By Erina Rejo

Share:

This piece was selected as an Honorable Mention in the First Chapters Contest, hosted in partnership with Penguin Random House and Electric Lit.

For two years, every action Ariella had taken was infiltrated by her father’s opinions. Until, she discovered secrets her government had hidden for decades. Was she just a pawn in a much more complicated game?

Ari approached the stall, peering from the back of the line to find the man behind the counter. A black bandana wrapped around his forehead, his eyes shielded from sight as he turned to greet another customer. She had never seen him at any of the meetings.

She brushed past the few people standing before her and pulled her hood over her head. The sun beat down over her as she suddenly became aware of the sweat pooling at her lower back. She met eyes with the man. He was a little too old for her comfort as he looked her up and down. He clicked his tongue. 

“Here is the money I owed last time, ma’am.”

He shoved a little pouch across the counter, the coins within dragging against the wooden surface. She nodded her head, snatching it by the two threaded drawstrings and weighing the pouch in her palm for good measure. 

Their eyes met once again before his attention turned to the old woman waiting by the counter and she walked away before he could recognize her. He wasn’t someone who would be on her side. Once she was out of sight, Ari tugged at the cloth to reveal the contents. She seated herself against the burning bricks, propping her legs up to provide cover as she dumped the coins into her lap. 

The bridge was busy this morning, people shoving one another to reach the vendors first before supplies would run out. It was a blur of odd colors, the clothes on people’s backs contrasting the color of the Regnants’ wild hair. 

She retrieved a pocket knife from her satchel and tapped the edge with the pad of her finger. She shuffled through the prena, tossing each silver coin back into the pouch until she found the single golden one that shimmered. She held it against the sun’s light, its rays scattering in different directions. Ari dug the knife against the very subtle crease against the center width of the coin. Shoving it in between the gap, it popped open, revealing a folded piece of paper. 

Swenty Way, hooded woman with a black crest resting on her chest

The location for each meeting was always different and most members had to collect the address in odd ways.

Ari scanned over the words once again, before crumpling the piece of paper and rising from her seat. Leaning over the bridge’s edge, she reached out and watched the inky words fade down into the waters below.

The group believed themselves to be a strong force opposing their corrupt leaders but rather had accomplished less in one year than Ari had done on her own in two months. These two months were crucial, and attending these meetings was a waste of her time. 

She fumbled with her book bag, retrieving the leather which contained her notes. Flipping through dozens of pages, she finally landed on the scribbly handwriting, barely legible. 

The twenty-seventh moon of the year. 

Urgency rose as she looked up at the large building standing before her. Twenty-seventh. 

Damn it.

She gathered her bag and scooped up her gemstone. 

Ari’s fingers wrapped around it like lace, its warmth transferring to her skin. The image of the empty hallway slowly came into mind as she teleported four floors up. 

She glanced around, making sure no one was in sight. Pulling a screwdriver from the bag slung around her shoulder, she cautiously unscrewed the bolts of the vent she stood before. They gently fell into her hand as she placed the vent cover against the wall and cradled the screws in her palm. A tingly feeling ran through her fingers every time.

Ari climbed in, dust flowing into her nose as she held in a sneeze. Hastily, she picked up the vent cover from the ground and screwed the bolts back in. This time, a map with the schematics wasn’t needed as her hands led her through the twists and turns she had traveled through many times before.

Here we are. 

As she reached the end of the vent, Ari adjusted into a crisscrossed position, her head crouched down to see the scene below. 

As she leaned forward, spare coins slipped out of her pocket and began to scatter by her palms. She slammed her hands down on the coins to stop them from rattling further.

Oh, Iternia.

She was screwed.

Ari peeked through the slits of the vent into a large regal room, her breath bated. 

Madam Lauraine’s eyes searched the walls, her brows narrowing. 

“My ears aren’t deceiving me, are they?” Her stare landed upon the vent. 

Ari froze and mouthed curses. 

“Sir Amory, are we having any issues with the vents I’m unaware of?” 

Madam Lauraine’s blonde, wavy bob cut whirled around as she turned to one of the seven leaders seated at the round table. 

Sir Amory skimmed through the papers before him and answered. 

“If you’re so disturbed, you may consult your advisor. Your past suspicions have usually ended as a waste of time.” 

Ari couldn’t afford to make small mistakes, she’d have to be more careful next time. These months were crucial because of the influx of meetings. More information to write. More to share. More leverage to overtake.  

Sir Kane exchanged a smile with another leader across the round table. His golden robe remained draped around the edge of the seats, even spilling onto the floor. 

That’s what they did with their wealth– wear silk robes. 

Madam Lauraine scoffed, leaning toward the table and the leaders with both palms on the table. 

“As I did not come here to argue, we must focus on the task at hand. The attacks.” She adjusted her seat to the two guards at the only entrance and exit of the room. 

“You may exit.”

Ari strained her neck to the left to get a view of them but she knew her position wasn’t any good.

 They stood for a moment in silence. A woman’s voice spoke. 

“But Madam-”

“Exit.” 

She gestured to the door, her voice much deeper this time.

She’s never told the guard to leave during a meeting. 

Ari leaned closer, her eyes shooting up and down the walls. The walls were an odd mixture of patchy yellows and golds, some of the paint had already begun to peel off. Bright red banners hung a few feet apart. On them was the Regnants symbol, a pair of antlers sticking up in an intricate, swirled design. It was too extravagant, their realm was much less than what was shown.

“This is getting out of hand. Her moth-” Madam Lauraine sighed. 

“We have no idea when she’ll receive her powers.” 

She? What girl had to do with The Attacks? 

In past meetings, the leaders usually spoke of the Attacks plaguing different realms across the globe. There were rumors it was a wild peryton species but the reason why was uncertain.

But a girl causing it? It seemed unlikely.

Unless they were talking about something completely different.

Sir Kane smoothed his deep brown hair, white strands scattered throughout. 

“Agreed, but for all we know, she may receive them years from now. I think it is best to talk about this another time.” 

Sir Kane’s voice dropped lower. 

“Madam Lauraine, don’t tell the guards to leave again, rumors will spread. We can always discuss this at dawn.”
Sir Kane leaned back, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. 

Ari pulled out a small notepad from her messenger bag. She jotted down verbatim what Madam Lauraine and Sir Kane had said.

“We can’t ignore this forever. Madam Lauraine was right to do so.” 

Madam Shield looked up from the table as she spoke. Her gray eyes found Madam Lauraine, the scornful look on her face never faltering. 

“While her powers could come later, Ariella will not remain a Crane. Her memories could-” she stopped. 

Her eyes wandered back to the vents. 

Ariella? Was there another Ariella?

Her hands tensed, fingers picking at the calluses on her palms.

It had to be her.

 A Crane was one without powers, but it happened to dozens of people a year and even then they got their powers in later years. It wasn’t anything rare. So why had they said her name?

She shifted her legs back, but Sir Amory’s words stopped her.

“I honestly don’t understand why we are even holding this meeting. The Rogues have proved to be a nuisance but it’s out of our control.” 

Sir Amory said, his voice higher than when he last spoke. 

“We should be focusing on our people in need. Our leader of war will not even let us travel to that land to find casualties and seek help.”

Madam Shield began. 

“We already have men there.” 

“These attacks have gotten out of control but I seriously think now is not the time for this discussion,” Sir Arad said. 

Madam Lauraine slammed her hand against the table, pushing her chair back and stepping away. The other two leaders stared at Madam Lauraine with wide eyes as she strode to the wall below the vent. Ari hunkered down, her heart beating so loud it could have been mistaken for hurtling bombs. 

With shallow breaths, she peeked through the slits in the vent. The silence would be her demise. 

Madam Lauraine stood with both arms crossed and a sly smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Care to join us?”

Ari froze. 

Run. 

Her brain was screaming at her to get far, far away. Anything to get away from them. What was the consequence of treason? Death? She couldn’t remember. Every passing second seemed like hours as her brain scoured the possible solutions. 

Sir Helios rose from his chair, the anger contorting his face. He was silent the entire discussion but now seemed the perfect time to open his mouth.

 “Get the guards. They’ll take care of her.”

Process

I have been writing Regnants for years now but I am very excited to share the first chapter! My mentor and I have been working on editing it and I hope it will be ready to publish soon.