Mobile. Links will appear laterAiden woke up in a cold sweat. Again. It's been three weeks since he first slipped beneath the trapdoor, three weeks since that first frightful meeting with Regina.
In each day of survival training, Aiden discovered more and more way he could die. So many ways that other Ravens had died because they didn't know how to defend themselves.
And after each lesson, Aiden always woke up from a nightmare in which he died. This time, it was a fire. Hot flames were licking his clothes, clawing at his face. Someone ran for him, yelling his name.
The person always shifted. Dulcie. Pollux. Rico. His adopted siblings. Ada.
Aiden's eyes widened Ada, he thought, his mind racing. Ada, the woman who had raised him for twelve years, didn't know where Aiden was. She didn't even know that he was alive.
And the others... they didn't know where he was, either. And his Records were gone. He'd just dropped off the face of the earth.
He sat there, on his bed, head in his hands. He tried to keep his sobs as quiet as possible, so that he didn't wake the other people sleeping in the same room.
Aiden slowly rose off his bed, wincing as it protested and creaked. He saw someone stir, but thankfully they remained asleep.
He opened the door, slowly. It creaked too.
He'd never noticed the beds or the door creak when he opened them quickly.
The lights in the bathroom outside were off, which meant that no one was in there.
He opened the door, slowly. It didn't creak, thankfully.
Aiden locked the door behind him and filled up a cup with water, then rubbed it on his face.
But nothing could hold back his sobs.
He muttered a few curse words, saying a quite vulgar one when someone' knocked at the door.
"Aiden?"
It was Dulcie. Aiden cursed again and wiped his face, then opened the door.
She stepped inside and locked the door again.
"You have one hell of a potty mouth when you think you're alone."
Aiden allowed himself a little laugh, though it was still mixed in with his crying.
He could almost see Dulcie's concern, even before she turned the lights back on.
"Are you crying?"
He didn't answer, but that was more than enough for Dulcie.
"Aiden..." She said, softy. "What's wrong? I know there's something."
He blinked rapidly. "Ada," he managed. "She doesn't know where I am. Or if I'm even alive."
Dulcie's expression only grew more concerned. It made Aiden feel so guilty.
"Well," Dulcie said, her voice scarcely above a whisper. "In the morning you could ask Rico to organize a mission. Might take a little while before you can go, though. Vecuria is dangerous for a young Raven."
Aiden nodded, wiping away a few of his tears.
"Night, Aiden." Dulcie muttered.
Aiden could see the doubt and worry in her eyes, her tight lips. How she tugged at her nightshirt and stared into his eyes, as if she was waiting for him to fess up and admit that he was going to leave that night.
Eventually, she left, and Aiden drew a long, shaky breath.
If she had stayed, he might've changed his mind.
He pressed his ear to the crack on the door and listened for the sounds of Dulcie entering her room.
He heard the door shut and headed back into his own room.
But he didn't go back to sleep.
Instead, he put on his Ravens' clock. It scraped his knees, but didn't touch the ground.
He didn't have enough time to change, lest he be found out. Then best he could do was add another layer so he didn't freeze to death before he reached Vecuria.
Aiden kept his breathing soft as he prepped for the journey to Becuria, going into the kitchen to pack food, and grabbing one of the maps that tracked your location.
After what felt like hours, Aiden was outside, creeping towards the stables.
The horse he always rode was Nitika, a young, intelligent mare with white hair and a brown mane.
She'd be a little stark against the night sky, but a bright horse he rode often was better than dark horse he'd never ridden.
He saddled her and found his way on, and grabbed the reins.
"C'mon, Nitika," he muttered, and she started off in a trot.
It was a bouncy ride. She didn't jostle, but she wasn't steady, either. It was kind of fun when he was riding in training, it now, when he wanted to get to Vecuria before the sun came up (and hopefully back again) he needed to move fast.
After a couple hours, he saw the twinkling street lights of Vecuria, and patted Nitika's side. "Forward fast," he whispered.
Not far from Vecuria, he ran into trouble.
Aiden sucked his breath in and leaned forwards, covering up the Raven emblem on his jacket.
A group of Catago warriors were gathered together, as if they were watching, waiting, for Aiden.
He sat up. It would be odd if someone came past this group, hiding their clothes.
Instead he pulled the folds of the garment over the emblem and rose past, trying to appear like an average citizen, heading back to his home.
"Nice horse riding for a kid," one of warriors said, and sly smile on her face.
"Oh, yeah. I haven't seen many kids who are decent at horse riding. Who taught you?"
Aiden gulped. He should've waited until morning, talk to Rico. This wouldn't be happening.
"I... uh... don't know their name."
"I... uh..." one sputtered, mocking Aiden. "What's the matter with you."
"I needa get home..." Aiden said, shrinking in his cloak.
"Oh well. We won't trouble you anymore, just poking some fun. You know how that is."
It all appeared to be okay until one of the Catago playfully elbowed him.
The movement made him flinch and jump, and by the time he was wondering why everyone was all quiet, the man tackled him.
Aiden pulled the reins back and let the man strike the ground, but not before the man struck Nitika.
The mare was startled by the sudden impact and before he could process what was happening, Aiden was on the ground, Raven emblem exposed, three angry Catago hovering above him.
One of them forcefully pulled him up and wrestled his arms behind his back. It took all of Aiden's willpower not to scream or cry as his wrists were cuffed to each other.
"You are under arrest for treason," one of the Catago said mockingly.
Then a horrifying smirk came onto their lips. "Punishable by death."
by frankie (dup) » Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:44 am 
