Varsa burst through the castle door, muttering to herself. Her anger radiated off of her as she stormed through the streets. She didn't bother to slink in the shadows like she normally would. The nobles let her be, eyeing the palace guard behind her. They wouldn't dare interfere with the guard there. 

"Calm down, Varsa." Her mind yelled at her. "You are drawing too much attention to yourself."

She had to think of a way out of this. Her family wouldn't last two weeks without her. Latvis was incredibly sick, and her mother... The King wanted her to do the impossible. She had stolen food and clothing before, but nothing so grand before today. She groaned as her stomach twisted into knots at the sight of the glass bottle in her hand.

"The chip might not even be real! How would he know if he never laid eyes on it, himself?" Varsa couldn't wrap her head around it. There was too much risk involved. "And I would be traveling with that spoiled brat?! He has hardly been outside the palace walls! He wouldn't last more than a day! You can't do it."

Varsa ran a hand through her braided, black hair as she picked up her speed. She wanted some distance between her and the guard, but he kept up with her easily. She slid to a stop outside of her house. She was better than that. She wasn't just a thief. She had given the King her word, but even so, would the King keep his?

Her mother's sobs penetrated the slanted wooden door and interrupted her train of thought. Varsa's heart broke. She couldn't put her mother through something like that. If she did go, there was more of a chance that she wouldn't come back. Varsa knew her family would fall apart if that happened. She turned and scowled at the guard in front of her.

"You are staying out here. There is no other way in or out." She demanded mimicking the cadence her master used when he gave an order. "I need some time alone with my family before I go."

"You can't talk to me like that!" The guard huffed. "I was told to watch you, mistoa. You are not leaving my sight."

Varsa stepped right up to him, she had no fear - especially none with just one guard to watch her. She was insulted that the queen thought he would be enough. He stumbled back, unsure of a slave who wasn't scared of him.

"You will stay right here. I am sure the queen doesn't want their thief broken before the trip. If you come into my house we are fighting. Wouldn't want to make her angry now, would we?" She then turned and walked inside her hut, slamming the door in his face.

Pressing her back up against the door, she listened to the guards' footfalls shuffle back and forth. They became quiet as he settled against the wall. The only sound coming from outside was his muttering. Varsa closed her eyes as she tried to stop her brain from running away from her.

"Varsa?"

Her mother stood shaking in the crumbling structure. She shook like the house did when a gentle breeze blew by. The purple skin around her eyes was sunk in from the lack of food and puffy from crying. Her black eyes took in the girl at the door as if she were a ghost.

"I... I thought they had killed you." She whispered. Varsa hugged her mother.

She winced as her mother's bones pressed into her skin, but she didn't dare move. Varsa stood a whole head taller than her mother and was more muscular than her. If her mother were healthier they would be carbon copies. Varsa placed her chin on her mother's head, her mind made up. Her family was more important than a deal she made with a King who wouldn't keep his end of the bargain.

"We need to get out of here. Tonight." Varsa whispered.

"We can't, Varsa, your brother-"

"I will carry him. Mugral, we can't stay here." She pulled back and squeezed her mother's shoulders. "It will be okay. I will protect you both. We can head to Jonetam. I hear they don't treat our kind as poorly there. Maybe they will even have better medicine for Latvis?" She took a deep breath. "It is his only chance." Her mother nodded with a sniffle. Her eyes went wide as Varsa pressed the medication into her mother's hand.

"I'll... get everything ready." Her mother tucked her long black hair behind her pointed ears and headed to the back room.

Varsa ran a hand over the clay walls that had been her sanctuary from the outside world. She had never known another home besides this one. Her eyes roamed over the main room, taking it in for the last time.

Small drawings were carved into the clay from her and her brother. On the left wall; a fireplace stood empty and blackened by years of use. A rag doll sat on top of the wooden shelf next to an empty basket, both long forgotten. A small pit was dug into the ground on the opposite side of the room. Where they would put hot water every other week to bathe. The sun filtered into the empty room through the small cracks in the wall.

Varsa watched the speckles dance in the air as she headed into the back room. Her mother mumbled to herself as she laid out the only clothes they had on her small cot that sat on the floor. An opened chest was propped up against her mother's bed.

A cough caught her attention. She knelt down next to the cot that lay furthest into the room. Her brother twitched in his sleep. His light-purple skin was flushed bright red with fever. Red tufts of hair were plastered to his sweaty face. The medicine was sitting next to his bed, having already been used.

"You will feel better in a little bit..." Varsa whispered to him with a sad smile.

Latvis was much smaller than he should be. Tek'arcs were usually tall and strong. They would often stand taller than humans even. After years of forced mixed breeding, the humans had taken their most prominent traits from them. Latvis was half as tall as he should have been and was just as skinny as their mother. Varsa had taken after the Tek'arcs of old, however, while her mother and brother were more human.

"We need to get some sleep." She whispered to her mother as she walked over and helped her finish packing the food they had stored for the winter. "We will leave when the night is darkest." She gave her mother an encouraging smile. "If we can make it to the next town by tomorrow evening, then we will be free."

Her mugral nodded, quietly placing the bag on the floor. She grabbed Varsa's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. Her black eyes searched Varsa's.

"You are so brave, my diagi." She let out a soft, sad chuckle. "I have no idea where you get it from. The Thalores bless you, child."

"I get it from you, mugral." Varsa's voice shook as she spoke. Her mother wasn't the strong type and they both knew it. She knew that her mugral needed encouragement.

Growing up, Varsa was the one who took care of her family. Her mother was constantly sick after her accident in the mines, and her father had long since been gone. Latvis's father didn't stick around, either. Human men usually found the Tek'arc women to be irresistible, but once children were involved, they soon disappeared. She smiled at her mom and nodded.

"Get some sleep. I have to go take care of some things. I will be back in a little bit."

She stood and left, without a look back. Varsa stepped outside and took a deep breath in. The setting sun left the air cold and crisp. Crickets chirped through the empty streets of the slums. Her eyes landed on the guard who had stood at attention when she walked through the door.

"I need to go to the market to get some provisions. Let's go." She walked off, heading to the only part of the city that she knew as uninhabited.

Many slaves thought the place to be cursed by the ghosts of the dead. The previous King had the idea of burning away the slums, but "forgot" to tell the inhabitants. Hundreds died over the Week of Ash as the flames burned out of control.

The slaves refused to resettle in the area, for fear that Ivian, the God of the Dead, rejected the souls lost to the Mad King, forever trapping them in the living world. Varsa was going to get rid of this guard, and it was the perfect place to do it.

The houses soon turned to emptiness. The earth was still black and barren from the fire, even years after the massacre. The wind picked up the ash and soot, throwing it into the sky in mesmerizing and imagination inducing swirls.

The guard shivered. "This place always gave me the fucking creeps. I thought you said you needed provisions. Everything here has been long gone..."

"Not for you," Varsa said, turning on her heels.

Her instincts kicked in. Being a Tek'arc had its advantages. Even without any training, Varsa's body knew how to fight. She would have been unstoppable if she could have trained, but that didn't matter now. She still had the element of surprise and the upper hand.

She threw herself onto the guard, knocking them both to the ground. They rolled and tumbled, the ash covering them in gray and black smudges. Varsa worked her fingers up under the guard's helmet, looking for the latch. She had polished enough of their suits to know how it all stuck together.

The guard's visor emitted a bright blue light, burning Varsa's eyes. She let out a cry as she kicked away from him, desperate to get her vision back. She blinked the dots away, just in time to see the ground rush up to meet her, knocking her to the dirt. He sat on her back, pushing her to the ground.

"I'll teach you to fight a guard! I will have you squealing like a stuffed pig!" Electricity filled the air as the guard dialed up his baton.

Varsa pushed with all her might, managing to get up on her knees. She jumped up, getting her feet under her as she grabbed the back of his knees, throwing them both backward. The baton slipped from his hand as he slammed into the ground with her on top of him.

She coughed, her throat filling with ash. The taste of carbon filled her mouth as she spat the dirt out. She did her best to breathe in oxygen around the ash cloud that now surrounded them.

Kicking him out of the way, Varsa stumbled forward. Her foot was pulled out from under her. Pain traveled from her stomach and chin as she was reintroduced to the ground. She kicked the guard away from her and jumped forward, reaching for the baton, her arm outstretched. Varsa smiled, her fingers collapsing around the cold metal. She rolled over and shoved the baton upwards, connecting it to the guard as he threw his body on top of her.

Blue arcs of lightning encompassed his white armor. The guard shook as he went rigid. She pushed him off, keeping the baton connected with his armor. In the quiet, Varsa scrambled back, breathing heavily as she examined the body.

When he didn't move, she stepped closer to him. Her body ached as bruises and bumps formed on her skin. She whipped the green blood off her scratched chin as she pushed the body of the guard over. His loose limbs landed in the ash, sending more clouds of dust into the darkened sky.

Varsa stepped back sucking in the air. With one last look, she turned, heading back to her home. She hoped that the guard would stay out for a while. Everything hinged on them making it out of the city undetected.