She gave a quick salute, as did the Chief and I in response. 

“We have selected you two among hundreds of citizens to be on The Ajaxian fleet. If you fail to serve us as we assumed you would, you will die. If you do not do what you are told, you will die. If you make one little mistake, you will die. Do you read me?” She asked, her voice harsh on every ‘die’.  The Chief and I both nodded in reply. 

“If you are addressing me or responding to my questions, you will always finish your statement with sir,” she added. 

“Yes, sir,” the Chief and I said simultaneously. 

“Well then, Chief Archer, Lieutenant Dawn, welcome aboard The Ajaxia. You shall receive the tour tomorrow at exactly thirteen hours, but for now, you shall be shown to your rooms where you may get settled. Lieutenant Dawn, I had been told you are acquainted with another soldier aboard the ship, Major Blitz, I believe?”

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

“Yes so I have given her permission to welcome you aboard the ship when she is not on duty,” 

“Thank you, sir,” I responded, excited to see Vendelynne, or Major Blitz, again. She had been my only friend, having met in grade school, when I had ‘accidentally’ punch a little boy named Pluto Walker, and she had defended me for whatever reason. She still has not told me to this day, 9 years later. 

The Commander motioned for us to enter The Ajaxia, which we did. Inside the ship, the walls were silver, and the floors a black marble. Two officers, one female, one male, were waiting for us. The male one took the Chief’s arm, as did the female to mine, I turned around to see the Chief waving at me and was mouthing something. Mea-Meat, wait that could only be meet, ma-, no me, in, tho-tha; the, ka-kaf-a-tear-ee-ah; cafeteria, lay-tur; later. Meet me in the cafeteria later. I quickly gave him a nod and turned around to follow along with the officer. 

“My name is Officer Zora. I have been aboard The Ajaxia for 3 and a half years, and I shall be escorting you to your room,” she said. Her hair had been dyed a pale blue colour to match the hue of the uniform’s tank top, and her eyes were a blue and brown kind of hazel colour. 

Officer Zora took me around a couple of bends that I tried to keep track of but eventually forgot, until we stopped in front of a tall, steel door, with Lieutenant Dawn’s Quarters engraved upon it. She slid a key card threw the lock, which was followed by a clicking noise, and the door opening. 

“Welcoming, Lieutenant Dawn. I am Neon, your room. You may ask me anything you wish, and I shall reply openly,” a voice suddenly said from out of nowhere. I spun around quickly looking for the source, when Officer Zora grabbed my shoulders. “Aboard Ajaxia, we have complex programming in each of our quarters to support our needs,” she explained, and then left without another word. 

The room was simple enough; a white bed, white walls, a white dresser, the same black marble floors as on the rest of the ship, and a bathroom. I put the pictures I had packed onto the dresser, and took a quick shower, relishing the hot water when it fell onto my face. I got out after a lot longer than I intended, and changed into the uniform. 

I thought I might take a nap, and after brushing my teeth with a fancy automatic toothbrush, and went back into the bedroom. I found a window in the corner of the room though, so instead of taking a nap, I lifted the blinds. We still hadn’t left Earth yet, although I could hear the engines that were turned on. 

I had nothing to miss on Earth, but it still felt like I was leaving Mom, Dad and Tyfanni behind. The Zoraks were going to pay, that was inevitable, and I was going to keep my promise to Tyff. 

I was about to actually flop onto the bed, as I was suddenly feeling a bit tired, when a cold, slimy hand was clasped around my mouth. I was going to kick whoever was there, but then there suddenly was a gag in my mouth and my wrists were clasped together, along with my ankles. 

“Where is he? Where is the warrior?” A hard, slithery voice whispered in my ears. I wasn’t going to freak out, I had never been able to, and now was not a time for firsts. But then it hit me. I recognized that voice. It was the same voice that had laughed before disappearing after I found both my parents left in pieces on the kitchen floor. It was the voice of a Zorak. 

 

 

The Ajaxia: Part 1

Amidst the crowd, I stood in the front row, looking up at Admiral Maddox whom stood on the wooden platform. His shaggy brown with faint signs of gray covered half of his face, and his ice blue eyes looked as cold as ever. He was wearing the Ajaxia uniform: a pale blue tank top under a metallic silver jacket and black pants. He had the ‘Admiral’ sign (a golden star with a black circle around it) sewn into his jacket, over his left breast. 

“I am standing before you today, as I am sure you all know, to announce who the fleet has decided to be the chief of The Ajaxia. This job involves courage, responsibility, bravery and pure insanity, so we have looked over all of you very carefully, and the decision was extremely close,” he said over the loudspeaker, in that emotionless voice of his, carrying a raspy, deep tone throughout his entire statement. 

My hands, I realized, shook nervously, and I could feel the cool sweat drip down from my head, down the sharp edge of my cheekbones and drop onto my plain black tank top. I looked around, and for the first time saw whom I was up against. No one I knew of course, as I only had one friend, Vendelynne, who had been assigned as one of the fleet’s Major just a few weeks prior, and other than that I was always hunting, having no time to socialize. 

Ever since the Zoraks had declared war on humanity, The Ajaxia and the fleet had been sent up to into space to destroy the Zoraks and their civilization and protect Earth from any harm.

The crew of the fleet, or more accurately Admiral Maddox and Commander Donnika, decided on who was to replace a fallen position in the fleet, based on the results of a series of tests that the contestants most accomplish. They were basically just simulations of what could happen on The Ajaxia, and they decide based on your responses to the situation. 

Vendelynne had been so excited when she had been chosen to be Major, and it was definitely a good choice. Vendelynne had the most guts I had ever seen in someone, always taking risks no matter what the outcome could be. Even if she hadn’t been chosen, her beauty was undeniable, her long blonde hair and her joyful blue eyes, so she could’ve easily married. 

The way it worked was you would try to be selected to join the fleet, from as early as the age of 14 until you turn 19, at which point you should try and marry, and if you don’t marry before you’re 22, you have to work at the fields, which basically consists of feeding animals and growing crops. 

I wasn’t especially pretty, I knew that well enough, with my shoulder length black hair and my piercing winter green eyes, and I knew that no guy would want to marry a girl who would be able to break their neck at any time she pleases, and having to work at the farms would be the worst thing to ever happen to me, as it just sounded so, boring I guess. 

“The person we have selected to be chief, is Mr. Zadrian Archer, whom you shall now address as Chief Archer,” he concluded, and a series of sighs went about the crowd. I wasn’t too worried, this was only my first try, and at only 15, I still had a while to make it onto the ship. 

“But, there was a bit of an issue. A little while after the testing stage, Lieutenant Kieran died in a gas malfunction while working in the fuel processing area, and since the selection was basically a tie, we have also decided that Ms. Adelaidia Dawn shall take over the roll of Lieutenant Kieran, as her results were parallel to the abilities needed for lieutenancy. You shall now address her as Lieutenant Dawn,” he finished, and my jaw dropped. I made my way onto the platform along with a young man I presumed was Chief Archer. 

He was older than me, maybe 17 or 18, but he was unlike the cold-hearted contestants I was used to. His light brown hair was swept to the side, a couple strands falling about an inch down his forehead. His dark brown eyes were full of curiosity, like one of the younglings when they’re learning about the fleet. 

The weirdest part though, was that he was smiling. Not just the tight, forced grimace we were all used to, but a genuine smile that made him somehow seem to glow in a way. I bet almost no one in the crowd had ever seen a person smile before, let alone smile themselves, so the fact that the new chief was smiling, just didn’t seem right to me. 

I just stood there awestruck as Admiral Maddox handed Chief Archer and I our uniforms and pins, mine a black star with silver lines throughout to symbolize my new lieutenancy, and Chief Archer’s was a silver star with a black circle and a gold circle within it. I looked around at the crowd, all stern faces and cold looks, and then at Chief Archer, who was still smiling. 

My parents had died in a Zorak bombing when I was 11, and so my little sister, Tyfanni, only 9 at the time, and I had been surviving on our own for a while, until she died when she had got the lethal plague a year ago. 12 was too young to die, which was part of the reason I wanted to be on the fleet. If the Zoraks had never killed my parents, maybe they could’ve their project to find the cure for the plague that had been wiping the population out. They had been so close, and maybe just a little bit longer and Tyfanni would’ve been out there in the crowd, happy and cheerful. 

“Props!” Chief Archer said, turning to me. He stuck his fist out in front of him, and I backed away out of natural instinct, thinking he was trying to attack me. He still had that smile plastered onto his face. He tried to grab my wrist but I pulled it out of the way before he could, and he just shrugged and turned back towards the Admiral. 

“You shall report to the docking station in two hours sharp, so pack whatever you intend to bring, but do not bring to much as we cannot have too much extra weight on the ship,” Admiral explained, and the Chief and I both gave a quick salute before making our way off the platform. 

“Props is when two people put one of their fists out in front of them, and they hit the other person’s fist with their own lightly,” the Chief described to me, adding hand motions to get the idea across. 

“What’s the point in that?” I asked, picking up my stride to get in front of him, but he just picked up his own to match mine, which was pretty easy for him considering he had at least three inches on me. 

“It’s sort of like a celebratory thing, like when you’re proud of something or happy that someone else accomplished something,” he said. His smile was still there, and it was getting kind of creepy. How could anybody be happy for that long?

“Sounds stupid to me, and I need to go get my things so goodbye,” I responded coldly, breaking into a sprint back to my house, or the small cabin that I had managed to pick up after Tyfanni died. I couldn’t think of much that I would bring, so I just decided to use a pretty small plastic bag to pack. 

Her Renaissance: Part 4

Surprisingly, Cantankerous Decadence was not that bad of a band. They could all play their instruments with a considerable amount of proficiency. I believe that their main weakness though, is that they are all complete morons. Absolute idiots. Couldn’t play for two minutes without shouting at each other. Alex and Eddie, at least. 

Lola, on the other hand, was definitely not what I had been expecting. What I had expected to see, was some punk, goth chick who could hit things with sticks. But the gorgeous, blonde, model like girl on the other side of the drum set, was nowhere close to being described as punk. She was a little out there though, in terms of personality. 

“You got that bass line all wrong, Alex,” Eddie sighed, tuning his guitar. Apparently, he had a habit of not looking at people when he insulted them. And since most of what he could accomplish saying (other than flirting) is insults, he does not look at you that often. 

“Well, once you screwed up your guitar riff and couldn’t get back on beat yourself, how’d you expect me to figure out how to play with you?” Alex responded.

“I couldn’t get back on beat because you kept screwing around, my friend,” Eddie countered. This continued for quite a while, and so I decided to go take the opportunity to get to know Lola. 

“Hi, I’m Rosalind,” I said, introducing myself to her, despite the fact that Alex had already introduced us. I just felt as though I had to introduce myself. 

“Rosalind, what a pretty name. Like rose. I like roses. They’re pretty and smell very nice. Lovely flowers, roses,” Lola responded, dreamily. Yep, definitely a little out there. But I guess it would take someone who’s a little weird to be willing to put up with the constant bickering between Eddie and Alex. 

That I decided, was the end of that conversation, as Lola did not appear to have any intention of speaking to me. She was actually kind of adorable, though. 

“I think you guys really need a singer. You’re never going to get anywhere with just being an instrumental rock band,” I said once Eddie and Alex were out of different ways of saying the same thing. The band itself though, as far as I could tell, was an alternative rock cover band, which would explain Eddie’s interest in The Killers. 

“You wanna know why we’re never gonna get big? Because this guy’s ego is too big, and he’s an arrogant bastard who doesn’t think of anyone but himself!” Alex declared, pointing at Eddie, who appeared to be deep in thought (and completely ignoring Alex). 

“And yet you’re still best friends. Best friends. Friends forever. Love, love, love!” Lola interjected dazedly. 

“Sing,” Eddie said, from out of nowhere. For a couple of seconds I thought he was talking to Alex or Lola, but then I realized that he was looking directly at me. And he doesn’t look at people. So apparently, he was serious. 

“Me? Really? No. I don’t sing. Sorry,” I replied, giggling anxiously. The Satanic whims of this boy were not going to get me to sing. Never. 

“Fifty dollars, up front, for you to sing one song with us. Based on the tone and pitch in which you speak, I believe that you, potentially, can sing. So sing,” Eddie elaborated. I mean, fifty dollars? Was this guy loaded or something? Well, who the hell wouldn’t turn down that offer?

“Alright, give me the fifty dollars,” I said, and he actually took a fifty dollar bill out of his jean pocket, and gave it to me. Apparently, he’s minted. 

“Fabulous, Mr. Brightside, hit it,” he proclaimed. 

“Wait up, I’m singing. I choose the song. Mr Brightside, hit it,” I interjected before anyone could start playing. 

“But that’s what I-” Eddie started, and I felt an amazing sense of pride wash over me. I had made Eddie mad. 

Lost Relativity

Adelaide Street was the dead street. At least that’s what we all call it, although no actual dead, or otherwise death related, things reside there. It just sort of looks, well, dead, or at least that’s what I’ve heard. It’s so far out of the city, just a strip of lowlife houses with unknown inhabitants, that no one ever goes there. No one has a reason to. The sort of secludedness it possesses, though, allowed for many rumours to float around; mostly crazy things, like cannibalistic witches waiting for their next meal, or forgotten princesses waiting for true love’s kiss. I didn’t believe any of them, no one did, but everyone still knew them. Ramada was a small town, so we had our small town ghost stories.

I quickly checked the time. 5:07. It was a late saturday afternoon, in the late autumn. My dad was still at work, and being the workaholic business man that he was, I wouldn’t expect him home until quite late. My older brother, Adrian, was away for the month, doing some super special trip for a whole crap load of extra credit (because he’s so damn perfect), and so he wasn’t around either. I tightened my brown leather trench coat, a super expensive present from my father that I’d gotten for my sixteenth birthday earlier this year. 

The road wasn’t a random street in the middle of nowhere, no. It was connected to Carson Street, which led everywhere in Ramada. I had gotten Adrian’s current girlfriend, Kayla, to drive me to the beginning of the road, and managed to get there without any questions asked by her. I would text her to pick me up when I was done.

Tying my long, unbrushed hair into a messy bun, and adjusting my over sized black rimmed glasses (it was either a hipster look, or a geeky professorial look, and I chose the less mainstream), I continued to walk, with my black combat boots (much cheaper than the trench), down the dead street.

It turns out that the street in its entirety, wasn’t ‘dead’, but more accurately only one house was. Or at least, you know, looked it. Metaphorically speaking. 

Ivy grew along the front and side of it, dull green leaves blowing against each other. A rust-coloured brick chimney produced black smoke, that eventually faded into the dreary grey sky. A green wooden door, with a bronze metal knob stood in the centre of the front, not really that welcoming. Four large windows rimmed with green wood,  shadowed a silhouette lurking behind the restrictive glass, the silhouette’s owner blissfully ignoring their house’s rugged state. 

Chipping white pain, rusted, weathered shingles on the roof, breaking, foggy glass. I tried to picture those children-eating hags and golden-haired beauties about to be murdered within, but it wasn’t happening (I guess it’s just because of my lack of imagination). And at first glance, so was the lawn, the garden, but at a second glance, there appeared to be a sliver of life left. 

A rose. An impeccable, scarlet rose, hidden behind overgrown, yellowed grass. All of its tender, velvety petals were still miraculously intact, and it’s deep green stem standing the rose upright in all of its splendored glory. It was wondrous how such a beautiful thing could thrive in such an environment. 

Somehow, this rose was a poignant reminder of what I was here for. 703 Adelaide Street. How this erroneously placed flower, emitting the essence of perfection, persuaded me to continue forth, even though I was freezing cold and admittedly scared, was beyond me. But it did. To that dead house. To my long lost mother.   

Her Renaissance: Part 3

“Do you have any friends?”

“Of course I do!”

“Are you sure? I mean, I have yet to see you actually hang out with anyone in a friendly fashion.” To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea how the conversation between Alex and I became my questioning the existence of his social life (even without any major existence of one myself). It just sort of happened, I guess.

“I am positive that I have friends. Here, how about I introduce you to one of them?” Alex replied, texting on his cell phone. For the past hour, we had just been walking in no particular direction. I had texted my mum telling her I wouldn’t be home until a bit later, and she was totally cool with that. Really happy, actually, as I was hanging out with a guy, for once.

“And does this friend of yours have a name?”

“Eddie Ross,” Alex replied. And thus, I ended up in a booth at Swiss Chalet with two teenaged males.

Eddie turned out to be English, and had moved from Oxford two years ago. He had met Alex, apparently, at a rock concert (and they had bonded over their under-agedness, as Eddie is actually only a year older than Alex and I). I guess what I’m procrastinating saying, is that, well, Eddie’s hot. Like, even without the English accent, his messy black hair and bright blue eyes and muscularity and overall punk look, would still be hot.

If I was capable of flirting, he would’ve been the perfect person to flirt with. But, unless Eddie’s the type of guy who enjoyed being compared to the hotness of a piece of bacon, I was out of luck for ideas. He was way out of my league, anyways.

“So, are you going to ask Eddie some complicated question that you already have an opinion on?” Alex asked me over his soda. For a couple seconds I was confused, but then I remembered that when I had first met Alex, I had asked him about his opinion on social expectations molding personalities.

“Of course! So, Eddie, what’s your favorite band?” I asked.

“What!?” Alex exclaimed, although Eddie and I completely ignored him.

“The Killers,” Eddie answered.

“They are quite good. Mr. Brightside is a fantastic song,” I complied. I wasn’t totally lying, I really do enjoy The Killers, but I elaborated just to piss Alex off.

“And you even agree with his answer? With me it was all ‘you’re wrong!’!” Alex exclaimed, and I just laughed hysterically at how distraught he was. This was actually the first time I’d ever seen Alex lose his cool, and it was just so freakin’ hilarious.

“I like your friend,” Eddie told Alex, and definitely made an effort for me to hear it loud and clear.

“She is quite the character, isn’t she?” Alex replied, having calmed down. It was with that that our meals arrived, my burger and fries, Alex’s egg salad sandwich and Eddie’s garden salad.

“You’re going to get fat,” Eddie said, pointing his fork at me. I gasped. Aren’t English guys supposed to me all pristine and gentlemanly? And didn’t he just hit on me?

“Screw you,” I replied, chewing on a fry.

“I’m just looking out for you. If you have this bad of eating habits, I don’t know how long we’re going to be friends for,” Eddie countered, without even looking away from his salad.

“Alex, how do you put up with this ass?” I asked.

“First, you’re making fun of me with him, and now he’s making fun of you and you hate him. I agree with Eddie here. I think this burger is making you a tad bipolar,” Alex snickered, trying to hide his smile.

“Screw you both,” I sighed, turning my attention to the delicious burger that I would eat despite Alex’s and Eddie’s wishes. They, could seriously, go die in a hole.

Silence ensued for a while, partly due to my anger, and partly because we were all eating. It wasn’t until all of our meals were finished that any of us actually said anything. And of course, it was Eddie. I’m pretty sure I already understand how that boy think quite well.

“Rosalind, dear, I think you’re too good for Alex. On the outside he may seem like a lovely, intelligent boy, but deep down he’s just your average American teen. Myself on the other hand, not only am I from an exotic country, but I am also well beyond your average teen. Plus, I’m in a band,” he said. Damn, this boy could switch his mindsets fast, going right from hating on my eating habits to hitting on me. Not that I wasn’t flattered. Because I was. Flattered. I guess I’d done the same thing to him earlier though… so much for understanding him,

“I’m in that band too you know!” Alex interjected, surprising me. Unlike Eddie, Alex didn’t really seem like the type of guy that would be in a band.

“Yes, but you’re the bassist, Alex. No one cares about the bassist. I, on the other hand, am the lead guitarist. The heart and soul of Cantankerous Decadence!” Eddie exclaimed. Based on his utter incompetence of the concept of empathy, I was starting to believe he did not possess a heart.

“Cantankerous Decadence? What kind of a name is that?” I asked, genuinely intrigued by this band of theirs. The earlier anger had sort of faded now, and too an extent, I actually enjoyed Eddie’s and Alex’s company. Eddie’s, only to an extent of course.

“Well, Alex here, is cantankerous, and I, am decadent,” Eddie explained, to which in reply Alex simply sneered. Alex was actually a completely different person around Eddie… he seemed a lot younger to tell you the truth.

“Are you two the only people in this band?”

“Nah, we have a drummer named Lola. She’s cool. Although we don’t have a singer,” Alex replied, finally speaking up.

“I’d like to hear you guys play some time.”

“As you should: we are an extravagant band. Well, only because og me, of course,” Eddie declared. Yeah, definitely no heart there. Pure arrogance. All the way through.