(Edited 7/5/17(My dog's ninth birthday))

Character Name Pronounced

Jaems (James)

Laily (Lie-ly)

Malinye (Mal-in-yay)

Renaeger (Rin-ay-ger)

Nathien (Nay-thee-in)

Gaiad (Guy-ee-ad)

Skyryn (Sky-rin, no not Skyrim)

Maenia (My-en-ya)


I get ran over by being late

Riv was bent over the front of the damaged hoverer as the engine smoked, her legs dangling since her toes didn't touch the floor. Her screwdriver was clutched tightly as she tightened a few bolts, bunched up muscles slightly burning with the repeated movement of her arm.

Finally, she was finished. Wiping her brow with the back of her dirty leather gloves, Riv heaved her small body out of the small space and touched her toes down on the garage's concrete floor once more. Jumping up, she grabbed the hood and slammed it down into place. Riv pressed down on the hood to make sure it clicked, the sound of the hood locking back into place.

The hoverer needed a simple fix, just a corroded starter and worn belt. A new belt and starter and a few screws later it was all done. Unfortunately, her short stature made it take a bit more time than usual, because this model's starter and belt was so hard to get to being so short. Riv blew back a strand of her copper bangs that came loose from the braides on the side of her head, woven into a messy bun and a fountain of red orange hair at the back of her head.

The fiery hair color was rare, if not almost unheard of, among the Highlings. Highlings often sported fair blond or dark raven hair. Brunette was fairly common as well, but not so much as blond and raven. Red was usually associated with the Gaiads, or Grounders as they were commonly called, a race of people that were bound to the land. But that's why her hair was so weird, Grounders were extinct, or so it was assumed from history.

Looking at her distorted reflection in the hoverer's metal hood, Riv could spot a long streak of grease across her forehead and along her cheek. Her lavender eyes reflected back a mixed color of cyan in the light metalic blue paint job. Reaching her hand back, Riv popped her neck, feeling and hearing the satisfying crack in turn. She had to cock her head at an interesting angle to see what she had been doing.

It was hard being a female mechanic. Having to deal with the stares and whispers, the scathing comments for not thinking of her status as the Royal Archivist's only daughter, and so much more. While most lower and middle class-along with a handful of high class- women worked, the rich ones did nothing but play and gossip about the latest trends or who said what to whom. It was immensely frustrating to deal with shallow women all the time since she lived in the castle with her Appa.

A fond smile tugged at her lips at the thought of her Appa, Jaems Rivetz. He was a kind man who had been a widow when he had taken her in as a baby. He had fed her, clothed her, and educated her, giving her a curiosity and love for reading many of higher classed ladies lacked. As she had access to the library and private library of the castle, she had grown to be a young prodigy, who knew a lot about many things.

However, nothing had interested her more than mechanics and engineering. Riv had always been good with her hands and creating stuff, almost uncannily good. She had even patented a few pieces of her work, gaining her recognition from the Young Engineers Association that constantly badgered her to join.

But she didn't have the time for it. She had a part time job at Guily's Garage, a high class maintenance garage that took exorbitant amounts of money for their work. It was dull work and the other mechanics were pretty rude and disgustingly competitive for their "place" in the garage. Riv stowed her tools away in her utility belt before she clapped her hands to rid them of any dirt.

"All good, Marley! Take her away!" Riv shouted over the loud sounds of metal clanging around things.

A tall tan man, came up with the keys and sidled into the hoverer to start her up. The man had dark brown hair, almost raven paired with blue eyes. He was a pretty quiet guy and wasn't as competitive as the other guys around the shop, so they got along fairly well. Riv let out a sigh of relief, her shift finally over. Groaning, she stretched her arms up over her head to let her spine pop back into place. The teen-turned-woman walked over to her work station desk and grabbed a white card, a bit grimy with blackened fingerprints around the edges.

She unclipped her work utility belt and laid it in drawer of the desk and locked it up tight. She wouldn't put it past one of her competitive "colleagues" to mess with it to make her look bad. Riv walked away, pulling on her gloves, the dark brown leather smeared with grease and stains she had never been able to remove. Her dark wash jeans only slightly less dirty than her gloves, not showing it's numerous stains, unlike her white work shirt. Her old brown work boots scuffed the floor as she headed into the locker rooms where her stuff was kept.

As she walked through the room, many envious sneers and twisted faces watched for all that they were ignored. Riv was so used to them by now it didn't bother her. She had gotten used to the jealous and venomous looks a long time ago.

Riv opened the door to the locker room a bit more forcefully than normal, peeved by the staring and whispering going on behind her back. While she tolerated the prejudiced atmosphere directed at her, she absolutely hated the whispering. It followed her everywhere except her quarters with her Appa and her lab.

Riv quickly slotted her time card into the time scanner and pulled it out when it beeped. She took it back to her locker and set the card behind her on the bench to unlock it. Reaching in, She grabbed her faded orange and black shoulder bag with a cartoony fox holding a wrench in its teeth grinning out at the world on it.

It was a gift from Appa when she turned thirteen and it had held up for the six years she had been using it, even still in good condition. The copper haired girl grabbed the thick canvas belt that had been under the bag and clipped it on, hooking it through a couple of her belt loops.

The belt was her own personal utility belt and she never went anywhere without it. The black belt had large pouches attached to the back with smaller ones along the sides. It too had the fox with the wrench on it, but it was a large metal applique she had put on it in her early teen years. But that wasn't the most interesting thing about it. Riv had taken one of the only skirts she would ever wear and tailored it to the belt, to where it looked like she was wearing half a skirt. It was a burnt orange to match her copper colored hair.

Grabbing the last thing in her locker, Riv walked out into the front of the shop, some of the customers giving her curious looks while the others were too occupied by their holo-frames to even look up. She tugged on her gloves again before slinging her shoulder bag over her small torso, rifling through her bags to grab a little round ball with a button out of her back pouch.

The teen strode out of the shop to stand on the streets, that contrasted greatly from one another. On the side she was standing on was clean, neat, and had very nice buildings, colors popping. However, the other side of the street was grimy, dank, and the buildings looked as if they were sagging in depression, swathed in tones of grey.

Riv gave some of the people who were huddling around cans of fire a sympathetic look, knowing that it could have been her had her Appa not adopted her. She quickly quelled the feeling, as these people were proud of who they were and didn't want nor need her pity. It was simply another day of their lives they went through.

Her thumb pressed the button on top of the capsule and threw it up into the air. It let out a hiss before it popped in a cloud of smoke, a board dropping down from the pink tinged smoke. She had never been able to get that out of the cloud, so it was stuck as a pink poof of smoke. The used capsule innocently plopped down on sidewalk after its use, laying there like it hadn't just poofed a hoverboard into existence.

The orange haired teen stooped down to pick it up from the concrete and stowed it back into its pouch. Riv stepped onto the board and her switched on from her weight, the bottom glowing blue as it lifted away from the ground with a gentle growl. Riv pulled on the goggles she had snatched from her locker, being the final piece of her ensemble. They had lavender rims and purple tinted glass that made her eyes stand out, and she had crafted a pair of fox ears that decorated the upper rims. Riv made a mental note of her holo-frame's battery level as she turned on some of her "ancient" music as the ladies of the court called it and put her ear phones in.

She tipped her weight backwards slightly to give it a little juice. The board started to move forward slowly at first, but finally picking up pace to about 17 miles a hour. Pretty slow compared to the hoverers zipping past her doing at least 30, but considering hoverboards weren't even made to go over 6 miles per hour, it was hauling ass. She could go faster, but she drew enough attention with her copperish hair color as it was.

The street sides flew past her in a blur, Green Day's Holiday ringing through her ears as she quickly turned a corner, leaning into the curve. This had always been relaxing to her, the stress of the day just melting away as she felt the rush of wind whipping her hair around, the braided piece of her bangs with the beads flying back like a flag, and the rush of moving fast. Soon the towering castle came into view, a sight to behold.

As tiring it was to live there sometimes, it never failed to take her breath away. Tall walls made of white and silver stone mixed with metal to give it a shimmer and defense, but not to be too much. The entire palace was made of it, except the windows of course, but even those were sparkling clean. It was the crown jewel of Skyerin, the floating capital of Maenia Kingdom.

The drawbridge was still down as it closed at 8 o'clock sharp and opened around 6 o'clock in the morning. Riv glanced at the sun's position, it was around 7:15 probably, so she still had time. The guards simply watched as the teen sped in through the gates, unfazed as they continued watching over the bridge for anything suspicious. They had become used to watching a blue and orange blur speed past them into the castle square.

She slowed to a stop by the stairs of the front door, hopping off the board as it powered down. Riv knelt down and grabbed the silver and white board, reaching into her bag for it's capsule. Upon grabbing it, Riv pressed the button on it and held it to the board. The capsule glowed bright white blue, it's light growing to envelope the board. The board's visible outline shrunk to that of the capsule and then it stop glowing, leaving only the little sphere in her palm.

Pocketing it, Riv walked up the stairs with one hand on the strap of her bag. She skipped through the main entrance hall, sidestepping the maids that were bustling about to get there chores for the day done. Taking a right down the second hall, the young woman sped up past the library, to her and her father's quarters just down the hall. Her gloved hand turned the long brass handle of the wooden door to the room and opened the door to walk in.

The quarters were semi-large with two bedrooms, a study, and a large sitting room, walls lined with full and cluttered bookshelves. As big as it was, the room felt small and homey with the hearth roaring with life. The sitting room had a heavy wooden coffee table surrounded by plush purple chairs and a loveseat. The coffee table was littered with books of all kinds and gears and gadgets from her tinkering.

In the evening her Appa would relax in one of the chairs with a good book he had found whilst doing his job, and she would give silent company by sitting on the floor, legs crossed, and working on her newest toy. It was their daily ritual, as they never crossed paths during the day very often.

Riv unhung her bag from her shoulders and dropped it carelessly on the loveseat. She strode to her room quickly to change out of her work ensemble and into her comfy short overalls, hastily replacing the utility belt to it's place when she finished.

She did a double take at her appearance in the small mirror on her desk vanity. She didn't think she had gotten that much grease on her. She ran and grabbed a wet cloth she used to clean grease off of her desk, and while it probably left more smudges than lifted the oily substance, it was better than nothing. Throwing the rag in a random direction, she went back to the living room.

"Appa? You here?" she called out from her spot as she navigated the piles of books around the room.

There was crash in her father's study and she picked up her pace, before pulling herself through the doorway in worry. Her Appa was sitting sprawled out on the ground an open book on his head, knocking his wire frame glasses askew, the rest piled around the floor and in his lap. A stool was knocked over by the bookshelf as he must have been trying to climb to reach something.

"Welcome home, Rever." Her father smiled sheepishly at his daughter, grabbing the book from his head. "Oh, hey, I've been looking for this." Jaems said as he looked at the book he had removed from his head.

Riv slumped against the door jam in fond exasperation, before striding over to help him off the ground. "Are you alright, Appa?"

Back on his feet, the archivist brushed off his brown jacket and slacks, righting his glasses on his face. "I'm perfect, my dear. No harm done. Now where did that other one go?" The older man looked around his feet in the mess of books that had fallen from him. "Ah ha! There it is." Jaems bent down and picked up a book with a green cover, pages faded yellow and looked soft to the touch. It had a great silver tree on the front, looking to be embroidered into the cover.

Hands on her hips Riv asked, "So what's the book for?"

Jaems looked up from running his finger down the spine to check it. "Oh, Laily asked me for it. She was wanting a good story to read. I figured something of fantasy would interest her."

Riv perked up at the name of her best friend, Laily. Laily was the second princess of the Queen and King, her brother Kenry being crown prince and first borne. Though he was a bit of a prick in her eyes.

Laily was different from the other noble ladies and not because she was second highest lady in the court. She was the perfect lady in the eyes of the kingdom, fair, intelligent, and kind. Laily was the most well liked and sought after to every citizen. However, they didn't know her like Riv did. The raven haired princess had befriended her at a young age when the court ladies were snickering at her behind her back.

Riv had been taking nobility lessons, as was mandatory for a girl her age and status. While she excelled in her lessons, Riv's attentions were in mechanics and engineering, bored with learning ethics and politics. She sat away from the others as she was often belittled for the clothes she wore and the constant grease stained gloves.

Back then the words and looks hurt even if she didn't show it. Laily was her saving grace. The princess had a weak and frail body in her youth as she was prematurely born, so she started lessons later than the rest of the class.

Laily was instantly popular. Most wanted to be her friend out of her high status. The princess was mild in temperament and was very intelligent already, so that helped it along as well.

One day the girls had been gossiping about her right behind her during tea break. She had steeled her heart and ignored them, gloved hands clenching around her screwdriver belying her hurt. They were laughing at her behind their hands and she hunched in further towards her project.

All of a sudden the chair next to her was pulled out and two cups of tea were placed down beside her. Riv looked up in surprise to see the raven haired princess sit down next to her.

"Hello, your Mi-" Laily was interrupted quickly by a flushed Riv.

"Riv or Rivetz please. I-I don't like my name. It's - it's too girly for someone like me. A tomboy, I mean." Riv muttered the last part quietly, realising how that could sound to someone who didn't know her and afraid of being judged again.

The young girl's hands were in her lap, wrinkles in the leather where her hands were clenched around her little gadget. She couldn't see Laily's face from here so she didn't know what the princess thought of her.

"Oh, sorry. Riv then." The raven haired girl's voice rang with sincere apology. That made Riv start. She wasn't expecting an apology.

"So then, Riv, what are you making? I've seen you with that particular project for a while now." Another surprise. Riv looked up quickly once more at the princess's delicate face, an expression of curiosity overtaking it, though still polite.

Riv was hesitant at that. No one had really been interested in her tinkering before, but then again, she doubted the princess was cruel enough to mock her for it. She had been polite and even kind up til now.

Riv gently held out the little necklace she had been working on. It was crude, shaped like a star and the metal a bit of tarnished brass scrap she had found laying around. Vines curled around the edges of the front, while it was missing the back, showing of the tiny little gears.

"It's a locket. I was trying to calibrate the video card in it so I could- Oh well, let me show you." Riv could see the slight confusion around Laily's eyebrows, so she cut off her scientific ramble to just show her.

Riv grabbed the wind up key from in front of her and slotted it into a small hole on the back of the star and gently twirled it in place. The key clicked and the front case of the star opened revealing a small camera inside.

It projected two figures, a beautifully dressed woman and a handsome man in masquerade dancing through the air as a hologram. The key started turning and a soft lullaby started playing along with the dancers. Laily's face became one of absolute wonder as she watched the two dancers, obviously in love, slowly waltz about the air above the locket.

The music stopped and dancers disappeared, the case of the star shutting closed without a sound. "Oh wow. That was beautiful. Did you make that all by yourself?"

Riv nodded shyly, unfamiliar with other people praising her work other than her Appa. She looked upon the princess's face still with an enchanted look on her face as she gazed at the locket in Riv's gloved hand, parts of the metal gleaming in the light. She looked so delighted and she had been so kind…

Reaching into her overall pocket on her chest, Riv pulled out a small gold chain and laced the locket and wind up key onto it. She clasped the two sides together and held it out to Laily, who gave her an astonished look. "Here, you can have it. I-I know it's not expensive or very pretty, like what the others give you, but I'd l-like you to have it." The raven haired girl softly took the necklace from her hand and gazed at it with happy eyes.

Laily unclasped it and put it on around her neck. She pulled her long hair out of the chain and grabbed the pendant to look at it in her hand. Riv was a bit uncomfortable with the silence and squirmed in her chair unlady-like. She was startled though when Laily threw her arms around her neck.

Unsure of what to do, Riv hesitantly placed her hands around her shoulders and hugged back. "Thank you. No one's ever given me something like this before." Laily whispered in her ear.

She leaned back into her chair and Riv gave her a questioning expression. "But I thought Mitsy gave you that emerald studded necklace just earlier this week?"

The princess snorted lightly and leaned in conspiringly. "They only do that to impress me. Their only after my status. But you on the other hand, made this yourself. I've seen you working on it every chance you get for the last week and a half. Not to mention, you obviously don't care about status with how you avoid the twitter and gossip the other girls live for." She glanced either way before continuing, leaning forward with a hand on one side of mouth and conspiratorily whispering,"Between you and me, I don't give much thought to status, truthfully."

That was a weird thought, a princess not caring about their social status? That was like the maids not gossiping every chance they got. But it made Riv give a jingly giggle, before she covered her mouth and flushed red. She hated her girly laugh, it made her sound "cute" as her Appa had said before. Laily laughed at her new friend's reaction to her laugh, guessing why she blushed. "Aww, you have such a cute laugh. It's not like the fake grating ones I hear from the to-be-ladies in waiting." She said slyly, watching as Riv turned a more vivid red from embarrassment and containing her giggles. Laily cooed at the apple red cheeks of her new friend.

That was how they became best friends, to the envy of the other girls vying for the princess's attention.

Jaems held out the book to Riv, pushing his glasses up his nose with his other hand. She took it with a puzzled face shot at her Appa's direction. "Since you are going to her birthday tonight, I figured you could pass this onto her tonight at the ball." Jaems pointed out, folding his arms behind his back. Looking at the clock on the wall, he noted the time. "Which you should be getting ready to go to soon. I seem to remember you had an order to pick up from the seamstress down the street, hmm?"

Riv flushed before she glanced at the time on the wall. Her face paled a bit in dread. "Oh no! I've got to go, Appa. I'm going to be late! The gates close soon." Stepping closer on her tiptoes, Riv kissed her father on the cheek and dashed away.

Riv grabbed her bag once more, throwing it over her shoulder and shoving the book into the bag. She kept running, already reaching back into her pouches for her hoverboard. Throwing it into the air as soon as she hit the stone steps in the front of the castle, the copper haired girl snatched the board out of the air with the capsule. Getting on the board while running was second nature to her after all those hours of practicing tricks.

She sped out of the courtyard, startling the guards a bit at her hurry. The seamstress lived pretty close to the castle, so if she hurried she could get there and back before the gates closed. They wouldn't open again tonight until it was time for the guests to arrive. By then, she wouldn't have time to get ready.

Lavender eyes widened with delight when she spotted the seamstress's house. Riv stopped sharply in front of the entrance and snatched her board from the ground. Her skirt piece fluttered as she hurried inside. The seamstress was the best in the whole kingdom, though she was getting up in her years. But she was a kindly woman, and kept good conversation when Riv was with Laily to get her measurements.

The woman smiled at Riv, wrinkled crow's feet scrunching up around her eyes. "Ah, I was wondering when you would show up, Miss Rivetz. You are cutting it quite close." She laughed softly at her sewing pun.

Riv smiled bemusedly, but as much as she wanted to stay and chat, she was indeed cutting it quite close. "I am, aren't I? Is it ready?" She asked politely.

"Ready? It is quite finished my dear. And I would like to say that it is my masterpiece. I have made many beautiful gowns in my years, but this one is quite unique, just like the one it was made for. You are quite blessed with your friend, Her highness. I hope you like it." The seamstress held out a large plain box tied with twine.

Riv relieved the old woman of the seemingly heavy package. "Now, that's the full outfit. The dress, a shawl for some modesty, and the best heeled boots money can buy. Your friend treasures you a lot I must say." The woman smiled slyly at the flushing young woman.

"Yes, and I treasure her very much. I'm usually the one to spoil her, not the other way around though." Riv coughed into her fist to rid her cheeks of the redness.

"Now be off with ya. You're going to be late for the gate." The seamstress made shooing noises and waved her out the door.

Riv prepared to take off again, placing her board on the ground, but was interrupted by a ringing from her holo-frame. She rushed to pull it out and answer it. A young raven woman was projected into the air. Hands were styling her hair and putting makeup on her fair face, though Riv couldn't see who they belonged to. It was none other than Laily.

"Riv, where are you? Are you ready? Did you see the dress yet?" Laily shot off her questions excitedly, before making a face at a sharp tug on her hair in reprimand of moving too much.

Riv laughed at her best friend's predicament. "Just got out of the store, no, and no." The copper haired girl quipped. She was accustomed to the rapid fire speaker that was an excited Laily.

The princess got a worried look on her face. "You're running behind. The gates close soon. Oh, and Father wishes to speak to you about security measures. You are my bodyguard for the night after all. I can't believe you bested the captain of the guard in a challenge. Not that I'm complaining of course."

Riv's face turned sour at the mention of the captain of the guard. Nathien was a young and hot headed guy. He was also enamoured with the princess and pursued her often. He was allowed to because he was a lord's son, so he had the "required" status of a suitor. Nathien tended to come off as arrogant and rude, not to mention he was the controlling type. That wouldn't suit Laily at all as she was independent and hated being caged. Which was why they ended up hiding around the castle or sneaking out a lot.

"I was simply doing my duty to the court in whipping his as- *ahem* proving I would be a better protection. Not many people would expect the princess's best friend to be her bodyguard, much less a woman. They're still prejudiced like that." Riv coughed fakely to cover up what she was about to say jokingly. It still got a hearty giggle out of her friend.

Riv smiled and chuckled herself. It was always a sure way to improve their moods, making fun of Nathien that is.

"Well, you better hurry. I've kept you too long. The gates close in less than five minutes. I know how fast you can go, but please be careful. It's getting dark and it's hard to see your overalls in the dark." Laily gave her a concerned frown, worried about her safety with it getting dark. Riv smiled at her friend and gave a cocky smirk that spoke of confidence.

"Aww, don't worry yourself too much. I'm the best hoverboarder in the kingdom, remember? A three to five minute ride to the gates ain't nothing compared to the Boarder's Competition." Riv boasted. She wasn't normally cocky, but it tended to appear in moments of nervousness or stress. It was a bit of a coping mechanism, if not a facade.

Laily giggled at the posturing and nodded at the red head. "Well, get going. You only have a little bit of time. If you're not here in time, I will personally find you myself and drag you back screaming and kicking if I have to."

Riv scratched her cheek, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. "Yes, Mom." The raven haired princess chuckled and waved into the camera of her holo-frame and ended the call. Riv closed the holo-frame and shoved it back into her bag. Slipping her goggles on over her eyes, she hopped back onto and hurriedly started back to the castle.

The wind rushed past her goggles, once more whipping her hair back and forth. She could see the gates from where she was speeding up the street, no hoverers on it so far, thankfully. Her eyes widened, as she watched the drawbridge start closing. Leaning forward on the board Riv sped up and the wind started howling in her ears. She must have looked like a fiery blur to any pedestrians.

She was almost there!

Bright light blinded her and she had to close her eyes against it. Riv opened her eyes and was horrified and startled, literally a deer in the headlights. A large hauling hoverer was headed straight for her. She leaned back in an attempt to slow down her board, but it was no use.

It was all a blur, as she threw her arms up in front of her to brace for impact. There was screeching of grinding gears of the brakes that would have made her grimace if she weren't the cause of them, a ringing making itself known. Riv felt no pain from being hit, as strange as it was. Instead, it felt like she was falling through time, everything slowing down around her until everything stop moving and then everything went black.


So real quick, an explanation of the setting. Skyryn is a dystopian society that is heavy steampunk with it literally being a futuristic and advanced floating city in the sky if you didn't already get that. A catastrophic event happened on the surface that separated the Highlings and Gaiads, the Highlings leaving the surface while the Gaiads stayed out of stubbornness and their profound connection with the earth. As such plants and animals are rare in a way that only nobility has access to them, except for the birds that fly about the city and the random stray. There are a couple of public parks and ponds, but they are mostly concrete as the plants have a hard time surviving in the altitude they are at without being in a green house, which as said before, only nobles have access to. It really is mostly a futuristic and advanced world with 18th and 19th century politics and social ladders (where the Victorian and steampunk comes in).

As for the names, well Laily is the same thing as Lily, but with the steampunk influence. The same with Jaems, Renaeger, Malinye, Kenry, and Nathien being derived from common names as well (James, Jaeger [Jaegerman being the Germanic last name of a good friend of mine], Malia, Henry, and Nathan respectively of course). Riv (or her last name Rivetz) is slightly modeled after Rosie the Riveter, being mechanically inclined. For people who actually bother to read this stuff at the top and bottom, I will tell you her full name if you pm me, along with her concept art.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please Review as it keeps the story rolling and makes me want to keep writing. -Tai-chan 0.0