Saran and Eri were back on their boat. He looked back to see the Caprian ship sinking slowly into the Black Sea. Neither the occupants nor the ship would ever see the light of day again.

Not that it mattered though, Saran had killed nearly all the soldiers.

“Are you seriously not going to say a single word to me, Saran?” Eri said in the background. They were miles away from it, yet Saran could still see small ripples dancing on the water’s surface.

He strove to be like the sea, silent even when a catastrophe was happening so close. “Saran,” Eri pleaded. “How many times do I have to beg before you answer me?”

He turned back to Eri, and behind her sat a boy not much taller than Saran. He was staring off into the distance, towards the endless sea. Saran pointed a finger at him. “An Amberian.” He snapped.

The boy glanced up when Saran said that. Eri opened her mouth to speak. “Shut up for one second, Eri.” She slowly closed her mouth. “Not only an Amberian, but a soldier, and not just a regular soldier, but a jubilee soldier!” He shouted. Eri didn’t speak.

“Are you done yet?” He asked. “I’ll stay with you till Sango and after that, neither of us will ever have to look at each other again. You can do all your rebellion things.”

“And what about you? How the hell do I know that you won’t report as to the Sango police!?”

“Why should you care?”

“Why should I care?! I care because you’ll get us killed!”

The three of them sat in silence. Saran looked at his friend to see Eri fidgeting with a puddle of water. Solidifying it, de-solidifying, and then again solid. Each time she lost a drop or two of water.

Kaiser curled his legs off to his chin, his brown Amberian eyes staring at his shoe-fewer feet. Saran rubbed his nose bridge with her fingers. First, the fighting, and now this was starting to give him a migraine.

“He won’t betray us,” Eri spoke.

Saran rubbed her eyes. “And how do you know?” Eri looked back at Kaiser as if they were deciding whether to tell Saran or not. “Somehow the Hunter Orion knows him,” Eri finally said before adding, “And he’s quite familiar with Kaiser’s face.”

Kaiser looked at him firmly, “So if I sell you out, I’ll most likely get myself on a wanted poster as well. Think of it as your insurance policy. If I were to betray you, I would just get killed myself.” Kaiser stared at her with a serious face.

“And also he was already out of his cell by the time I got to him. He has good lock-picking skills that might come in handy,” Eri said.

“If he was so capable, he wouldn’t have ended up in a Caprian prison.” Saran half argued. But he knew once Eri had something set in mind, there was nothing he could do to change it. He sighed under his breath.

“Fine,” Saran said reluctantly. Eri’s face lit up, and Kaiser breathed a sigh of relief, his seriousness evaporating instantly. “But you’re going to help us.”

Kaiser grinned as if he already knew that he was going to help, “Gladly.”

>>>>>

The trio reached Sango near sunset; they saw the huge skyline before the coast. Saran smiled; this was one of the main reasons he loved Shareen, the capital city of Sango. It was built on a natural hill, sloping down to meet the seaside, meaning the vast numbers of buildings could be seen miles away. The multi-colored roofs seemingly danced as the setting sun’s red hue bounced off every conceivable surface.

Although compared to Saran, Kaiser’s face beamed. It was expected, though, that Kaiser had never seen Shareen, and to see the stunning city during sunset was an unforgettable moment. Eri looked at the city dreamingly, already imagining her bed.

The twin moons and stars started dotting the night sky by the time they reached the harbor. He stirred them towards a narrow, empty canal. Barely luminescent street lamps dotted the streets as Saran passed through shops and broken-down houses. In the past, Shareen had been a bustling commercial city, the richest of its kind. But after Capria had annexed it from the government, most citizens were forced into poverty while the foreigners occupied the wealthier homes.

Saran glanced back at Eri, She’s not like the others. He thought firmly.

Saran stopped pedaling and slowly stood. He grabbed a hold of a ladder designed to get in and out of the canal and propelled himself atop. Eri and Kaiser followed shortly behind.

“Here we are,” Eri said, nudging at Kaiser, “Welcome to Fox’s hotel.”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Fox’s Hotel.” Kaiser echoed. He looked up at the crumbling building. “Not exactly the type of building I had expected a rebellion to be brewing under..”

“Of course, Kaiser, please go around Shareen and tell everyone that there’s a rebellion here. Who knows, you might just find a friendly Caprian police officer willing to help us.” Saran grinned sarcastically. “The walls have ears here. Every passing word listens to. So don’t go out spewing nonsense.” Saran said, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Kaiser looked at Eri, who simply shrugged as if to say that’s just how he is.

Saran opened the door, and it jingled. The familiar scent of freshly baked pastries entered his nostrils, and a happy-looking Shelby sat with a warm mug of coffee. “You two sure took your time.” She said, then tilted her head at Kaiser. “And you brought along a puzzled-looking boy.” She smiled as Eri closed the door.

“Yeah, it’s a long story that I’m sure Eri would entertain you with.”

“Why me, though?”

Saran stared at Eri menacingly. “If I remember correctly, you were the one who brought Kaiser along.”

Shelby set her mug down on a coaster and got up. She ruffled Saran’s short hair affectionately. “Don’t go looking at Eri like that.” She said with no actual heat behind her voice. Saran noticed that her orange hair was tied into a soft braid.

“Okay.”

Her hand slid off Saran’s head, and she looked at Kaiser. “I’m sure you’re itching for a bath. Follow Saran up the stairs and he’ll show you to the bathroom.”

Saran nodded and signaled Kaiser to follow him. The hotel looked more like a cottage from the inside, with plush armchairs, antique furniture, and paintings made by Shelby. He took Kaiser up the wooden staircase, which had just recently been furnished with a carpet.

Kaiser didn’t say anything, as Saran showed him the bathroom. “The knob on the right gives hot water, and the left gives cold,” he explained before throwing a white towel at Kaiser’s face, which he caught.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t. If there’s anyone who you should thank, it should be Shelby. She’s the one letting your sorry ass live here,” Saran said. Kaiser gave a quick salute before promptly shutting the door in Saran’s face. Sighing, he forced his exhausted feet down the stairs. At the end of the staircase, he was met with a comfortable Eri describing all that had happened today.

Away from them, near the countertop, which looked like a reception, sat a warm mug of coffee. He smiled. Shelby must have made it for him. He sat on a stool and quietly sipped at it. Listening to their conversation while staring off at the stars outside the window.

“When we got in front of the ship, we realized that the screws were hammered backward!” Eri excitedly shared. “You should have seen Saran’s face when he practically begged me for my screwdriver.” She laughed.

Saran rolled his eyes, and there she went again. Though a part of him felt comfortable. Relaxed even. The soft unwinding of time contrasting with Eri’s laughter was calming.

“C’mon, she already knows what happened on the ship. I’m more curious about how you met Kaiser.”

“Saran’s right. In fact, I have been curious about that as well.”

Eri shifted uncomfortably, “Actually, I promised Kaiser that I wouldn’t tell anyone that.”

“Are you kidding? You’ve known Kaiser for less than a day. You’ve known me for three years!”

“Look, it’s not about knowing people, it’s about having integrity.”

“You?! Having integrity? Eri, we both know that’s not true.” Saran scoffed.

The warm mug of coffee that rested in between his palms went cold. He knew it was a low blow to say that to Eri, especially after what they had done today, but the idea of him and Kaiser keeping secrets when they had just me infuriated Saran.

“Mind your manners, Saran,” Shelby snapped. “Go get some sleep. It’s clear you’ve been running on low energy.”

“I have enough energy.”

“Go sleep,” Shelby commanded. Saran slammed his mug on the counter and tiny droplets exploded out. “Gladly.” He said and proceeded to stomp up the stairs. He passed a puzzled-looking Kaiser and shut his door.

He slept alone in a sparsely decorated room. The only furniture was a single white cot shoved to the side. His clothes were tossed haphazardly into a corner. He had his pair of boxing gloves resting on the ground next to a punching bag. Several bandages dotted the room like glitter.

He opened the window, and a gentle sea breeze hit Saran’s warm face. He climbed out and hopped down.

A small roof was there to support him, and he looked out towards the ever-expanding city. His back slid down and he sat in silence. He would kill to have Shelby’s coffee in his hands right now. He shouldn’t have yelled, he knew he shouldn’t have. A sigh he didn’t know he was holding in escaped.

Saran stared up at the twin moons barely visible on this cloudy night. Sometimes, the moons were both full at the same time and gave off a brilliant red hue that spread across the sky.

Those nights were his favorite, where he could sit just like this and gaze at the moons.

According to his Loffa parents, the moons were twins: one boy and one girl. The girl, Amis, was the god responsible for making the world. The boy, Amillis, was in charge of governing it. Apparently, the twins were gods of almost everything, and each was opposite to the other.

Amis was the dawn, Amillis was dusk.

Amis took lives, and Amillis brought life.

Amis was the mother of all earth, while her brother was the father of everything beyond.

Of course, they were old gods and had plenty of ‘kids’ together. The kids were gods of many other, smaller things. Including the one he was named after, Saran god of Sanctuary and shelter. He remembered that his brother had been named after Ajax, the god of the winds. What great names Mom and Dad gave us. Saran thought sarcastically,

Amis and Amillis fought and quarreled many times, but the one thing they stood together was to balance the world.

Ha! One hell of a job they did at that. The stories he grew up listening to and believing were all lies. The moons were just that, moons. Big chunks of rock floating beyond the stars. He tore away from the moons and buried his head into his exhausted knees.

His eyes felt heavy and his thoughts mixed with the wind. Maybe the god Kamaitachi was closing his eyes, and Saran fell asleep.