Haelia didn't usually mind train rides, especially when they were headed somewhere fun, like to Jacinto to visit Nana and Papa, or to Jannermont to visit her great-grandparents.
But this time, Haelia wished she could be anywhere BUT on this train. This train was taking her away from Ilima, away from home. She had spent her entire eight years there, had known the layout by heart. As for this new place they were moving to, Ephyra, she'd never even been there. And that was saying something, considering her family has been all over the Jacinto Plateau.
Now, as Haelia stared out the window, she began to see the familiar fade, and the unknown slip into view. The train ride wasn't that long, she knew, both a blessing and a curse. The longer she was on the train, the more time she could think up an excuse to return home. But then again, the longer on the train, the more time she had to spend listening to Daniel snore.
She looked in the seat beside her to see her older brother slouched over, some drool making its way out of his mouth as he slept. Haelia rolled her eyes. "I don't snore!" had been his argument prior to their boarding the train when Haelia had asked not to have to sit beside him. Clearly, her parents had denied the request.
Speaking of her parents, Dr. Elena Settile and Captain Tom Settile IV were sitting in the seats across from them. Like Daniel, her father was asleep, his breath creating a fog on the frosted train window. As for her mother, she had her nose buried in some science journal Haelia wouldn't even begin to try and understand.
"Attention, passengers, we will be reaching our station within the next few minutes. Please prepare to gather your on-board luggage and exit the train. Thank you." Once the P.A. clicked off, Haelia saw her mother put away the journal she was reading and nudge her father awake. Haelia decided to follow her actions and nudged Daniel awake.
They were officially in Ephyra. Officially away from home.
"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Haelia's mother asked her once they'd stepped off the train and into the frigid Frost air. Haelia pulled her light pink cap further down on her ears and pulled up her coat collar.
"I wasn't worried about the train ride..." Haelia replied quietly. She took her mother's hand as the foursome made their way across the station, luggage in tow.
When they arrived on the opposite side of the station, their same car from Ilima, which her father had had brought down, was waiting for them. Haelia smiled. At least something stayed the same.
Once they had all piled into the old car, her father took off down the road. Haelia, not wanting to completely hate the city before she knew it, took the time to look outside and get to know the city. It really wasn't all that different from Ilima: the same white snow blanketing the same-designed stone buildings. The only thing really different was the people, and even there Haelia managed to find some similarities.
Except for me knowing them, she thought to herself. I don't know anyone here...
Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother, who turned around in her seat to comment, "It's a beautiful city, isn't it, Haeli? Not that far off from Ilima."
Haelia, knowing her mother wanted to hear a response that would tell her she was getting used to the move, simply smiled and mumbled, "Mm-hm."
Her father smiled. "Would you look at all these stores?" He shook his head playfully. "I'm gonna be forced to take you shopping, soon."
Haelia smiled broadly. "I'd rather go sightseeing, maybe. Like to the Rotunda or to Embry Square..."
"Ha!" her father laughed loudly. "You're the only little girl I know who'd rather learn than shop."
"Future Gears don't have time to shop, right, Haeli? Gotta know your history first." Daniel said, nudging Haelia with his elbow.
"Yeah. You can't stop-and-shop in the middle of a battle." Haelia replied, happy that her brother had changed the subject.
"Alright, future Gears," their mother interrupted. "Just remember that the word 'future' is still in there, alright?"
Both Haelia and Daniel nodded, then dropped the subject. They knew their mother wasn't crazy about their dreams of joining the COG, despite the fact that most of, if not all of, their family was or had been a Gear. Still, Haelia couldn't imagine being thrilled at the idea of her eight-year-old and twelve-year-old cheering over the dream of one day joining a war.
As they continued on their drive for a few more minutes in silence, Daniel said, "Whoa, who lives there?"
Curious, Haelia leaned over her brother to look out his window and saw his point-of-interest. A huge stone wall surrounding an enormous mansion, all perched atop a large hill.
Haelia gawked alongside her brother. "Geez, if you can even call that a 'house'..."
At that point, their mother followed their stares and matter-of-factly replied, "Oh, that's the Fenix Estate. You know Professor Fenix, don't you?"
How could they not? Professor Adam Fenix himself was renowned throughout Tyrus, not to mention the notoriety he got just from having the last name 'Fenix'.
Kind of like our family... Haelia thought privately. Being a Settile wasn't nearly as attention-worthy as being a Fenix, but it still came with its own brand of fame. Settiles were known for being headstrong, accomplished military folk who knew how to work the crowd as well as they could work the battlefield, although no Settile would ever bulls**t you. They weren't that nice.
Not that there was any pressure, mind you. Tomson Settile IV had made sure not to raise his kids in the shadow of the family name, just as he and his forefathers had been. And this mindset had taught Haelia and Daniel to ignore any pressure from outside.
"Our new house isn't that big, is it?" Daniel asked cautiously. Sure the Settiles weren't as famous as the Fenixes, but that didn't mean they didn't have a decent amount of money stored away.
Their father scratched his chin for a minute, then shook his head. "Nah," he replied. "Maybe about ten of our houses could make a piece of that. Maybe."
Haelia saw her mother roll her eyes playfully, then turn back around in her seat towards them. "We're here!" she announced cheerfully.
Haelia looked out the window and saw a fairly large two-story building sandwiched between two regular townhouses. It was a deep, dark purple with white trimmings and windows. Through a narrow alley on the side of the building, she saw a sliver of the backyard, fenced in by a low stone wall.
Alright, she thought to herself. Here we go. Then she opened her car door and stepped out into the glittering air cascading the large, purple house.
This was home now.
This is pathetic... Haelia thought quietly.
She sat there on the snow covered steps leading up to her new home's front door. She had yet to pluck up the courage to go inside, feeling that if she went inside, that made the move real. So instead, she had chosen to sit out in the cold and feel the feeling go out of her frost-bitten fingertips.
You can't stay out here forever, the logical part of her brain told her. You moved. Suck it up. It's a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, in a nice city. Things could be worse.
Haelia sighed. She was being ridiculous, she knew. She had moved. It wasn't like anyone had died or anything bad had happened. She had moved. She could imagine MUCH worse things.
And yet here she sat, her butt glued to the bottom step of the stone stairs.
Fortunately, her parents were too busy trying to get settled to notice the fact she hadn't stepped inside yet. Her mother was inside making phone calls and re-checking the place (she had already checked it out prior to the move) and her father was too busy bringing in boxes and moving furniture like clockwork.
Daniel, though, had noticed. In between helping his dad with some boxes, he had plopped down beside Haelia. "Hey, Hales, I know you don't like the move and all, but you're gonna freeze into a statue if you don't come in and warm up."
Haelia had simply replied, "I'm fine." Then, after seeing the 'I don't believe that for a second and, either way, you need to come inside' look her brother gave her, she added, "I'll come in soon. I just need some time. To get adjusted. Is all."
Daniel decided to be happy with that answer, knowing her well enough to know she was too stubborn to listen and go on in. So he gave her a quick one arm hug to warm her up, then continued to help their father with boxes.
Even after they quit moving boxes and moved on inside to start unpacking, Haelia continued to stay in her spot, drawing some figures in the snow in front of her with her boots. She was so entranced with drawing, she didn't even notice when two small figures walked up beside her.
"Hi," a dark-skinned boy who looked about Haelia's age said cheerfully. "I'm Carlos. Santiago. I live down the street."
Haelia, a bit surprised by the sudden introduction, looked up at the boy and replied, "Hi, I'm Haelia. Settile." As soon as the word slipped out of her mouth, she regretted it. Adding her last name at the end probably made it look like she was bragging, when in reality she had just been trying to be polite.
If it bothered the little boy, he didn't show it. Instead, his eyes simply widened a bit with curiosity. "Whoa, like, a COG 'Settile'? Cool! Your family's filled with Gears!"
Haelia smiled politely back at the boy. He hadn't acted in a 'Wow, your from a famous family of legends!' kind of way, but more in a 'Hey, I've heard of them. It's cool that you're related to them' sort of way. More importantly, he had simply pointed out the fact that they were Gears, not using the word 'heroes' or anything similar to it. Haelia hated that word.
"What are you doing sitting out here all alone?" The second boy, a smaller version of Carlos, spoke up and interrupted their introductions.
"Dom! Sorry, this is my little brother, Dominic." Carlos said, clearly upset with his brother's bluntness. Haelia didn't mind though. Even she thought it was weird for her to be sitting outside all alone in the middle of Frost.
"It's okay." she said to Carlos, then turned her attention to Dom. "I'm just kind of... nervous about being here, is all. I just moved here." As if they couldn't tell by all the boxes, she thought to herself.
"Oh! Well, you don't need to be. It's great here! And we can watch out for you if you need any help." Carlos offered kindly. Haelia was amazed that anybody could have that capacity of kindness in them.
"Thanks," she replied, not fully knowing what to say. "That's awfully nice of you."
"Don't mention it!" he said matter-of-factly. Then, after a few seconds, he asked, "So, where are you from?"
"Ilima."
"Cool. So, uh, do you wanna-" Carlos was about to ask another question when Haelia mother interrupted from inside.
"Haelia, sweetie, can you come here? I need some help."
Haelia, a bit disappointed that their conversation had been cut short, apologized to Carlos. "Sorry, I need to go help her."
Carlos shrugged with a smile. "It's okay. We can talk later. Oh, by the way, where are you going to school?"
"Oh, the local primary school..." Haelia mentally bashed herself for not knowing the name.
Again, Carlos remained unphased. "Cool! We should be classmates. Maybe me and Dom could show you around later."
Haelia nodded and smiled. "That'd be cool." Then she remembered her mother. "Um, it was nice meeting you."
Carlos grinned back. "Nice meeting you, too. Bye!"
As he and Dom turned to leave, Haelia called out, "Nice meeting you, too, Dom!"
Once she saw the little boy look back, clearly a bit surprised by the sudden attention, and smile, she turned back to the house and, a bit more hopeful after meeting the Santiago brothers, stepped inside.
The next day, after unpacking most of their belongings, Haelia once again stood outside, this time waiting for Carlos and Dom.
The first night in her new home had actually gone okay. She liked the whole house, but she absolutely loved her room. It was plain white and had the same hardwood floors that lined the rest of the house. Her furniture had already been put into place, so all she had needed to do was make-up the bed and begin unpacking. Although there were still a few boxes left full, she had already started to feel more settled in.
I don't know what I'd have done if I hadn't met them... Haelia thought. Would I have even gone in the house?
Lost in her thoughts, Haelia again didn't notice the two brothers walk up.
"Hey, Haelia," Carlos spoke up with a smile.
"Hi, guys," Haelia replied. "I didn't know if I was supposed to meet up with you or not, so..."
Carlos sighed. "Well, in retrospect, it probably would've been easier to meet up with us if we'd have told you where we live. Sorry about that."
Haelia smiled. "Well, in retrospect, I could've asked."
The two smiled at each other, then Dom spoke up again. "Well, we can show you our house right now. Come on."
The threesome made their way down the road to the Santiago house, Carlos and Dom suggesting new ideas one after another.
"After we go to our house, then we can show you around the school. Doors you need to know and stuff," Carlos suggested.
"Then we can show you some other places. Like the playground around here. And some cool shops!" Dom offered.
"Yeah," Carlos continued. "Then we can head back home and have lunch at our house. Mom makes the best food you'll ever eat!"
As the three continued on, the brothers still spewing ideas, Haelia could only listen and smile.
Maybe Ephyra isn't so bad after all, she thought.
How could it be with the Santiago brothers living there?