1st 5 Pages July Workshop - Ellie Rev 1

Name: Ellie
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Title: Northern

Liko took in a deep breath and slowly smoothed her way over the ceiling beam she was laying on. The wood was like silk under her fingertips, slippery enough to slide right off and fall two stories to the unfriendly marble floor below. Liko swallowed her fear and peeked over the side of the beam. If she was going to steal a mission, she wouldn’t let something as simple as a dangerous drop stop her.

Papers and pots of ink were strewn over the surface of the oak desk in the center of the room. A coffee press sat next to an oversized mug, still steaming. The smell encompassed the room; a nutty, chocolaty aroma, with a hint of hazelnut. The Imperio lived off that stuff.

There were three doors in Imperio Catherine’s briefing room, the main door, the one strictly for the Imperio's guards and a side exit only for the Imperio herself. The building was a huge mansion made of marble with heavy oak doors carved with locking runes. Only the moon goddesses knew why Imperio Catherine chose to have beads hanging in her doorways instead of rune locking oak. The beads clinked together; sending small tunes throughout the room that made Liko’s skin shiver.

Three figures stood below Liko; Catherine, and the two boys she was briefing.

Catherin was standing in front of her desk. All Liko could see of her was her black short hair and her silk robes billowing around her. Nayeeshi stood stone straight in front of Catherine; the only thing that ruined his perfectly ironed appearance was the mop of black hair he refused to let anyone touch. Tarin stood next to him, a striking contrast to Nayeeshi. He made looking like he rolled out of bed a form of art. His orangey hair was mussed up, and his uniform jacket was unzipped.

“Nayeeshi, you’ll be going alone on this mission.” Catherine said.

Liko’s eyes shot to Tarin as he stepped forward. “Alone? But we’re-“

Catherine waved him off with a delicate hand. “Tarin. I know you two are attached at the hip, but you need to cut the cord and train the new recruits.”

Liko held back a laugh at Nayeeshi and Tarin’s indignant look. Perfect. She thought. It would be much easier to steal a solo mission. Less danger and less of a chance of getting caught.

It wasn’t anything against them. She was grateful that Nayeeshi and Tarin took the time to train her on their own. But she wanted more than just a backyard training session. She wanted to be a part of the village’s training class, learning to fight and protect the village if the Regia and their Hunter dogs finally broke through their barriers. The only thing stopping her was Imperio Catherine; she thought Liko was better suited for scholarly scriptures and memorizing ledgers.

Catherine pushed some papers around her desk, almost knocking over a quill holder before pulling out a small parchment. She brushed it off with the back of her hand, revealing an inked map with a red marking. “You’re to retrieve a gem that’s been hidden in a cavern to the North.” Catherine’s voice was soft and low. Liko leaned farther over the beam to hear. “It’s in Hunter territory, but supposedly unguarded. The cavern isn’t very deep so it won’t be difficult to navigate.”

Liko squinted down at the map. After she was certain she got a good look, she closed her eyes and recalled the image. She looked back at the map to double check her memory and smiled when it was perfect.

“Why do we need this gem anyway?” Tarin asked, scrutinizing the map.

Catherine released a heavy sigh. “Honestly, Tarin, you have no patience.” She handed the map to Nayeeshi. “It’s one of a pair that is originally ours, but was taken. We’re just getting them back.”

“I’m guessing this information is from our ace informant?” Nayeeshi asked in his usual monotone voice. When Catherine nodded, both the boys instantly seemed more interesting.

Liko rolled her eyes. They acted like being a spy in the Hunter’s city was a gift from the moon goddesses or something. Spying wasn’t hard. She was doing it right now.

Seeing that the briefing was close to its end, Liko shimmied her way backwards on the beam. When she got to the end, she pulled herself up onto the beam above her and crawled through the open vent leading to the back of the building's second floor. She’d found this crevice when she was eleven and Catherine told her she wasn’t ready to be trained. Liko had snuck into her office to find out who she thought was ready.

Making sure there was no one around, Liko let herself drop and roll into the courtyard. Her stomach was like river rapids breaking, her fingers flicked. She was doing this; she was taking Nayeeshi’s mission. Her body thrummed with the thought.

She doubled checked her pockets and pouches to make sure she was prepared, then felt her shirt for her whistle; the most important thing. Without her whistle-key, she’d never be able to get back into the city. It was engraved with runes that allowed her to go through the barrier that protected them. “This will be a good day.”

“And why is that?”

Liko squeaked and spun. “Tarin,” she breathed. “By the moons, you scared the life out of me!”

Tarin chuckled, his green eyes glimmering. He was leaning against the side of the building. “Guilty about something?”

Liko frowned and crossed her arms. “Shouldn’t you be off with Nayeeshi or something?” Wasn’t he just inside? If he’s out, that means Nayeeshi should be out as well. Liko shifted form one foot to the other.

His face fell and he looked her over before shrugging, pulling his expression up to normal. “He’s getting more information.” He moved off the wall with languid grace Liko couldn’t help but admire, his hair falling over his forehead.

“Got a mission without you?” The thought of Catherine needing to give Nayeeshi more information made Liko’s fingers flick. What more could he need to know about retrieving a simple rock?

Tarin narrowed his eyes. “Sneaking around where you’re not supposed to be, huh?”

Caught. She should have known better. Nayeeshi probably noticed her too. Tarin always seemed to know her better than she knew herself sometimes. The thought made her cheeks heat up. Instead of admitting anything, Liko just shrugged.

“You know sneaking around during briefings won’t take your mind off it.” He placed a hand on her head and her stomach flipped. His hand was warm; his fingers long and elegant, and those eyes-

Liko scrunched up her face and pushed his hand away. “I know that.” She hadn’t snuck in just to eavesdrop. She was just about to make an excuse to leave, when she say his face. Looking at the Imperio’s building like it was a ship sailing off with his love. “You worried about Nayeeshi?”

Tarin blinked, taken back. “’Course not. He can take care of himself.”

“I know.” Liko said, seeing Tarin’s shoulders relax a bit. “He’ll be back before dinner time.”

Tarin’s lip twitched up on one side, forming a dimple. He scratched at the beauty mark under his left eye. “How about I give you a training session later? We could work on your hand to hand combat first, and you still need to work on getting out of holds.”

“I’m glad I have so many things I need to work on.” Liko didn’t bother trying to hide the sarcasm in her tone. He was too distracting. She needed as much of a head start on Nayeeshi as possible. Her fingers twitched again.

“If you were too good, I wouldn’t have an excuse to spend time with you.”

Liko turned her face away so he couldn’t see her blush. He knew exactly what to say to make her heart go on a rampage in her guts. But now was not the time for this.

“After I train the novices, we can meet up in the training hall. Sound good?”

Liko managed to force a smile. She had to get rid of him before Nayeeshi finished his briefing. “Sounds good.”

He smiled back. “Alright.” He mussed up her hair and winked before turning towards the training grounds. “See you later, princess.” He gave a wave before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away.