The moment I woke up would be one of the most important moments of my life, something that I would only know years later.

Having never slept in a true bed before, I thought I was floating, simply being unable to discern what I was lying on. It was dark- I was in a building, and it was warm- two things that were immediately apparent without opening my eyes. My head hurt, but I felt warmer than I ever had before. I decided it would be better to wake from my slumber and find the source of such mysterious comfort.

An orange glow fell on my eyelids, revealing more and more as I awoke from seemed like an eternal sleep. I did not know what a bed looked like at the time, and I am embarrassed to say that I thought I was in God’s cradle.

Curtains and an elaborate veil surrounded the bed, two supporting trusses supporting a roof above my head. Perhaps- perhaps I could not be faulted for thinking I was in a cradle.

“Ah! You’re awake!” A rustle of footfall sounded towards me, hinting to me the enormous size of the room I resided in. “Oh my, oh my. You look better than when I had seen you last.” Even feeling weak, I managed a puzzled look. A responsive face of understanding prompted a quiet ‘Ahh!’ and the figure hurried away quickly.

I pulled myself up to prop myself on the bed frame, mind still believing that I was dreaming, or dead. Not that they were much different, for if I was dreaming I would soon be dead. The room was indeed enormous, my large bed only occupying a small fraction of the total space. Numerous desks, an enormous wooden wardrobe and a cupboard were all built into a single room- enough that it was twice as big as the cabin I lived in when I was in the outer. I did not know at the time, but the floor was covered by a red carpet, and curtains obscured in the relative darkness of the space.

The woman hurried back with a glass of water, placing it on a desk beside the bed that I could not see.

“Little girl…” She reached into the blanket and clasped my hand. “Some things you are too young to understand. We will talk about such things in due time.”

I was awake now, and opened my mouth to speak.

“Do not speak yet. You are weak.” My vision cleared enough to be able to discern that the figure in front of me was a woman. “You are sick still- a shame, for a single glance at you is enough to know that you are not truly one that was born and raised in the Outer. The events that led you to such a place are unknown to me, perhaps even unknown to you- but no one that was born there needs to rot there for the rest of their lives. Nevermind that, now. What is your name, little girl?”

This was no ordinary room, and certainly no ordinary woman. And someone seemed to think I was no ordinary girl.

“I can r-read, write, count…” I gasped as I took another shallow breath in a futile attempt to sound composed. “Keep me, and I will learn to do anything you need. Anything.”

She put a finger to my lips. “Hush, little girl. Let us not rush things- perhaps we will have our introductions later. We will talk when you are rested and calm- do not worry, for you are safe here. My name is Priss. Priss Everton.”

—-

“Can you believe it? Supposedly three years away, and I’ve already reached my goal!”

“You have worked hard, and I extend my congratulations.” Alec’s response was not as energetic or happy as Marilin had anticipated. “I remember the day I received my own craft, and no doubt you have today felt the same joy I felt a few years ago.”

“You are a pilot of the city garrison, are you not?”

“I suppose you ask if we will be serving together, and the answer to that question is yes- something I greatly look forward to.” No matter his words, Alec sounded lethargic, different from his usual tone.

“Alec, are you alright?”

His change in tone was like night and day, alike to a light switch that had just been flicked in a dark room. “Oh, yes. Yes. I just finished a long shift- that is all.” He laughed. “How about tomorrow- we meet up at Noir Rose- it is next to the Academy, do you know it?”

“Yes. Seventh Street, a unit away form the intersection?” It was a cafe that she herself frequented when she was allowed to leave the Academy grounds, as they served excellent scones- something that reminded her of home.

“Let us meet there at ten tomorrow- consider this my congratulations to you,” Alec paused, carefully measuring the silence. “Pilot to pilot. Not often does a pilot enter our ranks, and after a rookie’s first battle, there is much cause for celebration. The situation in the country may not be the best time for a party, but the rebels are still weak. Us pilots will not be needed for quite some time.”

Marilin’s smile rose quickly, showing in her voice. “Deal. You’re paying.”

“ ‘course.” Alec laughed, and hung up. He sounded much happier than at the beginning of the call- something that greatly pleased her.

“...far better place than I will ever go.” Marilin had taken the last hour to clean her room, and, like many things that seemed to be happening recently, pleased her. Now books were stacked carefully in a book box, clothes in cupboards and medication nestled cleanly in a designated cabinet. Fitting for her current position.

With a satisfying snap, the book’s screen shut off, marking the one hundredth-time that it had been read.

—-

The inside of the building was only mildly warmer than the chill that beleaguered the outside. Even so, a welcoming scent of sweet and a quiet tinkle gave Marilin a welcoming feeling of respite.

Light wooden chairs were stacked in a neat fashion on the far left corner of the wall, and tables were otherwise scattered spaciously throughout the plain tile floor. Wooden features like shelves and decorative cupboards lined with beige, simple walls, and a tinkle of teacups clanging on their saucers filled the shop with a quiet but welcoming atmosphere. From the counter, an equally silent cashier watched the cafe’s lazy proceeds with a sleepy eye.

A swish of wind sounded through the quiet space as Marilin weaved her way to the front counter. A quick glance told her that Alec had not arrived yet- a message on her PAD told her that he was arriving in a minute or two. In the meantime, she filed both their orders and took a seat on a corner table that was lit by an overhanging lamp.

“Marilin!” A voice rang out form the entrance, flowing through to the back like a flute. Alec snaked his way through the littered furniture and squeezed into the seat opposite her, still looking almost the same as when they met in the alleyway- an unbreakable smile and a gleaming uniform, both of which had become permanent fixtures of his character, looking at her idyllically on the other side of the table.

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“It was quite a surprise when I was notified that you, of all people, would be filling in for the position of the experimental craft that all us pilots have heard so much about.” Alec leaned across the table with a gleam of mad curiosity in his eyes. “Come on, tell me. What’s so special about the Strider that the government has kept it hushed for years?”

Marilin returned the gesture as their eyes met, laughing quietly to preserve the peace in the room. “I am but a little girl that commands a leviathan. A bird may not know the purpose of it’s wings until it flies, no?”

“A bird will often learn to use their wings until it is too late, only using what could be their greatest ability when death glimpses them in it’s eye.” Alec’s single eye slashed through Marilin’s demeanor as if it were a blade that had just left the whetstone. “It is better to know one’s abilities, regardless of how pitiful they may be, than be powerful and be unaware of what truly is in your hands.”

A series of clicks and the opening of a trapdoor on the side of the wall announced the arrival of the two’s coffee, steaming and fresh. Retrieving it from the hole in the wall, the trapdoor subtly clicked close and the conversation proceeded as if nothing had happened.

“Perhaps your first trial of combat will help you realise what makes your craft so special.” Alec looked away and tinked his cup. “Not knowing the power of one’s wings does not mean that you will not mature into a full-fledged bird.”

Marilin smiled at the thought. To her, her Strider was simply like any other Bucharest-class. “Just because pilots use the same model does not mean they are identical, just like how each bird is similar, yet a different individual in its own right.”

“Spirit Striders are one fo the few lucky types of soldiers that are so few that they can afford to act, fight and flourish independently. Other soldiers abstain from freedom for the sake of order, but pilots have the power and ability to fight single-handedly. I suppose never knowing your specialty until you are in need of it is not such a bad thing, hmm?”

Scones arrived in a small platter, one for each, as their coffee started diminishing from their cups. The quiet chatter around the store never stopped, as they, themselves contributed to the relaxed atmosphere that seemed to emanate from the very air.

“Never mind that. I invited you here for celebration, not consultation. Let me ask you what has been on the tongue of every pilot since your entrance to our ranks- how, and why?”

“Would it be too boring to say that I always wanted to be a pilot?”

Alec laughed as he munched on the remains of a half-eaten scone. “I will not lie, and I think I speak for most, if not every pilot, that the thought you are having now is but one that we have all had at some point in time. Though I suppose you have another reason, as does everyone.”

“That is something you will find out in due time, I suppose. Like my powers as a pilot. I am, after all, a little girl.”

“Piloting a leviathan.”

“It makes all the difference, does it not?”

They laughed as they drained their cups of coffee, taking time to eat their scones as if they were treasures.

“You must have been a good student, to be chosen at all. I wasn’t nearly as good as you, finishing fourth in my class at graduation.” said Alec, reminiscing as he stared at his empty cup. “I suppose it was something I did that caused me to be where I am today.”

Marilin realised that despite being relatively young, Alec still only piloted an older model- a Sancrete-class. It was a detail she had overlooked after their meeting in the alleyway, and it was a thinly threaded explanation to why, with a rank as low as one he achieved, he did not pilot a Bucharest-class, or even piloted a Strider at all.

“Something happened.”

“Perhaps it would be misleading to say something happened. Of course, something happened, but simply saying that wouldn’t give credit to what really caused me to become a pilot.” Alec waved over a waitress and requested another coffee, flashing a smile before returning to a serious demeanour as he resumed talking. It was uncanny, almost scary, how quickly he could change. “The thing that happened did not occur upon my graduation- in fact, nowhere close. It happened when I was young, and though I did not appreciate it then, it became one of the most important things in my life. I would not be a pilot today without it. Does that answer your thoughts?”

Marilin nodded, looking away.

“How about you? Enough about me. Come on, we came here because you got your Spirit Strider, right? Don’t be solemn. How do you reckon you got your Spirit Strider?”

“Luck.”

It was a pitiful half truth, but it was one that could not be easily refuted. Alec looked doubtful.

“I was an excellent student, something you know already. However, when I entered the Academy at the behest of my…” Marilin took a sip of the coffee as she composed her thoughts. Sickly sweet. “Benefactor, I did not originally intend to become a pilot. I was going to get my certificate and leave. From the onset, I did not expect to be capable of competing with my peers.”

Alec picked up almost instantly. “You did not receive an education as a child.” Marilin nodded as he continued. “Combined with your short stature-” He flashed an apologetic look, but Marilin, expecting as much, waved him off. “You did not expect to stand much of a chance in the almost brutal competition of the Academy. Don’t worry- that, of all things, is something that I can understand. You worked hard instead, and got to where you are now?”

“If the last part were correct, I wouldn’t say that I am where I am now through luck.”

“Oh?”

“I consider myself an exceedingly lucky person.”

Alec rested his head on his hands. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. I will warn you however- once you become a solid part of the pilot community, there will not be many secrets you can keep. It is, I suppose, only natural.”

“I consider myself an exceedingly lucky person. That has a tendency to get into terrible situations.”

Alec seemed satisfied with the enigmatic answer and replied with a grin. “So you’re here to tell me that these two things tend to balance out, resulting in-”

He suddenly paused, an almost malevolent glint of cautioned interest sparking in his eyes. It was like a hawk who had just realised they had finally cornered a mouse. He let go of his cup as he inched forward. “Let me ask you one question- if you do not wish to answer, then that is completely understandable.”

That was exactly when Marilin realised that Alec was far more cunning than his friendly facade. She nodded, not expecting him to understand her thinly woven message.

He had got her.

“Were you born in the Outer?”

She had prepared, arrived at this meeting and readied herself for years, for the possibility to be asked exactly this question.

“We both know that refusing to answer would give you the correct answer regardless.” After a moment of quick thought and hesitation, she pressed on. “Yes, I was born in the Outer.”

Alec nodded. “I understand.”

While Marilin had not specified the events that led her transfer to the Inner, the possibilities were few, and all...interesting. More importantly, if they were spoken through the wrong mouth, they were dangerous.

“Something occurred that was very uncommon, unique and strange. In all honesty, I only know half of what happened. Someone else that I perhaps will never know knows the other half. I am sure that you are aware more than most others of the dangers of knowledge, being in a position such as yours. Me knowing is bad enough. I do not wish to endanger you, too.”

“Don’t worry. I’m good at keeping my mouth shut, and I don’t think that you would be a thorn in our side. Trust. Thought never crossed my mind.” He flashed a grin that seemed to say, ‘Can’t speak if I don’t know, hm?’.

Marilin smiled, pleased with how fast the questions had been smothered. Her greatest problem had been resolved quite quickly- if someone was after her tail, she would have the thought that they could not endanger any others in pursuit of her. Not only that, it would simplify matters.

Putting down a half-eaten scone, she stood up and waved to a waitress with her PAD, indicating that she wanted to pay the bill. She took the person opposite her off guard as they stood up. Alec may have been a hawk, but Marilin believed that she was no simple mouse.

“Glad to hear.”