The person before her was pletely different from the reality she knew. Through the gsses, Eudokia saw not a child, youhan her, but an adult woman at least twice her age. Where she saw a bck haired child, she found a blonde-haired woman. So many questions came to her.

  When Eudokia came to a stop, it only took Dareia a few steps to realize it. She looked back at Eudokia. The look in her eyes told her enough. A small smile grew across her lips. It had a knowing look to it, almost as if she expected the oute. “The secret’s out.”

  Chapter 203 – Art of the

  ‘The secret’s out? It’s like she doesn’t even care I know she’s been lying to me the eime!’ Hard to trol emotions boiled up in her body. It made her shake. She thought it might make her explode. She wanted answers, but found herself running away. ‘Why?! Why?!’

  Eudokia retreated to the barracks. However, she knew she couldn’t go inside. She turned away, making for the gate. The solitude of the endless fields of grass surrounding the Base was her st refuge. ‘I don’t uand!’ She dropped her head down. ‘Why?!’ The grass blew between her legs, never giving an answer. ‘Why?!’ She fell backwards. ‘Why?!’ The sky said just as much to her.

  Miuro hours until the sky filled with stars. Time lost all meaning to her. ‘Did I fall asleep?’ Her hand rubbed against her eyes. She found them to be wet, but her cheeks felt weird like something dried on them.

  She made her way back to the barracks. It was already past the evening call. Most were already sleeping, apart from those going off for their patrols. When she made it to her squad’s se, she notiikon staring at her.

  The look in his eyes was a plicated one for her to judge. She didn’t know what he wanted, but tried to ig. His timing waited until she was almost to her cot. “I reported your absence.”

  “That’s fine.” Eudokia slid into her sheets. It was almost a meanihing by Nikon. They both khat her officer rank exempted her from the requirement of being at the calls. It was only good form to be with the team, since she was the squad leader.

  Sleep was a difficult thing for Eudokia. Her mind tio spiions she couldn’t answer. It kept her from getting anything close to meaningful sleep. When m came, her mind and body were exhausted. It made her thankful she didn’t have a patrol. She never would have survived the trek.

  In the course of her attempts to follow her routine, she saw Dareia. Still walking around as a child, she looked like nothing happened yesterday. It made Eudokia’s heart start beating rapidly. It was so sudden it nearly buckled her legs, tired from the ck of sleep. The shaking in her body was impossible for her to keep in trol.

  She fled.

  Any ce she had to resolve this disappeared. Dareia had her patrol and didn’t return for two days. Poor timing fell for Eudokia f her to go on patrol shortly after Dareia returned. All Eudokia could do was sit on the mass of emotions with nothing to release them.

  It left her with the needed motivation when she came babsp; Nothing mattered to her at the point she reached. Travel fatigue didn’t eveo exist for her, something that boggled her squad’s minds for the erol. They returned naturally winded, but she never missed a beat. Before they realized what happened, she disappeared from their sight with only a, “Dismissed!”

  Eudokia teetered between a mard run as she went in search of Dareia. ‘I’ll get my aoday!’ It didn’t seem to take very much for Eudokia to locate Dareia, almost as if she wao be found. She tightened up her hands in preparation. The look on Dareia said she knew what she wanted, but waited for her a. She could never see Dareia the same. It frustrated her. Every expressioure on her face seemed to hold a pletely different meaning then before, despite looking the same. “I want my answers!” she shouted, jumping ahead on her pn and not realizing it.

  Dareia giggled a little at Eudokia. “You o be a little more specific.”

  It flustered Eudokia almost immediately when she caught up to her words. “I mean about you!” She almost looked like she was going to throw a tantrum. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Dareia and MP just like you.”

  “I know that already!” Eudokia panted a little, finding Dareia suddenly difficult to deal with now. “I want to know why you are deceiving everyone! Why did you deceive me?!”

  “Everyone is always deceiving. Our powers just make it easier.”

  “That’s not the point! I want answers!”

  “There’s some truth in what I said.” She lifted up her hand pointing her index fio recall their previous versation. “I did want to meet you. You have quite the reputation back at the Academy.” Dareia stood up and started to walk around Eudokia. “I was at the Capital during your time in the Academy and heard a lot of rumors about you. So I became curious.”

  Eudokia’s eyes narrowed, bothered by the ges she saw in Dareia. She couldn’t see the person she knew ihe child. “You came all the way out here just to see me? I find that excuse poor. You must have a better reason than that!”

  Dareia grinned over at Eudokia. She stopped in front of her. The same knowing grin corrupted her fabsp; “You think so? I tend to be a rather spontaneous woman.”

  “Spontaneous?” Eudokia stepped back from Dareia. The close proximity of her made her uneasy. With the fa?ade down, she got a pletely different feeling from her. Ohat seemed almost predatorial, the plete opposite of the child she pyed. “It ontaneous to pretend to be a child? That’s rather unbelievable out here.”

  “True, under normal circumstances.” She stretched out reag for Eudokia. “However, you’re here. A child is a rare sight, but a sed bees more accepted.”

  “How’d you do it? I know you couldn’t be maintaining your Field the eime. You wouldn’t st.”

  “I have a device to project what I need.”

  “Now what? I know your secret, what are you pnning on doing now?” It was closer to the heart of the matter for Eudokia. Everything colpsed because of what she learned. She didn’t know how things could tinue. It was all gone.

  Dareia pulled bad rested ba the step. “I’ve got a tour to plete. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it!”

  Shrugging a little, she smiled back at Eudokia admitting hht she was. “You’re right.” Dareia moved her hand to appear pehough it was hard to know if it was actually real or not. The position remained regardless of the reality for a few moments. She met gazes with Eudokia when she was ready. “You seem in need of my specialty.”

  “Specialty?”

  “Yup!” Dareia rocked forward and jumped up. She cheerfully jogged around Eudokia. She took Eudokia by the arm and ran off with her into the denser parts of the Base. While they went along the paths, they passed soldiers. Dareia jumped up waving to them. A greeting exged with them.

  “Good afternoon Sed Lieutenant!”

  “Rexing on your day off, Dareia?”

  “Yuppers! It’s so oday! I just had to get out!”

  Eudokia stared at the whole exge in a bit of fusion and bewilderment. The child she knew from before returned. She was a little more cheerful and outgoing than she reized, but it was close enough. It made her hopeful. ‘Dareia!’

  She turned immediately back to Eudokia, as though knowing the exact right timing. “See?” It was all shattered in an instant.

  It snapped Eudokia back out of her disillusions. The annoyed expressiouro her fabsp; She gred at Dareia. “What was the point of that?”

  “Proof.” Dareia saw that Eudokia didn’t follow her answer. She tinued walking and greeting those that passed them. Eventually, they reached the end and no one was around. “Even someone like me get along with the rest of the soldiers on the Base.”

  Crossing her arms, Eudokia had her doubts about the whole thing. It seemed fruitless to her. “It’s all just lies.”

  “Lies, yes, but you o learn that you need lies to survive in this world. Without them, people could not coexist. I white lies or even plex webs, you o do a little lying if you pn to have people accept you and follow you.”

  “You’re wrong! All you’re doing is ign yourself in favor of what others want!” Eudokia turned around, almost ready to break out in tears. There truly was nothing inside Dareia, the person she knew. She started to run away.

  Dareia stopped her with her words. “Aren’t you already doing that, but failing?” Eudokia tilted her head back at the child, her eyes wide in surprise. Dareia saw through her pletely. “You aren’t ag yourself in front of them. You want to be someohat they resped listen to, but they only see a child desperately pretending.”

  Eudokia groueeth together. The direct hit hurt more thahought. She turned away from Dareia again, uo look at her. Her expression already revealed everything. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

  Grinning a little, Dareia lowered her head. “If you want to learn how to survive in the adult world, I’ll be here. Waiting.” She leaned back against the stone of the outer wall of the headquarters.

  Finally, she fled from the area. It felt overdue for Eudokia. She couldn’t stand being around Dareia. There was nothing she could find inside her that was familiar. It was nothing but a lie. The admissions she made only worse. ‘Nothing was real. It was just an act by her to get close to me! I ’t trust anything she says!’

  She returo the barracks. The library ointless for her. Her mind inning too hard for her to actually focus on anything. She had her answers, but nothing like what she was expeg. All she could do was lie down. It solved nothing, but she did not feel like moving. The fatigue in her body finally caught up to her.

  Sleep desded.

  The m arrived for Eudokia. Whispers went around the barracks, enough to stir her out of her sleep. When she rose from the cot, it caught the attention of the others. They all gnced around at each other in silenbsp; The same stares leveled on her. ‘Always the same here. I rely on that at least.’ She rolled over.

  “Letting your rank finally get to your head,” ented Nikon. It didn’t have enough text for Eudokia to make sense of what he said. She gnced over her shoulder back at him, not giving him much of an expression. It only bothered him more. “You think just because you’re special the rules don’t apply to you.” It was just more of the same, but Eudokia still had no idea why he brought it up.

  “You ignored call,” Hirion filled in for Eudokia. He sat o mostly engrossed in a book. The rest of the squad was not present.

  Eudokia’s ft expression didn’t reabsp; “I see.” She lowered back to the cot, pnning to ignore everything. Unfortunately, Nikon tinued on ranting about Eudokia’s unprofessional nature and disregard for the rules. He mao have enough material for thirty minutes before he stopped. It was difficult to know if he ran out of things to say or just was tired of not having a rea from Eudokia.

  The weeks passed with Eudokia settling bato the routine. Her squad tio give her insubordinate looks, while silently following her. It didn’t take much to see they were just buying their time. She had achieved nothing to ge their opinion of her.

  Everything was the same.

  She was fih it. Or so she thought.

  Something her sides quietly and slowly pig at the cracks. It opped. At first, she ig, not thinking anything of it. However, the lo tihe worse it got. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. It built up until she could no loand it.

  Along the outer walls of the headquarters, Eudokia stood a safe distance away from them. She still didn’t trust them, but they had something she wanted. “Show me how to fit into this world.” Dareia gnced over at Eudokia, grinning the knowing look again.

  “I’ll teaore than just that! I’ll show you how to make it kneel before you!”