The main hall, impressive on a regular day, now practically glimmered with opulence. Men and women in crisp uniforms lined the glittering walls, laughing and dancing. The light, airy sounds of music and conversation floated through the air. 

Despite the surrounding splendor, Amaya sighed miserably and awkwardly tugged at the hem of her new officer’s uniform.

What am I doing here?

She never wanted to join the military, and never even spared a thought towards getting promoted to lieutenant. Yet here she stood, suffering through an officer’s dance, avoiding potential dance partners and trying to blend into the tapestries lining the walls.

She glanced toward the front of the room. There the Queen sat, otherworldly beautiful, smiling faintly as she observed the festivities. Content. Peaceful.

Amaya felt sick. How could she just sit there as if she wasn’t a tyrant who split families apart? A monster who sent civilians to enforce her unjust rules? If it weren’t for the royal decree that each household must send one child to join her military, she could have stayed at home with her parents. 

Home with Yori, who wouldn’t have survived a week here. 

She shook her head minutely, trying to rid herself of thoughts of home and injustice. If the last two years had taught her anything, she’d learned that becoming angry over things out of her control would drive her mad. If she just did her job, she could hope for a chance to see her family again. 

A syrupy voice startled her out of her thoughts. “May I have the next dance?” 

A man stood over her, gloved hand outstretched, smug grin on full display. She cursed inwardly and plastered a polite smile onto her face. There stood her superior officer, General Paris Escalus. He’d been the one to promote her, and henceforth decided that Amaya needed to worship the ground he walked on. She’d spent hours meticulously finishing every menial task he’d assigned her, only to be humiliated and given more work to do. 

She studied his face, his hazel eyes glittering maliciously. In that second, she realized he only wanted to dance with her because he knew she’d been avoiding it. 

Gods, how she despised him. 

Amaya cleared her throat, racking her brain for a way out. 

The General leaned forward, and raised an eyebrow.

There was a pause.

“Excuse me, am I interrupting anything?” 

She sighed in relief as the General whipped his head around to glare at her savior. An officer she didn’t recognize stood behind him, smiling apologetically. His dark, tousled hair seemed much too long for a military haircut, and the pale purple gemstones embedded in his ears shone against his ebony skin. Jewelry like that was certainly against uniform regulations.

She did not plan on questioning his authority. She certainly owed him that much after rescuing her from General Escalus. 

He saluted. “A few women over there asked after you, sir. They told me to fetch you.”

The General sighed. “Well if they must see me, lead the way.”

The pair started for the other side of the ballroom, General Escalus impatiently walking a few paces ahead of the officer. As he began talking, evidently complaining about being dragged away from his conversation, the unknown man turned back to glance at Amaya. 

His eyes looked like dark voids, piercing through her in a way that made her feel strangely as if he understood her better than she did. He grinned when she met his gaze. It was a lopsided, knowing grin, as if the two shared some terrible secret. Then he winked at her, and turned back to the general. 

For a second, she wondered if she had imagined it. 

Barely a minute had passed before she felt a tap to her shoulder again. She wanted to scream. Her savior certainly hadn’t given her very much of a reprieve from the general. She turned, angrily, to face a person who was…certainly not General Escalus.

An officer she was sure she had never seen before stood in front of her. She was tall, certainly taller than Amaya (although that didn’t really mean much, not really. Not for the first time, she cursed Yori for taking all of the height genes and leaving none for her) and wore her golden hair in a similar short fashion to the dark-eyed officer. Her face was adorned with a dark mask that contrasted sharply with her pale, freckled skin.

“Would you like to dance with me?” The officer asked coyly. 

The stranger couldn’t have been an officer for long, the two hadn’t been formally introduced. Yet there was a certain presence about her, as if she was orchestrating this whole event.  She grinned at her, confidently, conspiratorially. 

Maybe it was the unpredictability of the interaction. Perhaps it was just a way for Amaya to distract herself from tyrannical queens and older brothers and abusive superiors. It was probably due, for the most part, to the General’s ridiculously indignant expression, eyeing the pair from across the ballroom. And it certainly didn’t hurt that the officer was oddly alluring in her mystery. 

She smiled up at her, taking her hand in her own. 

She’d never learned how to dance, yet it hardly seemed to matter as she and the stranger swayed together slowly. As the song faded, the stranger leaned down to whisper something in her ear. 

“Come with me.”

The two exited the main hall, heading towards the quiet hallway. 

Amaya allowed herself to be led away. She really should feel more alarmed about this, being separated from the group by a strange person Amaya was fairly sure did not serve the Queen. 

Maybe that was the allure, though.

She’d never really had a chance to make decisions like this before, bad or good. Joining the military meant she did what she was told, and shut off the part of her brain that objected. 

She hurried to keep up with the stranger, who walked with purpose down hallways, switching back occasionally and making complicated turns in a random, yet seemingly purposeful pattern. Eventually they reached a dark storeroom, filled with dusty crates and other unidentifiable objects. 

The stranger turned to face her and grabbed her by the shoulders. The relaxed confidence she displayed earlier was gone, replaced by an anxious seriousness. 

“My name is Faye. I’m sure you have questions, and I wish I had time to explain them. Could you trust me, for at least a little bit?”

Trust her for what, she wasn’t sure, but she nodded anyway. 

“I wouldn’t have danced with you otherwise.”

This made Faye grin. “Good.”

Abruptly she spun her to face the door and held Amaya close to her chest. She swallowed, her head held against the other girl’s collarbone. The door slammed open, an angry voice reverberating around the room. 

“Amaya!” 

Her least favorite person walked into the room, face reddening almost to match the color of his hair. 

She greeted him. “General Escalus.”

“You should have stayed in the main hall! I was going to dance with you! I don’t understand why you felt that you could run off with just anyone!” He roared, gesturing wildly towards Faye.

Suddenly he paused, hand still raised toward the girl pinning Amaya in place. Recognition, and a little bit of fear, filled his gaze. He cursed, turning towards the door in a panic. 

It slammed shut. 

“It took you long enough, Manyu.” Faye joked. 

A familiar dark eyed officer stood in front of the General, blocking his way. He smiled pleasantly. 

“Sorry, my lady, but you’re not exactly subtle. I had to do damage control, as usual, and every other task you assigned me.” 

He--Manyu--grabbed the General and wrestled him to the ground.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t love this type of mission,” Faye said. “You’ve always had a flair for the dramatics.”

“You really don’t pay me enough for this,” he noted while neatly restraining the General’s arms behind his back.

Faye gasped. “And here I was, thinking you did this because you cared.” 

Amaya watched silently while the two bickered good-naturedly. Soon General Escalus was propped against a wall, bound and gagged. Manyu was surprisingly efficient, and a stronger fighter than Amaya would have guessed. 

“Well, that went better than anticipated. Our biggest threat, neutralized without a single casualty!” Faye grinned, finally letting go of her shoulders. 

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” he said, gesturing towards Amaya. “Knowing you, this one is probably a bit lost. Did Faye explain what was going on?”

This last question was directed at her. She hesitated. 

Manyu sighed. “So she didn’t explain, then.”

“I was getting there!” Faye protested.

“We’re part of a group of insurgents working against the monarchy. You’ve already become well acquainted with our leader, Warrior Faye, and her… unconventional espionage tactics-”

“Hey!”

“-Anyways, this one keeps setting fire to our supplies and safehouses, so we needed a plan to take him out before he cost us any more lives. Naturally, Faye decided that plan needed to include stealing uniforms and sneaking into a party.”

At this he kicked the General’s slumped form lightly. He groaned. 

Amaya didn’t feel much sympathy. 

Manyu continued, “It worked pretty well, surprisingly, but we still have one loose end.”

“She’s no danger to our cause, I promise.” Faye said quickly. 

He opened his mouth to argue, and then-

The loose end spoke. “I want to help.” 

Faye and Manyu stared at her, with equally ridiculous yet completely different expressions on their faces. She would have laughed, if it weren’t such a serious moment.

Amaya tried again. “You realize I didn’t choose this life, right? I’m stuck here, dealing with people like him, serving a queen I don’t believe in. You're right to distrust me, I understand, but please let me help you.”

Faye beamed. “I knew I picked the right one!”

She glanced over at Manyu. He seemed unconvinced, and tried to convey some sort of unspoken message to Faye through his gaze. She stared back, unflinching, and Amaya watched as the two had some silent argument. After a moment, it became clear who won. 

Manyu sighed, then straightened and spoke solemnly, “Right before the General’s untimely death, he changed his will to include a successor for his position. It would be disrespectful not to honor the late man’s wishes, and Lieutenant Amaya, although inexperienced, seems like a more than capable candidate for the job.” 

Although she could tell he didn’t agree with this plan, she saw a hint of sharp glee in his expression, and she watched him plot exactly how to ensure Faye’s plan would play out smoothly. 

Gods, she really wanted to be friends with him. 

Faye continued for him, “Unbeknownst to the Queen, and the rest of the military, she will be sending intel to a certain group of individuals working towards the monarchy’s demise. Taking them down from the inside, if you will.”

Amaya spared one last glance at the General. He pleaded with her through his eyes to help him. Perhaps if she did, her life would be much safer. He’d spend the rest of his life in her debt. She could still hope to see her family, and continue on with life as usual. 

Yet she still despised him. Him, and everything he stood for.

And maybe, instead of wishing for change, she could create a world in which her family would be safe and happy. A world where daughters could stay with their families and make their own choices. 

Maybe she had gone insane. She turned back to the two insurgents, and smiled.