Kismet’s Tale

      Natalya got off her bed. She wore her gray gloves and pulled them tightly. Dressed in a comfortable coat, she walked out of her room. Her eyes met with Mavin Tomas. She had thought that his eyes were strange. That amiable and tolerant manner that he had was replaced with that dead-eyed look. The same looked that he had worn during that party.

He never really does give me that look after revealing that I was the person, Natalya thought. Maybe it was her fault that he had never given that look again. It was bold of her to think so. Then again, she had done everything she could to make sure that he stayed away.

Mavin left the ancestral house with calm stride. Old Fred followed after, and she found herself all alone inside the Tomas Family House.

Foolishly, she raised her hands as if she was paired by a shadow clasping her hands for a dance. She recalled the steps that were made in the dance in Flost. Each and every twist, the lonesome figure of a woman dancing with no one would make one question her sanity.

That’s enough, she told herself as she lets go. Why can’t I forget about that dance? It was unlike her to worry about it. 

She placed the thought in the back of her head. She looked at the car she was using and carefully opened the gateway. She had been using the Tomas’s family cars. They were so generous in their hospitality. Most of the cost for the fuel however, came from her own pocket.

The Symbol of the Tomas Family was convenient to her. She had used the symbol to her advantage, traveling on places that allowed her to pass without being checked. Her identity had always been hidden towards others and if they had known that Lady Bellatrix was roaming around the Imperia Capital. She would not have the time to roam as she liked to.

She closed the gateway, and locked it. Old Fred had given her a spare key to do so and held enough trust to her. Old Fred’s trust was heavy. She didn’t mind it compared to the trust that Mavin was trying to give her.

Old Fred was giving us a stare that it was hard to trade words. She recalled the past evening. That hateful smell on him bothered her. She did not like the mixture of smoke, wine, and women on him. Natalya did not have the right to tell him off. He did not need to answer her. She was fine with their arrangement. Natalya was glad that he respected her privacy. Not to mention that I had barged in his life. How could I do that to him?

She found her gloved fingers tapping on the steering wheel. Hate him...loathe him. I don’t really know. But that isn’t for now.

Her eyes sharpened. That foolish brother of mine. Why are you so eager?

She shifted the gear of the car and moved steadily, weaving through the automobiles and carriages. She peeked through her eyepatch-covered right eye. The world sharpened and she saw distinguished lines. Everything became clearer to her. She didn’t mind what was happening, and yet at the same time she wished that her brother would leave her alone.

You have everything that you have. Yet you greedily came here for me. I do not care about that seat of yours. Why do you bother me? She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

She rode around the Imperial City, admiring her usual route, chasing away the birds that were following her in the process. When she reached an alley, she stopped, admiring the strange boxes that were displayed. It reminded her that she still had that pocket-camera she had bought before coming to the Imperial City. She got out of her car and took a picture of the boxes. Gotta have this developed later. I had to bother them again.

Her wealth was her own. Though the Imperial Capital that was found all over the Empire. There were certain biases and heavily imposed fees. She had to file a document, and had someone deliver a parcel to inform the bank on the Duchy of Wilde and her superiors that she wanted to use her account and send her pay to the Bank here in Arkadia. She was glad that she had people to back her when it comes. Dearest brother believed that I was after his hard-earned money or trying to usurp that seat of his.

She looked at the blue skies. I want that sky, brother. I want to be like that bird carried by the wind. And sadly...there are people that are barring my way. I don’t know why they choose to do so, but it doesn't matter, I will have my wings soon.

Some might call her desire rather petty. It may be unladylike, but then again, she was never someone who had followed what was expected of her. She did what she pleased and did good at what she did. And yet she also abandoned that previous belief of superiority.

A flash of light, and that lovely concussion, Natalya caressed her scar, a deep blushed emerging on her cheeks. A passerby who saw her expression was stunned for a moment. The passerby could not look away from that face.

 

---

 

She rode her car to a location close to the Vyadin River. When she got near the Vyadin River, she got out of her car, parked it close to the river. She hired a gondola and had her taken to one of the tunnels. It was speakeasy that only a few would know.

Natalya opened her coat and made sure that the pistol holstered on her waist was clearly seen. She knocked on the metal door. The opening in the door opened, and she was allowed in. She didn’t spend a moment in the speakeasy and went to the backdoor. She thrust her gloved knuckles.

An itch on the back of her left hand as the door opened. The first person to welcome her was a man who stood two heads taller than her.

“Crocker, get out of my way.”

“Aye, still fierce.”

“Where’s she?”

“Same place,” Crocker pointed to the side. “Careful, she is cranky.”

Natalya ignored the brute and entered the room pointed at by Crocker. When she entered the room, she found a corkboard being studied by a woman.

“Laika,” Natalya called. Laika turned around. Her eyes from the corkboard to her.

“Oh, you’ve come, Nat. Interested in more?”

“I came here because of the promise. But somehow, my feet are still rooted on the ground.”

“You could just jump from a building if you want to fly so badly.”

“I can, but I would have to have a co-jumper.”

Laika grinned, “You’re obsessed with this.”

“And how many times have you said that?”

“Eight times now.”

Laika got rid of one of the pins. She threw two pictures down a bin.

“Closed the door?”

“Yeah,” Natalya dragged a stool

Laika threw a picture on the table. Picking up the picture. It was a middle-aged man with strong features.

“Another one?”

“After the two we have to get rid of the most likely ones to control them. They aren’t stupid and the only reason we got them good was because they were worn down. Most of them are eager to get them, but as you know. We cannot have dogs following us.”

“Afraid of a gun?”

“I cannot react faster than the speed of a bullet. We need to have your skills to do it.”

“You do realize that I didn’t join for this, right?”

“The Lady asked this upon you. She shall personally make an identity and allow you a title if you do succeed in this task.”

“I don’t care about that. You know what I came here for and that’s that. I can wait for a few months, and I’m sure that they’ll approve of my desire. You forgot who is backing me.”

“And you forgot that you cannot procure what you want without our word. The Imperial Sky Knights will undoubtedly teach you what you want and teach you how to fly in the skies. Unfortunately, we are letting you take a shortcut using these methods. The three backing you will certainly get you what you want. They acknowledge your former merit as a student. Your reputation in the Academia and the outside world honestly makes me wonder why you would come into this place, then again, you were always different from usual. The Lady was pleased that someone of your caliber has come to our doorstep. Especially in these trying times where there are changes in the ways how these world is.”

Natalya folded her arms. “Not my problem.”

“Oh it is your problem, since these things will be regulated heavily once the Emperor gets their hands on them. It won’t take long before they would use every resource that they have in their disposal to train Knights. Air superiority will be the desire of every country who has seen how these planes changed the battlefield. It won’t be long before troops are supported by mechanized infantry that could take on a hail of bullets. The Holmians had changed the progress of technology, and those exoskeletons that enhanced their soldiers will change so much.”

Laika sat on the table. “It is an arm’s race from now on. The balance of power has tilted and if you honestly think that it is peaceful now that the agreement done in paper has been signed. Then you are so naive. They’ll quarrel, make many amends, play nice, but there are shadows that are still eager to get what they want. I don’t dare proclaim that we are the reasonable ones.”

“You are not,” Natalya calmly said. There was no spark of emotion in her violet eye. “I didn’t come here to discuss whether you’re doing this for justice or not.”

Laika smiled, “Of course, the Lady of Death only cares about her desire to fly a plane. I have received many requests, but yours was one of the strangest. We have welcomed you here because of your fame and skill. And that you have something that would benefit us in the long run.”

“If you are trying to entice me more, then you are very wrong about me. I told you what I wanted.”

“Humble, you really have been--”

“Say another word and you’ll reflect ten minutes from now how you shouldn’t have continued down that train of thought.”

Laika shrugged. “I really don’t understand how it is with you two. Nonetheless, this ambition of yours is small. The Lady wouldn’t mind if you asked for more. You are giving us a favor that not anyone could grant us. It’s okay to be greedy.”

“You should try getting your head almost blown apart. Maybe that will humble you.”

“Oh, didn’t you try that?”

“Do you want to try again? Perhaps a concussion would give you an enlightenment, Nano.”

Laika raised her shoulder and looked at the corkboard with her arms folded. “You have a great gift in you. The bloom and the mark naturally existing on the back of your hand would catch anyone’s attention.”

“I told you that I do not desire anything that you want of me.”

“That is because you still underestimate the bloom and the mark coexisting in you. I told you of the stories and the Lady is very willing to groom you into becoming. The blood and that crest you have eerily matches. Your fame matches the desired requirement and the offerings you have made with that steel-barreled sword of yours is worthy of recognition. Truthfully, if you ask for more, you will get it.”

“And you think that anyone would just take your word? You’d failed as a saleswoman.”

“Indeed, many would find it hard to believe the words that I speak. But if you desire, we shall allow it. Natalya Wilde, as a woman who walks under the light, you are famed and respected. On our side, you are nothing more than a fledgling, but a dangerous one who has the qualification to rule both sides.”

Laika placed her palm on her chest, “If you would desire, the Lady, and my people will allow you to rise as Viola Whitefall. Daughter the Whitefall Clan, you are worthy to be our Imperator.”

Natalya’s brows meet. She stared at Laika for a moment before pocketing the photo of the middle-aged man. “You should forget about that,” she touched her scar lovingly. “Who are you trying to fool when you can’t even get me a plane to fly? Tell the Lady that I appreciate her help and that I expect what I deserve soon.”

“I will. Good luck in your hunt, Viola.”

“Try not to spend too much time in this room, Nano. You’ll fry your brains.”

Natalya slammed the door close. Laika watched the door for a moment and said, “She really is worthy to become our Imperator, my lady.”

She placed a pin on the corkboard. The shadows on her face deepened as she thought of the possibility of a woman of her caliber rising to rule those who have the mark and the bloom on their left hands.