Kayata woke up to the sound of shouting.
Guns firing in the distance mixed with the acrid smell of smoke.
She looked over at Kayto, who was a couple feet in front of her. He was sitting up on his thin mattress, staring out the window tiredly. The gentle reds and oranges of the rioter’s torches glinted across his warm brown eyes.
“Forgot it was King’s Day,” he mumbled.
Kings Day.
Kayata had too, actually, which was strange. For the past twelve years, she had never forgotten the day. It was something she waited all year for. Not in an excited, eager way like the Renegades did, but in a sick, anxious sort of anticipation.
Like awaiting death.
Somehow, though, the date had slipped her mind. Maybe after all of these years she’d become bored of the day’s events. That, and she couldn’t bring herself to care much about almost anything anymore.
There wasn’t any point in trying to get more sleep by now. The rioter’s would progressively become more loud from here on out. It’d be be more safe to stay away from the crowds.
Especially for her.
Kayata climbed off her bed, if you could even call it that. The mattress was so thin it was practically a blanket. She headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. They were running out of food quicker than she expected. She’d tell Kayto later tonight. She wasn’t really in the mood for chatting now that King’s Day was around, she thought. The reminder of what day it was currently as left her without an appetite, so she closed the fridge door and headed toward the back door empty handed.
Better to save the food for emergencies, anyways.
She grabbed her worn, scraggly black jacket off the rack and shook the dust out of it, then zipped it up and closed the door behind her. She could still hear the shouts and gunfire from the other side of the building, but it seemed more distant now, as if the rioters had moved forward a bit.
She continued to walk down the snow-carpeted streets, sunlight glinting off the icicles hanging from the overhanging rooftops. Of course, there were very little people on the streets due to the riots. If she could forgot about King’s Day and what it mean about her directly, then she could have enjoyed the peaceful and even scenic morning.
She rounded the corner after a few more minutes and walked across a small, arched stone bridge until she walked into the Castletown.
It was busy, as usual. Merchants selling their overpriced products. Sellers shouting for people to buy into their scams.
She’s never actually understood the appeal of Castletown during this season. Everything felt like a hoax, especially since she’d seen at least three shops claiming to sell Neyavark’s best produces.
She passed the merchants clamoring for her attention and continued straight until she entered the forgery.
It was hot, of course, but after being stuck in the snow for maybe an hour, it felt like home.
The forgery was tucked in the corner of the wall of the castle, right next to the stables. The strong walls were made of stone and seemed to keep the heat in.
Several workers brushed her shoulder and gave her their tired, early-morning acknowledgements.
She headed deeper into the shop until she saw Phoenix, hunched over a sword and slamming a hammer down over the weapon.
It seemed to take him a few moments to notice Kayata’s presence. He glanced up at seemed shocked to see her there.
“Oh,” he said simply and set the hammer gently down on a side table. He ran his hand through his soot-dirtied blond hair. “Sorry, Kaya, I didn’t realize you were here.”
“I work here,” I reminded him dully.
Phoenix shrugged innocently. “It’s King’s Day.”
Kayata rolled her eyes and leaned on the table. “Not much of a holiday for most of us,” she grumbled.
Phoenix shrugs again. “Still. Most of us take a day off when we can.”
“Can’t afford it,” she muttered more harshly than intended. “Besides, it’s either here or I’m stuck with Kayto all day.”
“Eh,” Phoenix says as he reaches for a the sword again and sets it back on the anvil. “Wouldn’t be too bad. How’s he doing, by the way?”
“Alright,” Kayata replies
He hammers the sword before passing it in front of me. Can you hand that to Crew? She’s in the back.”
“Sure thing.” Kayata grabbed a pair of thick gloves from the top shelf and strapped them onto her cold-numb hands before gently lifting the sword into her hands and wandering into the back of the forgery.
⋆ • • • •༺𓆩•𓆪༻• • • • ⋆
The morning passed by passed by quickly, partly due to the fact that Kayata had been hammering weapons over a rusty anvil for the whole morning. As a subtle form of disrespect, many treated the holiday as if it were a regular day. It was maybe the only thing that Kayata actually enjoyed about the day.
Even then, by noon, her hands began to become calloused and her back stiff from pain after being hunched over all morning.
She took her gloves and goggle off and leaned on a nearby counter and stared out the squared whole in the forgery that served as a window.
“Order of the king! All citizens remain where they now stand. Any movement viewed as hostile will result in punishment of death!”
At first, Kayata had thought it was some sort of chant used in the riots, which wouldn’t make sense; no rioters would be allowed in the Castletown. The more she cranes her neck to get a better view of the scene outside the forge, the more she began to realize what was happening.
Soldiers were coming.
For why, she could’t fully tell, but she did know their involvement rarely meant anything good.
She rounded the corner of the forgery and stopped in before the doorway and watched as Phoenix seemed to try and hold Crew back from the officers.
“I’m sorry,” Phoenix said calmly. “Officer, I’m sorry, I-I-“
He paused when he glanced back and made eye contact with Kayata and gently urged Crew to the side of the Castletown. Kayata watched Crew lean against the forgery wall and steal a worried glance at Kaya.
Something was wrong.
One of the soldiers walked up to Phoenix and seemed to say something, but Kayata couldn’t hear from her; she could only see the movement of his mouth.
Phoenix said something back, and the officer immediately tensed before shoving Phoenix to the ground.
Several standbys shouted in protest, but the officer ignored them. He yanked Phoenix up from the ground.
Kayata was about to step forward to check on him when another soldier passed Pheonix and the officer and walked directly up to her.
“Kayata Desalair, by direct order of the King, you are under arrest.” 6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpDNqOsep5
and then Add to home screen.