TEN

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Ryon stayed the night at Elodie’s place with me, deep in the basement in our usual fort. I cleaned his face well, despite his nose not sitting quite right, then I helped him with his daily injection. He winced as I pricked his skin too deep with the needle but then relaxed, settling on the floor. The moment he lay down, he passed out, horrid snores echoing around the cellar. He would need something from the apothecary to heal for good. 

He was still asleep when I woke the next morning. To my relief, Elodie had left for the day to attend a service at the Temple, so Marietta and I took a cabby to work. I spent the ride fretting over Ryon. His breathing kept me awake most of the night.

But by the time I reached the Capitol Building, my attention focused on one thing: Captain Oberland’s report.

I bid Marietta farewell, then departed to my office. Captain Oberland wasn’t there yet. 

But Jaida waited for me.

“Oh, hello, Ms. Heartz...” My stomach churned. “How can I help you today?”

“I read through these memos.” She paced around the room as she spoke, not meeting my gaze.

“Oh.”

“Is this what the captain actually said?”

“Um...” My hands grew clammy as I fiddled with the fringe of my dress.

Jaida held up her hand. “You’re not in trouble if it isn’t. But you clearly have more information to share. Would it be possible for us to discuss these memos in more detail?”

“Oh, um, well,” I stuttered, “I should probably be here when Captain Oberland arrives.”

“Yes, yes, of course! I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. We can discuss this over our midday meal if that is easier?”

“Oh, um, yes. That would be lovely.” 

“Excellent. I’ll meet you on the steps at high noon.”

Jaida turned, punctuating her statement, then strutted from the room with such confidence she might have belonged to the Guard. There was reject her. 

I watched her leave. She was a striking woman who commanded a room with her beauty, intelligence, and poise. Yet even her elegance did little to quell my nerves, and I hurried into my daily tasks, trying my best to keep down the bile rising in my throat.

Captain Oberland arrived an hour later. Exhaustion dripped on his face, but he still produced that usual bushy-lipped smile. “Ah, Doris. Good morning!” 

“Hello, Captain Oberland.” I bowed my head.

He collapsed in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. It didn’t take long for him to ramble about the previous day. Per usual, most statements were dry and uninteresting, detailing how his men completed their rounds and monitored suspicious activity. I wrote in haste, not bothering to backtrack any of the statements, eager for anything about the Black Market. 

Impatience fluttered in me as his usual ramblings dragged. 

Until finally, he reached the end of the day.

“Yesterday evening, we located a potential Black Market in the heart of the Capitol. We have not found the perpetrators yet, though. In the meantime, we stationed guards in triplicate around the city, and we hope to end this villainous Black Market without bloodshed.” His sentences were firm, woven together like a knitted blanket. He didn’t flinch.

My body relaxed as I punctuated the statement. They had hurt no one yet. 

Well, except for Ryon.

I dropped the quill and leaned back in my seat. “Is that everything for today, Captain Oberland?” 

“Yes, I believe so. Thank you, Doris. You’re always fantastic.” 

Guilt cooled my bones. For a moment, I almost felt sorry for using Captain Oberland’s name in treason. But... he was lying for the Order. Even the nicest guard was still a guard; even he sanctioned murder.

“I hope I’ll continue to make you proud,” I whisper, stuffing down the bile in my throat.

“Ah, yes.” His face hardened for a second, but like when he wove his fallacies, his persona changed in an instant. “Well, I shall see you tomorrow! I have quite a few meetings today. Please, if time permits, allow yourself to leave early, Doris. It’s a wonderful Autumn day.”

“Thank you, Captain Oberland. I shall try.”

He left the room so I could complete the memo. I altered nothing. This time, at least, he spoke nothing but the truth.  

 

A little before noon, I exited the Capitol Building to meet Jaida. She wasn’t anywhere to be seen. To my surprise, Ryon waited on the steps, holding a basket of food.

“Ryon!” I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheeks. 

He winced. “Ow! Dammit, Nan, my face hurts still.”

“Sorry...” I flushed and pecked his cheek, lighter this time. “Did you leave the house, okay?” 

“No one was home, so yeah. I did. Couldn’t get the horse to wake up, though. He liked sleeping in the field near the house.”

I giggled, snagging an apple out of the basket to take a bite. Ryon watched me, exhaustion creeping over his face as he chewed on his bottom lip. A bruise settled on his nose, and he winced every time he wrinkled it while his nostrils whistled an irregular tune.  

It didn’t stop him from asking questions. “Did you find anything out?”

I swallowed a mouthful of apple and nodded. “Yes. It was just a watch last night. They were trying to smoke people out but found nothing. Captain Oberland didn’t flinch…so I could tell it was the truth. The storytellers are safe today.”

Ryon sighed with relief.

I leaned into him. “See? You did not need to get in that Guard’s face.”

“Eh, he might’ve deserved it.” He shrugged, “We need to get the word out tonight, though.”

I nodded and took another bite of my apple.

We huddled on the steps in silence, eating pieces of fruit until Jaida emerged from the Capitol Building. “Ah! Miss Ivans!”

I clamored to my feet and brushed off my dress. “Oh! Ms. Heartz!”

“Please, call me Jaida.” She smiled. “Who’s your friend here?” 

Ryon rose beside me, fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt as he spoke. “Ms. Heartz! Hi! I’ve heard a lot about you and your brother. I’m a huge supporter! I’ve read about everything you are proposing. And I absolutely love the idea of building a railway track through the province to make transportation more accessible and—oh, right, where are my manners?” His face reddened. “My name is Ryon Barnes, by the way. Like a barn. The big red buildings by the farms. But I’m a human. Um...sorry. I just can’t believe I’m meeting you!” 

Jaida didn’t seem phased by Ryon’s fumbling statement. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Barnes! It is quite rare to find someone so supportive of my brother and me in the Capitol.” 

Ryon didn’t stop grinning.

I redirected the conversation before Ryon threatened to derail it further. As much as I loved Ryon, I knew if he launched into a tangent, breaking it would be harder than cutting wood with a spoon. “You wanted to speak with me?” 

“Ah yes, the memos. Come, let us talk away from here.” Jaida motioned me away from the steps.

Ryon shuffled in his spot.

“You may come along too, Mr. Barnes. If Miss Ivans can trust you, then I suppose I can as well, so I might as well pick your brain.

Another smile lit up Ryon’s face.

We followed Jaida to a café in the plaza. This was Ryon’s dream: to talk to someone with such high governmental standing had to make him giddy. In another life, he may have even been a politician, but he didn’t have the education or mindset to join politics. A shame, really. He would have made a great leader.

Jaida glanced over her shoulder a few times as she pulled the memos out of her bag. New scribbles of red ink detailed their margins.

Vertigo settled in with a bout of queasiness, and I stumbled forward. Ryon guided me into a chair before crouching down and placing his own hand on my knee to calm me.

“I asked you this already, but I just want to confirm... this isn’t what Captain Oberland said, is it?” Jaida asked.

I shook my head.

“That’s what I thought. No guard as seasoned as Captain Oberland would implicate himself like this. So, just to confirm, you wrote these?”

I hesitated, then nodded. 

“You realize perjury is illegal, don’t you? I do not want to give my brother information when I am not one-hundred percent certain that it is true. Can you prove any of this?”

I stared. If I dared speak, I might have puked in Jaida’s face. 

Ryon came to my rescue. “I can show you the Pit.”

“The Pit?”

“Yeah, the Pit. Haven’t you heard about it? I think it has to do with that Utopia Project you requested information on—” He flushed again, “Sorry... I probably shouldn’t know about that.”

Jaida’s eyes narrowed.

“I know. It sounds crazy. But listen, the Pit will prove everything Nanette has written is true. I can show you! Please... Nan is just trying to do right, is all...” Ryon glanced at me. I couldn’t meet his gaze. My mind raced. Would Jaida turn me over to the Guard? Was I about to be thrown into the Pit myself?

Jaida put the memos back into her pocket, “Show me.” 

“Of course,” Ryon said as he squeezed my knee. His knuckles turned white. While I was busy suffocating on my fear, Ryon must have battled his own nerves. He never spoke with any politician, only about them, and now the one he admired wanted his help. I could only imagine the way his head spun. 

Jaida rose, “Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Barnes. I have a few things to wrap up, so I’ll meet you back here in an hour if that is agreeable?” 

“Yes, of course. I’ll get my buggy.”

“Wonderful,” Jaida turned, then stopped and stared at me straight, “And Miss Ivans?”

“Yes?” I squeaked.

“Be careful. If these memos got into the wrong hands, your life could be on the line.”

 

Ryon and I had the rest of the lunch hour to ourselves. In a fit of excitement, we found ourselves in a quiet corner where we could kiss, celebrating our minor moment of rebellion with each other and no one else.

I rested my head against Ryon’s side as we clung to each other. If work wasn’t beckoning me, we might have gone back home to succumb to our desperate emotions. For now, we held each other, holding on to the constant reminder that one wrong move could end all of this.

“Is this going to be worth it?” I asked Ryon as he walked me back to the Capitol Building.

“Yes.” He said and kissed me again. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

I nodded as I turned, only to pause and glance back at him, “I love you.” 

The words tumbled out of my mouth so quick, I didn’t believe I had said them at first. But it was the truth. 

I really loved him. 

His face turned red. “Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I love you too.” 

I blew him a kiss before heading into the building, brushing past Jaida as I headed down the hall. We nodded once, and with a smile on my face, I strolled back for Captain Oberland’s office.

The door hung open as I approached. Did Captain Oberland forget something? Did they move one of his meetings into his office? I peeked inside the door.

But Captain Oberland wasn’t waiting for me.

Instead, a man with a pointed face and dark eyes sat on the corner of my desk.

I recognized him.

He broke Ryon’s nose.

I hoped he didn’t recognize me. It had been dark out. Surely, I was just an unfamiliar face then.

“Hello, Miss Ivans,” the man said.

“Sir...” I lowered my head.

“That is Captain Cordova to you.” 

“Cordova...” I recognized that name. My mind raced, searching for my memories. As I examined his face, I realized whom those eyes resembled. “Are you related to Elder Vic Tor, sir?”

“Smart lass. He’s my brother.” The captain leaned back.

I gulped, trying my best to keep myself together. “What can I do for you... Captain Cordova?”

“I have come to inform you that Captain Oberland retired today. As of today, I am taking over his charge.” 

I blinked and furrowed my brow. “I didn’t know Captain Oberland was planning to retire...”

“It was quite a sudden retirement, I say. Perhaps you can shed some light on why he would decide to leave...” Captain Cordova paced around me, his eyes unflinching, like a hawk. “We asked him to clarify his request for classified documents. He didn’t provide many details. I assume you wrote that request for him?”

“Which one?” I already expected the answer.

“There was a request filed to retrieve a report about the so-called Utopia Project.”

“Utopia Project? I don’t recall...” I feigned confusion.

“Yes, the Utopia Project. Pray tell, why would he want those confidential documents?”

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, I’m not sure.” I kept my gaze on Captain Cordova. “He must have just asked me to request them, and I filed it away in haste. He was quite the busy man.” 

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.” Captain Cordova paced the room. “I hope you will honor my requests just as you honored Captain Oberland’s. Because perjury is a treasonous offense. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.” 

 

The sky bled as I left work. I couldn’t get the day’s events out of my head. What happened to Captain Oberland? Did he take the fall for me? Or did he really believe he requested the files? Would I ever see him again? 

I didn’t know.

It ached my heart, knowing how much I used the old man to my advantage. He was always kind to me. A liar, perhaps, but kind at least. He didn’t overwork me and never belittled me. I was his equal.

Captain Cordova, I already could tell, wasn’t like that. Even after working for him for half the day, I felt violated. He watched every move I made with his eyes constantly open like an owl. I worried that if I dared break my pen or write the wrong word, he would scream. I did not speak, I did not dare lie, and I did not flinch. As soon as I finished my work, I punctuated my statements and filed them with haste, yearning to escape his constant watch. 

Ryon didn’t wait for me on the steps as I expected. He and Jaida were probably still on their way back from the Pit. I considered waving down another cabby to head home, but my heart ached too much. I needed to confide in Ryon. 

And I certainly didn’t need to sit at home with Elodie.

Every noise in the street, every buggy, and every horse whinnying caused me to jump. I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. The lights from the watchtowers in the distance formed eyes in the cloudy skies.

Did they watch my movement with everyone else? After all, in the Capitol, are you ever truly alone?

I gulped as I glanced back at the Capitol one last time. I needed to warn the storytellers still about the Guard. The smoke out might have been enough to alert them, but like any act of rebellion, fear cannot hinder it. 

My feet carried me through the city, towards the alleyway where the Black Market often wove its way into the stone. Magic cast a protective void over it, and to my surprise and relief, no guards lurked nearby. The street, like any other day, bustled with storytellers, magic, and children playing. Entering that alleyway was like magic itself. My shoulders relaxed, and my bout of paranoia vanished.

Stories whisked me away and provided comfort. For a bit, I forgot why I came to the Black Market. I got lost in a tale about a mermaid and a pirate, then danced as someone sang about dragons. One pyromancer created images out of flames. It took me back to my father’s deathbed where, in his last few days of life, he spoke of dragons and adventure. They served as an opportunity to escape the ultimate curse of death.

And now, they gave me a chance to abandon my troubles.

Lucidity washed over me, and I found the words in my throat. While I tipped each storyteller, I whispered a warning about the Guard and their Utopia Project. The storytellers would nod, then vanish into the crowd, while I became enamored by another tale. They didn’t seem too afraid. 

Did they always live with this constant fear?

Or, like me, did stories offer them a chance to escape? 

Listening to all these stories caused time to disappear in the Black Market, though. I loved each tale, clinging to each one with fascination. 

But as I paid more attention to the stories, I lost my attention to detail. 

If I had been more alert, I might have noticed the signs. I ventured into my fantasies, pretending that the Black Market was untouchable. Even now, despite the Guards the other day, we were unstoppable. The Storytellers knew now about the danger.

Would the Guards even come?

But in the back of my mind, I understood that wasn’t the case.

Had I kept those fears front and center, I might have been able to save them. 

If I had spoken my warning in haste, they might have fled.

Instead, I placed a coin in an old woman’s hand as she finished her story of a girl and a goat. I leaned forward to offer my quiet warning.

Despite everything I learned, it didn’t prepare me for what happened next.

It didn’t prepare anyone.

A low grumble rocked the alleyway. The music screeched to a halt. Everything stopped.

I turned.

There were no guards. 

No gunshots.

And then, without a moment’s notice, the walls surrounding the Black Market exploded.

All I saw was orange.