Magic - Coldplay

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The world looked different from the rooftop of the castle. It was all far away and untouchable, like a vivid painting. The icy slopes of shingles and crystallized windows seemed like something straight out of a book. Even us escaping was so ridiculous and unimaginable.

Sarr slid down towards the edge without a second thought, her hands gripping the slick surface with ease. She came to a stop and peeked over. "The rebels are still down there."

I let myself glide down beside her. My lithe body picked up speed on the way down and I thought I'd shoot right over and fall into the courtyard below. Luckily there was a lip hanging over the roof and my boots stopped me when I hit it.

"You're scaring me." Sarr tilted her head sideways and looked at me carefully. "Do you have a death wish, sliding down like that?"

I scrutinized the scene in the courtyard. From up here I could see the rebel soldiers hiding behind the bushes and statues while the guards crept around with their guns drawn. Every once in awhile someone would aim at a person from the other party and fire. Already several people were dead, lying in strange angles on the frosty ground. Blood was pooling across the ground, slowly freezing.

"We need to get out into the market and then back to the headquarters." Sarr said.

"How are we getting down?" I asked.

"Over on the cliff side." She began picking her way over the gargoyles and tiers that topped the castles architecture. They stared at us in their stony silence, the grey eyes not perceiving anything through the film of snow that covered them. We rounded the corner and headed over to the steep side that stared down into the valley. It was lined with large windows on every floor. We just had to jump from sill to sill until we reached the narrow rocky shelf at the bottom.

"I'll go first. Follow my footsteps." Sarr commanded. I nodded. The wind up here was a lot chillier than it had been down there and I didn't know if my voice would work even if I wanted it to.

She nimbly leaped down to the first ledge. Her long legs were perfect for the job and the windows were barely more of a hop for her. She inched along before letting go and falling to the next one. Each time she jumped I held my breath, expecting her to slip and fall to her death.

"It's your turn now!" She yelled up to me. I shivered with fear and took a few steps to the edge. The height made me dizzy and I could barely focus of lowering myself down. I sat on the edge and turned around, my fingers gripping the stone so hard the knuckles started turning white. My legs kicked through nothing for a few heart stopping moments before they found the firm ledge. I breathed a few times to lower my heart rate before doing it again.

It took a long time and each second went by agonizingly slow. I hardly breathed all the way down, my brain focused on landing right where Sarr had stepped. It gave me a sense of security to land in her footsteps and know that she'd already stood here and it had held her.

"Just a few more!" She yelled suddenly. It surprised me and I almost fell. My body swung precariously over the edge before I got myself straightened up. I looked down and realized there were only two more windows.

I got to the last one and carefully let myself drop to the ice shelf that jutted off the cliffs. One wrong step and I'd slip down onto the surface of lake An, where I'd be dead.

"Do the rebels do this kind of thing a lot?" I asked in a shaky voice.

She laughed. "No, this is the first big mission we've ever done. It's good... I'd never be able to sleep if I did this type of thing every day."

"Wait, you've never done stuff like this?"

"Nope." She flashed me a toothy grin. I suddenly had a lot of respect for this girl who had done this without second thoughts even though she was new at it. I thought she was a trained roof jumper.

We moved around the castle until we were on solid ground again. The fight was still going on in the market and there were no citizens around except for the wounded ones lying on the ground. I felt bad for getting them involved in something like this, but it was too late to turn back. I ran after Sarr as she headed for the secret doorway.

"Are there a lot of people still there?" I asked between breaths.

"I'm assuming Clanio sent a lot of them out to fight." She uttered breathlessly.

We slid down the hill towards the boulders. Just a little while ago I'd been under the ground going here through a tunnel. It was a lot shorter than it had seemed in the dark.

Clanio was standing out in the cold, bundled in a large suit that looked like an exoskeleton. I followed Sarr to the door and he helped us open it.

"How's it going up there?" He followed us into the darkness.

"I was trapped in the castle and Sarr helped me escape. Last time I saw the action it was at a stand still." I said. There was no response. The lights flickered as we hurried to the main room.

"I've sent out almost everyone but a few troops have stayed behind to help keep this place under lock, which is understandable." Clanio stated. "I just wish Alvia would see the sense in our rebellion. Everything would be so much simpler."

"Lifes never that easy." Sarr said, smiling. "You have to fight for every breath you breath. There's always someone else who wants the same air."

"It doesn't have to be that way. We can unite ourselves, can't we?" I looked at Clanio and Sarr and realized that even after all my studies I'd never understand the full story behind their argument. It wasn't just a battle for control, but a battle for unity and peace among the people. Something that would solve Adron's problem.

"We need to go back out there." Clanio ordered. "There's more that needs to be done."

He handed me and Sarr guns and together we headed back out. A storm was picking up and the snow was being tossed wildly around by the heavy breezes.

I held up my gloved hand to ward off some of the skin-biting cold and started tramping through the drifts towards the city. I could hear gunshots and a sense of urgency filled my soul. Clanio and Sarr must've gotten the same adrenaline because we started jogging as fast as we could.

The market was the first thing that came into view. It was in ruins. The large banners that had hung proudly this morning was ripped and now hung in tatters. Stalls were knocked over and wares were spread across the ground, the metals flashing in Niftri's brightening light.

The rebels were full on fighting with the guards and the air smelled of smoke. The cries of the wounded were grotesque, moanings that were carried along by the wind.

We ducked behind a large crate and listened for a little while. When it started to calm down we peeked around the edge. The rebels were staring at the gates where a convoy was arriving. The tight ball of soldiers were surrounding something. They moved away and I saw Alvia standing among them. She was holding her own gun and her face was pinched with rage. Her blood red outfit stood out in the snow.

I jumped up and aimed at her. Just as I fired Clanio grabbed my arm and twisted it, knocking the aim. Alvia flinched and spun around. Her eyes met mine and a wicked smile played on her lips. She raised her gun and fired. I didn't get hit but beside me Sarr sank to the ground, blood seeping out from between her fingers which was pressed against her temple. She tried to talk but couldn't seem to form the words. A thin trail of blood was now running down the side of her head. She smiled and then gasped for air, her body sinking down until it stopped moving altogether.

A scream erupted from me and I started running towards Alvia. She nodded to her guards and they turned to meet me. I shot wildly, my hopes sinking as Alvia fled for the safety of the castle.

"Silver come back!" Clanios' shout only enraged me more. I shot one of the guards in the head and then aimed for another. Something grabbed me from behind and I swing my elbow around, winding another guard and bruising my elbow on his armour. His grasp faltered and I yanked away my arm.

More guards crowded around me and one of them lifted up his gun and slammed it down onto my head. Pain enveloped me and my vision went into hazy red. I fell into the snow, relishing the cold feeling that numbed my pain. They roughly lifted me up and started dragging me before I sank into unconsciousness.