How did you heal a broken child?

As Eclipse's leader knelt before her desk, Allura couldn't shake the question from her mind.

Yezi's imperial court seemed to be of the opinion that putting them to work was the best method. The emperor was the ringleader of that party. He insisted his son be perfect, no matter how many years it had been since he'd been banished to the tower. Giving him a lighter workload in order to heal from invisible scars could be viewed as treasonous.

The professors of the tower urged her to find a way around it. To give the boy the easiest missions possible in order to keep him in the village under their careful, suspicious eyes.

As for the boy--Aarin Coar asked for nothing.

Which, admittedly, might have been what bothered her the most about it all.

Everyone in the country seemed to have an opinion on what she should do with the child, except Aarin himself.

Was he really the right choice for this mission?

Silence stretched seconds into minutes as Allura settled a thin, paper file between them. Her fingers tapped the top, drumming a soft tune into the quiet office.

"Raise your head."

The instruction did little for her inability to read the mage's expression. Normally, Allura found no issue with the dark hoods and neck gaiters Eclipse used to hide their features. At that moment, however, she sorely wished that ordering them removed would be anything but odd. Perhaps if she could see Aarin's face she would find the reassurance her heart craved.

She did not doubt his ability to complete the mission--no one in the entire tower would doubt Aarin's abilities--it was his recent mood that gave her pause. The venture in front of them required a delicate touch. If his temper went awry, if the Circle truly appeared...

She sighed, sprawling her hand across her desk. Pondering it did nothing beyond waste crucial time. And when the general of magic wasted time, civilians died.

"There have been repeated reports citing two suspected circle mages. Roan and Sora Briar were both skilled, seventh ring mages during their time at the Tower. Unfortunately, they disappeared following the events of last year. It can only be assumed that at some point they became members of the movement.

"As you have been told, their last recorded skills were focused on locating their enemies without being detected themselves. This might prove tracking them difficult, which is why you were quoted an extended timeline. The actual combat skills of the Briar couple were highly limited during their time at the tower. But, given that was years ago, you're still urged to be cautious. 

"Your mission is to capture them before they reach the border. We need them alive if we are going to learn what they know."

As she spoke, Allura's eyes never left what little she could see of Aarin's expression. His crimson eyes remained focused, but blank.

Some part of her felt relief. The young mage had not become known for his mercy during his time with Eclipse. As Allura pushed the file across the desk, she had to wonder if perhaps her concerns had been unfounded. Surely, once there, even Aarin would be able to restrain himself.

"There is one more part to the mission," she added before dismissing him to gather his team. "The reports filed about the couple have all contained one coinciding detail. The Briars seem to have a child with them."

꧁༺ ༻꧂

"There is something wrong with that kid."

"Well, what did you expect, Roan, when you promised to take care of one of them?"

The older mage scowled. His gaze remained stuck where their charge sat, knees to chest, in the corner of the small cabin. "I dunno. Just something different. Something...human! What sort of child won't even let us check its head?"

His wife shrugged. Her eyes, too, laid focused on the girl. Rather than responding, she weighed her options, before taking a step forward. Black smoke immediately curled over the girl's bony arms. Clicking her tongue, Sora stepped back to her original position.

"See?" Roan shouted, throwing his hands up. "This is insane! How are we supposed to keep it alive if it won't even let us do this one thing?"

"Will you stop yelling? Fat fucking chance of anything changing while you scream."

Roan hesitated, his angry expression faltering. He dropped his hands, before shoving them into his pockets with a grunt. "Fine, fine. I'll leave it to you, then, if you're so smart. Just make sure the damn thing doesn't die before we get it back to him."

She nodded, attention still on the child. Roan stormed out as she weighed her limited options. Everything about the child's appearance said how little time they had to act if they hoped to keep her breathing.

The girl's crimson hair fell in wild, tangled strands down her sweat-caked frame. It clung to her like a second skin, forming the only visible barrier between them. It was the invisible that was the problem. Any attempt to touch the child and she turned to smoke. Which hadn't been a real problem until the day before, when the brat had almost collapsed on the road with her skin flushed red with fever.

It had not come as that much of a surprise--the child's state had been questionable ever since she'd been placed in their care. That, when combined with their lack of knowledge about her kind, had led to steadily decreasing health. They'd only hoped that it wouldn't peak while she was their problem. A prayer which had obviously fallen on deaf ears.

Sora took another experimental step towards the girl. Smoke formed, growing thicker as the child's body became near-transparent. She paused, but refused to step back this time. Without a word, she watched as the smoke slowly cleared away, solidifying the girl's body once again.

"Look, kid," Sora said after a minute. Her tone was as calm as she could manage. "We don't want to hurt you. You feel like shit, right? I just want to fix that."

The girl didn't react beyond tightening her arms around her legs. Her dull, silver eyes never left Sora's feet. The instant Sora tried another step, the smoke reformed.

"Dammit," she hissed. "Look, do you want to die? I sure as hell don't. If you die, that'll be the end of us. So, why don't you and I just make a deal? You get survival, right? If you can't trust me, trust that. I'll make sure you stay alive, that way I can stay alive, too. In order for that to happen, though, you have to let us care for you!"

The girl tensed, then slowly, her body relaxed. Relief nearly sent Sora to her knees as the smoke cleared. An attempt at a smile curled her lips as she straightened, palms proffered in the girl's direction.

"See? Was that so hard?"

No response.

"Well, whatever. Is it fine if I bring Roan back in?"

For a moment, the girl seemed to ignore her. Then, slowly, she shook her head.

"No deal, huh? Well, I don't blame you. He's a bit of an ass, isn't he?" she paused, then sighed as the question was met with a stretched silence. "Well, I guess I shouldn't expect much out of you."

The distance between them disappeared with a few cautious steps. Careful not to make any startling movements, she squatted down, hands still open and visible. When nothing happened, she reached out, brushing the girl's hair back so she could easily press her palm to the burning skin. Her teeth sunk deep into her lip, curses piling up in her mind.

With the intensity of the heat scalding her palm, it was a wonder the girl was conscious at all. To distract from the worry that suddenly coursed through her, she searched for a question. Anything to occupy the child.

"Do you have a name? They didn't give us one."

As she pulled her hand back, the child's eyes flicked up to meet her own. Sora froze.

There was no emotion there. Not fear, not distrust, nothing.

When the girl slowly shook her head to the question, she couldn't find it in her to be surprised. The child didn't seem to have enough personality in her to qualify as a person.

"You--"

Sora shook her head, choosing to stand instead of finishing her sentence. It did little good to question their charge's state. They just had to take care of her fever, then reach the drop off. After that, they'd probably never see her again.

Don't get attached, she reminded herself. All children of the Circle die in the end.

꧁༺ ༻꧂

Days passed, but little changed. The child's fever grew hotter while refusing to break.

Water dripped from the cloth in Sora's hands and evaporated where it touched the child's skin. It was unnatural, and only encouraged the forgone conclusion circling her thoughts. She's going to die.

Was her care really worth the continued effort? The medicine they'd purchased from a nearby village had done nothing. As did drowning the girl in blankets and attention. Perhaps the time they had left was better spent fleeing for the border. If they were lucky, they might make it before He realized what they had done, how they had failed.

"Sora, get your ass out here. We've been found!"

She hissed a curse and dropped the cloth. Mana sprung to her hands as she darted for the door, task forgotten.

Outside, Roan had knelt on the ground, his fingers dug deep into the earth. Faint relief flooded her as she realized his announcement had come because he'd sensed a strong mana signature, not because he'd actually encountered an enemy.

"How far are they?"

Roan pursed his lips. After a pause, he drew his fingers from the dirt and swiped them over his dusty pants. His hand moved to the axe blade peeking over his shoulder. "Maybe ten minutes."

"Strength?"

"Seventh, maybe eighth ring. High enough to catch my attention. I caught it first in the village and thought they might have just been passing by. But, the signature's started traveling our way."

"The medicine," she realized. They must have been spotted then. Or perhaps one of the villagers had talked. 

"Fucking brat," Roan cursed. "I'm not dying because of it, Sora."

She snorted. "Die because of it, or die because we lost it, those are the choices."

He swore again, hand tightening around the axe hilt. He pulled it free, thumb grazing the blade.

"You're right," he grumbled. She could practically see the thoughts spinning in his mind, before he sighed and stood. "I'll try to lure them away from here if possible. You'll keep anyone who slips past from getting inside. It'd be too dangerous to take the fight there. If I don't come back, take the kid and head for the meeting point. Keeping her alive doesn't do us much good if we lose her to them."

Sora nodded and backed towards the door. Her hands stretched into the air before her, tracing intricate, glowing symbols in the air. As soon as her fingers finished the last stroke, the glow turned crimson and sunk into the earth. The spell would feed her mana, keeping her going for as long as possible.

"Sora."

"Hm?"

The sound of her name dragged her eyes to where Roan stood on the edge of the forest clearing. The harsh lines of his face had softened with concern, and her heart ached.

"Don't die."

"Don't worry." She smiled, planting her feet on either side of the doorframe. "I wouldn't leave you alone with that thing."

꧁༺ ༻꧂

They were fighting.

Her body ached and longed for the sweet release of her mana. She knew better, however, and used every ounce of lucidity she had to keep a tight leash on the black pool coiled in her chest. Something told her that if she disappeared, if she let her mana run as it pleased, she might never wake up again.

The fight is outside. 

Her mind was jumbled. Thoughts stumbled and jumped over one another, clicking into place, then flying beyond her reach. Despite that, she managed to grasp onto a single, important train of details. A fight outside was bad. It meant Sora and Roan were in trouble.

Did it matter that they were in trouble?

Yes. They had to help her. If they didn't help her, she would die.

Did dying matter?

She thought so, but wasn't certain. The people she'd seen die, they looked peaceful. No pain. But, they also never came back. She wasn't certain she was ready to stop existing, yet.

Dying mattered.

Did it matter if they died?

They were just taking her back to Him.

She almost lost her focus as a shudder racked her burning body.

She didn't want to go back there. Being there hurt. Black eyes flooded her memory, and she shoved her face into her hands. The movement tore a wet cough from her chest, which was followed by another, and another, until she could barely breathe.

By the time it calmed, her mind had reorganized. It had grasped the previous thought, running wild with it until the subject was near unrecognizable.

Sora was nice. Being with her didn't hurt. Mostly. Roan didn't pretend to like her. He wasn't fake. She wouldn't have a problem if they kept her. Maybe she could convince them to keep her if they survived.

No, she decided. They wouldn't listen. He wouldn't agree, and they listened to Him.

Something heavy slammed into the door. Then, silence.

Her hands inched down from her face, bringing the front of the cabin into view. Whatever had happened, it was over.

If Sora came in, she would let her take care of her. If Roan came in...she wouldn't let him come near her. He scared her sometimes.

If it was someone else...

She'd go with them. If they were fighting with Sora and Roan, then they wouldn't take her to Him. And escaping Him was worth everything.

The first thing she saw as the door swung open was a black, hooded cloak.

Then, other details registered. White hair as pure as snow--but flecked with wet crimson--framed their shadowed face. They were taller than her, but smaller than Roan. Less scary.

Still, black smoke encompassed her at their approach. She couldn't help it as fear instinctively iced her and drew magic from her veins. A familiar sense of relief coursed past the pain. Letting her mana free was so easy.

The figure stopped. Black spots threatened to take her as she struggled to drag her power back into her body. Solid. She had to be solid if they were going to take her away. They couldn't carry smoke.

The figure instantly began to approach once again the second she'd managed her magic. And, as her mind slipped away, her gaze met his. The connection spared a single thought through the haze.

White hair. The person who took her this time had red eyes, and white hair.

A/N: And that's the first chapter done!

You see what I mean about the broken POVs? I really did intend to cut them out (and I did remove an entire POV actually, there was another scene where the mages spoke to a villager about where Sora and Roan were), but as I wrote, just focusing on one POV felt like it limited the story. And, skipping ahead so that I could cut out the skipping around also felt like it was removing something from the book. 

In the end, you get this.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! As a side note, I realized while writing this how much the first and last chapters differ from the rest of the book, which feels more like a slice-of-life than an action-fantasy. Perhaps I'll shift that up a bit as I write. 

See you next week!