A Court of Storm and Legacy

You got me all wet

70 years ago

Tate felt like she was floating on a cloud. The bed she was in was so soft and fluffy, she nearly melted right into it. She had no intention of leaving it at all, but then she heard it. A noise.

Thump. Thump.

She rolled on her side, hoping to block out the noise.

Thump. Thump.

She sat up in a hurry once she realized it was coming from right next to her. A boy was sitting by her bed, throwing a ball repeatedly against the wall. She inspected him, he seemed no older than her but he had large black wings. Wings that were bigger than his body. She wondered if he stood up too fast, if they would make him topple over from the uneven weight. She laughed softly at the thought, and the boy's head whipped towards her.

She stopped laughing immediately when he looked at her. He had shimmering purple eyes and Tate was mesmerized. She had never seen eyes that looked like his.

"You're awake," The boy stated. She nodded, even though he didn't ask a question. His eyes were distracting her. He yelled for someone and she heard footsteps making their way to the room.

"What's your name?" The boy approached the bed.

She cleared her throat and whispered, "Tate."

The boy grinned at that, and she thought he had a lovely smile. A woman walked into the bedroom and smiled kindly at Tate. She was beginning to wonder if everyone here (wherever here was) had bright eyes and a perfect smile. Unlike the boy, who had dark hair and purple eyes, the woman had teal eyes and brownish red hair.

"Auntie Gwyn, meet Tape," The boy smiled up at the woman.

"Tate" The girl corrected.

The purple eyed boy turned to face her, "Yeah, that's what I said, Tape."

"Tate!" The girl protested, "With a T!"

"I know what letter Tape starts with dummy," The boy smarted.

For a second, the girl was concerned for the boys hearing, and she laughed at the misunderstanding. He watched her laugh and his face split into a grin. She frowned for a moment, wondering why he was watching her like that, and then she realized he was doing it on purpose, to make her laugh. She smiled back.

"Alright Nyx, I think you've done your job. You can go play now," The woman, Gwyn, chuckled.

"See ya around Tape," the boy winked (with great effort), and left the girl to rest. Tate filed away his name, hoping to see the little boy again.

-------------

Tate was woken by a pounding on her door.

"Tape! Wake up and come do something with me!"

She groaned softly. The boy, Nyx, had been a real pain ever since they first met. For the past three days, he'd woken her up early in the morning because he'd been bored.

The first time, she accidentally punched him. He had come into her room and thought yelling in her ear was the best way to wake her up. She had felt bad, sort of. She had been having a really good dream, and Nyx screaming in her ear had ruined it. Ever since then, he'd knocked on her door to wake her up.

She shuffled around her room, putting on the clothes Nyx parents had gotten her. Unlike their son, they were quite nice and polite, they never screamed in her ear.

Nyx banged so hard on the door, Tate was worried he'd punch a hole through it.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" She shouted at Nyx.

Wrenching open the door, she glared at him. He was just as smiley as usual.

"Ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?"

He only shrugged in reply, but he was still smiling. Her eyebrows lowered, she didn't like not knowing things. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the halls.

When they started approaching the front door, Tate felt a bolt of panic through her. For the past couple days, she hadn't left the house. She wasn't sure she was ready to go back outside.

Nyx felt her stop and he turned to her, a brow lifted in question. Whatever he saw on her face made him grab her other hand and say, in the most serious voice she'd heard him use,

"You can trust me."

She'd had no proof that she could, but somehow she knew it was true. Something about him was different, but not in a way that made her scared. She nodded slowly.

"Come on," He was smiling again, as always, and pulled her outside.

---------------

They hadn't gone far. Nyx's house was right near the water and he just wanted to show her the shore and the places he liked to hang out. When she had asked him why, he simply said that he had always wanted to have a friend to bring there. She didn't always like Nyx, but she liked that he said they were friends.

"I can't wait to go training in the Illyrian camps."

Nyx had been talking about his future warrior training for the past hour. She was surprised someone could even talk for that long, but she didn't mind listening.

"When do you get to go?"

"In a few months," He grinned, "Right after my eighth birthday."

They walked side by side over a small bridge that crossed over a shallow part of the river.

"Can I come with you?" Listening to him talk about how exciting warrior training was, had begun to get her excited as well. She figured he would be more tolerable when he had other kids to play with and she knew how to wield a sword.

"What!" He laughed loudly. "Of course not! You're a girl!" And he continued to laugh, perhaps for too long because Tate didn't like being laughed at. She thought back to her earlier observation about how his wings would throw off his balance, and she had a brilliant idea.

In a blink she threw her entire weight into Nyx's side, pushing him right over the edge of the bridge and into the shallow water. Nyx's head bobbed to the surface and Tate keeled over in laughter. He spat water out from his mouth and she laughed harder.

"You got me all wet!" He yelled.

"Serves you right!" Tate shouted right back. "Just 'cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't be a warrior too!"

Nyx pulled himself out of the river and onto the bridge. "I didn't mean it like that," He mumbled, "It's cause I've never seen an Illyrian girl warrior."

"Well then, I'll be the first," Tate said firmly.

Now it was Nyx's turn to laugh. "I don't know how that will work, since you aren't Illyrian," He motioned to his wings.

Her face fell.

He laughed again, "If you had let me finish, before you shoved me off the bridge," He shot her a dark look, "I would've told you that girls become Valkyrie warriors, not Illyrian. Just as tough though, don't worry." He smiled shyly.

Tate liked the sound of that. Valkyrie.