She awoke perfectly on time, as she had every day, for exactly one year now. The sound of the piercing bell resonating through the space most certainly didn’t help her prospects of oversleeping. But she’d liked to imagine her own discipline wasn’t completely to waste, even in a place like this.
Her trial, by tribunal, behind closed doors, had been a joke. She’d been convicted of what basically amounted to treason, she may as well have not shown up. And thus, she’d been shipped off her. To a prison she wasn’t allowed to know the name or location of, around people who’d been just as about as undesirable as her. Doing work that claimed more lives every single day. She shuffled out of her cell. She didn’t currently have a cellmate. Her last one had fallen into a pit they had forced them to dig, and she hadn’t been there when they reached the bottom.
She imagined that this place was where they sent people who they truly had no intention of turning loose. The sort that vanished between the cracks of society and went to work on one project or another, disposable labor that could vanish down pits in the ground, and never return, with no one feeling all that bad about it in the end. It was a pretty shitty deal. To go from being a hero to a nameless prisoner, in one fell swoop. Her life poured down the drain with ease. She wondered if some people here had seen some of the things she had, but without the prowess to get into the division.
She had stopped asking people where they’d come from after the first week or two. It was pretty soul crushing to know the people who went missing. Or know the people that got beaten to death in front of crowds for disobedience. Some days, she was convinced the guards were just as much of prisoners as they were. Not enough shift changes for these people to be going home, ever. But then again, the faces had started to blend together.
She was following shouted directions in Russian to her work assignment, joining the shuffle of the collective prisoners towards their eventual destination. Based on the direction, it was back over to sorting. Which she was glad for, since that was generally less dangerous then tending to the pits. But she still risked breaking her hands if she wasn’t careful. Or worse.
She descended the stairs, down towards the storage area, where the poor souls punished to trudge away during the night had moved the objects recovered from the pits. Every time she arrived, she wasn’t sure what she’d see. But they were just supposed to sort between objects that were active, and objects that were inactive. The subtle differences between had to be leaned, but generally one could feel the energy coming from each, slow and sure. During her descent, she happened to catch her reflection in one of the observation windows.
Anna had changed a lot in a year. Her head had been shaven multiple times over, which made the scars she sustained to the head while with the division visible along with the rest. She was perpetually tired, with eye bags that took up almost a bit too much space on her face. She bore bruises, nicks and scratches all over her body, and she generally looked…defeated
And she hated it. She hated the grey as death jumpsuit she wore day in and day out. She hated the bed she slept in. She hated each and every person who passed through these halls, even if they didn’t deserve where they’d ended up.
She pushed aside her hate, however, and kept walking. Eventually, reaching the area of storage she was assigned to, among others. She started with a flat stone tablet with inscriptions along it’s front, and laid her hands on it, focusing, trying to feel the energy that flowed through the active artifacts. Hoping it wouldn’t blow up in her face.
She’d heard the horror stories. About where they got these things from. Expansive underground halls of stonework that didn’t make any sense, creatures of some sort that skittered and lurked in the dark. And these artifacts, ranging from tablets to elaborate mechanics, that didn’t make any sense. She had no idea what the interest of the Soviet Union was, in all of this. But she didn’t get to know those things. Not anymore.
She tried to listen for any thrum of the artifact, closing her eyes, only for her sorting to be disturbed by the sound of a sharp and loud-
“Pssssttt-“
Someone’s voice. She paused, opening her eyes, and looking around.
“Above you, on the shelf.”
She looked from left to right. She was in a quiet corner. Not being directly observed. She looked up.
Nestled in the crook of one of the massive stone shelves that stored these strange relics, was an androgynous individual with short cut platinum blonde hair, a pair of nice looking sunglasses covering their eyes, and very, very pale skin. They wore a bright pink hoodie with english words on it, and what looked like a very short pair of denim shorts. They gave a wave down at Anna.
“…Who are you. Why are you here?” She said, a little worried now, as she looked from side to side.
The person lowered their sunglasses lenses, allowing Anna to see glittering golden eyes beneath, more unnerving then reassuring.
“Are you uhhh…Anna Savin?” They said, speaking at a relatively normal volume now. Anna was paranoid someone would overhear. If they did, no one came looking. She gave a firm nod.
“I’m a friend of a friend! Hear to help you get out of this dump.”
Her heart almost stopped. Was she dreaming? Was this a trick?
She didn’t really care. The thought of freedom was so enticing she thought she might cry. She didn’t.
“…Ok. How. This place is locked down tight…I’m not sure how you got in here, but-“
The individual pulled something out of the pocket of their hoodie. A ring of keys. They jingled as they landed in Anna’s waiting hand.
“Stuff those down your shirt or something! Tonight, there’s gonna be a ruckus involving the warden. Sneak out the western exit, and I’ll meet you outside. Sound good?”
She bewilderingly nodded…shoving the keys down the front of her jumpsuit, sucking in her stomach slightly to hold them. Miraculously, it didn’t shake or jingle. She removed them, and tucked them instead behind the tablet she was working on.
“Thank y-“
She looked up, and the person was gone. Had she imagined that? She checked, and the keys were still there.
She didn’t find any active artifacts the entire day. Then again, she wasn’t looking too hard. Either she was escaping tonight, or she was dying. She could settle for either, rather then spend another day in this hellish place. On the way out, they normally searched everyone to make sure they didn’t take anything valuable. They did so, but not carefully enough to find the keys. Thank goodness for that. She eventually got back to her cell, just around the time night was falling. Then, all she had to do, was sit and wait for a ruckus.
And eventually, the ruckus came. She heard shouting. She heard gunfire. Faint sounds of alarm. Whatever was happening…
She fished out the keys. Trying a few quickly and recklessly, before the fourth one she tried worked, popping open the door to her cell, which slid open with a loud clang. She slipped along the side, hearing muttering and drawing stares from the people in other cells. But, by some miracle, no one shouted. No one demanded she stay behind.
She was tempted to anyways. But she didn’t. Her own selfish heart wouldn’t let her.
She moved around and through, entering the western hallway, where she saw the first signs of carnage. Guards which looked like their throats had been cut by a small blade. Otherwise, the hall was empty. She didn’t know where in the world she was, and the exit wasn’t far. The guards clothing was at least slightly better if she was about to step out into a blizzard.
Quickly, she stripped out of the jumpsuit and into the uniform of one of the dead men, shouldering her new rifle, and rounding the corner. There, she saw the exit.
She took a deep breath, and slammed into the door at a sprint.
An alarm should have gone off behind her, but it didn’t. Instead, she burst out into a middle area. Between a large stone building, and a barbed wire fence. Outside, there were storm clouds, and chill air, but it wasn’t quite as frigid as home…or Siberia for that matter.
She stared at the fence in front of her for a second, wondering how she’d be getting past this, when she heard the voice again.
“Good! You made it! He told me you were resourceful!”
The person with the sunglasses again, spinning a fancy looking butterfly knife around in their hands, standing on the other side of the fence.
“Who…?” She said, squinting.
“…You’ll see, actually. In the meantime…” They reached into their pocket, and withdrew a pair of…sewing scissors. She just…stared at them.
“Hold on! Allow me to speak the magic word!” They said dramatically, holding the scissors aloft. “Sever!”
The scissors expanded rapidly, until the individual was holding giant wire cutters. Around then, Anna began to hear shouting. The individual on the other side began cutting. She didn’t want to rush them, but-
She blinked and the task was done.
“There! Now come on!”
Without hesitating, she dove outside the fence, and took off sprinting, across the wet grasslands the prison seemed to be situated in, after the individual in the sunglasses, who said another word to cause the wire cutters to shrink back down to sewing scissors.
Running, running, running. The clouds above her burst, into rain which soaked her down to the bone, and yet, she didn’t stop running, and she couldn’t stop grinning as she did.
Eventually, after who knows how long, the individual ahead of her stopped suddenly. She stopped too, moving up to be next to them. They were standing in front of what seemed to be a circle of mushrooms, perfectly aligned with each other.
“That’ll do…” They muttered, as if she wasn’t listening.
“So. Thank you for the rescue-” Anna said, panting. “But…what’s the plan, here?”
“Ah! Thank you for asking, mighty friend of the mighty one! My abilities are powerful, but they only extend to myself. So I am using volatile magical means to transport you to our destination!” They said this while beaming. Reaching into their pocket, and withdrawing a golden compass, tossing it into the middle of the circle.
“What do you mean volat-” She started, but was cut off by this individual shouting.
“Great powers of the faerie! I demand passage to where this compass’s needle points! Do this, and the great Chimera Prince will reward you!”
Ok. It was official. She’d been saved by an insane person. She was getting ready to back up, away from them, when the circle on the ground began to light up and glow, sparkling with multicolored light. The person who’d saved her grabbed her by the arm, and when she wasn’t expecting it, shoved her through.
She landed flat on her face in a snowbank. Chilling her to the bone instantly, given that she and her clothes were soaking wet. A firm hand at her back hauled her back up-the same person from before.
“…Fu-Fuck-” She said, freezing her ass off.
“Indeed! It’s quite cold here!’ They said, with enthusiasm. “I’ve discovered this is just how Poland is.”
“…This is Poland?” She asked, looking around. They seemed to be right off to the side of a town square. A large clock tower, it’s hands slowly moving, loomed in front of them. A few people milling about, giving the two of them weird looks. She realized she was still carrying a rifle, and dressed like a Soviet prison guard.
“Correct! The town of Ostoja, to be specific! A nice, scenic place by the sea.” They said, matter of fact.
“…That’s nice. Can I…get a change of clothes? Or…something?” She said, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.
“Ah! No. I do not own such things. But I know where you might get some!” They said, pointing to the clock tower.
“…In a…clock tower?” She said, a bit dumbfounded. This had to be a fever dream. She was going to wake up in her cell, with a massive headache.
“…In a sense!” They said, starting to walk that way. Anna figured she may as well follow. They walked straight in through the front door like they owned the place, and Anna slipped in after them.
And suddenly, they weren’t standing at the bottom of a clock tower. Instead, they were standing in front of a large, much more impressive tower. Literally made of gold, with silver and bronze lines running through it. She blinked.
“…This had better not be a dream.” She muttered.
“It isn’t! Not to worry!” Called her savior. Who pushed the door open. “Come inside! You’ll be warmer!”
She stepped inside, and indeed, it was warmer. Even if a tower like this shouldn’t have heat. Her savior meanwhile, had started up another set of stairs. She still had a bit of nervous energy mixed with adrenaline, so she climbed right after. They climbed through a layout that made no sense, and didn’t match up with the tower looked on the outside, but she was doing her best to push logic out of her mind. At least for now. She saw a few people spotted throughout, none of them looked normal either…but that wasn’t any of her concern either. Eventually, the person ahead of her slowed their pace. Turning to look at her.
“Are you ready to meet the man behind your rescue!” They asked, with enthusiasm.
“…As I’ll ever be.” She said with a shrug.
They pushed open a set of doors nearby, a gestured her inside. She stepped inside, and heard voices in the center of a large room, that resembled a mix of library, and observatory. A giant window looking out over a strange looking landscape, with a silver sky streaked with colors of the rainbow. Bookshelves lined the walls, as did various art pieces. The voices came from a central table.
“…Maybe Vo could lend a hand on that front?” One voice asked, tentative sounding. It sounded like a man.
“He probably could. He’s good for muscle stuff…and he’s terrified that if he defies Marcel, he’ll get Angeline to turn him into a catfish again!” A woman’s voice, sounding light and happy.
“My sister is still upset she didn’t get to keep him.” Another man’s voice…this one familiar. Her eyes widened, and she quickly moved forward.
Three people sat around a table. On the table, open books, open maps, and various other documents were strewn about. The three people around the table, soon to be five, were rather different.
The woman was the most and least remarkable. She had curling horns which came out of her head, and a wreath of flowers which orbited her head. A choker made from the same stuff was bound tightly around her neck, as if attaching her head to her body. She had cloven feet and legs, and wore a very pretty looking outfit mostly made from plant materials.
Then, there were two others, sitting next to each other. The one she didn’t recognize was a guy, early twenties. He had somewhat curly brown hair, a nice set of green eyes, and well tanned skin, as if he’d been consistently sunbathing. He wore attire that she could only describe as casually regal. Greens with lines of gold running through it, a bit of nice jewelry. A bracelet that looked like it had…blood inside it. Weird, but not too weird. What was weird, was his shadow. It cast further behind him then it should, as if he were twice as tall. It also had features he didn’t, like antlers, winds, and talons. Weird.
The other figure that drew her attention was Jan Mendyk. He hadn’t changed all that much since she last saw him a year ago. He’d grown out his hair a bit, and had a bit more facial hair. He looked much more relaxed, too, especially with his arm around the guy with the weird shadow. His eyes settled on her quickly, and widened.
“…Anna! Tres, did you-“
Her savior appeared behind Jan.
“I found your mighty friend, Jan Mendyk! I finally found the correct documents, that led me to where she was unrightfully held! And then I sprung her free in a daring escape!” They boasted, loudly and happily.
“Well shit-thanks.” Jan said, sounding impressed. “I expected it to take longer then a year…but still. I’m sorry it took this long to find you.” He said, looking at her.
“…I wasn’t expecting a rescue. Much less from you.” She said, a bit surprised. “What is…all this?” She said, looking around.
“I owed you for Siberia, and you hardly deserved to rot in some off the grid prison. As for what this is…” Jan sighed, and looked to the regal looking one. “Do you want to explain, Marcel-or, sorry, Chimera Prince” He said the title with exaggerated fervor. Which got a laugh out of everyone but her. Inside joke, maybe.
Marcel, or this…Chimera Prince, nodded, and looked to Anna.
“Firstly, nice to meet you. I’m Marcel. Or, the uh, Chimera Prince.” He said, with an awkward laugh. “That’s Penelope, also-” He said, pointing to the woman with horns and flowers, who smiled and waved at her. She smiled at her in return. “I’m the current ruler of this faerie realm, and of the mystical side of Ostoja. I took the title from the previous Chimera Prince, whose shadow you see behind me. He was a scarier guy then me.”
Another laugh between them.
“This is a safe haven for the humans and the entities of Ostoja, and elsewhere. Where no one who means them harm can get to them. It’s a nice bubble away from the strife that apparently wracks the outside world, on both sides of the coin. We’ve tried dipping our toes into actually going out there and helping, but that’s a bit more complicated, unfortunately.” He said with a sigh.
Anna nodded.
“I guess that makes sense. Or as much sense as it’s going to, right now.” She said with a sigh. Looking up…that Tres person was gone. Whatever. She looked back to Jan.
“So what are you, in all of this, to get to call all these shots?” She said, raising an eyebrow.
“I dunno, Chimera Prince” He said, with emphasis again. “Do I get an official title?”
Marcel sighed dramatically. “I dunno. You could be a baron or something. Or my knight in shining armor…” He said, leaning over and pecking Jan on the cheek.
“So you two are…?” Anna gestured between the two.
Jan straightened. Marcel gave a bit of a cautious look.
“…Yeah.” Jan said. “Is that…?” He said looking at her, a bit worriedly.
Anna shrugged.
“Oh, I don’t care. I’ve fallen to that terrible sin before. Just not seriously.” She said with a bit of an aloof look. “Good for you two, if you can make it work.”
Jan smiled a little. Marcel look relieved.
“I had to explain it to my brother. He was weird for awhile, then came around. My sister just wanted to know which one of us is wearing a dress at the wedding.”
“-Totally you by the way, Prince’s order-” Marcel said, cutting in. Jan elbowed him.
“But it’s worked out so far.” He said, with a shrug.
“Well, good.” Anna said, and couldn’t help but smile. “Good for you two. Glad you’ve found something, Mendyk.”
“Hey, you’re not out of this yet, Savin, I-“
Tres reappeared, right next to Jan, who somehow didn’t jump.
“Jan Mendyk, I nearly forgot to give you this, between tending to the box and assisting in Anna Savin’s freedom!”
They handed Jan a fairly large envelope.
“I believe it’s from Angeline!” They said with a grin.
“…Box…? Angeline…?”
Penelope chimed in. “The box is one of Tres’s projects. An item recovered from the Chimera Prince, it-“
Tres cut in. “It is the key to my freedom, from the cycle of being an incarnation of petty human sin! Once it is ready, I will be free of my destiny of lamb to the slaughter!”
Anna blinked.
“…Good?” She said, a bit confused.
Jan then looked to her, as he opened the envelope.
“And Angeline’s a friend of ours. She helped with all this…and is traveling trying to find more help.”
He pulled two things out of the envelope. A letter, and a photograph.
Jan cleared his throat, and began reading aloud.
“Dear Jan and Marcel. I know it has been a little while since I last wrote, but I’ve been rather busy meeting new people and convincing them that you’re little more then legend. Since we last corresponded, I’ve departed Saint Marc, and returned to the United States. Negotiations went well, in both locations, and you may be receiving some new arrivals soon, who will be sure to be eager to help. I’ve gotten into contact with some old friends who may be able to similarly lend aid, with whatever you decide to do, however, I’ve also stirred up some old enemies which may keep me on this side of the world for a little while longer. Hopefully, I’ll be able to return soon, and see how much things have progressed. You’ve done something truly incredible, the both of you, and I hope that it continues to grow far into the future. Sincerely, Angeline…”
Jan trails off, before sighing, and reading more.
“P.S, please give this photo to your dear sister, as proof of the story I told her before I left, and as something for her to look forward to…”
He turned the photograph around. In it, an older looking woman with golden brown skin and a large backpack was posing with a pale white woman, with straight black hair, in a purple skintight uniform with a crescent moon on the front. Both of them were smiling, and holding up peace signs for the photograph. On the back side, as he turned it around, was a small message.
“Follow your dreams, Zaneta! I hope one day I can meet you, since my friend Angeline says so many nice things about you! Stay in school-Lunarialaia”
Jan sighed heavily, leaning back. Marcel was grinning.
“She’s never going to shut up about this…” Jan groaned.
“…She’s going to be so excited! And you know, if the woman from the stars is coming here…” Marcel said, eagerly. Jan held up a hand.
“Can we please plan for this mess later…”
“Sure, sure.” Marcel said with a smile.
Tres spoke up.
“One more matter, while we have all of us here…” They say, with a slightly more contemplative expression on their face. “The facility I recovered Anna Savin from was quite peculiar! I believe it may be a worthy spot for our intervention, should we still wish to do so!”
Jan looked to Anna.
“That so?” He asked, tilting his head.
Anna nodded heavily.
“They had us delving into these caverns, that looked like they had some kind of structure…and pulling out artifacts charged with what I think was pandemonium-”
Everyone in the room winced when she said the word pandemonium. She paused, then continued.
“-And a lot of people were going missing there. It’s…a lot. But if you’re planning on intervening…a lot of people there could use your help. And I don’t trust the government with whatever down there at all. Especially with how they treated us.” She said, with a grimace.
Jan nodded. “Agreed. Tres, where was this.”
Tres walked up to a map, pulling out their butterfly knife, and stabbing a spot on the map, in southeastern Ukraine, give or take.
“Around there! I did feel strange magic when I went to recover her…” They said, confirming with a nod.
The table looked between each other. Nods were shared. Jan and Marcel looked at each other longest, before they both smiled. Jan looking to Anna.
“…So, A. Savin. Care for another hopeless fight against all odds, with terrible monsters waiting for us?” He said, starting to stand.
“Well, J. Mendyk, if you give me a warm shower, and even a bit of food, right now, you’ll have me to the end.” She said, a tired smile forming on her face. “And, about an eighteen hour nap.”
“I think we’ve got a deal” He said, sticking out his hand.
She put her hand in his, and shook it with all the vigor she had. Maybe there was some hope for this kid after all.
Kindling And Miscellany 