The Palace of Kronos

The sound of six sounded on the horn signalling the end of market time. By then Mairi was entering her neighborhood. Sector 14 of The Up was built over an exaust pipe that exploded before Mairi was born. The pipe since then had been repaired, but the sector had been deemed hazardous. The neighborhood was once a family neighborhood for the rich. There weren't any tall towers or bustling market places, just small cookie cutter houses. There was a massive empty area in the middle of the neighborhood were the exaust pipe had blown. Now it was taken up by tents, makeshift houses, and fire barrels. Jobless people sat around for hours of inactivity before leaving for the job postings, trying their luck, then returning to wait for the next posting. Children played in the rubble of the houses and inside the ventilation system that connected within the floor of Sector 14. Several homes had been blown wide open so people placed drapes and blankets over them for privacy. This was the slums of The Up. But mostly it was where the motherless children, the weak, and the old went to live out their days.

For Mairi it was home. She could never imagine abandoning it. After her parents went missing she found family within the other children from Sector 14. They weren't her real family, but they had been through so much together; Mairi wouldn't call them anything but family.

"Hey Mairi."

It was Tomas.

"Hello." Mairi raised her hand in greeting. Tomas followed her example.

Tomas was a human just like Mairi, but his past descendent came from the Gryf, and because of this Tomas had bright purple eyes. He was broadly built and average in height. His brown hair was always neatly trimmed, and his face carefully shaven.

"Did you find Dot?" He asked.

Mairi told him the details.

Tomas cursed under his breath. "This is the last straw. When she comes home I'm grounding her to her room."

"We've already tried that."

"Does she need to be captured by traders before she gets the idea?" Tomas was frustrated.

Mairi shrugged her shoulders. "She doesn't understand that bad things happen to people. Dot thinks she's smart enough to evade trouble, but as both you and I know, even the smartest people get into trouble."

Tomas let out a long sigh. They walked to the house in an annoyed silence.

Mairi lived in a house with about seven other children including Dot and Tomas. It was one of the houses that had been destroyed in the blast. Tomas had done his best to fix it, and Mairi loved it as any other home. The neighboring houses also had children living in them that Mairi, Tomas, and other older teenagers watched over.

"Welcome home!" A young Oot-Ru girl was looking from behind the shudders of the house.

"Hello Kendra."

Oot- Ru's have a very close resemblence to humans. Some say that they came from the same ancestor, and that's a widley accepted theory. From what Mairi has learned, the Oot-Ru's come from a planet that circles a star with different radiating energy than that of the planet of Mairi's ancestors. Which is why the strange difference in appearance with similiar bone and muscle structure.

Kendra had a bright orange skin color and radiant blue eyes. Her hair was raven black, pulled into two pony tails, and she had white freckles dotting her face. She was about twelve years old according to Mairi's time. Dot also was an Oot-Ru.

"Luc brought dinner!" Kendra leaned out of the window and gave a wide smile.

"Sounds good! I'll see you inside." Mairi rounded the corner and entered the home through a drape covered hole.

Inside a pile of sleeping mats lay in the corner, and in the center fire pit was carefully built into the floor.

Luc, an Iratus, was stirring the contents of a pot that was sitting over the fire.

"What's on the menu today?" Tomas gave Luc a proud pat on the back.

"Left over soup from old lady Ghouda."

"Gross!" Kendra sprawled herself onto her sleeping mat. "She makes the smelliest... whatever it is she makes."

"It's healthy bacterial food." Luc went into a long rant about the health benefits of the food of Old Lady Ghouda. Although, since he was basically a lizard, his taste in food was drastically different from Kendra's.

"I don't care about what good kind of bugs live inside me! I just want food that doesn't remind me of last years sewage explosion." Kendra shuddered. "The Egg still hasn't recovered."

"We will eat and be thankful!" Tomas said, "We've been through worse."

Kendra rolled her eyes and pulled her blanket over her head.

Later the children of the house were sitting in a large circle around the fire eating whatever it was that Old Lady Ghouda had so nicely blessed them. Kendra was gagging through the entire meal.

"This is perfect." Mairi mumbled to Tomas.

"What?" He asked.

"This. Everthing. All of it." She nodded toward the children. The feeling of content at that meal was the most calm Mairi had ever felt. Even though the looming worry of Dot, and the bickering between Kendra and Luc was at high volumes, Mairi woudn't have it any other way. She was always thankful that Sector 14 was a place of refuge. She spent months alone when her parents went missing. No one cared, and no one bothered. But the day she wandered into Sector 14 and met Tomas and his father, she was never truly alone again.

"I wish it could be like this all the time." Mairi took another reluctant bite of the soup.

Tomas laughed. "Yes! But this is The Egg. This is our world. Things are always happening."

"True."

They sat for awhile in content silence.

"I have to go now. Alphonse will be expecting me soon." Mairi put down her bowl and pulled her cloak over he shoulder.

"Let me come." Tomas stood up and firmly grabbed Mairi's shoulder.

"No. I'm sorry but it can only be me." Mairi walked across the circle of chatting children to where Kendra and Luc where bickering. Mairi grabbed each of their heads and hit them together.

"Ow why'd you do that!" Luc rubbed is leathery bald head.

"Listen to me you two!" Mairi got down on their level and made very strong eye contact. "I'm going out for tonight so it's your responsibility to take care of the younger children. They follow your example. So no fighting."

"Where are you going?" Kendra became worried.

"I'll tell you the details later." Mairi stood up and bid the other children farewell.

Outside the night announcements were sounding on the speaker. A woman's voice said, "It is the 10th time-cycle of this day-cycle. We are now getting ready for the duration of sleep. The lights will be turned off in exactly 15 minutes. Leave homes at your own risk. Now for the 10th time-cycle announcements. Today the Lords of Iratus celebrated the birth of Lord Lakkard's fifth son, and they hope that all citizens of The Egg will join us tomorrow in a special celebration at Down Square. Taxes to the Lords of Iratus are due within 10 day-cycles. Violators will be dealt with accordingly. End announcements. The Duration of sleep will begin in 14 minutes. Have a good sleep."

'Dealt with accordingly. You mean sold into the slave trade.' Mairi watched above as the lights of The Down began to dim, and the she could feel the eyes of Tomas on the back of her head.

"You can't trust him." Tomas said.

"I don't. But we can't give up. He's the only lead."

"Why won't you let me come?"

"I told you it must be me. Alphonse only wants me." Mairi was getting annoyed.

"Normally I wouldn't argue, but this isn't right." Tomas grabbed Mairi and turned her towards him. "We've known each other for ten years. Trust me and don't go with Alphonse."

"It's not about me. This is about Dot." Mairi looked into his purple eyes. He was sad and worried. It was understandable. Alphonse had a reputation with Tomas, so for him it was very personal. But he had to understand that another life was involved. "We don't turn our backs because of our personal emotions."

Mairi turned away. "I'll be back soon. Watch over Luc and Kendra." She pulled the hood over her face and walked toward the darkening city. She wished that it was that easy, and she could go back inside and finish her soup.