Despite having been given a magical phone to communicate with Anne, I couldn’t help but feel a little down that she was already leaving the city. It made sense; of course, the country is going to hell, so it’s best to get out when you can. Perhaps it was the child side of myself that hoped that I could enjoy more time with her; the bit of what I experienced today was great, and I wanted to cling to it longer. But alas, it was not to be.
After my father and I dropped off Anne, we made our way back to Ruby and the wagon, and I shuddered as another cool breeze blew over the city. The snow that had been dusting us the entire time picked up a little, and I audibly complained as my father sighed and pulled me close to his side as we walked.
“We’ll be back at the house soon,” he said as he squeezed my shoulder and then stopped when we both heard the sound of a bellowing horn.
It sounded like a screaming train, yet louder, much, much louder. It was coming from somewhere high above, and we both turned our heads in the direction of the sound just as it bellowed again. It was hard to see the sky with the towering buildings and cloudy sky, but faintly I caught a glimpse of something dipping down from the clouds. On its hull, I noticed red and yellow blinking lights that flashed every few seconds, and immediately I felt my heart sink.
It’s the flying dreadnoughts, I thought as I felt my anxiety rising.
I noticed my father’s grip on my shoulder tighten as well, and as I looked at him, my anxiety only grew worse as I saw his face share a similar look. Another horn roared, and a second vessel descended from the clouds above, this one much larger and more illuminated as the lights on its sides came on, and to my relief, I saw a symbol of a flaming bird. The same symbol the Yanky woman had on her cap.
Both my father and I sighed with relief as we caught this at the same time. “It looks like the Yanks are arriving here sooner than expected,” he said under his breath. “It seems like they’re coming in to land at the airport now that I think about it.” He chuckled. “Nothing for us to be worried about.”
“Papa,” I said, “Isa said you and your mother have been to Yankston. What’re they like?”
My father chuckled. “Oh, that was about twenty years ago.” He hummed as he patted me on the back and gestured for me to keep walking, and I did so. “Yankys are interesting people,” he said as we walked. “Being on the other end of the world, they aren’t like us in any way, but that doesn’t make them bad or strange. Honestly, it’s refreshing. Most are loud, friendly, and most of all, hot-headed.” He chuckled. “From what I've seen, people from Yankston can be immensely loyal, like Mr. Reynolds, but piss them off and you’ll be in a load of trouble.” He hummed. “Your mother and I have some friends from Yankston, people we met on our travels with Isa...” He trailed off. “We haven’t spoken to them in quite some time now that I think about it.”
“Let me guess,” I mused. “You haven’t spoken to them in twenty years?”
My father bit his lower lip. “Yeah.” he said with a curt nod. “It seems time has gotten away from me again.” He laughed nervously.
“Seems to be a common thing with us elves,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
My father raised a finger in protest. “Hey, when you live as long as your mother and I, things just tend to slip by.”
“You guys aren’t even that old,” I said with a smirk. “A hundred years for us elves is like still being a child compared to Mr. Reynolds.”
My father blinked and shook his head. “Like you have much to say, little girl!” He said he was slightly offended. "Gods, I can’t believe my own child called me a kid,” he muttered.
“I didn’t say that!” I protested.
“You didn’t have to; now shush, papa is mad,” my father said with a slight smirk.
“Aw, don’t be mad!” I said, unable to hide my smile, as I leaned against him as we made our way out of Trentonville.
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It was around 10:30 at night by the time we got back to my aunt and uncle’s house. I assisted my father in unhitching Ruby after we parked the wagon and walked the red-scaled strider back to her little stable.
Even now, after seven years in this world and seeing these creatures all over the place, land dragons, and well, dragons in general, still astonish me. Land dragons alone looked like dinosaurs, and I’ll have you know, back in my old life (and still now), I love dinosaurs.
Now that I think about it, I thought while my mind wandered as we got Ruby into her stable. Does this world have its version of dinosaurs? Like, if gods exist in this world, was evolution even a thing?
Another question I guess I could ask the master He did say he had been researching the origins of the gods; maybe he knows the origins of all life.
After Ruby was tucked away, My father gave me a slab of salted juni, which was sort of like pork. I’ll note that it doesn’t taste as good as actual pork. It’s good in its own way, but, and this will sound weird to some, it doesn’t contain that good fattiness that pork has. Like Juni bacon, it honestly tastes more like turkey bacon; it’s good, sure, but it doesn’t have that white, bubbly, fatty goodness that bacon normally has. Isn’t that the whole reason why people enjoy bacon?
What I’d give is some good old-fashioned bacon. While I’m at it, a cheeseburger. An honest-to-god cheeseburger. Grok burgers are a thing and groks are awesome. They’re like large bull-like creatures, except they're huge; they have four eyes and gnarly horns. The problem is that they have more muscle than tasty meat. They also don’t taste anything like a cow; instead, it’s more like venison. Which is great; I like venison, but damn, a nice, grilled burger. With lettuce, tomato, and maybe even some grilled onions.
Fuck. It’s thoughts like these that make me miss Earth. The food there, especially some of the old American cuisine... If Charity ever visits me again in a dream, I’d probably ask her to generate another fake dinner again. My mouth is watering. I should’ve eaten dinner earlier.
What was I saying? Oh, right.
Ruby excitedly accepted my treat for taking us around town so late and devoured the piece of salted meat in two bites. She was gentle about it; she took it from my hand gently, but the moment I was in the clear, she turned into a ravenous monster by whipping the meat into the air, catching it in her mouth, and chomping away at it. Once she was done, she leaned in over the small fence and tapped me on the head with her chin as a sign of thanks.
I giggled and rubbed her scales and feathers on her face before stepping back, as my father said we should get inside due to the cold. I was concerned at first about Ruby and the weather, but my father assured me that dragons, while they may not seem like it, can handle cold weather just fine.
When we got into the house, I was more than relieved, as the temperature shot up by at least thirty degrees. So much so that I shredded the blanket that was wrapped around me, and I tugged at my collar. If only this shirt was a button-up, and I would more than happily unbutton the first few. I sighed as I kicked off my boots.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“There you two are!” I heard my mother call down from the steps as my aunt Saria also peeked over the edge of the railing. Her cheeks were a little red, and I noticed she was smiling happily down at us as she raised a half glass of wine to us.
"Greetings, my nightly explorers; I hope the roads were alright,” my aunt said.
My father sighed. “They were; Luna and I just got caught up talking with Mr. Reynolds, is all. How are things here?” He said as he took his boots off and motioned for me to climb up the steps first, which I did as he followed behind.
Reaching the top of the steps, I noticed it was only my aunt and mother who were awake. “Where’s Varis and Uncle Aenorin?” I asked.
“Both of them are asleep,” my mother said. “It’s way past your bedtime, and your uncle was too tired from work.”
Damn, she’s right, it is bedtime. I pouted as my stomach audibly grumbled and my mother’s ears twitched.
“Did you eat dinner?” My mother asked.
I sheepishly shook my head. “I-I got too distracted with Varis and Anne; I forgot to eat when Isa said we should.”
My mother sighed. “Of course--”
Suddenly, my tipsy aunt snapped her finger and straightened up. “Speaking of dinner!” She blurted. “Mr. Rosewall is going to be hosting a dinner party for everyone this Apex.” She was referring to Apex Day, which is in the middle of the week. “Everyone working on the project is invited.”
Both my father and mother shared a look. “We weren’t told this when we were hired in,” my mother said.
My aunt giggled drunkenly and took a sip of her wine. “That’s because I didn’t hear about it until today’s meeting. Shhh, don’t tell anyone else.” She winked. “The announcement isn’t going to be until Sail Day,” she said, referring to the day at the start of the work week. “I can’t wait; it’ll be wonderful.”
“Is this just a typical dinner party?” Father asked, looking at my mother and then at my aunt. “I won’t say no to free food, but I don’t have anything to wear.”
My aunt shook her head. “Informal wear is fine,” she said with a hum. “Mr. Rosewall understands that many of the refugee workers won’t have appropriate attire. It’s also not just a typical dinner, as he’ll be making an announcement. An announcement I won’t spoil.” She winked again, excitedly, as she took another drink.
“Can we bring the kids along?” My mother asked, and my aunt nodded.
“All close family members are invited.” She hummed and swirled her wine around in her glass. “But shhh,” she shushed us. “I’m too excited and tipsy; I don’t want to spoil too much.” She giggled some more as my mother rolled her eyes, and my mother nodded and looked at me.
“Alright, Missy,” she said to me, “let's get you something to snack on, and then it’s bedtime.”
“Okay,” I said, pouting, as I didn’t feel tired at all. “Before we do that, Aunt Saria.” I turned to my aunt, and she looked at me while humming pleasantly.
“Yes, Luna?” She took another sip from her almost empty glass now.
“Who’s Mr. Rosewall?” I asked curiously.
My aunt broke eye contact with me and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment before turning to her glass as she swirled the remainder of the liquid around in it. “Mr. Rosewall, well, he’s none other than the richest man in all of Heinmarr, if not one of the few in the world.” She smiled. “Mr. Magrite is what some people jokingly call him. I think he and his family originally came from Yankston." She shrugged. "Now he's here and has helped build and fund nearly every major project within Heinmarr, and he owns Adamantium Builds and Automaton Wonders. The two companies your parents and I work for now. He’s truly a kind gentleman; for a human, he’s done so much in his little life; it’s honestly impressive.” She hummed.
“I’ve heard of him before,” my father said, crossing his arms. “Last I heard before the war, Adamantium Builds was going to construct a mag-line to our village.” He smiled. “Much of the farmers weren’t happy when they heard Mr. Rosewall was buying up land.”
My aunt groaned and rolled her eyes. “Farmers complain about everything!” She sighed. “First it was about automatons; now they’re moaning about factories and trains.” She slumped in her seat. “They all just want to stick to the old ways and never think about the future.”
“That’s because most races, like humans, don’t live long enough to see the future,” my mother said as she got up and smoothed out her dress. “And I don’t fault them for that; I bet if our lives were as short as theirs, we’d be thinking the same way. Anyway,” she said, clearing her throat before changing the subject. “Come, Luna, I’ll make you a jam sandwich.”
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The air raid siren howled over the sounds of gunfire and bombs. An explosion detonated outside as the shock wave blew out the windows of the house as shrapnel tore through the brick walls and plaster. I had taken cover beneath my bed, my hands trembling as I covered my quivering head.
I could hear the roaring of airship engines as the Rusivite fleet carpet-bombed the city and, following behind, the thumping legs of fighting machines. Machinegun fire began to crescendo as the machines drew closer, and I stifled a sob as I tried to wrack my brain on what I should do next.
There wasn’t anything I could do. The city was under siege. Everywhere was chaos. The enemy was above us and coming from the east. Going outside now would be a death sentence. Across from me, I could see Varis also cowering beneath his bed.
Where is Momma? Where is Papa? Or my aunt and uncle? Isa?!
Another eruption shook the house, and I was practically deafened as debris plowed through the ceiling above, shattering the plaster and splintering the wood as rubble slammed into the bed above me. One of the bed’s legs snapped and the furniture tipped forward, thankfully not crushing me but instead alerting me that this room was no longer safe.
Through the dust and smoke, sunlight shone through the now open ceiling above as I began to panic and crawl my way over to Varis’s bed, and it was here that I saw what happened. One of the apartment complexes beside my aunt’s home had been struck by a bomb, and the resulting debris crushed part of our shelter.
We need to go; we need to go somewhere!
“Blasted all,” A voice I hadn’t heard in ages said, “The Heart. You need to reach the heart and stop dallying!” Just then, I began to hear a whistling noise.
“Where is it, though?!” I shouted out loud just as a whistling turned into a screech before slamming into the floor beside mine and my brother’s hiding spot.
Both of us cried out, and I rolled away as what had landed beside us was a rounded, blue bomb.
“No--” I started to scream before everything went white, then dark.
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“Gyaah!” I shot up from my bed, screaming.
“Waaaah!” Varis also screamed and rolled out of bed, startling me as I cried out as well and dove from my covers.
“What in the world?!” I heard Isa shout as she swiftly shot up from her bedroll on the floor. “Children! Children!” Isa held her hands up to calm us as both Varis and I sat on the floor, panicking.
Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself as I wiped the tears from my eyes and quickly looked around our room.
The ceiling is intact; I hear no bombs, no guns. We’re safe... We’re safe... I’m safe.
I took a deep breath and composed myself; however, my brother, whom I could hear, was still sniveling and sobbing. Oh, God... I thought as I felt guilt immediately washing over me as Isa went over to Varis after noticing I had calmed myself. Seeing this, I got up and also rushed over to my brother.
“Varis, I’m so sorry,” I said, and Isa turned to me.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Isa asked. “Was it a vision? A nightmare?”
Before I could say anything, Varis leaned over and hugged me without saying a word. I blushed and hugged him back. “B-Both... maybe...” I looked at Isa just as the door to my room flew open and my father rushed in wearing nothing but a white shirt and loose underwear. In his hand, he held what looked like a metal statue at the ready, as if he were going to beat someone down. Behind him, my mother came in with magical lights drifting around us, illuminating the room.
“What’s going on?” He asked seriously as his eyes darted about the room.
Isa looked at me as I patted my brother’s back, and I gulped. “I-I think... I think I had another vision."