The Hidden Orphan (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 2)

One · · · Dest

Faz, Rol

FROM THE FAMILY PICTURES AND THEIR PERSONALITIES, Dest Troy knew her parents weren't her real parents. She never told them she knew, though.

When she was little, Dest remembered her mom telling her all the time, "Blue. Think blue. Bright blue. Just like the sky. Just like your name."

Dest is the sky. Well, the word dest is the sky. At least, it means the word sky in Rolin. That was how Danity, her mom, thought of her name as a child but was she really her child? Instead of trying to figure it out, Dest went along with what they said, though she didn't trust her parents as much as she used to.

"Blue," Dest muttered to herself as she crossed Harmun Square. "Think blue."

Ever since her mother told her to think blue, it was the only phrase that calmed her enough so she wouldn't freak out. Especially when she traveled through Harum Square like she did every day.

Just like she had to do when she entered the square, Dest walked into a one-way gate where a line was starting to form. As people's IDs were being checked, the line kept moving until they went to the next Rolist soldier who checked bags. Then they were free to go on with their daily lives. It was the routine Dest went along with every day when she entered and exited the square since it was home to the chancellor of Rol and the market.

It was Dest's turn as she moved towards the first Rolist soldier. She smiled when she saw his recognizable face. It was Theo. His skin was a light blue, unlike Dest's who was as blue as the sky, on the verge of becoming a pastel color. Theo's eyes were a vivid green, unlike the rollings sands that surrounded their city of Faz. His hair was a dark brown with a small beard that was a tad lighter than the color of the hair that covered his blue head. The armor he wore every day looked uncomfortable to Dest, but he smiled showing her it wasn't. The glass armor covered his chest, arms, and legs leaving nothing to chance. It was coated in preserving constant metal. Dest had heard that in the preserving process, so the glass wouldn't break, that sand particles would get stuck in the constant metal leaving a bumpy, but smooth surface making the armor look as if it was made out of sand and not glass. Theo also wore his silver constant metal helmet but his leather face mask wasn't covering his face at the moment so she could see him smile.

"Hello, Dest," he said as he winked when she gave him her forearm.

Black markings, like a barcode, traveled up her arm from elbow to wrist. Theo then took a wet cloth and rubbed it over her arm so the scanner wouldn't read the dusty sand that coated her body.

Theo set the scanner, a small box with a blue line that glowed, on her open wrist. He pushed a button and the scanner started to beep. As soon as the beeping started he dragged the scanner from her wrist to elbow. He waited a few seconds before the blue light turned green, confirming Dest's identity as a Rol citizen, though she didn't really know it helped since all Rolist had a blue skin tone.

Dest smiled back at Theo. "Hi again. Busy today?"

Theo looked down the line from Harmun Square. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head from side to side. Dest couldn't tell if he was saying yes or no.

Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Same as usual. No Roppy today?"

Dest pursed her lips together as she shook her head. "Nope. Not today. She's working at the refugee center today."

"Casest Village?" Theo asked.

"Yup," Dest said, nodding her head. "I'm going to see her right now, actually. I would ask if you want to come, but you don't get off your shift in... I don't know. An hour?"