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Theocratic-Monarchy: SunSide
22nd Day of Month 6, Year 1628 DG
“I don’t understand, Lessi,” Naina barks. “You’re the smartest person I know, but you’re also the dumbest.”
Salessa keeps her eyes lowered and her hands folded calmly on the wooden table. She accepts Naina’s scolding patiently.
The wolf isn’t wrong; venturing through the tunnels that branch out of the Bunker might be safe, thanks to Zakia’s track-proofing, but emerging into the streets of the city wasn’t. She accepts the admonishment.
“Don’t be so hard on her,” responds the older pixie at the table. She places her royal purple hand over Salessa’s affectionately. “She was only out for a few minutes, and she saved so many from the riots.”
“Please, Zalona, don’t make excuses for her,” Naina pleads. “Her decisions could have put us into a lot of danger. What if the Facilitator tracked her while she was streetside?”
Zalona nods. “I understand. I don’t disagree that it was risky. But had she not gone out, she never would have saved the Librarian.”
Naina turns back to her sister. “This Bunker is a safe house. Not a shelter for stray humans.”
“I’m sorry for the risk I took, Naina,” Salessa finally speaks, lifting her gaze. “But I’m not apologetic about saving Unisa. Obviously, there was a reason I felt compelled to go topside and help.”
Naina scoffs. “Let me guess. Fate?”
Salessa nods. “As of last night, she has the same target on her back that is on ours.”
“Then she better be able to fight alongside us when the rest of the team returns from Lily Beach. If she’s useless, I want her out of here.”
Salessa sighs and shakes her head. “We’re not going to force her to fight.”
“Then why is she here, Lessi?”
“The same reason we’re all here.” She pauses. “To survive. You and I may be here for justice, but in the short conversation I had with her, Unisa told me she needs to get back home. That’s why she’s here. So we can help her.”
“She’s right,” Zalona agrees. “The entire kingdom has been thrust into chaos overnight. Rivers of blood flow through the streets. Theologians cry out for retribution. Braver supporters are inciting riots at even the slightest accusation that the monarchy or military might be involved. Unisa is safest here and if she just needs a path home, that is the goal.”
“She won’t survive without us, Naina,” Salessa continues. “With the Bravers’ recruitment efforts, and the recall of officers from around the continent, the city is a fortress.”
Naina sighs dejectedly. “These assassinations couldn’t have happened at a worse time. We don’t need more Bravers crawling around.”
Disappointment rises in Salessa’s chest. Her tone hardens. “I’m sorry the assassinations of innocent Mega weren’t convenient for you, Naina.”
“They were SunSidian politicians,” Naina growls. “There wasn’t an innocent among them. You won't find me shedding a single tear.”
The bedroom door abruptly creaks open. Unisa enters the main room of the Bunker wearing a shalwar kameez suit that Salessa gave her.
She takes a seat across the table from Zalona, her eyeballs inflamed with red, finger-like streaks. Salessa thought the Librarian would have slept for longer than an hour.
“How did you sleep?” Zalona asks.
“Not well,” Unisa responds, her voice feeble. “I’ve never been to SunSide before, and the person I was with...” She falls silent and looks down at her folded hands on the table.
“We understand,” Salessa says, passing her a smile.
“Can I get you something to eat?” Zalona offers.
Unisa shakes her head. “I’m not very hungry.”
Zalona gestures to a bowl of apples, pears, and other fruit at the center of the table. “If you do start to feel hungry, eat something. I can bring you a more filling meal later.”
She rises to her feet. “The staff upstairs is a bit overworked currently, with the influx of survivors we’ve taken in. But if I can find a third cot available, I’ll bring it down.”
“Thank you,” Unisa responds softly, before Zalona ascends the steps to her inn.
Unisa turns to Salessa. “And thank you for the clothes. I’ll find a way to return them to you once I’m home. They’ll help me blend in as I pass through MoonSide this evening.”
Salessa’s smile drops and she turns to Naina. Does she know what’s happening outside?
Great, she’s useless and oblivious.
I’m serious, Naina.
She obviously doesn’t know.
Naina turns to Unisa abruptly and spits out, “You’re not leaving any time soon, Feathers.”
Unisa’s brow furrows. “Excuse me?”
Tactful, Naina.
Sorry.
Show her the flyer, Salessa instructs.
Naina opens a sliding drawer on her side of the table and riffles through sheets of paper until she finds the two she’s looking for. She hands them to Salessa, who places them in front of Unisa, one face up, the other face down.
“This is our ‘Wanted’ flyer,” Salessa says, pointing to the sheet facing up. “The Facilitator has been hunting us since we were children. As of this morning, he’s hunting you, too.”
She flips the other paper and Unisa’s eyes expand quickly. At the top is a drawn image of an angi in a yellow tunic. The words underneath state: Angi human. Age unknown. Key suspect in the assassinations of the Members of the Assembly. Entered Larso wearing the uniform of a Librarian. If found, inform your local Braver authority. Do not approach. Do not engage.
Unisa looks up from the paper, her jaw hanging open and panic in her eyes.
“So did you do it, Feathers?” Naina blurts out.
Salessa reaches forward quickly and slaps her sister on the shoulder. “Naina!”
“We need to know who we’ve dragged into our safe house, Lessi,” Naina defends herself. “If she’s an assassin, we have a right to know.”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Unisa clarifies. “This is a lie.”
Naina scoffs. “Disappointing. We could’ve used someone experienced.”
“Can you tell us what happened to you last night?” Salessa asks.
Unisa nods and clears her name to her two new companions. She talks about her mission to correct records from the Library, her journey through MoonSide, and her arrival at Member Saila’s home.
“She and my colleague are”—she pauses and winces—“were good friends. Member Saila wasn’t there during the assassination. Alba woke me up, gave me some instructions, and then told me to leave. I watched from the skylight as they...”
Tears begin to well up in her eyes, and Salessa feels the urge to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she resists.
Naina turns to Salessa. “Why would Bravers want to assassinate the Members?”
“Remember what Ray-Mi told us? Maybe they found out that Saila was working with Sonali and the Revolution.”
“Why assassinate the entire Assembly then?”
Salessa raises a finger to stroke her chin. “Perhaps the Ore Monger is staging a coup.”
“Unlikely,” Unisa says, and the twins lean in. “The monarchy was sanctioned nearly two thousand years ago by the Assembly itself, toward the tail end of the Teri Age. They’re two sides of the same coin, meant to keep balance in the government; one side represents the liaisons to the Four, the other the liaison to the citizens.”
“You seem to know a lot about faerie politics,” Naina remarks.
Unisa shakes her head. “History, not politics. I’m a historian.”
Naina points upward to the city streets. “Well, Feathers, the history happening out there is the reason you can’t go anywhere. As soon as you flap your pretty wings, they’ll put ten arrows through each of them.”
“I can’t stay here,” Unisa responds calmly. “The Prime has to know what happened to Alba. A Librarian was murdered. Do you have any idea what the political consequences of that are?”
Naina turns to Salessa and rhetorically asks, “Is Feathers ignoring me?” She turns back to Unisa and speaks slowly and loudly. “You. Can’t. Leave.”
Unisa’s expression hardens as she responds. “My name is Unisa, not Feathers. And I heard you the first time. I recognize it won’t be possible until my name is cleared.”
“Good. Now that you’re here, you can help us.”
Unisa raises an eyebrow. “With what?”
“Procuring justice. The Facilitator killed our parents and has been hunting us, but things changed recently and we’re doing the hunting now. You can either help, or see how you fare out there on your own.”
Unisa’s wide-eyed expression grows alert. “Why did he kill your parents? Why is he hunting you?”
Should I tell her about the proph—
Don’t even think about it, growls Naina’s voice in her head.
“We’re valuable to him,” Salessa responds vaguely.
Unisa’s anxiety is palpable. “This is a suicide mission. The Castrum is, quite literally, a fortress.”
“We have allies in a team of former Revolution fighters. They’re on a mission at the moment, but they’ll be back soon.”
“Then you don’t need my help,” Unisa concludes.
“We have a common enemy,” Naina points out. “Are you naive enough to believe that the Ore Monger will simply allow you to walk out of Larso and go home? There’s only one path to freedom for you, and it’s the same as ours: take them out. For good.”
“I won’t fight,” Unisa admits. “I’ve had basic combat training, as all Librarians have, but I’ve never actually used that training. Nor do I intend to.”
“What about justice for your friend? Alba?”
Naina’s words initially strike a nerve, as Unisa’s lips straighten into a hard line, but then her expression melts.
“Alba believed that violence is inevitable in the path to justice.”
Naina smiles. “Smart woman.”
“I didn’t agree. And I still don’t. Violence is not the only path to justice.”
“Welcome to SunSide,” Naina responds. “Violence is the only language faeries understand.”
Unisa sits silently for a moment, then reaches for an apple from the basket of fruit and places it between her and Naina.
“If I leave this apple here, untouched, it’ll begin to rot and invite flies. You can swat as many flies away as you want, but you won’t find a solution until you identify the problem: the rot.”
She picks the apple up and returns it to the bowl, then turns back to Naina. “Violence will only beget more violence until the problem is rooted out.”
Naina scoffs. “You’re a historian, right? So tell me: what is the solution to a problem that the Revolution has had for eight centuries? They’ve been fighting back, but clearly haven’t found a way out of this battle. What are they doing wrong?”
“I’m no one to question the tactics of an oppressed clan. But I think it’s important to realize that the problem is deeper than physical oppression; that’s the flies, not the apple. The problem is that, like the Prime, the MegaFather has grown too powerful. Support from other sovereignties, idolization from followers, the physical might of a warrior organization. Their power is the apple.”
“What’s the solution?” Naina repeats her question.
“Education. Experience. The citizens of both SunSide and the Library have been fed a healthy diet of lies for centuries. They don’t know what truth tastes like. They don’t know what it’s like to experience friendship with others. Hatred is taught, and it’s all they know.”
Naina scoffs again. “Easy words for someone who’s lived behind golden gates, and not between ore walls. Education isn’t saving anyone in a war zone. You know what will? The Ore Monger’s head on a platter, and the Facilitator’s in a trash bin. We need solutions now, not this long-term bullshit.”
There are a few moments of tense silence until Unisa’s eyes widen with a sudden realization. “I may not be willing to fight with you, but I can still help.”
She runs back into the bedroom. Naina and Salessa exchange a glance and Salessa shrugs. Unisa returns holding the bag with which she arrived and withdraws a long sheet of paper, rolled tight.
“A Librarian’s map of the Castrum,” Unisa says excitedly, rolling the paper out onto the table and stepping aside for the twins to examine. “Passageways and tunnels, hidden chambers, all superficial buildings and towers, everything is here. By international law, foreign governments are required to be transparent to Librarians about the physical makeup of their facilities.”
Naina’s demeanor transforms. Her tense shoulders fall slack, her eyes widen with excitement, and the hard lines on her face disappear.
She turns to Unisa and, sincerely, says, “Thank you.”
Salessa reaches out and places a hand tenderly on Unisa’s shoulder. “This is a significant gesture.”
Unisa nods and places her hand over Salessa’s. “I’m glad. After you helped me this morning, I owe you my life.”
“I know it’s not easy to be here, but this is the safest place for you right now. I’ll help you find a way home as soon as it’s feasible.”
“I understand. And other than engaging in battle, I’m here to help you in any way I can.”
“Consider us even,” Naina says, still smiling as she salivates over the map. “Let the hunt begin.”