Welcome To My Dark Side

Chapter 1 A Warm Welcome

Lyria glanced around the room before her. Everything seemed to be exactly the same, which was a good thing. 'Hmm... I should check if there is anything of interest here as soon as it is light and then head back to Dreadfort as they are probably wondering where I have got to.' She smiled rubbing her hands together, satisfied with this course of action. Before she went to sleep she tiptoed over to the door so that she could check that no one was going to come up here. The wooden door creaked slightly as she opened it by a slither. She let out a sigh of relief when she was sure that no one had heard this noise nor were they likely to be wandering around in the middle of the night. Wrapping herself up in one of the many clothes the room had, she lay down to rest for a few hours.

The sky was only just lightening up and the sun had not yet risen when Lyria woke up. Now was a good time to check the town out before too many people started to wander around. Making her way to the door she decided that she would search the rooms of the mansion while the inhabitants were still asleep. Checking each room one by one she couldn't find anything worth her time investigating. Seeing as there wasn't anything in the mansion she decided not to bother looking at the rest of the town. Her main concern was to get back to Dreadfort. Lyria felt her wings spread out behind her as she took off. She couldn't help but think that she had completely wasted her time coming here and was glad to be heading back.

When Lyria arrived she was not expecting to see Azura awaiting her arrival, with a head bandage wrapped round her head. Azura was relieved to see her apprentice land beside her. Even though she had been told that Lyria's absence was only because she had been sent out on a mission, she hadn't stopped thinking about her. Azura had sustained her head injury when she had followed the wither angel's squadron leader into the Nether. The aftermath of their fight was the now dead skeleton's nether star reacting with the end crystal, which Azura had been trying to get and finally Azura was left stranded in the Nether as her wingsuit had been torn off. Despite the condition she had been in, Azura had managed to find an alternative portal that led to a place some distance from Dreadfort. Fortunately she had not had to walk all the way back as a patrol stumbled across her injured state and thus she was able to ride with them to Dreadfort. When she arrived back the only good news she had heard was the Rain, Stella and Nostra had successfully completed their goal and had retrieved an end crystal. This was why Azura had been so anxious for Lyria to return safely and hopefully with so good news.

"Lyria I haven't been able to stop worrying about you. Do you know if the pillagers are likely to attack us?" Azura asked nervously. Lyria looked at her mentor somewhat confused by this question. "Um...I see no reason for them to but how did you get injured and shouldn't you rest than stand around waiting for me?" Lyria questioned. Azura filled Lyria in with everything that had happened. Even after Azura had explained how she had been injured, Lyria was still confused why she had been waiting for Lyria rather than being inside somewhere resting. "Do you need me to do something for you?" She asked. Azura smiled at Lyria's thoughtfulness. "Thank you but I don't need you to do anything for me. Why don't you go and rest after such a long journey?" Azura suggested. Lyria still suspected that Azura wanted something from her but if she was willing to let her go and rest then she would not question her further. "Ok then. I will see you tomorrow after I have slept." replied Lyria as she skipped away. Azura tilted her head watching Lyria head towards the barracks. 'Maybe she's just tired.' Azura told herself a little puzzled by Lyria's brief response and departure.

It was indeed a very strange sight to see the soldiers trying on each other's helmets early in the morning. The reason for this bizarre activity was because someone had switched everyone's helmets during the night and now all the soldiers were trying to find their helmets. "I think this one is your's as it's too big for me." Agatha said, passing the helmet to a sergeant. "Ah Commander Hilda, I have your helmet. You are luckier than the rest of us because the unique gold markings on it make it stand out." Vimir told Hilda as he spotted her walking out of one of the barracks. "Thank you. I assume this is supposed to be some kind of practical joke but I have no idea who would do such a thing." Hilda said mildly annoyed.  The confused soldiers were unaware that  the culprit was sitting quietly on a rooftop enjoying the chaos below them. Lyria had overheard the Commander saying that she had no clue who was behind it and this had made Lyria snicker under her breath in the full knowledge that she had done it. The results of her prank were even more hilarious when the whole affair took the whole morning to sort out and even then no one knew she was the culprit.

The morning drama's consequences meant that everyone was behind with their work and as a result Lyria had been asked to help with backdated administration by Officer Vimir. She was not happy that the fallout of her prank had affected her as well. The tedious task of filing paper was not going to be something she would enjoy. She stared at the stacks of papers in the room. It would take hours to sort out if not the whole day. Lyria would have to organise and separate out the different orders, medical reports, supply lists and forms. An idea sparked into her head. If she just shoved the papers in any cabinet instead of properly sorting them out then she would be done in no time. By the time anyone realised what a mess the documents were in, Officer Vimir would have probably forgotten that Lyria had been the one who was meant to sort them all out. After she had cheated her way out of her mundane task, she saw some ink pots on the desk. Lyria decided to play another prank by switching the label of the red ink with the blue one. That was certainly going to confuse the next person to use them.

Lyria was now bored. She had no other jobs as she had rushed the task that was meant to take her a long time. Azura was still recovering and so she was not able to deal with Lyria. Officer Vimir was out on patrol so Lyria could not join in one of his training sessions and most were still behind with their jobs thanks to this morning. Lyria sat on a bench overlooking the frozen lake. She was wondering what to do with herself. 'Hmm.. what if I try another prank?' She thought for a moment trying to come up with yet another prank. Then she had an idea. It would take a lot of work to pull off, although this was not an issue because of all the free time she had. She would collect the materials she needed now and then finish carrying it out when everyone was asleep tonight. If this morning's results were anything to go by then she expected it to be just as funny if not funnier.