Eudokia recalled the scene she had with Dareia. The moment she made her decision. She was still not sure what Dareia had to show her or how useful it was. Doubt still existed in her heart about the need for it, but she felt oddly compelled by the words.

The result of her decision had her standing out in the middle of the busiest part of the Base. She only stood in the crowd because it was where Dareia told her to meet her. Nothing happened after their agreement. ‘How long is she going to be?’ Unfortunately, Eudokia waited alone for nearly half an hour.

Her limit reached an end. “She’s not showing.” Eudokia turned away, worming through the masses. It was over.

“Giving up already?”

Eudokia spun around in the direction of the voice. The little girl stood at her heels as though always behind her, but somehow out of sight. It unnerved her a little. “How long?”

“More than you.”

Grinding her teeth, Eudokia discovered her annoyance difficult to manage. “Why?” Short words were all she could muster. ‘She’s wasting my time.’

Dareia moved past Eudokia, taking her own path. “Follow me.” The path led to one of the gates. Beyond the gates, Dareia dropped her façade. Free from watchful eyes, she revealed her true self. The woman Eudokia glimpsed before. “Did you learn anything?” Finally seen unaided, Dareia looked young, in her twenties, but mature. She carried a serious countenance, unlike the one seen as a child.

Chapter 204 – Carving a Hole

“Learn?” Eudokia still had troubles with her emotions. Seeing Dareia for who she really was did nothing to tempter it. It only bothered her more. “What can I learn from someone that only knows how to hide?”

“Anger doesn’t suit you, Eudokia,” remarked Dareia, her eyes narrowing. It was obvious she required a lot more work. “There’s a difference in what you think I do and the reality.”

Skepticism made Eudokia’s face ugly. “What reality?” She only saw a self-diluted woman in front of her. Following her was truly a mistake.

Raising a hand up, Dareia motioned to Eudokia. “Control.” She squeezed her hand in a needlessly dramatic fashion. “What I do is control my environment and those around me. It appears to your naïve eyes as hiding or moving with the motions, but it’s quite a bit different. That’s the reason you sought me out.” Dareia pointed her index finger across at Eudokia, like beckoning her. “Down inside you want it.”

Eudokia took a half step away. There was something off about the scene. The woman’s eyes felt like they pierced through her, seeing deep inside. ‘Was that what was bothering me?’ Such control seemed impossible. There was no way to manipulate people to do what you wanted. Eudokia didn’t believe it, yet her legs didn’t allow her to leave.

She remained.

“Did you see anything interesting?” She returned to the original matter.

Turned away, Eudokia had trouble looking at Dareia without feeling her emotions getting out of control. “Nothing.”

“I see.” Dareia activated her façade. She walked past Eudokia, back in the direction of the gate. “We can’t progress until you understand.”

“What?!” Eudokia yelled. It was meaningless. She fought between the different actions she wanted to take. What was the point of it all? Eudokia ran up a short distance, but still far away from Dareia. “So you’re just going to waste my time?”

The child turned her head back towards Eudokia. Her eyes were narrow and serious. “No, you’re wasting mine. Until you figure it out, you’re not ready.” Dareia faced ahead once more and strode off. The silence left Eudokia unable to react. Stopping one last time, she remained staring at the gate in the distance. “Just remember, I picked you because I saw you had the potential. That’s the only hint I’ll give you.”

Annoyed again, Eudokia rubbed her teeth slowly over her lips. “A hint?” she muttered to herself. “This is just a waste. I shouldn’t have bothered giving into my curiosity.” Eudokia waited until Dareia disappeared behind the walls to even begin approaching. She wanted nothing to do with Dareia anymore. It was all merely a game for Dareia to play and she would have none of it.

Days passed with a struggle. Dareia’s words continued to bother Eudokia, as much as she tried to forget them. It made moving forward difficult, even though she forced herself. Eventually, it was two weeks since their meeting. Eudokia’s routine became one of denial rather than learning.

Stubbornly, Eudokia returned to the busy courtyard Dareia forced her into previously. She sat at a distance watching the scene. People passed through on the way to patrols, duties or spare time. It varied, but she didn’t find anything important. After an hour, she left. ‘What does she expect me to see? This is pointless.’

Pointless, but she showed up again. It wasn’t about curiosity anymore. It was a matter of pride for Eudokia. There was supposedly something to see and she wouldn’t allow Dareia the satisfaction. Eudokia continued to make regular visits to the courtyard. While she got strange looks from soldiers, none of it mattered to her. Her mind was focused. The goal was the only thing important.

Eventually, the passage of time meant nothing. It was then that Dareia surfaced again. In her child form, she appeared to Eudokia during one of her monitoring sessions. “Enjoying yourself?” she inquired, taking up a seat next to Eudokia.

It was hard to call it enjoyment. She was just simply stubborn. “No.” Eudokia leaned forward, sighing suddenly. “He’s back again,” she commented. It was probably the worst part of the hour she watched. Dareia next to her only made it feel worse. She threw herself back to lie down, not wanting to see any of it.

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Curious, Dareia looked over at Eudokia. “Who is he?”

She preferred not thinking anymore about him. The past days gave her enough to watch. “He shows up every day at this time. It’s annoying to watch him. He never makes any action, just passively stands there thinking of things to do that he’ll never act upon.”

Dareia glanced over at the man. He played out his usual actions like Eudokia noted. “There seems to be a change in him today,” observed Dareia. She watched Eudokia’s reaction.

“That’s only because he thinks he was spotted. However, she’s completely oblivious to him. She only has interest in the guy that just showed up. None of them know of the other, they’re always just passing each other. It’s pointless.”

“The world is like that most times.” A smile came across Dareia’s lips. She looked back at the two lovebirds, never destined to meet. “Most are oblivious, too afraid to make a move to ruin their comfort. It makes them easy to read though.” Dareia stood up, dusting off her dress. “Meet me tomorrow.” She walked off with no further words.

Eudokia lifted her head to stare at Dareia until she fell out of sight between the crowd. Confusion filled her face. “What?” Her eyes grew wider, failing to follow what happened.

However confused it made Eudokia, she showed up the next day to find out what Dareia purpose was for calling her out. “So why did you want to see me?” They stood out in the fields beyond the Base again. A quiet place, it was safe.

Returning to her adult form, Dareia had a different look on her face. “You still have quite a ways to go, but you started to figure some of it out. For now, your emotions and pride are making it impossible for you to see clearly, but those will clear up in time.”

Such words immediately put her on the defensive. Eudokia felt like Dareia pierced her heart again. It was unsettling how easily she saw through everything. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Denial doesn’t work on me. You must have been thinking about it. Why did I want you to do it?”

It was back to the previous matter. Eudokia felt a little cornered by Dareia's response, almost as if it was an all or nothing pass or fail test. ‘What sort of answer is she looking for? It was all just meaningless stuff. I just watched people, it wasn’t anything important. I can’t see how any of it is supposed to help me.’ Not having an answer was worse than giving the wrong one. At least, Eudokia felt that way. She needed to find something that would satisfy the woman.

Eudokia racked her brain for answers. Nothing immediately came to her. She just continued a cyclical pattern. There was no answer. No reason for any of it. She hated doing it, but she expected to find an answer. It annoyed her that she never figured it out.

“Silence? I guess things end here then. You weren’t—“

She threw up her hand to cut Dareia off. Eudokia’s determination bled into her eyes. “I’ll give you your answer!” Her response made Dareia’s eyebrows raise a little, looking amused, another annoying response. However, Eudokia forced herself into a position where she knew nothing of how to escape. ‘What am I supposed to say?!’

Time ran short for her. She had to provide an answer quickly. Her mind blew through everything in search. ‘This whole thing started because she lied to me and then made such a bold claim as to showing me how to survive by lying like she does. But what’s the point? I came out of nagging curiosity, but it is still just lies. What will that gain me? She fits in, but what do I care about that?’ Eudokia blindly tried to reason her way to an answer. It felt pointless, but she pushed forward in the remaining seconds.

‘It’s all about lies. How does she fit in so easily? She’s just pretending, lying. She knows the right lies to use, but how? How does she know the right ones to use?’ The hours wasted on watching people came to her. The reason for her dire need for an answer. ‘I just watched people, I didn’t get anything from it.’ Eudokia's mind trailed off on the thought. She looked up at Dareia feeling something dawn on her. ‘Lies and watching.’

Dareia grinned knowingly. “You understand now don’t you?” She leaned down toward Eudokia. The answer found her.

“That’s how you do it, isn’t it?”

“Correct!” applauded Dareia. “The Academy taught you to know how to read a situation, but you can use that skill for more than just situational analysis. Lies can be your control. You know the right things to say and everything falls into your hands. That’s what I’ll show you.”

It still bothered Eudokia. The method of reaching it. “You could have been more direct and saved the time.”

“That’s not how I work. Anything worth having must be earned. If you can’t obtain it, then you weren’t worthy to have it.” Dareia walked away from Eudokia, concluding their meeting. “Besides, I knew you’d figured it out.”

Eudokia turned around quickly watching Dareia leave. The sight bothered her. ‘I was in her control the entire time, wasn’t I? I’ll show you how dangerous that is.’ She became determined to take advantage of everything Dareia offered her. Her mind already worked out plans for her revenge.

“Come back tomorrow. The real work begins then!” Dareia waved casually at Eudokia, never looking back at her. Eudokia’s exam finished that day and her training began.

‘Just another patrol…’ Eudokia commented to herself. She long adjusted to the patrol, but it didn’t make the solitude any better to manage. Nearly a year passed since she joined the South Gate. Her training with Dareia progressed slowly. All of the embarrassing situations Dareia forced her into were memories she preferred to forget. It left quiet rumors going around the Base, ones she wished she could silence permanently.

However, she couldn’t think about them. The regularly scheduled check in with Headquarters came first. “All halt!” she barked, lifting her arm up to signal to her squad. A ripple expanded out from her feet. Nothing on the surface changed, but she connected with the military communication lines running through the ground. They ran around the perimeter set by the barrier allowing contact back to Command.

Eudokia motioned to Nikon, giving him the all clear. He carried the communication pack, normally reserved for the MP in the squad. However, regulations prevented the squad leader from also being in charge of communications. Nikon lifted the wires out of the pack attaching them to a simple ear device. “This is the 241st Squad, hourly report—“ Something made Nikon go silent. The longer silence remained the deeper the lines in his features turned.

It didn’t take her training to realize something happened. They had new orders. She waited until it looked like he finished with Headquarters. “What is it?”

“The 94th Squad has reported an intrusion two hours ago.”

“Two hours ago? Have they made any more reports?” The wording already made Eudokia suspect the answer, but she needed confirmation.

“Negative. They’ve made no further reports since their notification of pursuing the intruders.”

Such implications made the situation dire. The entire squad understood it very clearly. Eudokia took a step closer to her squad. “What direction were they last reported in?”

“The vicinity of Kapni. Our orders are to investigate the area, locate the 94th Squad and aid them in the capture of the intruders.”

Eudokia took it all in and looked around at her squad. They had some uncertainty in their eyes. The discovery of intruders was a career-making achievement, but even they were generally routine. Capture the intruder, wipe any memories and escort them back to the barrier, those were the steps. They were easy. Trouble free actions. However, this time was different. Something happened to a squad, meaning they were going into a dangerous unknown situation. It was all their first time.

She had to say something. They looked ready to fall apart. Academy prepared them for only so much. Reality was different. “Right! This is what we trained for. The honor of the South Gate is on the line here. We have not lost a soldier in the two centuries since we started patrolling. I’m not about to see that tarnished. You have your doubts about my command, but a squad is like family. And I don’t let anything happen to my family.” Eudokia’s face turned a little red after her little speech. She faintly thought of Dareia. She hoped it worked.

Silence settled around the squad staring at Eudokia. They seemed to not know how to react after what she said. It surprised everyone that Nikon stepped forward. His eyes looked partially away. “I’m not sure how I feel about being led around by my little sister, but…I have your back, Squad Leader.”

A bit of surprise came across Eudokia’s face. She didn’t expect such a response from him. It made her smile a little. The rest of the squad fell in alongside Nikon. “We feel the same, Nikon. We’ll follow you, Squad Leader!”