traidora

Chapter 14

Raelyn

"I'm not nervous or anything," I say as I follow Axis through the tall hallways of the Dark Fae Palace, "But how well do you think I'll go in the camp?"

"Well you almost took me out twice." He says.

"I passed out both times."

"The first time you were knocked out by Chantelle," He tells me, "And the second you passed out from pain. You'd been whipped like crazy and still managed to almost kill me."

"Almost being the key word." I tell him.

"You don't see the bright side of things often, do you?" He asks me and I snort.

"For me, there generally isn't a bright side." I say.

"Well that's more than any of these Fae could do, inured or completely unharmed." He says, "I think you'll be fine."

"Okay." His words eased a little bit of the pressure I felt from Kaia's last words. "Should I be watching my back at night?"

"Definitely." He says with a grin and I can't tell if he's joking or not. Just to play it safe I'm going to assume he's not joking.

"Did you do the camp?" I ask him and he nods.

"Earlier than most." He says quietly and I turn to him, "Once you're in the Squads you have a new family. A new home. I joined the Squads at seventeen, which was the earliest. Fae don't usually apply for the camp until they're at least twenty-five. So I guess you're doing it early too."

"Did the others in your Squad do it early too?" I ask him as we turn another corner.

The place is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Glossy white marble tiles line the floors of the halls, a light red carpet in the centre of them. Glass windows travel from the floor to the roof, some hallways even having no windows at all, the fresh breeze blowing in.

"Chantelle did it at twenty-six, Darcy at didn't need to do it. Zaid did it at seventeen with me." He explains.

"How long have you been on the Squads?" I ask. The Light Fae never trained people for fighting. They just forced people – men – of ages sixteen and above to fight when they need to. Of course, they do train some people to be personal guards or to watch over the Palace entrances. But when they fought in the war, they draft innocents who don't stand a chance.

It's nice seeing people not being forced to do something.

"Four years." He says, "Zaid and I were put in the same Squad when we completed the program. We got equal scores." He pauses for a moment, looking to me with a cocky grin, "We got the highest scores possible."

"Oh wow." I say, grinning, "It mustn't be too hard of a course then."

"I'm counting on you to break the record." He says and I smile.

"Well I wouldn't want to let you down." I respond just as we stop in front of an intricated carved oak door.

"This is your room." He says, twisting the handle and pushing it open, "Zaid's is opposite yours," He points to the identical wooden door on the other side of the hallway, "And mine is right next door to yours." He motions his head to the left.

Then he walks inside my room and I follow behind.

Gods, this bedroom is beautiful.

There's a large bed in the centre of the room, resting against the wall. It is covered with light blue pillows and a white doona cover, an extra blanket thrown over the edge. There's a vanity to the wall and a fireplace to the right. There's another door half open and next to the fireplace and I can see through to a white bathroom.

There's a large wooden wardrobe next to the vanity and I walk over to it, opening the double doors.

There's an array of colours overflowing inside, a range of clothes. There are dresses and skirts, pants and shirts. More clothes than I could ever imagine.

The room is so much nicer than the one above Terez's. Gods, it's even nicer than my one at the Light Fae Palace.

"Wow." I say before spying the glass doors on the other side of the fireplace. I rush over to them and slide them open, stepping out onto the balcony.

There's a concrete railing at the edge of the balcony and I move over to it. I lean against it and look out at the view.

The sun is just setting over the top of the mountains in front. And there are so many mountains. The sun casts a golden glow over the tops and I look down to the bottom. There's a bright village below us. Even at this time of night and from this height I can see dozens of little people moving about.

There's no fighting and there are no people camped out on the street that I can see. Maybe the Dark Fae Realm is just a nicer place in general.

"What's the Light Fae Realm like?" Axis asks me and I jump. I hadn't heard him come up beside me.

I turn to look at him, the golden glow of the sun brushing against his face. His brown hair is swaying in the breeze and his eyes look like molten gold in the light. He's beautiful.

"Nothing like this." I tell him, "People are miserable and everything is cold. I believe that a Realms villages are a reflection of leadership itself. If you don't live in the City surrounding the Palace, your living conditions are horrible."

"And where did you live?" He asks me quietly, still not looking at me.

I turn back to the view in front of me, "In the City. Until I left. Then I wandered from town to town. Gods, I had no idea what was going on beyond the City walls."

When I arrived at the first village after I fled, I was shocked. There were children begging for money on the street. I would walk past small rooms made of cardboard beneath roofs in alleyways.

"Gods. I had only bought a small bag with me but by the time I had found a place to stay the night I had given away every piece of my jewellery I was wearing when I left, down to my last earring."

It was the same in every village until I decided to try my luck in the Human Realm. Because I knew Father would have had people searching for me.

"That's horrible." He says quietly and I nod.

"What are you doing out here?" A strong voice says and we both turn around to see Zaid standing in the doorway. Except not my doorway.

There are two doors leading out onto this balcony. The second door from Axis' room.

"I was just contemplating when the best time to toss Axis off the balcony was." I say bluntly, looking at Zaid.

Axis snorts and Zaid just rolls his eyes. Still, Axis takes a step away from the railing. I don't know whether to be offended or not.

---

Published - 5/4/2024

Word Count - 1197

Has anyone heard JoJo Siwa's new song? It's coming out on the 5th of April which for me is today but America is a day behind so I have to wait until tomorrow. Lowkey excited to hear it and it is catchy but the dance moves she's got going with it are not it.

Love,

Brie <3