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November 3, 1800
Asra Devorinak

"I checked if he was actually dead as a formality, not because I care if he lives or dies, Madam Bronze," said Asra Devorinak with a rather large smirk plastered on her face, running the edge of her knife against the worn-down table. "It's not like he was significant in our mission either."

Madam Bronze shook her head in disappointment, her silver hair tumbling out of its bun. "Asra, you mustn't speak this way even if you hated Jowori. It is improper. The poor boy died of a heart attack in the middle of the street."

"So what? He still used to bother all those girls, and now he can't."

"You're talking like you wish you were the one to kill him rather than his lacklustre heart."

"I wish I was--was not because that would be illegal and going to jail seems rather unpleasant and because I'm not fair-skinned like the rest of you, I'll probably put on death row."

Asra nearly muttered out the secret of her "career" to defend her apathetic response to Jowori's death but managed to keep it locked inside. If Madam Bronze ever figured out she was Sicarius, the most feared from the King's Assassin's Radan, she would kick her out of the house and take a belt to her. Of course, that would be after denying everything Asra said. Everyone believed that Sicarius was someone huge and bulky ever since she took down Duke Chara and half of his guard.

As much as it was fun, it was the biggest rush of adrenaline she'd received and the first time her hands shook after a kill. She always kept her blade swift, slicing only the necessary veins and arteries. But it was different that night.

Promptly changing the mood, Asra took a lot at the vegetables Madam Bronze had given her to chop. "Do you want these tiny or medium?"

"Tiny."

Asra completed her task quick enough to raise one of Madam Bronze's eyebrows and rushed out the door, only for Madam Bronze to grab her by the collar and drag her inside. "I only allowed you to lodge at my house if you worked at the shop. You've been living here ever since you were an itty bitty girl, but I will not be lenient any longer. No more holidays or days off until next year."

"Madam, I have somewhere to go today!" Asra argued, embarrassed that Bronze's hold on her ear brought actual pain.

"Where?"

"Hereah."

Letting go of Asra's ear, Madam Bronze crossed her arms. "Why would you be going there?"

Conjuring a bright smile that didn't reach her eyes, Asra tucked her medium brown hair behind her ear. "To meet a friend."

To this, Madam Bronze laughed until tears welled up in her eyes and her stomach hurt. "You don't have any friends, so go work for a few hours and then I'll let you go."

Biting her lip, Asra stomped her way to Madam Bronze's shop. She fell onto the pillow and wore a veil to cover her face.

Never once in her entire life did she imagine she would be scamming people as a fortune teller (though it wasn't scamming if she were right in her predictions like most of the time), but whatever allowed her to survive...

Also, people had an easier time believing what she said. She was different. She was the colour of dirt in a country full of cotton balls and the occasionally tan. People used to think she truly was a fortune teller, someone from South Asia that actually had a gift for divination.

Sorry, she thought, but divination isn't my specialty.

Just as she decided that she was bored mere minutes after taking her spot on the floor, air swooshed around her, a huge gust of wind flew in from the door.

The tarot cards flew off their shelves and the crystal ball in front of her nearly fell.

Before she could say or do anything, she vanished. Her eyes closed for a second, but when she opened them, she was in the clouds.

The sky was as blue as always and the clouds beneath her were softer than she imagined.

Perhaps she'd fallen asleep at the shop.

She shuddered at the thought of what Madam Bronze would do if she found her sleeping at work.

"Contenders," said a deep, booming voice belonging to a man in his late forties. "Please rise to your feet and face each other."

Raising a brow, Asra followed the instructions and made eye contact with the people in front of her. There was a woman with wonderfully clear skin about her own age with clothes announcing she was a pirate.

Asra had heard of pirates, especially after Princess Maya's disappearance from her engagement. The news and notice boards all had a reward to bring her back to Tereline's castle, each one of them saying she'd been kidnapped by pirates. That accusation was based on a single, drunk witness that broke into a doctor's clinic in the middle of the night somewhere in Auber's capital, claiming to have seen Han of the Black Egret treat Aranaz of an arrow wound and a young girl wearing a rather expensive dress sitting on the side half-asleep. On top of that, he'd heard them speak of "pirate-business."

It was hard to believe that a tenacious princess-like Maya Djord would simply sleep and make conversation with pirates rather than try to break free.

The whole thing was a lie, a scheme to get rid of the pirate captain that had managed to do a lot more about the "pirate issue" than the rulers of over three countries.

If anything, Han and Aranaz of the Black Egret were vigilantes if not heroes.

But who cared about what happened at sea when she was stuck working for a goddamn fortune teller and as an assassin.

The next person in the clouds was a man nearing the age of white hair who looked too much Jowori for her liking. If she were allowed to kill in her dream, he would be the first to go.

Amongst the three of them was an elegant horse with the wings of angels.

"Pegasus," Asra mumbled, recalling the horse from a book she'd read long ago on Madam Bronze's instructions. She'd said something about how taking the names of gods and their stories make fortunes more believable.

Despite the other people in the clouds, Asra's eyes were on the pirate. The woman stood so absolutely still that it couldn't be more obvious she was confused.

For a few moments, there was silence between the crowd. No one spoke, no one moved, and no one from the dozen could've matched the pirate lady's composure.

Asra could only hope she appeared as silent and deadly as her.

A flash of light followed by the crackle of thunder took Asra by surprise, forcing a fist and flinch.

The pirate moved not even a millimetre.

Then arrived the man whose voice had boomed throughout the clouds just moments ago.

He wore a drape of white silk that reminded Asra of the way the too-long curtains in Madam's house bunched up at the floor and jewelry too pure to be from Earth. He had a beard of silver but a face of tenacity.

Just like that she knew.

She was in the presence of Zeus, God of the Skies.

"Greetings, Contenders. I know you must be confused as to why I have summoned you here today, but remain calm. Nothing is going to happen to you if you are competent."

An intimidating silence fell upon the crowd despite how quiet it was before. It was a weight on their shoulders.

It was fear settling in, ready for the ride it had been waiting for.

"Today, you have a single task to complete. It is a preliminary so I can see if the people I called upon worthy. I will provide all of the explanations to the final two that remain, so do not ask questions with your words. Prove yourself capable of handling the weight of the answer."

Zeus placed his hands behind his back and started walking around, raising the stress in all twelve of the people gathered in the clouds.

"I will call upon you one at a time, and all you have to do is touch Pegasus."

The words he didn't have to say were: I don't want any of you touching Pegasus, but oh well.

Zeus pulled out a list from a pocket Asra didn't know existed--or could exist and read the first name. "Suzanne Isla Aranaz."

The pirate made her way across the clouds to stand in front of Zeus. More than anyone, she looked like she wanted no part of what was to occur.

And then Asra realized Aranaz of the Black Egret was a woman, not a man as the stories and tales portrayed her. Who had been the one they'd drawn on the wanted posters anyway? A random crew member?

"I would prefer if you called me either Suzy or Aranaz," said the woman with a tone strong and sharp enough to make Asra fear for Suzy's life. What would Zeus do for disrespect? Even though it could hardly be classified as disrespect, the gods had their own definitions.

Zeus did not acknowledge Suzy's statement and spoke, "Simply approach Pegasus and see if you're allowed to touch her."

Suzy Aranaz did so and completed the task within seconds, without even batting an eyelash or caring for what would happen if she were to fail.

Of course. What was the point in fighting for a cause you've yet to learn of? That would mean having to invest in a god that needed to learn to keep his distance from women.

Suzy Aranaz returned to her spot in the circle of contenders, not offering a single expression or inkling that she was capable of human feelings.

The stories said she was immune to poison but was that all?

"Asra Roy."

To this, Asra cringed. She'd dropped her surname years ago simply because it sounded ugly to her and because no one would mad at her for doing so in this world. And what was the point of having a family name with no family in the same world? She'd been pushed off a cliff by her mother to spare her daughter the rage of whoever had chased her that night, and then she woke up in Madam Bronze's house, staring at her ears for being oddly shaped.

Even though her surname meant queen, she could never live up to that name when she was stuck in a world, in a country where she was stuck. In a world that was much different from where she came from.

"Asra Devorinak," she corrected. Devorinak was Madam Bronze's family name, and even she had no family. Until Asra came along, obviously. "Roy is a name I do not use anymore."

Ignoring a correction once again, Zeus merely told her to complete the task.

Scowling and hoping Zeus couldn't see, Asra subtly stomped her way towards Pegasus, it's snow-white coat glistening the closer she got. She hadn't allowed herself a chance to simply absorb the wonders of the "cloud-world," but it was a dream.

Nothing more.

And soon, she would wake up and have to deal with Madam Bronze's taunts.

That made her giggle as she reached out her hand, not expecting it to meet Pegasus' coat.

In her own eyes, Asra was never worthy.

But clearly, in the eyes of a mythical creature, she was.

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Word Count: 2000

What are your thoughts on Asra? I'm genuinely curious.