1st 5 Pages July Workshop - Ellie

Name: Ellie
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Title: Northern

Taking in a deep breath, Liko crouched and slowly made her way towards the edge of the ceiling
beam before peaking over the side. She was over Imperio Catherine’s briefing room. Three figures stood below her; Catherine, explaining a task to her brother, Nayeeshi and Tarin, her brother’s friend.

There were three doors in the 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 made small tunes whenever they clinked together, making Liko’s nerves tense.

Maybe that was why she chose to have them. Liko mused.

The Imperio 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. Papers and ink pots were strewn over the surface of the oak desk. 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 the black liquid, and Liko had inherited the addiction.

Nayeeshi stood stone straight, the only thing that ruined his perfect appearance was the mop of black hair he refused to let anyone touch. Tarin on the other hand, 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 one.” Imperio 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.

Catherine pulled a scroll out of her sleeve and held it out, revealing an inked map with a red marking, indicating where Nayeeshi needed to go. “This is where it is. The cavern isn’t very deep so it won’t be troublesome to navigate.”

Liko squinted down at the map. After she was certain she got a good long 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 a perfect recall, as usual.

“You’re to retrieve a gem that’s been hidden in a cavern in the north. It’s in Hunter territory, but they haven’t had any guards to prevent suspicion.” Catherine’s voice was soft and low. She never had to raise her voice to get attention. Liko envied how just the Imperio’s presence consumed a room.

“I’m guessing this information is from our ace resource?” Nayeeshi asked in his monotone voice. Catherine nodded.

Their ace resource was a spy that infiltrated the Hunter’s base to be an undercover agent. No one but Catherine and the other Imperios knew his identity.

Having heard enough, 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. Making sure there were no guards patrolling, she let herself drop and roll into the courtyard.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, a mixture of nervousness and rushing excitement sent tingles over her skin. She was doing this, she was taking Nayeeshi’s mission.

It wasn’t anything against him. 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 and self-taught throwing techniques. 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, who didn’t believe Liko was ready for training.

Liko stepped outside, blinking against the harsh light. Even with the sun at its highest, the Polaris star was still visible. It made Liko smile. The Polaris was her favorite, a constant reminder of the past and to be brave for the future.

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 specific runes, allowing her to go through the barrier that protected them. It also called the volcuris; the huge flying creatures that would definitely catch too much attention on the outside. “This will be a good day.” She declared.

“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. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Shouldn’t you be off with Nayeeshi or something?” His face fell, and Liko wondered if he just stormed out of Catherine’s briefing.

Tarin looked her over before shrugging, pulling his expression up to normal. “He has stuff to do.” He moved off the wall with languid grace Liko couldn’t help but admire, his hair falling over his forehead.

Seeing an opening, Liko smirked. “Got a mission without you, huh?”

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. “You know it’s not fair. The Imperio promised my training forever ago.”

“Well 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.

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

“Gee, thanks. I’m glad I have so many things I need to work on.”

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

Liko blushed and turned her face away so he couldn’t see. He knew exactly what to say to make her heart go on a rampage in her guts.

He saved her from word vomiting all over his oversized jacket, by skipping over her turn in the conversation. “After I train the newbies, we can meet up in the training hall. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Liko managed with a forced smile, feeling guilty that she wouldn’t be there.

He smiled back, but it didn’t seem to reach his eyes, he had something else on his mind. “Good.”

“You worried about him?” Liko guessed. Tarin and Nayeeshi were practically inseparable since they were young; even before Tarin’s parents died and he moved into the main building.