Cerrigwen

I wake up in a too- small hover. My arms and legs hang limply from the sides and it's a miracle I haven't lost a limb at the speed I'm going.

"So you're finally awake." A perky voice says. I look up groggily. A pair of warm hands helps me sit up. "We thought you were going to die."

The voice is coming from a girl with a tan complexion who looks like she's in her late teenage years. Her wavy black hair is tied up in a neat ponytail. Next to her is a boy who looks like he is around the same age as the girl. I frown at his tacky blue striped pajamas. I swear I recognize him from somewhere.

"Who are you guys?" I try to speak but it comes out a crackly whisper.

The girl hands me a bottle of water and says, "My name is Sadya and my friend over here is Nikola."

My eyes widen as I remember the face that has graced countless TV screens and magazines.
The P-Prince Heir?" I manage to stammer.

The boy shrugs sheepishly. "Call me Nikola."

"We found you passed out at our base," Sadya says.

"You're rebels," I say and immediately regret it.

"We are." Nikola gives a nod. "Who are you?"

"Cerrigwen." I blurted and clamped my hands over my mouth.

"Just Cerrigwen? No Clan or name?" Sadya implores.

For a second, I debate on telling them. You should, Says Sana. I decide not to listen to her.

"No." I shake my head. Sadya frowns for a moment before turning her back to me so she can focus on driving the hover.

For a second, I feel like we're going to crash. The hover is going at an unimaginable speed, but then again, this must be the first time I have ever gone out. Large buildings like I've never seen before tower from the ground. The large moon shines as a backdrop to this. Minutes pass in silence.

"Where are we going?" I suddenly ask, startling everyone.

Sadya glances nervously at Nikola who gives her a reassuring nod. "We want to know how you came to us. If you tell us everything honestly, we will drop you anywhere you wish to go." He says.

I can't tell them. Rebel or not, the Koros and the Marde Dynasties have had an alliance that has lasted for centuries. I can't risk capture and lose the freedom that I just attained.

Juno.

My sweet half-sister who barely made it through her fourth level at the Citadel, who risked discovery in hopes I would escape. I silently pray that she wasn't hurt.

"Hey." Sadya's small hand snaps me out of my thoughts.

"I can't," I say simply and their eyes narrow.

"What do you mean you can't." She asks doubtfully. "Surely you are not affiliated with the Chancellor?"

I see Nikola freeze up. "Are you?" He asks in a deadly voice.

I can tell he's trying to intimidate me but I don't back down. "What if I am?" I sneer.

"Then we have no choice but to slit your throat and dump you in a river in the middle of nowhere."

I immediately decide I hate him. "You're making assumptions based solely on the fact that I can't tell you. Maybe I want a bit of privacy." I argue. He goes to stand up and I was going to go too a piercing voice interrupts us.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Sadya shrieks and yanks Nikola to the floor but then her eyes widen and she abruptly sits down. "I shouldn't have yelled like that. The guards probably know we're here."

"It's fine. We were yelling at each other too." Nikola turns to look at me with a vary expression. I let all my contempt show when I glare.

"As for you," She looks at me. "We can figure out something when we reach our new headquarters. Anything can be settled for a price." She winks and I go to sit back down.

A few more minutes pass in silence as I admire the outside world. I should probably sleep, I decide. I don't know if I can, says another small part of me, but that doesn't stop me from letting myself drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow, I'll find Sloane.

Tomorrow, I'll-

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The first thing I hear when I wake up is lots of muffled yelling and clanging. I'm relieved that this time I don't wake in a cramped hover. This time, it's a narrow cot in the corner of a dark room. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust but I eventually find the light switch.

I notice with satisfaction at the file of clothes neatly folded at the foot of my bed. I pull out a pair of grey pants and blue scrubs at random and put them on.

Just then, a short young woman walks in. "Hello." She says in a prim voice. Her short hair looks windblown and tussled, her black and blue pilots outfit scuffed.

"Hello," I say warily.

"Hi." She says offhandedly as she walks closer to me. I scoot back against the wall, feeling uncomfortable. "I'm Sloane." 

Bristling at her words, I exclaim, "You're Sloane." I wince at my loud voice. When I bring a hand to my ear, I feel soft gauzy bandages. So this is Sloane? I feel a little skeptical, especially when I consider all the rumors I have heard about her.

"I am. And you're Cerrigwen Koros." 

I freeze. "How did you know who I am?" I say in a low voice. 

She shrugs. "I went into your mind as you slept." So she's a Telepath. A Mage, just like me.

I feel a pang of anger at her words. "You have no right!" I argue and my face falls. "Are you going to send me back?" I pray to all the gods that I won't be sent back to that hellhole. 

"No. Juno told me you were coming." She sits down on the bed and I slowly get closer. She pats a spot next to her, beckoning me to sit down. 

I don't comply. "What do you know about me? And when did Juno contact you in the first place? She never seemed like the type to hang around with rabble like you." 

Sloane's eye twitches. "I know that you're an unregistered Mage who specializes Energy Manipulation. I know that you are the bastard daughter of Senator Ellowen Koros and her slave Kirri. I know that you have been hidden for years, watching from the sidelines as your brother, Nix Koros took your place as Heir." 

The anger rises within me like a fire, threatening to take over and burn me alive. Her voice only kindles the flames. 

"As for Juno," She continues. "Juno joined us two years ago and has been a huge help to us. She has given us priceless information about the many aristocratic families and the Chancellor, and of course, giving us access to your brother's private bank."

A tiny part of me feels smug that Juno, whom Nix has looked down upon for years, has managed to dupe him and feed information to the rebels right under his nose. The other, bigger part of me feels horrified at the fact that she joined the rebels when she was only eleven. 

As if knowing what I'm thinking, Sloane starts, "War forces us to grow up. If your Chancellor wasn't such an evil tyrant and actually cared for his people, we would all be frolicking happily through tall grass and flowers, feeling the spring breeze against our face, hair flowing in the wind." She says saltily.

I groan and ask, "What're you going to do to me?" 

She cackles and says, "Normally we would just kill you but since Juno requested that we spare your life, I have a mission for you."

"No," I say firmly. "I'm not going to do it."

Sloane's eyes narrow and she says, "You don't even know what it is yet and you're in my debt." She finishes smugly.

I shake my head rapidly. "I'm not about to trade in one master for another. I have no obligation to the rebellion simply because they didn't leave me on the streets. Find someone else."

"You're the only other one other than Nikola who has gotten close to a government official. Your brother is well on his way to becoming the next Chancellor if he succeeds in killing the current one."

I laugh. "Nix is too smart to try anything at this moment." 

"Exactly. To completely replace our system, we must cleanse it of any thorns. We can't have Nix Koros lingering around after we kill the Chancellor. He's too dangerous." She looks at the fuming expression on my face. "Just think about it. You should get some rest in the meantime." She says coldly. "If you still don't want to work with us, we'll drop you off wherever you want."

She strides to the white metal door, takes a last look at me, and slams the door. I wince as the sound reverberates through the walls, making my bed shudder. 

It takes me a while to get to sleep and when I sleep, I dream of a faceless voice.

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It speaks to me through a pitch of darkness. I can't see its face, just it's large shiny green eyes peering at me like a cat.

"Come to me, my faithful Mage." It's soft high voice grows louder and louder, entering every crevice in my brain like daggers. "Come to me."

I can't speak. I try to open my mouth but no words come out.

Helpless.

Trapped.

I claw blindly in the dark as its eyes pierce me in all directions. Suddenly a hand reaches out and squeezes my ankle so hard that I feel a horrible crushing noise.

It laughs.

I try getting up but it's no use. My ankle is shattered. 

"You shouldn't have tried to run away from me." It says. "Join me. Imagine how powerful we can be together."

I want to say so many things. I want to tell the voice to go to hell. I want to ask who they are. I want to ask how they did this. I want to ask what they want me for. I want-

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I wake up before I can say these things. I try to get out of bed until I realize...

The bones in my ankle, the one that got shattered in my dream...

It's still shattered.

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A/N: Hi people. Sorry for the irregular updated but it's been a super busy week. If you can spot all eight fandom references, comment down below. And if you enjoyed this chapter, it'd be great if you could press that vote button. Thanks for reading.

Byeeeeeee.