Art of the Con

The person before her was completely different from the reality she knew. Through the glasses, Eudokia saw not a child, younger than her, but an adult woman at least twice her age. Where she saw a black haired child, she found a blonde-haired woman. So many questions came to her.

When Eudokia came to a stop, it only took Dareia a few steps to realize it. She looked back at Eudokia. The look in her eyes told her enough. A small smile grew across her lips. It had a knowing look to it, almost as if she expected the outcome. “The secret’s out.”

Chapter 203 – Art of the Con

‘The secret’s out? It’s like she doesn’t even care I know she’s been lying to me the entire time!’ Hard to control emotions boiled up in her body. It made her shake. She thought it might make her explode. She wanted answers, but found herself running away. ‘Why?! Why?!’

Eudokia retreated to the barracks. However, she knew she couldn’t go inside. She turned away, making for the gate. The solitude of the endless fields of grass surrounding the Base was her last refuge. ‘I don’t understand!’ She dropped her head down. ‘Why?!’ The grass blew between her legs, never giving an answer. ‘Why?!’ She fell backwards. ‘Why?!’ The sky said just as much to her.

Minutes turned to hours until the sky filled with stars. Time lost all meaning to her. ‘Did I fall asleep?’ Her hand rubbed against her eyes. She found them to be wet, but her cheeks felt weird like something dried on them.

She made her way back to the barracks. It was already past the evening call. Most were already sleeping, apart from those going off for their patrols. When she made it to her squad’s section, she noticed Nikon staring at her.

The look in his eyes was a complicated one for her to judge. She didn’t know what he wanted, but tried to ignore it. His timing waited until she was almost to her cot. “I reported your absence.”

“That’s fine.” Eudokia slid into her sheets. It was almost a meaningless thing by Nikon. They both knew that her officer rank exempted her from the requirement of being at the calls. It was only good form to be with the team, since she was the squad leader.

Sleep was a difficult thing for Eudokia. Her mind continued to spin questions she couldn’t answer. It kept her from getting anything close to meaningful sleep. When morning came, her mind and body were exhausted. It made her thankful she didn’t have a patrol. She never would have survived the trek.

In the course of her attempts to follow her routine, she saw Dareia. Still walking around as a child, she looked like nothing happened yesterday. It made Eudokia’s heart start beating rapidly. It was so sudden it nearly buckled her legs, tired from the lack of sleep. The shaking in her body was impossible for her to keep in control.

She fled.

Any chance she had to resolve this disappeared. Dareia had her patrol and didn’t return for two days. Poor timing fell for Eudokia forcing her to go on patrol shortly after Dareia returned. All Eudokia could do was sit on the mass of emotions with nothing to release them.

It left her with the needed motivation when she came back. Nothing mattered to her at the point she reached. Travel fatigue didn’t even seem to exist for her, something that boggled her squad’s minds for the entire patrol. They returned naturally winded, but she never missed a beat. Before they realized what happened, she disappeared from their sight with only a, “Dismissed!”

Eudokia teetered between a march and run as she went in search of Dareia. ‘I’ll get my answers today!’ It didn’t seem to take very much for Eudokia to locate Dareia, almost as if she wanted to be found. She tightened up her hands in preparation. The look on Dareia said she knew what she wanted, but waited for her action. She could never see Dareia the same. It frustrated her. Every expression, feature on her face seemed to hold a completely different meaning then before, despite looking the same. “I want my answers!” she shouted, jumping ahead on her plan and not realizing it.

Dareia giggled a little at Eudokia. “You need to be a little more specific.”

It flustered Eudokia almost immediately when she caught up to her words. “I mean about you!” She almost looked like she was going to throw a tantrum. “Who are you?”

“I’m Dareia and MP just like you.”

“I know that already!” Eudokia panted a little, finding Dareia suddenly difficult to deal with now. “I want to know why you are deceiving everyone! Why did you deceive me?!”

“Everyone is always deceiving. Our powers just make it easier.”

“That’s not the point! I want answers!”

“There’s some truth in what I said.” She lifted up her hand pointing her index finger to recall their previous conversation. “I did want to meet you. You have quite the reputation back at the Academy.” Dareia stood up and started to walk around Eudokia. “I was at the Capital during your time in the Academy and heard a lot of rumors about you. So I became curious.”

Eudokia’s eyes narrowed, bothered by the changes she saw in Dareia. She couldn’t see the person she knew inside the child. “You came all the way out here just to see me? I find that excuse poor. You must have a better reason than that!”

Dareia grinned over at Eudokia. She stopped in front of her. The same knowing grin corrupted her face. “You think so? I tend to be a rather spontaneous woman.”

“Spontaneous?” Eudokia stepped back from Dareia. The close proximity of her made her uneasy. With the façade down, she got a completely different feeling from her. One that seemed almost predatorial, the complete opposite of the child she played. “It was spontaneous to pretend to be a child? That’s rather unbelievable out here.”

“True, under normal circumstances.” She stretched out reaching for Eudokia. “However, you’re here. A child is a rare sight, but a second becomes more accepted.”

“How’d you do it? I know you couldn’t be maintaining your Field the entire time. You wouldn’t last.”

“I have a device to project what I need.”

“Now what? I know your secret, what are you planning on doing now?” It was closer to the heart of the matter for Eudokia. Everything collapsed because of what she learned. She didn’t know how things could continue. It was all gone.

Dareia pulled back and rested back on the step. “I’ve got a tour to complete. I’m not going anywhere.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it!”

Shrugging a little, she smiled back at Eudokia admitting how right she was. “You’re right.” Dareia moved her hand to appear pensive, though it was hard to know if it was actually real or not. The position remained regardless of the reality for a few moments. She met gazes with Eudokia when she was ready. “You seem in need of my specialty.”

“Specialty?”

“Yup!” Dareia rocked forward and jumped up. She cheerfully jogged around Eudokia. She took Eudokia by the arm and ran off with her into the denser parts of the Base. While they went along the paths, they passed soldiers. Dareia jumped up waving to them. A greeting exchanged with them.

“Good afternoon Second Lieutenant!”

“Relaxing on your day off, Dareia?”

“Yuppers! It’s so nice today! I just had to get out!”

Eudokia stared at the whole exchange in a bit of confusion and bewilderment. The child she knew from before returned. She was a little more cheerful and outgoing than she recognized, but it was close enough. It made her hopeful. ‘Dareia!’

She turned immediately back to Eudokia, as though knowing the exact right timing. “See?” It was all shattered in an instant.

It snapped Eudokia back out of her disillusions. The annoyed expression returned to her face. She glared at Dareia. “What was the point of that?”

“Proof.” Dareia saw that Eudokia didn’t follow her answer. She continued walking and greeting those that passed them. Eventually, they reached the end and no one was around. “Even someone like me can get along with the rest of the soldiers on the Base.”

Crossing her arms, Eudokia had her doubts about the whole thing. It seemed fruitless to her. “It’s all just lies.”

“Lies, yes, but you need to learn that you need lies to survive in this world. Without them, people could not coexist. Innocent white lies or even complex webs, you need to do a little lying if you plan to have people accept you and follow you.”

“You’re wrong! All you’re doing is ignoring yourself in favor of what others want!” Eudokia turned around, almost ready to break out in tears. There truly was nothing inside Dareia, the person she knew. She started to run away.

Dareia stopped her with her words. “Aren’t you already doing that, but failing?” Eudokia tilted her head back at the child, her eyes wide in surprise. Dareia saw through her completely. “You aren’t acting yourself in front of them. You want to be someone that they respect and listen to, but they only see a child desperately pretending.”

Eudokia ground her teeth together. The direct hit hurt more than she thought. She turned away from Dareia again, unable to look at her. Her expression already revealed everything. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Grinning a little, Dareia lowered her head. “If you want to learn how to survive in the adult world, I’ll be here. Waiting.” She leaned back against the stone of the outer wall of the headquarters.

Finally, she fled from the area. It felt overdue for Eudokia. She couldn’t stand being around Dareia. There was nothing she could find inside her that was familiar. It was nothing but a lie. The admissions she made only worsened it. ‘Nothing was real. It was just an act by her to get close to me! I can’t trust anything she says!’

She returned to the barracks. The library was pointless for her. Her mind was spinning too hard for her to actually focus on anything. She had her answers, but nothing like what she was expecting. All she could do was lie down. It solved nothing, but she did not feel like moving. The fatigue in her body finally caught up to her.

Sleep descended.

The morning arrived for Eudokia. Whispers went around the barracks, enough to stir her out of her sleep. When she rose from the cot, it caught the attention of the others. They all glanced around at each other in silence. The same stares leveled on her. ‘Always the same here. I can rely on that at least.’ She rolled over.

“Letting your rank finally get to your head,” commented Nikon. It didn’t have enough context for Eudokia to make sense of what he said. She glanced over her shoulder back at him, not giving him much of an expression. It only bothered him more. “You think just because you’re special the rules don’t apply to you.” It was just more of the same, but Eudokia still had no idea why he brought it up.

“You ignored call,” Hilarion filled in for Eudokia. He sat on the cot mostly engrossed in a book. The rest of the squad was not present.

Eudokia’s flat expression didn’t react. “I see.” She lowered back to the cot, planning to ignore everything. Unfortunately, Nikon continued on ranting about Eudokia’s unprofessional nature and disregard for the rules. He managed to have enough material for thirty minutes before he stopped. It was difficult to know if he ran out of things to say or just was tired of not having a reaction from Eudokia.

The weeks passed with Eudokia settling back into the routine. Her squad continued to give her insubordinate looks, while silently following her. It didn’t take much to see they were just buying their time. She had achieved nothing to change their opinion of her.

Everything was the same.

She was fine with it. Or so she thought.

Something nagged at her sides quietly and slowly picking at the cracks. It never stopped. At first, she ignored it, not thinking anything of it. However, the longer it continued the worse it got. She couldn’t get it out of her mind. It built up until she could no longer stand it.

Along the outer walls of the headquarters, Eudokia stood a safe distance away from them. She still didn’t trust them, but they had something she wanted. “Show me how to fit into this world.” Dareia glanced over at Eudokia, grinning the knowing look again.

“I’ll teach you more than just that! I’ll show you how to make it kneel before you!”