Off days were assigned to battalions, once a week, depending on how the situations were. Everyone hoped that their off days would fall on the Saturday of week 1 and Sunday of week 2, so they get a full two-day-weekend to stretch their legs, and while this occasion was rare, every once in a while, the contingent would get it.

It was on one of those rare, rare Saturdays, when Zayto, the red sentry commanding their handful of a squad, asked Aiyon if he was up for visiting the Bazaar. He claimed that he needed his spear polished, and knew a blacksmith at the Bazaar who did it better than anyone around the palace. Of course, with Finster being around, that was an obvious lie, and an excuse to get out of the palace, and maybe have some private time with Aiyon, but Javi didn't read that, and he actually had work at the Bazaar— the only place he could get good marshmallows on the black market that wouldn't get him sick— decided to tag along, and then couldn't fathom exactly why both of them looked so annoyed at the idea, but had then sighed and consented to him coming along with them, finally.

The Bazaar was a name the entire sentry force had arbitrarily assigned to that main marketplace a little way from the civilian quarters, and just at the right distance from the palace that if one knew his way through the labyrinthian trails of the wheat fields, he'd take about ten to fifteen minutes to walk through. It was one of the places that actually managed to thrive under Drakkon's rule, even though giving off a near primitive aura, it was a hotspot of local activity.

Drakkon had realized that shutting down the Bazaar would have severe impacts on his own sentry force, because most of them procured necessities, and addictions from over there, but it was also a hotspot for the coinless, who, in their ragged clothes could sometimes mix in well with the common civilians, barring the few who had a bullseye painted on their faces and WANTED posters stuck over electricity poles, and remained in hiding.

The market was well known for weapons supplies, blacksmiths, farmers, seamsters— Adam Park's old shop used to be right near the entrance, across the street from the candy seller, until he joined the ranks, and it was taken over by a basket weaver— and basically any sort of profession you could possibly think of. It had been set up in a small opening between crumbling buildings, so that there were only two actual entryways into the bazaar, without counting the rooftops, and they were aimed to stay like a bottleneck to keep heavy vehicles out.

What wasn't part of the deal that Drakkon had agreed to, and could not curb, no matter what he tried, was the black market that would go on, seemingly unnoticed in the goings on of the mainstream Bazaar. Things that Drakkon had banned in his rule, supplies of drugs, morphin energy sometimes stored as "Morph-X syringes" that could power any weapon for a short time— mighty expensive— opium, rare parts of machines, medications that were stolen from Finster's lab, other stolen goods, things the coinless, as well as the sentries, might require.

And it was a good place to hang out at, when a sentry was on an off day.

Javi had walked two to four paces behind Zayto and Aiyon, giving them their precious time together, and whistling out into the golden fields, looking  around himself, while trying to pull his rip-off leather jacket closer to himself for warmth.

The Bazaar was bustling with people, as usual, the dust being kicked up in places by the wind, and Javi followed his sentry friends, without much conversation (more because he was mad at Aiyon for ditching him in the woods a few days back when they had been tackled by the coinless, and considered Zayto a higher ranking officer he was kinda scared of) into the blacksmith's forge. It was dimly lit, and a rugged old man in overalls greeted them, "hello, what may I do for you gentlemen today?" he asked, and Javi liked his accent, it felt somewhat familiar, but he couldn't face it.

"This needs sharpening" Zayto handed him his sentry spear; none of the sentries were dressed in their uniforms, only casual clothes, with Javi having on a white shirt, old grey jeans that once belonged to his father, and a leather jacket, Aiyon in a cream collared sweater, and Zayto in a red coat, prim and proper as he was, but the spear indicated they were Sentries, and the man tensed immediately, and Javi saw him trying to relax himself, hoping his change in behavior wouldn't be caught.

"This might take a bit..." the old man scrutinized the blade, while Aiyon handed him his own too, "These have seen quite some wear and tear"

Javi felt sick, he wanted to say that this was because they were used to slaughter people so often that almost every week they needed sharpening because the acid in the blood cut through the edge of the blade. Javi had never signed up for it, he didn't do well enough to ascend through the ranks. He was happy enough with his rifle that almost never struck its target at a fatal spot, and didn't get itself covered in blood. It lessened the guilt he felt, and it cut down his trips to this side of the market. He'd never ventured beyond the standard issue rifle given to him, it made no difference to him, it was his first time in a blacksmith's forge.

"Alright." Zayto nodded, "Javi, would you mind waiting here a bit? Aiyon and I have some... business to attend to" their way of ditching the third wheel, probably, Javi shook his head, he didn't mind, he had all day, and only actually needed the marshmallows.

"Great" Aiyon smirked, and the two of them made their way out of the darkened shop.

Javi sat down on the floor, to a corner, hoping he wouldn't disturb the blacksmith much, and gave him an awkward smile, and started looking around, for something to do. It was hard to wait in places when you had ADHD like Javi's, without even realizing it, his fingers started tapping on the metallic floor with his nails, and to the beat of a song he had once heard long, long ago, when music was still heard in his house.

The old man looked up once or twice at Javi, to maybe make sure Javi wasn't doing anything harmful, but seeing him, and probably guessing he was innocent, returned to his work.

Javi watched him work, sharpening the edges on some sort of a cutting stone, or rock, and he finally asked the question that had been bothering him for quite a while, "uhmm isn't it stressful for you to be working in this hot damp and suffocating place, that too with weapons, at such an old age?"

The old man looked at him, studying him carefully, then decided the question was innocent, so he answered, "well, to live up to this ripe old age in a world like this is, in itself, an achievement. I try to keep active so I stay healthy. My granddaughter says the same thing as you did"

"Really?" Javi found a smile creeping into his face, "I think she's right, you shouldn't overwork yourself. For the very least, maybe you could hire some help?"

"Aaah I don't make that much" he said, still good naturedly, "I can work alone, these old hands still have a little bit of life left" he claimed proudly.

Javi grinned, "yeah, I can see that. If you want maybe I can come around and help sometimes, on my off days"

"That's really sweet of you to offer, boy, but my granddaughter helps when she's got the time— speaking of the devil, there she is!" He looked at the doorway, where a girl ducked under one of the hanging tools, and made way into the dim light of the furnace.

"Hey Pop Pop" she smirked, "It's time for your meds" she poured some from a bottle into her hands, and then handed it to the old man, with a glass of water, "and let me handle the blade" she knelt down, ignoring the visitor who sat in the dark, making her 'Pop Pop' get up, and go away, while she continued where he had left off.

"I can still help" Javi chimed in, and Pop Pop laughed, "I'm going to assume you're saying this because my granddaughter is pretty and you want to talk to her. And so I'm going to let you. Just this once, boy"

"It's actually Javi" Javi corrected at the usage of the word 'boy' twice by the old man, leaning next to the girl in the dim light, still unable to actually see her face, "and it's mostly cuz if i keep sitting there I'd chip my nails drumming on your floor."

He hadn't expected the girl's face to shoot up at the mention of his name, and suddenly be struck with the deep red glow of melting copper in the background to reveal the same coinless girl.

"A— Amelia?" he stuttered, recognising her, while she probably did the same, both their faces lit in the dark, "Javi?" she asked, a smirk creeping onto her features, "Hi" Javi said, in his signature tone, "I didn't expect you here..."

"Consider me surprised as well..."

"You two kids know each other?" Pop Pop asked, moving closer, having gulped down his medication, and Amelia nodded, "We ran into each other a couple of times... in some compromising positions" she didn't give away more than that, and Pop Pop seemed to understand.

"Well then, why don't you two kids get going? This old man can handle some sharp swords. Go, go, shoo, shoo," he made a shooing gesture with his hands, and Amelia and Javi rose from their place, together, both pairs of eyes fixated on each other's, similar amused, surprised smiles on either of their faces, as they walked out of the shop, almost in a trance, captivated by each other.

"I was supposed to wait till my seniors got back" Javi laughed,

"Doesn't look like you follow orders a lot" she shrugged, "I like it though. It's cute"

"You think I'm cute?"

"No, I think you not following orders, is cute" she clarified, raised eyebrows, "you wanna go sit on one of the bombed buildings and look out at the bazaar? It's my favorite thing to do, and seeing how you love high places" she winked, hinting at their first meeting at the granary, "i think you'll love how the view pans out"

"Yeah, I do love high places... but I've never ventured anywhere out of the most mainstream bazaar, ever" he added a little hesitantly.

"Strange, because I'm sure i saw you buying marshmallows off the black market somewhere, weeks and weeks ago, I think"

"Oh marshmallows are my weakness" Javi laughed, as the two continued walking, her leading the way, "That's the main reason I'm here today? But Zayto and Aiyon made me babysit their weapons at your grandfather's place" he sighed.

"Aiyom... isn't that the guy who was with you in the woods? I heard you say the name"

"Aiyon" he corrected, "and yeah that was him. Still mad at him for ditching me there, and letting your friend give me this" he pointed to his left eye, where a nasty stitched scar had made it's home.

"Ah. Sorry about that... but you still work for the tyrant, and we still fight it. We're still enemies"

"True, but I wouldn't do any of it if I had a choice. I hate it as much as you do"

"Then why do you do it?" she asked, intrigued.

He mimicked a gameplay NPC voice when he said the next words, "you need to be a level twelve friend, at least, to unlock that piece of backstory"

Amelia laughed, "I'll use cheat codes, don't you worry about that" she winked, and then suddenly, held Javi's bicep, causing his heart to flutter. But her attention was fixated at a narrow lane between two shops, and she urged him to see, "that's... is that them ?" and he realised that it indeed was, Zayto and Aiyon, and Zayto had Aiyon pressed up against the wall, and was kissing his neck, while rocking back and forth slightly, hidden by a large amount of debris on either side, preventing the explicit sights from being revealed.

"Are they always like that?" She asked, a blush creeping up into her cheeks.

"No! Never" Javi couldn't help his own, he was also blushing, more out of embarrassment than anything else, but he laughed, "This is brand new!"

"I don't think they'll mind you leaving their weapons alone now" she winked, and then grabbed Javi's hand— another thing that sent a jolt through his heart— and led him through the crowded marketplace, laughing, as he also broke into a run with her. She led him through the entire place, and towards an edge, right in front of a shoe store, and paused in front of an old and abandoned building, in front of which a candle seller had his wares out on the floor; tilting their route through the alleyway a bit, Amelia dragged Javi along, and then started climbing the porches of the building, which looked like they could give way at every next step, and then urged Javi to follow, which he did, still laughing, sure of her as she seemed a professional in the task, until the two of them now stood on the rooftop of said abandoned building. No one had paid any attention to them, all just going along their daily routine.

"This is just the beginning" she giggled, seeing Javi's awestruck expression as he took in the view of the Drakkon's Empire from this high vantage point, "come on" she led the way, over rooftops like they were actually in some sort of video game, until they were on top of what seemed like the tallest building of the lot. With Drakkon's palace towering over in the distance, and the old command center hill on another side, across from the forests, where no one dared venture, the sight was one to behold.

"It's kinda depressing," Javi laughed, sitting down next to Amelia, as she folded her legs up, closer to her chest.

"I bet you see this view every day from the fortress" she looked up behind them, where the darkness still towered over them.

"Technically speaking, yeah, but it's never felt like this before... ever" he said, turning his head to look at her, and once again he found himself mesmerized by her brown eyes, and that bubbly smile. It was hard to believe that the two times he had seen her before, they were trying to kill each other, she had such a cheerful nature, she almost felt out of place stabbing knives in people's abdomens and shooting arrows from trees.

"We're still enemies, you know" she probably guessed what he was going to say, or do.

"No we're not" his tone was grave, what he was saying was final.

"You're a sentry. I'm a coinless rebel. We are enemies, Javi"

"No we are not" he took her hand in his, and was pleased to notice she didn't yank it away, "I never wanted to be a sentry. I am because..." he trailed off, wondering whether he should tell her, or not. He barely knew anything about her, she was a stranger to him, and not just that, an 'enemy', as she put it. But for some reason, he really wanted her to trust him, and he trusted her too; maybe saving each other's lives did come with some sort of strings attached. He wanted to meet her again, he wanted to get to know her, and that was only possible if she trusted him. And there was only one way he could get her to trust him... tell her the truth.

"I need to protect Izzy" he said, soberly, and watched her expression change from one of borderline bored to a spike in curiosity. Her eyes studied him, as if ascertaining whether what he was saying was the truth, or something Drakkon had put him up to, as a means of getting into the Coinless, maybe sending him in as a spy.

But the genuinity in his eyes, in his manner, pushed her heart to believe that he was saying the truth. She wasn't going to compromise the safety of the coinless, of course, but she wasn't sure if she believed that this man right here, was going to hurt her.

"Tell me everything. I want to trust you"

The smile those words brought on Javi's face was breathtaking, like a little kid who had just found someone to talk to about his favorite cartoon, "Okay!" he leaned back, where he was sitting, and gazed up at the sky. The colors were blue, hinted with yellow where the sunbeams struck... a nice day, really.

"My name is Javi Garcia. Izzy Garcia is— or rather was, because she hates me— my little sister." Amelia gasped in surprise, and leaned closer, resting her weight on her arm, next to him, so they were both partly lying down on the rooftop, partly sitting upright, "and our father was... Carlos Garcia. I'm sure you've heard of him"

Everyone knew Carlos Garcia. Everyone knew what had happened to him, and watching Amelia's face darken the second the name was mentioned confirmed that for Javi. He continued, without waiting for her reply though, "He was a Coinless ally. Worked as a carrier, smuggling out goods from the Dark Fortress to the coinless ranks. We were raised in a very... Anti-Drakkon environment. Hearing stories about the Power Rangers, idolizing Zack and Trini, hearing about Billy Cranston and Jason Scott's sacrifices. Just as you probably were" he added, and she nodded, and in that moment, they seemed to have established a sort of connect with each other, "I am nothing like a sentry, please, Amelia, believe me. I am not proud of it."

"For some reason, even though I have every reason to doubt your story, I completely believe you" she gave him a carefully measured smile, which almost broke his heart.

"Ask Bulk. He knows. He was there. He was one of my dad's best friends, because dad brought him some sort of particular news from the Fortress; I don't know what it was, they're the only two people who ever did, but Bulk frequented our house, he used to let  us play with his hair when they'd grow out, at times. Uncle Bulk, we used to say, getting on top of him"

"Izzy is really close to Bulk" Amelia remarked, and then let Javi continue his story.

"And then dad was discovered" his voice suddenly changed tone, felt hollow, as if he was trying to contain all the emotions bubbling inside him.

"And he was murdered" Amelia said, quietly, and Javi shook his head, "no. He wouldn't let it be that easy. Not Drakkon. He went missing. Uncle Bulk came home to ask about dad, and we said dad hadn't been home in two days, mom was a mess. I was trying to keep it from Izzy. I was seventeen, she was twelve. I ventured out with him, and a couple more Coinless, looking for dad, we searched the bazaar, we searched the living quarters, any place we could go to, where he could've been. We couldn't find him, not even in the woods. It lasted that easy for weeks . They believed he was dead, probably, and disposed off by the sentries. We were sure we'd never find out what happened to him, and just as we were about to make peace with the fact, news came"

Javi's voice choked up, at that, and Amelia found herself comforting him, holding his hand, "you don't have to continue, Javi. Really, it's okay. I trust you"

"I have to get it out" she could see his eyes clouding with tears that threatened to spill over, "There was 'news', Izzy's friend, Fern, I think her name was? It's been so long, I only remember her as the person who brought the news; she came in running through the back door saying they'd found something, someone . That Drakkon had released some decree, and there was a large crowd gathered in the Square, and everyone was sending Fern away, because she was a kid. I had to go see, and mom decided to accompany me. Izzy followed, even though we'd told her to stay home."

"I know what was there in the square. I was there too" she said, feeling goosebumps erupt at the memory. It wasn't a pleasant one most certainly.

"His body. Hanging from a hook like an animal carcass at a butcher's shop" Javi's voice was filled with pain, now, and venom, "mutilated, dirty, bloody, he had been tortured all this time, and then killed, and put on display, as a warning for all those who attempted to go against Drakkon. A warning for the Coinless."

There was silence in the air, for a while, and some commotion down in the bazaar got Javi and Amelia to sit up straight, but deciding it was only a couple of shopkeepers socking a shoplifter, they went back to their conversation, where Javi quickly changed tone, as if trying to get it out quickly, rather than with more emotions, "my mom died of a heart attack the minute she recognised the body to be that of dad's. She collapsed, and I thought she had fainted, but she was dead, the doctors told us, later. They never let us take the body, it stayed on the hook for days, until it probably started giving off a foul smell, and was chucked into trash or something.  And while the coinless promised me and my sister protection, Drakkon's sentries were at our door two days later. They took both of us away. That was the first time I ever met Lord Drakkon. I was older, so he met me, and told me my sister would have a worse fate, that he had an entire sentry force at his disposal, who could do anything he asked them to. He offered that if I joined the sentry force, he'd let Izzy go. He promised that if I pledged allegiance, Izzy wouldn't be marked for murder and other unspeakable offences. He'd let 'the kid go'. So I pledged my 'allegiance'." he sighed.

"I don't know what became of Izzy after that, Drakkon never provided any sort of reassurance, and the sentries who had captured us, were later whipped to death by Drakkon for reasons I don't know, but seeing her in the coinless, a couple of times, it makes me feel better that he kept his promise"

Amelia was in too much of a shock to actually utter another word. She leaned in closer to the Sentry, closer than she had ever been to one, "I'm sorry you had to go through all this... I'm sorry I misjudged you, called you a sentry"

"But I am one" he laughed, a bitter edge in there, "We live in a world where we are not allowed to be happy, Amelia."

"True, but it doesn't mean we can't trick the universe to give us moments of happiness, can it?"

He nodded, staring into her mesmerizing eyes once again, "I'm sorry this happened to you. If it's any consolation, my own story is somewhat similar"

"I'd love to hear it sometime" he said, softly, "if you'd tell me"

"I will. I promise. But not right now, I feel like you need some time" she held his hand, tightly, and then she finally leaned in so close, that Javi felt his heart would stop; her scent, faint like roses, but mixed with some sort of chemical cologne, no doubt to make it last longer, filled his nostrils, and he found her taste on his lips, setting off electricity in his veins, sparks flying between them, with his hand reaching out for her, cupping her cheek, holding her close to him. The world seemed to spin around them, nothing mattering anymore, with him in her embrace, close, entwined together; it was so wrong, at the same time as never having felt more right.

And then it was over, she pulled back from the kiss, to smile at him cheekily, "I'm sorry if I crossed a line. I just really wanted to kiss you."

"I've been wanting to kiss you ever since I saw you at your grandpa's forge this morning" he hadn't realized it, but his entire face was red, his cheeks especially flushed, at what had just happened between them, "I really like you"

"Does that mean you wouldn't mind another kiss?" she asked, very forward, and he giggled like a child, and leaned in, pressing his lips up against hers again, this time, lying down on the rooftop like they had been earlier.

The remainder of the day passed in idle chit chat, dotted with small kisses, and hands moving about, them finding out little insignificant things about each other, like how she had always believed ghosts were a real thing, and how he had wanted to be a musician before everything went down, or how the golden highlights in her hair were a result of accidental bleaching by Izzy, or how in his first days as a sentry he had gotten himself sick on marshmallows because he no longer had his mom to bring them to him. Things like how her favorite color was pink, and his was black, how she was more into emo music and him into light pop, and how there was this one red sentry who was always humming Beethoven, and how Amelia's friend (the boy in the blue cloak) loved experimenting with techie gadgets and had almost burnt off Amelia's eyebrow when they had been younger.

And then it was almost evening, and Javi realized he had to get back to the fortress, and Amelia to the Coinless base, or her grandfather's shop, and they hadn't realized how fast time had passed with the two of them just talking, feeling like kids, in ways they hadn't for years. They felt free.

And then they made a little promise. Javi had another free day, the next day, "so where can I find you?"

"The forge" she winked, "Maybe I'll tell you my little story" she said, holding his hand, and giving him a long, slow goodbye kiss, and with that, they parted.

...

Amelia knew the red flags had been there. Not in Javi, but in the situation they had been in. There was no way the stars were in their favor, everything was going to fall apart eventually. But even years later, Amelia realized she never regretted anything that had happened between her and Javi. Not when it was all over, not when they were in the worst of places, together, yet alone.

All she knew was that her falling in love with him had been inevitable.