Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. Here is chapter 26 of TOS. This is written in the POV of Tallis Grey. Enjoy!
And please vote!

BRONZE DISTRICT, MARU
Five years ago

My dreams had always seemed so real. And it was always the same. I flew through an open sky with no clear destination. Just an endless sky promising an endless freedom. I could feel everything: The sun that warmed my skin as I breathed in fluffy clouds, the tingly sensation of my stomach when I dipped down through the air, and even the wind that would needle my eyes. Still, I drank the view of gleaming rivers and lakes and rolling green hills of different shades against a cerulean backdrop. Such a sight would make one believe in some higher power like those Divinities those zealots raved about around the Copper Plaza.

Were they the ones who gave me these dreams of places I would never see? Of a freedom I would never feel?

What sick bastards.

But suddenly I was crashing. I couldn't seem to pull back up. The ground was coming too fast! Fear coursed through my veins turning me cold as my body braced for the impact.

I woke up with a start as I fell from my chair. I had unwittingly fallen asleep at the ledger... again. The dream used to end much more pleasantly but lately it had the same abrupt end... like a bad omen.

My back and neck felt stiff. I lifted my hand to wipe my mouth, suspecting I had spilled ink on my face again, only to retract it when I tasted the bitterness of wax.

The bench candle must have melted onto my hand as I slept carelessly. This morning can't get any worse.

Then of course it did.

Darbus opened the door slamming it against the wall. The hole in that wall a testament to how many times that has happened. He was blowing into that blasted bullhorn. All the other boys began rising up and grumbling as our 'caretaker' started bashing us with his favorite endearments. "Come on, you forsaken fleas! Get your lazy arses out the door. Give me an excuse to thrash the lot of yas if you're late!"

I wasted no time swiping my papers off the ledger and stuffing them down into my boots.

Glinn had flipped out of his bed and joined me. He already had his boots on as well, having slept in them just as I instructed him to. We regularly washed our feet but always put them back on right after. The leather of my shoes had a few holes, and the soles were hanging by the inch, but I didn't want them stolen. Here amid wards, you didn't have a lot but what you did have you had to protect or else you could walk the forges barefoot. That needed to be avoided at all costs.

Every morning after eating a bowl of flavorless grits, we headed down the street to Forge B in straight formations. A loud gong could be heard over all Maru announcing the start of a workday. I vaguely wondered if those in the Inner Gold District with their shiny penthouses could hear it. They probably have insulated walls blocking out the sound of the filth. Their ostentatious air forever remaining unsullied.

"Do you think everything will run good today?" Glinn whispered to me, his eyes scanning the factories looming over us. He spoke slowly, still hesitant when using the common tongue I taught him. He has come a long way in five years.

"One more day, Glinn. We'll be okay," I said in lieu of a response, occupied with picking the wax off my hands.

A kick to the back of the heel had me hissing in my breathe but I chose to ignore it. Thyeo and his minions snickered behind us.

Glinn glanced back and whispered to them in a hushed tone, "Stop it."

"Stop it," Thyeo mocked in a girlish voice. "You hear that, fellas? Piggy wants us to stop it."

"Just ignore them," I said still looking forward.

"Yeah, do what your boyfriend says," Fylor laughed.

Another kick to the heel.

They are trying to bait us. Get us in trouble and jeopardize our chances of moving up out of this hole. Their test scores won't be doing them any favors.

Almost there.

"Have you been sneaking rations, Piggy? How are you still so damn fat, huh?" Thyeo had quickened his pace to lean right over our shoulders.

"If you don't back the hell off---" I started.

"I'm talking to Piggy, Tallis. It's a legitimately question."

Oh great, the ferret found a dictionary.

When we ignored him, he continued, "It's a good thing your pig-loving father had enough sense to sell ya. You would've eaten them out of house and home, Oinkers."

I glanced over and Glinn had his fists clenched and his lips pressed together tightly. His round freckle-splattered face flushed like a tomato. He was looking at me, his shoulders hunched over. He quickly shook his head. He doesn't want me to react.

Okay, I won't...

"Hey, watch this," Fylor whispered before sending a kick once again. But this time it was aimed higher to the back of my knee. My leg promptly gave out sending me to the ground. The procession halted.

Right before I could get up and make Fylor swallow some teeth, a couple of uniformed men blew a whistle and came trotting towards us.

"What seems to be the problem?" One asked.

"No problem here, Officer. Just helping our friend up." Thyeo hauled me up by the elbow and I resisted the urge to shake him off.

If one of us gets thrown into a cell, who knows when the guild will get around to releasing us. And you can forget about securing a good apprenticeship. Any sort of rebellious behavior or criminal record no matter how slight can ruin your chances of getting anywhere in life.

"Move along then, Mice," the officer said then walked off with his partner murmuring something about good-for-nothing rodents.

~~♤~~

"Tomorrow is the test. Are you nervous, Tallis? I am. I haven't slept much cause I keep thinking about it." Glinn talked fast switching between the foreign and common tongue. I didn't mind since I could understand him regardless. I had no idea how I could. Never quite figured it out. I wish I could speak it as well then no one could eavesdrop on any of our conversations. Teaching me a new language was pointless since I couldn't hear the other language being taught.

We were separating scrap pieces of metal into a wheelbarrow. They would be melted down and reused on something else. Maru did not let anything go to waste. Guess us orphans should be thankful for that, right?

Glinn nudged me when I didn't answer his question.

"Oh, yeah. Sure," I said not really knowing what I was saying yes to.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You read and memorize stuff so fast. You could become a scholar or a teacher or a translator. You can understand any language--"

"I don't know if I can understand every language. I told you, maybe my mother was from Saragoas too. Makes the most sense," I said shrugging. Explaining that I could understand a language without truly understanding a language was difficult, so I didn't try.

"But... your mother was a mute."

There was a moment of silence. Or as much silence as there ever would be in a factory. Yes, my mother spoke with her hands. It was one of the scarce details I remembered about her. Mutes were not treated well, anywhere. They either had their tongues cut out or they were just born that way. Or cursed, but I did not believe in curses. No matter the reason, Mutes held low positions. A good servant or slave is one who cannot talk back.... one who can't scream. I had to shut off those thoughts.

It was bad enough my mother left me on a doorstep when I was three years old. Was I a burden from the start though? Was I a reminder of a traumatic experience where she could not cry out for help?

"I'm sorry, Tallis. You could've heard someone else speaking my tongue. Like a-a cousin, or uncle... or..."

"Or father. Yeah, I know. It is probably best I don't remember. What do you want to be?"

"Gee, I don't know. I think I would be good at painting or working with animals or cooking, don't you think? I don't really know what I want to do for the rest of my life. What about you?"

I gave a quick look around then ducked behind the pile of metal motioning for Glinn to follow behind. I removed my papers from my boot. "Take a look at this."

"Wow... um... what is it?" Glinn responded sheeply looking at my rudimentary drawing.

"It is an airship. I had the dream again last night," I said leaving out the bit about crashing. "I will not be a scholar stuck in a library all day. I am going to be an inventor and I am going to make this."

"H-how are you gonna make it fly though?"

"I don't know yet. I need a proper education and more experience in this field of study, y'know? But I will make it happen."

"Who is going to fly it?"

"I am, of course. I would need someone to help me. Heck. May need a whole crew. I don't know."

"Can I go with you?"

"Why do you think I'm showing you? If you become an inventor, too, you can help. We are gonna fly away from here, in style."

"It looks kinda like a ship. But instead of sailing water, we'll sell on air!" Glinn had a giddy quality to his voice that would probably be a characterizing feature of his if he grew up in a happy home with a family that was not starving. Glinn prayed every night to those Divinities for the people who sold him. He prayed not for himself. I remember the first night, before I saved him from Thyeo, when I heard his prayers.

The boys who were trying to sleep kept grumbling telling him to shut up. But he kept praying and only I understood his words.

I remember thinking, this idiot isn't thinking about himself at all. He is going to get himself killed.

Glinn's eyebrows pulled together. "But... where would we go? And isn't ward desertion a crime?"

"We will go exploring on behalf of Maru or something. And we'll go anywhere we want."

"Like the place in your dreams? With the green hills? I've never seen green hills. Saragaros was so ... beige." He scrunched up his nose in distaste at the mention of his homeland.

"Sure... why not? Anywhere means anywhere after all," I answered nonchalantly.

"What's it like again? Besides the green hills?"

"I don't know how to describe it... it's... you know those paintings in Mrs. Hattley's Beauty Emporium?"

"No. We're not allowed near there, Tallis. Mrs. Hattley says no rats at her windows. That we will scare away her clients."

I bit back my retort at the unpleasant nickname orphans had in this city.

"Yes, I know that, but you can still see the paintings from the windows. Just look at all the colors next time before she grabs the whacker stick."

Glinn nodded just as a screeching sound chilled our bones. We waited hoping the kink would work itself out. But the gears of the factory sputtered and clanked, and yells were heard as the workers scrambled to evacuate before more damage could be done.

No, this is our last day. They haven't had an incident in over eight months. Maybe it's a slight jam. It has to be. We waited for a couple of minutes on pins and needles in a deafening silence except for the choking of metal. It was a relief to the ears but complete silence in a factory was never a good sign.

Finally, a loud voice projected over the scrap yard. "All mice report to line six!"

They called us mice because we could fit in between the giant gears. We could go into the hazardous network of pulleys and razor-sharp instruments and fix any internal issues with the machines. The task was deadly. Once the obstacle was removed, the gears might start moving again squashing the mouse. The mouse would have to scramble out as fast as possible if they had any chance of survival.

So, who would be chosen to go in risking their life? Whoever's name gets drawn.

All the mice assembled, pale with sooty faces. We knew, more than likely, someone was not going to be taking the test tomorrow.

I braced myself. I knew exactly what I would do if my name was called. I was going to run. Yes, they would kill me for desertion. I'd rather be hung like a criminal or stabbed like a lame horse or mercifully beheaded like a dying dog than to die squashed like a mouse.

Glinn beside me gulped as they drew out the name. All was still.

The Coordinator cleared his throat. "Fylor."

I breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a spark of satisfaction. I was sure I had a bruise forming on the back of my knee. We all parted to look at Fylor. I immediately regretted my own selfishness. Fylor had always towered over the other boys and relished that lucky trait. Now he looked so small and so helpless. His eyes shook back and forth.

"Which of you is Fylor?"

Silence. Everyone started looking away, down at their worn shoes mostly. Fylor stepped forward. "I-I am."

"Are you deaf or just slow?" The coordinator snarled. "We are already twenty minutes behind production. Get up here! We haven't got all damn day."

They equipped Fylor with a tool belt then told him where they think the obstruction is located. From how long it took them to tell him, it was deep which lowered the chances of him escaping.

He glanced back over his shoulder just once before disappearing into the great machine. No one spoke or moved. We have to stay... if he couldn't make it back there, they would choose someone smaller. I glanced at the tiny seven-year-olds. I was glad I didn't have to see any of them go. Better Fylor than one of them. It was disgusting how my mind had to find a way to justify this, to see some kind of silver lining.

A few minutes passed and it's been a while since we heard Fylor yell from wherever he was.

"Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, the mouse went down. Hickey dickory dock," one of the workers sang ominously under his breathe to the amusement of his peers.

"You almost there, Mouse?" The Coordinator yelled out impatiently.

"Almost," Fylor's voice echoed back down.

"His name is Fylor!" I yelled. My mouth snapped shut but the damage was already done.

Why did I say that? Sometimes my anger could get the best of me.

The Coordinator looked back at me and Glinn whipped his head around wide-eyed.

"Make sure this one gets drawn next," the coordinator said walking slowly over to me, spitting on my shoe. I narrowed my eyes at him. He was about to say or do something else when Fylor called out that he found it.

The machine started rotating its gears once more and the workers cheered. After all, every minute the factory isn't operating is a minute they are not paid.

The remaining mice listened with anxiety waiting for some kind of sign. Maybe he would make it out. He was strong and fast. If he just timed it right--- a scream split the air then nothing. The machine only jerked slightly as it put Fylor out of his misery. They say its weight crushes your bones to dust.

The coordinator saluted as did the workers. We followed suit and recited Maru's motto mechanically.

"To Maru. May Our Legacy Remain." The indoctrinated words felt hollow and robotic to my ears. It stained these walls as much as the blood, rust, sweat, and tears.

Glinn let out a choked sob. The other boys scattered away like exposed cockroaches in the sunlight. I kept staring at the gears wishing they would just stop. But they and the world kept turning.

The next day, after results of the test were posted, I was an official apprentice in the Guild of Innovation and Design. Glinn was assigned to the boiler room. Luckily, after what happened to Fylor, Glinn was not too disappointed with his new position.

Out of the mouse hole, I thought the nightmare was over. I was wrong.

Sad song for Tallis and Sienna