And I am back with a chapter that is longer than usual. I hope it's alright!
Julian awoke the next morning, a stiff feeling throughout his body.
Perhaps today they would find his family.
He sat up and slid to the other end of his makeshift bed, before stretching. He hadn't felt this much freedom in his movement for as long as he could remember.
As he stood up, the door opened, and the female from last night walked back into the room. Cortana, he recalled.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked. She was wearing the same thing as she had last time, but Julian was paying more attention to them. Her silvery mask had engravings all around it, in a pattern that he couldn't make out from a distance.
"Go? Go where?" His voice was heavy with sleep.
"Well, little prince, you need to become accustomed to life around here, so I'm bringing it upon myself to show you around. Also, this isn't quite a comfortable room, so we need to get you one of those. And food, of course."
Julian perked up at the thought of eating something.
"And then we can find my family?" His thoughts, like always, reverted back to them almost straight away
"We can try. But only after we get you settled."
It wasn't exactly a promise, but to Julian, it meant everything.
Julian followed Cortana as she rounded corners and pointed to rooms, saying things that Julian wasn't listening to. He didn't care about that.
They were going to find his family. They were going to be reunited. No one had to be alone any more.
It was everything. The thought, I won't have to be alone anymore, was all he could think of. It was a hope, it was a dream, and it was the only thing in this situation that he could hold on to. It consumed him. True, it was an uncertainty, but this was a world of uncertainties. It wasn't impossible. He could draw strength from it, so he did. It was his light in the darkness. Hs family.
His thoughts were interrupted when she handed him a bundle of black clothes. The material was soft in his hands.
He looked to her as if to ask; what do I do with these?
Cortana scanned him with her eyes, which he could see in the light were brown. The type of brown where there were also rings of other shades, light and dark and some even golden. If the mask she wore didn't intimidate him, he would have called her eyes beautiful.
"Wear them, perhaps. Unless you think your current attire is appropriate to be seen in?"
He looked down at himself, suddenly embarrassed by his own appearance. He was clad in torn grey pants and a shirt, which were fraying, and practically falling off of his body. He looked a mess, no doubt. He hadn't paid attention to his appearance. Now, he regretted it.
He looked back up at Cortana, not making eye contact. He could see her gesture to a door next to her with her arm.
"You can go in there. Though, don't get comfortable. As soon as you're done eating, you're going straight to the medical wing. We need to make sure there's been no permanent damage done to you, little prince."
Julian sighed before slipping into the door that Cortana had shown him to. Without looking down at himself, he changed into what she had handed him. He was rather afraid to look, not knowing just how bad he'd look. At least he wouldn't be quite such the mess he'd been before, but that was nothing to console yourself with.
After he put on the clothes, and boots that were also provided, he decided it was worth the risk and looked to see what he was wearing. It was plain black, a soft material, and was quite loose on him. Julian couldn't tell if they were loose because the clothes were big, or because he was too small for them. He looked away again, deciding that his weight wasn't what he wanted to focus on at the current moment.
When he came back out, Cortana was still in the place that he had left her standing in, with one gloved hand on her hip, and the other hanging by her side.
"Much better," she commented, looking at him again. She started walking down the hallway again, as though she was in a rush. Julian almost broke into a run to keep up with her.
"Here is where you can go grab your food," she said, making direct eye contact with him. "Go in, and I'll meet you back in the courtyard when you're done. We have important matters to discuss." She turned around, and walked away, leaving Julian standing alone in a hallway, not even giving him a chance to ask where the courtyard was.
He turned towards the door, and looked to see lots of faces staring back at him. They were silent, staring. He suddenly felt self-conscious about his own appearance, and looked back down the hall. But there was no one there. He took a step into the room, but could still feel everyone's eyes on his. There were people who were young and old, tall and short, and of every appearance you could imagine.
And Julian felt frozen on the spot. He felt his heart hammering in his chest in panic.
It had been so long since he had been in a room with this many people in it.
A girl began to walk towards him. She was tall, slim, with big dark eyes and a smile plastered on her face. Julian was terrified of her almost instantly.
Up close, he could see that she had a chain of gold under her standard black shirt.
"You must be new?" Her voice had the slightest hint of an accent behind it, and it was soft, not at all like he expected. He nodded, knowing his voice would crack and betray him if he spoke aloud.
"Well, then, I'll show you how the dining area works." She grabbed Julian by the sleeve and sat him down at a place that was near where she had been previously. There was also a boy with a shock of red hair, who was smiling at Julian as well. It was the type of smile that made Julian think this boy was looking right into the depths of his soul, and knew all his secrets. It almost made him freeze up again, he was that terrified of what this strange boy could see in him.
"Don't mind Cameron," the girl told him, forcing his attention back to her. "See where I'm pointing?"
"The bench with the plates on it, she means." The boy- Cameron- added.
"Yeah, see it?" Julian nodded. It was long, and was half-full of metal plates with things on them that Julian couldn't identify. "It's as simple as going up there and grabbing one. You can do that, right?"
"Cris, I'm almost sure he gets it," Cameron interrupted impatiently. "Now let him go grab a plate. He looks as though he hasn't eaten in years." Julian wasn't sure whether to be grateful that Cameron had given him a chance to get food, or insulted about what he had said about him.
"I know, Cameron. But he wouldn't have known what to do if I didn't show him. I'll go grab it today, though. The poor thing looks exhausted." With that, the girl stalked off, presumably to go get Julian food.
On any other occasion, he would have refused to get someone to help, but he was worried that everyone would continue staring at him if he stood again.
"What's your name?" Cameron asked. Julian could see that he was tall, and muscular. He had warm brown eyes, and a splatter of freckles across his face.
"Jules," he answered flatly.
"Cameron." He extended his hand. Julian shook it. "I was starting to think you didn't speak, it's a relief you do. It'd be nice to have another voice to listen to besides Cristina's." Once again, Julian wasn't sure whether Cameron was being friendly or snarky. "Say- have I ever seen you before? Something about you is awfully familiar."
Before Julian had a chance to respond, Cristina came back, balancing a tray on her hip. She set it down in front of him, but he didn't even look at what it was, before mumbling a quick thanks, and digging into the contents of his plate with the spoon he had been provided.
"Woah, dude," Cameron commented. "I don't think I've ever seen someone so excited to eat the food that's served here."
Julian barely acknowledged the other boy, too focused on the first warm meal he had eaten in such a long time. He didn't pay attention to the taste. He didn't pay attention to anything at all, except for his filling stomach and that constant, ever-present thought. I won't have to be alone anymore.
When he had finished it all off, he looked back up at the other two around him, and gave a quick apologetic smile.
"That's okay, Jules," Cameron said. "We get that you were hungry. I mean, you looked hungry."
Cristina had taken the seat next to Cameron again, and was absentmindedly playing with the chain around her neck.
"Can I ask some questions?" Julian asked. Cortana hadn't been the type that seemed as though she wanted to answer questions, but Cristina and Cameron acted friendly enough that they seemed like they would.
"Of course, ask away. What do you need to know?"
"What's actually going on? Where is this place? And why are there so many people here?"
"That's a lot of questions." Cristina took a deep breath before starting. "Well, what's going on is probably the hardest question. You see, no one really knows what's going on, all we know is that we want to change the way the world is, and this seems like the way to do it. You'd probably know what happened with the invasion about a year ago, I mean, everyone has heard of it. They came in-"
"They?" Julian quickly interrupted. "Who are they?"
"One of the neighbouring countries, I never really got that detail. Anyway, they obliterated anyone who got in their way. There were so many of them when they came, and we were unprepared, had no hope, etcetera. So now they rule. They're the type of government who are awful and cruel to the people around them. And we all plan on taking them down. Does that answer the 'what question?'"
Jules nodded again, eager to hear the rest of this story.
"Alright, as for where we are, you know that forest that no one dared enter, because as kids we were all told it was too dangerous? We're right in the middle of it. And everyone here has escaped the central town, and is looking to fight for what they believe in. That, and out leader does some clever recruiting." She nudged Cameron in the ribs affectionately. Cameron smirked at her before standing up and taking everyone's trays away. "Do you get it now, Jules?"
"Sort of. Well, not really. But I'm sure I will eventually."
"I'd tell you more, but I fear that it would be a lot to try and understand in one day. Perhaps tomorrow?" She looked at in in the eye as she asked, more like she was demanding it.
"Yes, tomorrow sounds fantastic." Jules stopped for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Can I ask two more questions?"
"Of course, buddy. Cris will be happy to answer them in lots of detail." Cameron said, coming back towards them. No one was staring at him anymore, and it was a great relief. Cristina ignored his comment.
"I'll start with the first one-"
"That's a very good place to start."
"Cameron, let the boy speak. What's the question, Jules?"
"Who is Cortana? Where did she come from? Why is she doing this? And why does she wear a mask?"
Cristina seemed to hesitate before answering any of Julian's questions, as though she were trying to find a way to answer them without giving away any unnecessary information.
"Well, she's the leader of this rebellion. No one knows much about her, we all just presume something bad happened to her at some point, that's why she's so dedicated to this. And I guess the mask is to hide her identity. I mean, no one knows her well enough to ask."
"Thanks," Julian said, even more confused about the masked woman than ever before. "Last question, I promise: where's the courtyard?" In all his daze, Julian had forgotten that he was supposed to be meeting Cortana as soon as he could. She didn't seem like the type of person you'd want to keep waiting.
"How about Cam and I show you instead? I don't think either of us has anything scheduled for the afternoon block?" She looked at Cameron for confirmation, and he provided it by nothing.
"Thank you so much, are you sure?"
"Of course we're sure, Jules. It isn't far away, anyway. And besides, what are friends for?"
