Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78507 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
The academy is located at the edge of the city, near the royal palace, in an area where people can’t afford to live unless they’re very powerful and corrupt. It’s a little weird, growing up as a glorified servant amid this much wealth.
That’s another thing I can’t say out loud. The kids who sign up for the King’s Guard believe in it fervently. They take pride in their training and their service. They bow when they pass the king’s portrait. There’s one hanging in this room, though I’ve slung a bra over his face. I don’t like the way he looks at me.
They have several different portraits of the king around the place. There’s the coronation one, which is the most common one. Then there’s the green one, where he’s wearing green, and the red one… again, another thing I can’t say is that I don’t care for them. Any of them. I think it’s weird to have someone’s face plastered everywhere, even if your whole life is technically dedicated to protecting and serving them.
Most of the guys in the academy are going to take some rank in the King’s Guard. Some of them will be grunts, but others will be his own personal attendants. It’s all very prestigious and exciting for everybody. I’m over it. I don’t have the same kind of purpose they do. Sometimes the director of the academy, Madame Kier, makes some reference to me becoming an instructor when I’m older, but I’m widely regarded as such a bad influence that’d never fly.
By now I’m dressed and ready to go. But it’s not just a matter of walking out the front door. I’m not sure I’ve actually used the front door in years. Do I still know how to use a door? Better not risk it, and go out the window. Windows are just doors wearing see-through clothes, if you ask me. I wrote an essay on that once. Got detention, but it was worth it.
I’m not allowed in the city at all really, not without special permission, but it’s sort of an open secret that I sneak out. Can’t change the rules; that would make them look weak, and it would mean they couldn’t enforce them when they decided they felt like it after all.
Sometimes, when you’re dealing with an institution that is all about rules, people get used to the rules being broken regularly and looking the other way. There are rules that are real rules, and rules that are more like guidelines, and other rules that only exist when someone needs them to.
The official reason I’m not allowed in the city without a leave slip is because it’s not safe. According to the director and general faculty of the academy, Eclipse City is a hive of scum, villainy, and street vendors who are harder and more dangerous than either of the previous two groups.
Also, I haven’t been given a leave slip in years, because I keep sneaking out. Chicken or egg? Anyway, I don’t care. I know dozens of ways out of the academy, and I find more every time they patch one of the exploits I’ve found. Sometimes I think they tolerate me because I’m a one-woman security assessment.
I slip down from my window, shimmy down brickwork, drains, ledges, gargoyles, and other bits and pieces that people inevitably attach to buildings. Then I drop the ten feet or so to the ground and roll into a bush that they should really get rid of. I’ve always wondered why people plant out secure areas. You need to be able to see what’s going on. I’d bring it up with the faculty, but that would just make my life harder.
I crawl out from the hole under the wall. It’s a tight fit, but I make it out. The back of the academy faces onto the river that runs through Eclipse. The Avon River is big and polluted and contains a unique ecosystem of fish that you absolutely should never eat. But it is useful for floating things down, so there are always boats and sometimes people paddling around. Or floating face down, if it’s a particularly bad day. Which it often is.
In spite of all the many reasons not to do what I’m doing, I’m not afraid of anything in the city. That’s because I’m a hero.
Nobody knows it yet, but it’s just a matter of time until they do.
I’ve always had that feeling that I was special. Some people say I’m just weird because I’m basically an orphan who was raised in an institution that wasn’t set up for it so I’ve never been parented and therefore have a contentious relationship with authority, but special is easier and quicker to spell.
Now that I’m out of the academy proper, I head into the city. It’s quite a bit of a walk, because I don’t intend to spend the little cash I have on a ride service. My legs work just fine. Plus it’s not like I am in a hurry. I’ve got the whole day to myself.