I woke up late that night. How was I able to sleep through all the chaos of this busy doctor's station? I am not quite sure; maybe my sleepless night before mixed with the crash of an adrenaline rush caught up with me. The room was calm and nearly pitch dark. Dozens of bodies were fast asleep on beds similar to Leillan's. The room was so packed there were even beds that flooded out the door. 

"Not to be creepy but I was waiting for you to wake up" Harmony's voice made me snap my attention to him. He was sitting at the foot at the bed. The table light near me was on, and I was able to instantly see how hollow his usual bright green eyes have become. 

"Sorry if you witnessed me drool all over the place," I sat up and leaned forward, so I didn't wake up Leillan; who was thankfully sleeping contently near me.

"I just," Harmony stopped mid-sentence and rubbed his hand over his face. "I-I saw so much.." he stopped again. His hands were shaking and looked at the floor almost ashamed. It was like he was locked in his thoughts — a prisoner to his mind. I needed to help him, set him free.

"Hey, let's get out of here," I put my hand on Harmony's. They were laced together so tightly Harmony's knuckles were turning white. He turned to look at me. 

"I have somewhere I have been wanting to take you," Harmony stood up and offered an arm to me. I checked to make sure Leillan was sleeping before I accepted. Harmony guided me down hallways and through the back courtyard. He made sure to keep a slow pace so I could keep up with him. 

"You still haven't told me where you are going. For all, I know you are kidnapping me," I teasingly nudged him with my elbow. 

"I am taking you to my greenhouse; It is where I go as an escape from being....well from being Harmony the king of Majiey. I need that escape," He whispered the last part as if it was something I wasn't supposed to hear. He walked through the outdoor courtyard and rounded the vast corners of the castle. Soon I could see the greenhouse. It was nearly as large as the castle, made out of clear glass with yellow and silver stained glass boarding the outside. 

"Is there anything that isn't beautiful here?" I said in a shocked tone.

"I am afraid not," Harmony said with a laugh "My mother made sure to spend all her attention on every detail when creating this kingdom. Every brick, art piece and the building was picked out by her. Her eye for beauty was remarkable" A look of pain crossed his face then it dawned on me why. The kingdom was destroyed. The fire burned down gardens and structures, acid melted streets, and homes were damaged during the fight. His connection to his mother was cut. We entered the greenhouse, and I felt like I was transported to a place only gods were meant to see. Sparkling lights danced through the air and brightly colored flowers grew in every direction as if they were exploding with vibrancy. At the other end of the greenhouse, there was a crystal spiral staircase that led up to another level that I would only guess led up to more beauty. Harmony guided me over to a wooden bench in the middle of a patch of yellow roses.

"Yellow roses represent happiness and friendship. They reminded me of you. You almost try to make people happy, even when you have to sacrifice your own, and you value friendship. You even gave little ole me a chance" He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. I reached down and cupped one of the flower's petals in my hand. The bright leaf was soft and slightly wet from dew. 

"Cyra I brought you here because I believed that it would make telling you this easier," I turned to look at him. Harmony was turned towards me. The floated lights passing between up as he gained the courage to speak again; to break the bad news to me. 

"You need to leave for Vinick tonight. Word has come from our sources that the coronation has been moved to happen in two days. After the coronation, Prince Arksel will be locking the castle doors. Only royals and those who have deep connections will be able to get in unless a ball is held. We need to get you in a maid position before the doors are locked and we lose our chance." Harmony's hand now laid on my forearm. My body felt as if it had gone into shock. All my senses went numb, and I felt cold. As if my bones turned into ice.

"So I won't be able to see my family? My brothers, mother, Quillian or even speak to Leillan again?" I tried to focus on the yellow roses, attempted to gain any optimism from them. 

"I am terribly sorry. I wish I could grant you a moment to see your family. I need you to know this was not my call," He didn't need to tell me who actually suggested this ides; Colway. There was a moment when I wanted to run away. Tell harmony I backed out and go back to Recline as if nothing had ever happened. Wouldn't that be the easiest option? Cower instead of fight. I could back away right now, and I would be completely fine. My interactions with the rebellion impacted nothing. That thought stayed in my mind for only a brief second. I couldn't leave. I was not the same girl that I was even a day ago. The people in my life needed me to do this. My mother, brothers, Leillan, Quillan, and all those who were injured in the Vinick attack; they needed me. I needed to make what I did for the rebellion mean something. 

"No don't be sorry Harmony," I placed my hand on top of his "I am dedicated to being your spy. If I'm called to act sooner than I believed" I shrugged "so be it. I won't let you down." A small smile pulled at his lips. I forced my own to match his. I balled my free hand together tightly as a reminder to be strong even if I felt weak within this moment. 

"Come on Cyra let us go get you suited up in your new uniform and ready for Vinick," just saying Vinick seemed to hurt him. As if the word itself was causing all his turmoil. I didn't want Harmony to know I didn't trust my own legs to keep me steady so when he stood up, I looped our arms together to hide that I needed to lean on him. "We are also sending another girl with you. Not that we do not think you are capable of going on your own!" he tried to defend himself, but I found no need for him to do that. I knew I was going to need help and I was willing to cling to anything they were willing to give me. 

Harmony talked more, but I zoned him out without even realizing. I would be leaving my family tonight. I departed for Vinick tonight without knowing when I would be back; if I would come back at all. What if my last interactions with my loved ones were me being freaked out by the transport. What a heroic last image I would leave them with. I was happy about the fact I wouldn't have to be the one that would explain to my mom about how I volunteered to become a spy; right after I promised her I would not get involved with anything close to dangerous. Though I did not doubt in my mind, my mom would beat me with a shoe when I got back.  

"Here is your uniform" Harmony's broke through my clouded thoughts. I was so lost within my thoughts I didn't even notice that I followed Harmony back to my room. His hands were holding three clothing items. I picked them up, and he left for me to change. I looked around my room slowly. I walked over the bed and laid back onto it. I would have no more nights like I did the first night I was here. I was entangled with Leillan battling for who would get the covers. Who would Leillan sleep with at night now? Even when I was here, I noticed her face scrunch up and her body tense from nightmares. I would have to rub her back softly to soothe her back to a peaceful sleep. 

 When I finally put the uniform on I stood in front of the mirror. This outfit is what I would be wearing for what seemed would be the rest of my life. The uniform consisted of a dark blue plaid skirt that reached my ankles, long white sock, and a short sleeved button up shirt that had the crest of the kingdom embroidered on the sleeves. Harmony's knock on the door was so silent I almost missed it.

 "Cyra, It is time to go," He said quietly when he opened my door. 

"But I need to go say goodbye to Leillan. I can't just leave her," She took a knife for me. I can't just disappear on her. 

"I am sure Lady Tolon will understand, now come on your ride is here and it will be a tiring journey for you," I clenched my fist together once again be strong Cyra you can't afford to fail I thought over and over as I forced myself to leave. Not being able to say goodbye to Leillan set off a burning sensation in my stomach. I wanted to run to wake her up and give her one last goodbye. She was so close yet too far away from me to do anything. Harmony led me back to the main entrance. Before I could even stop to open the door, Harmony stopped me and turned me to face him. The hallways were lit up only by the moonlight that slipped through the windows. 

"I've never been good a parting with people. Goodbyes were something I always ran away from since after they leave you never know what could happen. You are strong Cyra, a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Maybe you have not found the full potential of your power, but I sense it will take the world by storm when you do. You're going to be back soon I am confident in that, and that is why this goodbye is not painful," His words surprised me so much I had no idea how to reply at first, it took my mind a moment to process his words. 

"Hey let's not even say goodbye! I'll be back so soon you'll barely even notice I am gone," Harmony pulled me into a small hug. We pulled away after a second, and he opened the door for me, the rush of fresh, crisp air spun my skirt around and tossed my hair. 

"This transport will take you to the Vinick base that was found close to here where they are transiting recruits. You need to sneak into the base undetected and get you back onto this transport. Do not give any sign you are not part of the Vinick's, do not blow your cover for any reason or-" He didn't want to tell the ugly truth of my situation. Expose myself, and I die, the rebellion is done for. I could not fail.

Our transport looked identical to Vinick's carrier. Large, black, and heavily armored; if I didn't know better, I would've believed Vinick's were about to hop out and attack us. A guard helped me into the back of the massive transport. The inside was even more secure than the outside. There were foam and metal panels that lined the walls, and the seats were made of concrete topped with padding. I guess comfort wasn't much of a concern for Vinick's. There was a girl already in the back, her legs were crossed and her arms positioned behind her head. She must've been the girl Harmony spoke about before! I stuck out my hand to her. 

"Hello! I'm Cyra Enaye! I heard we would be working together," I kept my tone kind and friendly. She seemed indifferent to me. 

"I know who you are. We lived in the same colony," she scuffed and leaned forward. I knew who she was in an instant. The beautiful girl with the braids I saw begging for food in Recline who just disappeared one day. She was even more stunning up close, her dark hazel skin was flawless, and her features were sharp yet elegant. She had one small scar on the bridge of her nose but that somehow added to her attractiveness.

"Oh yes," I let out an awkward laugh and lowered my hand "I feel bad that I don't know your name" I fiddled with one of the pearl buttons on my blouse

"Delaney Wellinish," She said proudly. Her voice was naturally raspy and slightly lower in pitch. She must've taken that as the end of our conversation since the next thing I knew she was laying across the seats sleeping. I had no one to talk to so for the next few hours my only source of entertainment was staring out a window on the back door that was the size and width of my arm. It was too dark to see anything so I watched outlines of objects and played a guessing game of what it could be; I won ever time since there was no one there to prove me wrong. After a drive that seemed to last a lifetime, I felt us slow down. We weren't quite at the camp, but I could see the blazing campfire and at least ten other Vinick transports. A Majiey guard dressed as a Vinick opened the back door.

"We need to stop here; it would look suspicious is we brought back only two maids from the direction of the Majiey kingdom. So the rest is up to you how you get in. Just do get caught," The guard helped us out then he was off to park the transport by the rest of Vinick's. 

"Ready Delaney?" I turned to look at her, but she had already taken off. So much for us being a team. I chased after her. 

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be a team? Help each other out? Not leave each other behind!" I whispered to her.

"I look out for myself if you're not stupid I'll help you but the moment you're a dumbass I will leave you," I bit my tongue, arguing with her right now will only get us caught. As we got closer to camp, we got lower to the ground and hid behind anything we could find to get us close to the rest of the group of new maids and soldiers. It got much harder not to be seen sneaking around the closer we got. It also got deafening as we approached. I heard people yelling, laughing and singing. In the shadow the campfire against a tent I saw people dancing in jumping circles. These people burned down my home? Once we were a few feet away from the large cluster of maids, Delaney said we needed to make a run for it to make the assignment in time to get into the transport that was being driven by the Majiey driver. Delaney ran first, and I was close behind. 

"Hey, you two! Part of clean-up crew" A soldier yelled at us "what are you doing out of the pod? Not following my orders already?" I froze where I stood "You two deaf?" 

"Frense stop being a dipshit. They probably had to use the restroom," I turned to see the red-haired girl. Her back was toward us, and she was standing between the first soldier and us. "They were just heading back because if they didn't do that right now, I'd have to fix this problem..none of us want that," Delaney took my hand and ran the rest to the way to the group. We thankfully made it in time to be grouped in our original transport, but that didn't mean I wasn't checking over my shoulder every two seconds. The loaded us into the carrier as if we were sheep that needed to be herded. To say the least, I hated it. I was seated in the back middle. I had a great view of the window which meant I could keep playing my game. We took off, and soon the sunrise started to show. 

I was focused on the sunrise when I saw two transports that looked like Majiey transports being chased by a pack of Vinick's. Could it be...my family and Quillian?

{Hello lovelies! So things are beginning to heat up for Cyra! What would you have done if harmony told you that you needed to leave without saying goodbye to your family?}