“How dare you raise a sword to us!” repeated the voice.

The two guards gaped. In their shock, they dropped said swords. Someone’s gotta look into their training procedure, thought Ria. Apparently, “not dropping your weapons in shock” wasn’t included in the Citadel’s version of “Guard Training For Dummies”.

Ria glanced over at the owner of the voice. Sly dog.

“That’s right. Drop your swords in the face of meeting your betters!”

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh. Ria chanted the mantra in her head. She settled for crossing her arms, and pinching her own side.

Finn placed his arms on his side. He raised the medallion high in the air, clear for all to see.

He sniffed, “Your supervising officers will be hearing about this!”

Ria had to give it to him. The falsetto voice was impressive.

The first guard bravely asked, “Who… who are you?”

“How dare you!”

SLAP!

The guard clutched his cheek. Watery eyes glanced over at his coworker. In return, the second guard’s jaws dropped, eyes widening to dangerous levels. What… just happened? His brain hadn’t fully processed what his eyes had just witnessed. Finn’s hand returned back to its crossed position.

Ria cleared her throat. “You are in the presence of her ladyship, you fools! How could you not recognize your own boss?” A pause for dramatic effect. “The Manager of the mines!”

Finn stomped forward, voice becoming even shriller (if that was possible). “The name’s…” he glanced at the medallion. “Marge Doola.”

“I think you mean, cough, Dolor! Cough.” Ria rubbed her nose.

“Oh…Marge Dolor,” Finn glared at the guards. “Got that?”

The first guard whimpered, still clutching his flaming cheek. The second guard raised an incredulous eyebrow. He took the offered medallion and studied it. The man glanced over at Finn multiple times. His face grew a bit constipated.

“You got a problem, lazy scum?” Finn barked.

“No, sir! I mean, ma’am!” stammered the guard.

Finn stalked forward until he was nose-to-nose with the guard. “Me and my colleagues have been sent by Eres herself to check on the conditions of this camp. Going against us is going against Her Majesty.” He jabbed the other man in the chest, emphasizing each word. “Is. That. Clear.”

“Yes, sir- Ma’am!” The guard hurried to straighten himself into a proud salute. His partner was quick to do the same, the red handprint, bright on his face.

Finn smirked evilly. “As punishment, I demand that you two strip and-” His devious plan was cut off.

“What her greatness means is…” Ria shot Finn a warning glance (only to receive an eye roll). She turned her gaze back to the guards, smiling reassuringly. “She demands you take us through a tour of the ‘Sick Area’. Immediately.”

The guards glanced at one another. Their eyes drifted over to discreetly study the work clothes Ria and Derek were wearing. They both wondered the same thing. And who exactly were these two?

Nevertheless, a warning glance from ‘Marge’ was enough for them to hold their tongues. The “Manager of the Mines” could do whatever they wanted. They knew better than to risk saying another word. Truly, it was none of their business.

“Please.” The first guard swallowed nervously. “Follow me.”

—

The sounds of knife sharpening filled the air. Metal slid against metal. Leather was being strapped on and helmets and capes were adjusted. The movements were sharp and practiced.

Other than the sound of preparation, it was silent. In a room of twenty, no one spoke.

It was eerie.

This was the practice of the Elite Guards before every mission. The “silent preparation” they called it.

The last knife was slipped into its sheath. A collective breath of relief was released. Founded by the first Eres, the Elite Guard was made up of the descendants of the original guards. Honor-bound to serve the queen and follow the Code, a list of age-old traditions, it was an organization as old as the Citadel itself.

Rule #63: “A mission starts the second the first man or woman of the Elite Guard puts on their armor”.

A good start was the path to a good finish. The elite guards were supposed to be the best of the best. Although arguable…there was a reason for it.

The stoic men and women sat in silence.

Now, all that was left, was to wait for orders.

—

Ria finished tying the cloth around the lower half of her face. She tightened the knot on the back of her head. The girl glanced at Finn and Derek.

“Go ahead,” mouthed Finn. He turned to address the two guards, engaging them in a conversation of who knew what. Ria couldn’t care less. She nodded back and glanced over at a masked Derek who followed her lead.

The two slowly broke away from ‘Marge’ and her new underlings. Ria looked around.

The “Sick Area” was surprisingly small. The campsite was made up of many individual white tents with flaps as entrances. The tents were all the same size, barely large enough to sleep one grown person. They looked identical to one another. At the very back of the camp was a tent the size of Ria’s house. It towered over the others.

The girl didn’t know why but the sight of unending rows of tents and whiteness had a shiver running down her back. The wind whipped hair into her face, stinging.

Ria and Derek opened the different flaps, peeking in as they passed by. Some had sleeping mats, others had crusty bowls, but all of them were empty. Ria’s heart pounded. It had been some time ago, but she had seen the numbers. Where were all the people? She had felt it the moment they entered the “Sick Area”, there was something very wrong about this place.

Ria started to run, flipping open flaps as fast as she could.

“Daisy,” she whispered, expression morphing into one of fear. “Daisy. Daisy!” She panted, looking at the seemingly never-ending row of tents. “Daisy! Where are you? Daisy-Hmmph!”

Derek closed his hand around her mouth. Ria struggled against him, kicking and flailing her arms around.

“Shh!” Derek whispered warningly. “You’ll alert the guards.”

Ria glared at him but fell silent. Her face burned with embarrassment. She nodded to show she understood. Derek gently let go.

They continued to go through every single tent. There wasn’t a single child or adult present in any of the tents. Either the numbers were lying or… Ria felt a sick feeling rise in her stomach. Every second that was wasted, meant…She glanced over at Derek only to find an expression of resignation on his face. That was right, the man had been here before.

All too soon, they had gone through every single tent. It was the same result. Nobody. Only the large white tent was left. They were in a ghost town. Dragging her feet, Ria headed towards it. Glancing up, she squinted in the harsh sunlight. She could barely make out the top of the structure.

As Ria reached out to push the thick flap away, her hands trembled. What would she find? Where was Daisy? These questions circled like vicious sharks in her mind.

Derek glanced over. The girl was frozen, staring hauntedly at the flap.

Hand outstretched, the girl didn’t push the flap away or step through.

Ria was frozen. She didn’t want to face the fact that whatever she found inside… would be it. There was nowhere else to search. Nothing else to confirm.

A rough, large hand brushed past her and opened the flap in her stead. Derek walked past Ria and into the white tent. Ria stared as the tent flap fell back into its place. The cold wind nipped at her cheeks.

“Your Highness!” Derek called out, voice reeking of shock.

Okay, she was being an idiot. Ria rushed inside. She paused. Her eyes widened at the sight before. The covered her mouth.

A huge cage sat in the center of the tent. The smell of rusty bars and urine filled the air. But Ria stared beyond the bars into what was inside the cage. Twenty or so children peered right back at her. Snapping out of the shock, Derek rushed forward to pull on the bars.

Ria approached with faltering steps. What the… She grasped the lock and shook it. It wasn’t a complicated lock, but even Speculum’s diverse range of classes hadn’t offered “lock-picking 101”. Ria’s eyes roamed over the scared kids that huddled close to one another, whimpering softly but not making any other noise.

They all looked… surprisingly healthy. Sure, their faces were gaunt and they looked malnourished, but there were no unconscious bodies and none of them were coughing or showing the usual symptoms of the Child Snatcher. Their cheeks were rosy and their eyes were lucid and clear.

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But where was Daisy? Ria’s eyes roamed over the crowd of kids, but she couldn’t find the one she so desperately wanted to see.

Ria’s eyes searched around the tent. Some snow had drifted in but otherwise, the ground was rocky with some grass growing in random spots. What would they do in the movies…She picked up a decent-sized rock from the ground, testing its weight in her hands. Should be good enough. With a yell, she smashed the rock against the lock.

CLANG! CLANG!

So on, and so on.

If it could, her glare would have burned a hole into the stupid lock. Ria wholeheartedly focused on her task. Who cares that it was impossible, she would break open this lock if it was the last thing she did! She had to!

Derek and the children watched the girl in silence. They flinched at the loud noise. Some of the smarter ones scooted away while the daring ones eagerly crowded in. Crazy lady, they all thought. But said crazy lady took no notice of any of this.

Ria smashed the rock into the lock again and again. The metal slowly dented but the lock barely budged. Suddenly, a chunk of the rock broke off, cutting the girl’s hand.

“Ah,” Ria dropped the rock and clutched her injured hand. Her eye’s narrowed at the bright red liquid. If this was the price for their freedom… Breathing through the pain, she forced herself to pick up the rock once more. As she went to grab it, a firm hold on her wrist halted her movements Ria turned to snarl at the person, only to find Derek looking at her sincerely.

“It won’t work,” he whispered. The man shook his head.

“You don’t know that!” sha snapped. Ria wrenched her grip out of Derek’s hold. She smashed the rock down once, twice, and then flung it off into the distance with a frustrated cry. The girl sank down to the floor. It was hopeless.

A tiny hand reached out to grab Ria’s. The girl almost recoiled but a quick glance helped to hold herself still.

A boy with curly hair and large brown eyes stared at her. His hair was greasy and his cheeks were covered in dirt. A long thick scar ran across the side of his face.

“Are you her?” he asked.

Ria licked her lips. Am I who, she wanted to spit. The hurt and exhaustion boiling within her wanted to burst out, but there were no worthy targets in sight. Ria exhaled shakily. She couldn’t say anything for fear that she might lash out at the boy. It wasn’t his fault. She opted for a shrug.

“Are you her? Y’know! The queen!” he explained eagerly.

The other forms started to huddle in closer. The kid scratched his hair, movements frantic. Ria inched back. He smiled, “She used to talk about you! She always said that you would come to save us.” The boy paused and looked down, uncertainty clouding his features. Suddenly, he blurted out. “Are you really Four? She said you had the Sacred Piece and everything!”

“She told you? Who do you mean by she?” Ria hurried to press her face close to the metal bars. She pressed, “What was the name of the girl that talked about me?”

The boy crossed his arms. “Well, first tell us if you are or aren’t Four.”

“Yes, I’m Four!” Ria couldn’t help the incredulous laugh that escaped her. She sighed, “Now can you please tell me who the girl was? I have a very dear friend that was lost to me, and she was supposed to be here.”

The boy turned to the others. Did anyone remember what her name was? Thoughtful hums and chatter filled the air.

A round-eyed girl piped up. “I think her name was Lucy!”

Ria deflated.

“No!” another boy interjected. “It was something to do with a flower.”

Ria perked up.

“Lily!”

“Yeah, that’s what it was!”

“No, it was Rosey,” the girl protested.

“I think it was Daffodil,” a boy in the back added.

“Eww,” the girl scrunched her nose. “Who would name their kid Daffodil?”

An argument soon broke out as the children argued over the name. Suddenly, the boy with the scar and curly brown hair stood up. “I know it!”

He could barely be heard over the arguing voices. Ria scooted in. “What?”

“I remember it now!” the boy repeated. He nudged the girl next to him. She nodded glumly. With a deep breath, she opened her mouth. “Shut it! All of you!”

And just like that, all the kids fell silent.

“Daisy. It was Daisy,” said the boy. The kid turned to look at Ria. “Your friend. Her name was Daisy, wasn’t it?”

The children nodded in agreement.

“Yeah!” The boy in the back twiddled his fingers. “That’s what it was…she said her brother picked her name.”

Before Ria could press for more, the little girl sighed, “Poor Daisy.”

The other kids turned to stare at the girl. To be fair, she did cover her mouth with a gasp, quickly covering her mouth, although she didn’t look all that sorry. The curly-haired boy glared at her. Why would you say that, his eyes screamed.

Voice trembling, Ria’s voice broke through the children’s silent conversation. “Where is Daisy?”

The children were silent. They shuffled around uncomfortably.

“Please,” Ria begged, fighting to push down the panic. Please be all right, please be all right, she prayed.

The curly-haired boy sat down, crossing his legs. He sighed and broke the silence. “A couple days ago they took all the really sick kids out to the Ocean. Something about preparing for the Extermination.”

What Extermination, thought Ria. She brushed the thought away.

“The Ocean?” Ria asked.

“Well, that’s just what we call it. Although, it’s less of an ocean and more like a mountain of ash. It’s where all the really sick kids get taken to… Sometimes when it piles high, you can see the top of it from inside the camp.” The boy deflated, he wiped his face and sniffed, “My brother was taken there. He was really sick. Couldn’t get up and was coughing up blood. They took him away to the Ocean… I never saw him again.”

The little girl hugged herself tightly. “That’s why we say they’re lost at sea ‘cause the kids that go, don’t come back.” She looked up at Ria, eyes watery. “And they aren’t going to, are they?”

But the older girl couldn’t respond. Her mind was elsewhere.

Ria felt numb. Her fingers twitched against her sides.

Daisy had been taken. To a place that sounded like a mass grave. Ria was at a loss for words. A couple of days ago… If only she had escaped a few days earlier, then maybe she… Ria choked on a sob. All the ugly emotions she had been trying to suppress burst forward. She collapsed in onto herself, forming a small ball on the ground.

She couldn’t imagine it. Ria refused to! Daisy had been so bright and vibrant. The girl was sassy and cheeky. Even her brittle coughs never held her back. How could she be… She was so full of life! The way the girl had led the prisoners to bark with her at the Recruiters. Her futile but whole-hearted attempts at doing the mining work. A small warmth that tucked into Ria’s side in a cold sea cave… This wasn’t just a name or number… this was an actual person! A kid!

Tears streamed down her face. Ria’s shoulders trembled as uncontrollable sobs wracked through her frame.

The girl had been such a ball of energy… and now she was gone. How did something like this happen? How could something so good suddenly no longer exist? How could it? Ria pressed her hands against her eyes. If only she could block the whole world out. Water flowed freely down her face, drenching her shirt. Deep hate rose out of the ashes of her grief. Her whole frame trembled but this time a different emotion burned through the tears. The girl’s bloodshot eyes burned with fury.

Ria was furious. Her fists clenched tightly. But she didn’t know at who. She wanted revenge. She didn’t want to move. What was the point if the person she had come to rescue wasn’t even here anymore?

If only she had come earlier. The girl hated herself and the world with equal measure. She couldn’t believe she had been close to laughing just a few minutes ago, so certain that Daisy would be waiting inside, just waiting for them to rescue her. The girl wanted to slap herself.

Ria’s mind spun, swirling with dark thoughts. Did they kill her or had the Child Snatcher already taken her, Ria wondered. The Ocean. The world’s largest grave. She felt sick to her stomach. Ria’s breath shortened. Her ears began to ring. The world around her began to blur. The girl just wanted to sleep, let it all fade to nothingness.

“Your… highness? You all right?” The boy’s voice broke through the messy noises of Ria’s mind.

Ria glanced up at him. The boy’s brown eyes were wide and earnest. Sticking a hand into his pockets, he pulled something out. A cloth? The boy handed her the soft material through the metal bars.

Grabbing the offered item, Ria opened it. She gaped down at the object. It was Daisy’s beloved handkerchief!

The boy scooted closer to the bars and whispered, “She made me promise to give this to you. She wanted to make sure if anything happened to her, you would always remember her.” The boy smiled proudly. “I made sure to hide it from the guards. I protected it!”

It hurt to see the handkerchief Daisy had loved most, but at least now Ria had something. She choked down another sob and cradled the cloth in her hands. Ria glanced at the boy’s scar and then at his wide smile.

“Thank you,” she whispered brokenly. Her hands held the handkerchief in a vice grip. “Thank you.”

—

Finn glanced at the two guards. The first was pointing out all of the tents.

“This is where we used to keep all the sick kids.”

There was an unsettling feel to the camp of empty, white tents. Something unnatural lurked in the air.

“Why are they all empty?” Finn asked, already dreading the answer. They had the same process on the ships. He knew what happened to the sick ones, but still…

The two guards glanced at one another. The second one coughed awkwardly. “Well, it was your order, ma’am.”

Finn almost tripped in shock.

The two other men floundered worryingly, but the ‘Manager of the Mines’ held up a hand and righted themself. ‘Marge’ sniffed haughtily, “Well, I may have given the order, but obviously I want to understand how you idiots handled it.”

“Ohh,” the guards nodded in understanding. Made sense.

“Well, we cleared out all the really sick ones. Most of ‘em were already half dead. Some were… dead dead. Terribly dreadful, but orders are orders.” The second guard glanced at ‘Marge’, trying to fish for brownie point, only to quickly look away when a dirty glare was thrown his way. The man hurried to add, “All of the bodies were properly dealt with. We took them to the Ocean.”

“The Ocean?” questioned the manager.

“It’s what the kids called the cremation area,” the first guard piped in. “Some form of loyalty to Oceanport and something to do with how many dead bodies are in the sea.”

“I wonder what the sea looks like, I’ve never been.” the second guard sighed wistfully.

“It’s beautiful,” murmured ‘Marge’.

The two guards looked over in surprise.

Finn stared out at the edges of the camp. The snow-tipped mountains ran across the horizon, majestic and intimidating. It was beautiful in a dead and haunted way, he thought. Nothing like the temperamental and ever-changing tides of the ocean. Oh, how he missed her. The cool breeze reminded him a little of the ocean breeze. His heart squeezed with a pang of nostalgia. The boy missed the salt-kissed waves with an ache he could taste on his tongue.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “What about the other children?” Finn tried to keep his voice flat and uninterested. “The ones that weren’t as sick?”

His fists clenched. When he got the chance, he was going to knock out every person involved in this entire horrific ordeal, starting with these two idiots.

The first guard scratched the back of his head. “Well, there weren’t really any instructions on them so…”

Finn’s eyes widened. “You didn’t kill them as well, did you!” he thundered.

“No!” The second guard waved his hands in a pacifying manner. “We just… locked them all up over there.” He nodded to the large white tent. It was the tent Finn had seen Ria and Derek head into.

The second guards shifted from foot to foot. “We were waiting for your instructions on… uh, what to do with them.”

“They’re children! Stop treating them like they’re sacks of meat!” snapped Finn, uncaring of whether the reaction was uncharacteristic of Marge. Although…. she did seem like a stubborn ass, so he reckoned getting randomly pissed off was probably normal for the woman.

The two guards flinched.

Finn hoped against hope that Daisy was in that cage… as bad as that sounded. But he already knew the truth in his heart. Knew the truth the moment the little girl was taken away, too weak to even stand on her own. How would Ria take it… Guilt warred inside of him. Should he have said something? Warned her instead of fuel her hope?

“Well,” the first guard gestured. “I guess we can head in?”

“No!” Finn crossed his arms. “I would like to inspect these tents more thoroughly. Ensure the budgets have been spent wisely.”

He motioned for them to go forward and lead the way.

“Okay…” the two guards glanced at one another. Something felt off.

A large war horn sounded off in the distance.

The first guard perked up. “Wow, they sure are early.”

“Ah,” the second guard nodded, “We best be heading out, wouldn’t want to be here when the Elite Guards go in for the Extermination.”

“Poor Dust miners,” the first guard scrunched his face up. “What do you reckon the cost for replacing all of ‘em will be?”

“Who knows?” the second guard scratched his head. “It’s Eres’ orders, I’m sure the Symvoliou’s already calculated all that. Right, Manager?”

“What…what did you say?” questioned Finn.

“You know,” the first guard glanced at the second guard. “The extermination of all the central core Dust miners. Apparently, there are orders from the higher-ups that they’ll spread the disease. We’re supposed to clear out of the area to leave fewer witnesses.”

Finn’s face paled. What the-

A familiar nasally voice called, “I know you’re in there, stupid imposters! Come out and maybe I’ll leave your bodies intact when I’m through with you!”

The real Marge stood outside of the camp, face red and fuming. Around her were dozens of Elite Guards.

“Oh Niamh,” cursed Finn.