“... Since celebrating our nation’s youth has always been a matter of great pride for our leaders, it is with great pleasure that we announce our first annual Youth Day Social. All Academy students and staff are welcome to attend and join in the festivities. Live music, hot food, and fireworks will all be present at Nyazrin Park. Tickets are a mere ten Sovereigns per student, with staff and parents welcome to attend for free. Our school’s very own orchestra will be performing from sundown to the time of the fireworks, after which we are proud to welcome the very prominent Sokolov Intercity Band to provide modern and electrifying dance music for the night’s celebrations...”
- Advertisement in the Blackheart Academy Weekly Bulletin, Siphrobion 19th, 6011
I hardly saw Ausrine over the next few days. Outside my daydreams, that is. Aside from the occasional sidelong glance from Elaine, nothing hindered my glowing mood throughout school and I hardly saw my Uncle at all upon coming home each afternoon. Mei prepared dinner in silence and let me take it in my room, meanwhile my Uncle would come home at some ungodly hour and not deign to bother speaking with me. Aside from a few quick glassheart conversations with Ausrine there was little contact with her, though I didn’t mind. After insisting that I pay for her ticket (It was unheard of to let the lady pay back then anyway) and scraping together the sovereigns for tickets, flowers, and new shoes, all I had to do was let the exciting tension mount as the day of the dance approached.
As the long week dragged to a close I found a rare moment of solace in the apartment washroom the morning of the dance. Probing my face absent-mindedly, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and scrutinized the hint of a beard I had acquired. Looking back, it was nothing worth shaving, but to my younger self I looked disheveled and desperately wanted something to do to occupy my mind in the tense hours leading up to the social. Making my way across the den of the apartment I passed the broad double paned living room window and flinched under the direct sunlight. I must have forgotten to close the windows the night before and now the couch and lounge table were hot to the touch. Cursing my oversight I shielded my eyes and made my way to pull the curtains shut.
And I wouldn't have given that eye searing window a second glance if it wasn’t for a cherry-red shimmer in the corner of my eye. Pulling the blinds closed save for a thin opening, I squinted against the sunlight to spy Ausrine strolling down the street, arm in arm with a uniformed cadet. My first thought was at the pleasant surprise to see her, and I quickly reached for my glassheart, which was around my neck at the moment. But jealousy and doubt set in with a paralysing pang of insecurity. Ausrine was out of her school uniform, all in a grey and blue faux-military styled dress, the likes of which were popular among people who (in my opinion) only wanted to pander towards the chauvinistic hordes of soldiers that swarmed the wartime world. My firsts balled up in confusion and rage as they turned the corner and I gained clear sight of her laughing as she stroked her hair out of the way of her vision.
The fellow in question was utterly unrecognizable. I quickly took mental inventory of all the male classmates we both knew, then slapped my forehead in frustration. Of course he wouldn’t be from our school. All cadets were exempt from finishing secondary school, their training provided an equivalent diploma. Of course all those diplomas and all that training was quite useless after the war, but at the time it was generally seen as the more honorable course of action, albeit the far more taxing route to adulthood. I scratched my head and stormed off to my uncle’s master bedroom. I sulked passed Mei, still asleep in her dinner clothes amidst the tangled black sheets. My uncle must have left to work before I’d gotten up, I figured. In the adjoining washroom I retrieved my uncle’s straight razor and a hand towel.
Ausrine had no siblings, and her family seemed awful isolated here in Blackheart, so who could she have been out with? The question tore at my mind and made my hands tremble slightly as I splashed cold water from the basin onto my face back in the second bathroom. My uncle’s restroom had a larger mirror and better, natural lighting, but at some point between the previous week and my present situation the mirror had been shattered around a central impact point. I wasn’t observant enough to realize the destruction of the mirror correlated chronologically with the bloodied bandage around my Uncle’s right hand.
I’d never shaved before, and it was in hindsight a great mistake to do so without consulting an elder male and whilst so upset. I felt my glassheart signify that I’d received a message with that humming sensation just as I pressed the blade to my chin. I tried with all my might to keep my mind off the incoming message, presumable from Ausrine, but the thought of her only sent a sudden quiver through my hands. The first cut I left was almost undetectable, until the blood started seeping out, that is. A fine red line, like a short strand of Ausrine’s ever-changing red hair, settled vertically beside my lips. The second laceration stung viciously, and I bit my tongue to avoid cursing aloud. An awkward scarlet gash on my left cheek dripped blood and I stubbornly wiped off the blade and proceeded to finish eliminating the non-existent beard I was so self conscious of.
When I was done, my whole face felt itchy and irritated, although especially at the spots where I’d wounded myself. I dabbed a bit of Nexus Alchemical healing ointment on the gashes, but I knew it was only for blood clotting, it served no cosmetic purpose, aside from perhaps reddening my face further. Never mind, I thought, it would be dusk when I saw Ausrine next.
I took my glassheart off my neck and sat on the living room couch. Clutching the gem in both hands I shut my eyes and received my latest message.
Ela: Are you free before this evening? Elaine. How unexpected. I hesitated for a moment before replying.
User: Perhaps. What is it?
Ela: I was wondering if you’d like to come to the Bazar for the afternoon, before the Youth Day Social.
User: ... Are you going to that?
Ela: The Bazar? Yes, father’s letting me preside over a new boutique. Helix Enhancements, it’s called. I believe they offer clinical genetic alterations. Quite bizarre.
User: I meant the dance.
Ela: ... Well, yes that too, this evening. With Danylov. I suppose you’re still going with the rather quiet girl from our theatre class?
User: Ausrine. Wait- Who’s Danylov?
Ela: Oh that’s right you don’t know him. Maxim Danylov. He doesn’t go to our school, he’s a royal cadet. I met Dany at one of the Nexus party rallies the Royal Youth Auxiliary attend. He’s... Certainly something else.
User: Right.
Ela: Yes, but can you come join me at the Nexus Bazar today?
I drew a sharp breath and let go of my audiolith for a moment. The name Dany sounded vaguely familiar, though it was quite a mental leap to connect this cadet Elaine was mentioning with the young man I’d seen outside with Ausrine. While I deliberated, another message pulsed into my glassheart.
Ausrine: I... Er... Excuse me?
User: Hello Ausrine.
Ausrine: Are you... Are you busy?
User: No not at all. Why?
Ausrine: G-Good. Come at once to the end of Sakahlin street, on the corner of Dezhnev Row. ... Please?
User: Of course, I’ll be right there.
I stood to leave, taking a drink of water from the pitcher in the icebox and pulling on my school uniform jacket over my casual shirt and suspenders. Hurrying down the stairs I got another message.
Ela: So? Can you come, Vladinova?
User: I’m terribly sorry, Elaine, I’m actually tied up for the afternoon. See you at the dance?
Ela: Yes... *Sight* I’ll be seeing you there tonight.
I meant to reply, but my mind quickly jumped to anger at myself for failing to don a hat before heading down to street level. The suns were out in full force, scorching the cobblestone avenues and reflecting off every grey stone surface directly into my tired eyes. Against the shimmering pavement and that slight mirage that dances near the ground in oppressive heat I spotted Ausrine at the far end of the street. Back from the direction I’d seen her disappear to minutes ago, she was still in that blue and grey dress, fanning herself with her matching broad brimmed hat. She leaned against a lamppost and found the iron pole painfully hot, even through her gloves. She recoiled and stood up straight for a moment, waving to me lazily with a slight but welcoming smile. Ausrine adorably settled back into her natural posture and placed her hat on her head, pulling it down on either side in a wondrously immature fashion which made me smile in spite of the heat.
“Hello Dmitri.” She said weakly. Under her hat her hair had taken on a auburn tint and was as free falling and obstructing of her face as ever.
“How do you do, Ausrine?” She gave a steep nod as I approached and held up a gloved hand. She’d probably meant for me to kiss it, but I gently shook her hand instead and gave it an affectionate squeeze. She tugged her hand back from my grip, almost defensively. She mouthed a silent apology and shrugged.
“It’s rather hot out. Sorry, my gloves are uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s no problem.” She turned to start walking towards the shade, and motioned for me to follow, rather uncertainly. She glanced back timidly as she peeled her thin satin forearm length gloves off with a satisfying snap. I watched her crumple them in her hands and clench the crushed gloves in her left hand. I approached from her right, relieved to reach the shaded sidewalk with her, and wiped my brow for emphasis. I bent my arm and offered it to her to hold. She reached out to link arms with me but shook her head, letting her dark red hair fly all about her head.
Ausrine returned her arm to her side and clasped her other hand in front of her. Clenching and tugging at her bundled-up gloves she spoke:
“I... My- My parents want to meet you.” I cocked my head inquisitively. Of course, this was customary, but I’d assumed they’d be coming out to the park tonight as well.
“Meet them? Now? But it’s hardly after breakfast. Is something wrong?”
“N-No... No, they simply... Mother does not leave the house on any occasion, and my father prefers to sleep most of the day. They can’t come to the Youth Day... Event... Tonight. So they asked me to fetch you for them to meet. I-I know it’s irregular, but you don’t mind, do you?” She gave a pleading glance, entirely heart-melting and hypnotizing at the same time. She didn’t have the confident playfully mischievous glint of Elaine’s puppy-eyed stare, instead letting those deep piercing eyes entrance me in a way that still eludes me to this day. Of course after less than a fleeting moment of sustained eye contact she broke away and studied her gloves intently, giving them an extra firm squeeze as she held her breath awaiting my answer.
“It’s fine, I mean- I’d be honored. Lead the way.” She blushed even further and pointed down the shady street.
“It’s that way. My apartment, I mean.” Apparently she’d prefer it if I lead the way. Very well, I offered her my arm again and she shook her head. “My mother will be watching from her window. I don’t think they’d like it very much if we walked that way, at least before... You know.”
“I can assure them I’m a gentleman and that I’d like nothing more than to be permitted to stroll with you in broad daylight.” She giggled at this.
“I know you are, that’s why we’re going to meet them, to show Mother you’re... Nice... Even though you’re a student.”
“Of course I’m a student, what else would I be?”
“Well...” She sighed and wiped her neck vacantly. “A cadet. ... Or a dropout, or simply a factory worker or an Egalitarian or some such thing.”
“Might your parents object to my being from a Western province? I’ve heard the jokes they tell about the hinterlands folk at school, I’m guessing the sentiment is much the same throughout Blackheart.”
“Oh... Oh n-no, we’re very pro-empire, as my father says. As a family, I mean, we support the Empire in its entirety.”
“Naturally.” I nod, smiling. Gods above, she looked smiting even in that horrid militant dress and glistening in the dreadful heat.
A few blocks from Sakahlin Street we reached her apartment building, a modernist grey stone complex externally the same as my Uncle’s residence. Inside was a different story. While my home had a bare wooden hall leading to the maze of doors and stairwells, Ausrine’s building had a gaudy golden furnished lobby. The room was strewn with faded lavish waiting couches and white wooden paneling. The whole inside of the building spoke of fashion and glory long since gone away. The room was still lit by dim gas lamps protruding from the walls. Dirty golden settings held melted candles in place as they flickered on a candelabra at the center of the room on an aged table. Ausrine removed her hat, and exposed her dampened hair, which had turned a few shades darker in its state.
She compulsively checked the wall of mailboxes on the way to the stairwell and fished around inside. Nothing. I followed her up one flight to a hallway decorated in burgundy. A worn maroon carpet and the torn wallpaper overtly expressed the theme of this floor. I briefly pondered if all the floors of this complex had separate color themes, before noticing the second large difference between her building and mine. There was a considerably larger space between doors along the hall, with only six separate flats on this floor, as opposed to the sixteen per floor in my complex.
Ausrine fished out a frail silver key, on the same chain as her glassheart, and applied it to the lock on a white door reading 3 in fine gold paint.
Inside was darker than the lamp-lit lobby, with only a thin band of harsh light cutting through the room from between two barely-parted curtains. Motes of dust drifted idly in the stale air before me. The faint smell of opiate smoke mingles with fine perfume and ancient wax.
“Mother, Father, I’m back!” Her voice cut through the empty silence like a trespasser in a temple. In the combined dining and living room there was a long table with four seats at the far end, and several lounge chairs positioned around a low table on the side nearest to the door. I blinked hard, adjusting my eyes to the peculiar lighting as a gangly, stooped, frail man emerged from the adjoining room. This was Ausrine’s father. He wore a tarnished Deltoran Cavalry Officer's uniform, white with red trim and blue epaulettes. A score of over-polished medals dangled from his chest, most of them clearly predating the Glasskard dynasty and the Nexus party. Come to think of it his whole uniform must have been from before the last civil war.
“Master Vladinova, I presume?” He gave a grunt and shot out his hand to shake. I took it and tried but failed to match the firmness of his grip.
“Yes, Dmitri Vladinova, how do you do?” Another grunt at this.
“How I do is rather personal, don’t you think, boy? My name’s Sandrei Mikhailovich Novacore, but I suppose we go by Romanov now. You may address me as Captain Romanov.”
I bowed and nodded to show my full understanding. I gulped audibly as I noted the sheathed sabre on the Captain’s belt. He padded it against his side with a smirk, producing a rusted rattling sound. As soon as my eyes had adjusted enough to make out his coarse face and wide ashen mustache, the lighting changed in an instant.
Candles, all about the room, flickered to life at the sound of a snap.
“Really, Sandi, are you going to try and intimidate the boy like that?” An unfamiliar voice called from outside the room. Ausrine remerged, arm linked with her mother. Impossibly pale and tall, with blood red hair despite her age and stature, her mother was clearly a witch. She wore an old fashioned red dress which covered her neck and arms fully, complete with lacy frills around the edges and a large gemstone inset at the neck of the gown. Her eyes were young and bright, confident and inquisitive, most unlike her daughter's or her husband’s tired eyes.
Both Ausrine and her mother approached, on either side of Captain Romanov, and looked to the man of the house for his approval. He gave a grunt and a shrug and turned away, walking with a painful limp towards the table. Mrs. Romanov gave me her hand to kiss and apologized for her husband’s lack of hospitality. Sensing my difficulty with the level of lighting in the room she forced the curtains fully shut with a wave of her palm and the candles hissed as they began burning brighter.
“Don’t let the Captain scare you, it’s just that... We were expecting another cadet.”
“It’s no problem at all, Madam. This is a lovely home you have here, thank you for having me over.”
“Oh this den? This is just my witch’s lair where we hideout the remainder of our days, I’m sorry for the mess but there’s no helping my insufferably messy Captain and his dust demons.”
“Demons?” My eyes widened as she beckoned me to follow her to the table at the back of the room.
“Yes, our family’s partial to a few. There’s Taon, spirit of dust and darkness, an old friend of the family. Then Italis, our guardian protector, a spirit of sleep, actually. He keeps us safe from Nexus thugs and spies. And lastly there’s my Aza. Azanaxalphrion is true name but we call her Aza for short... She’s a red demon.” I didn’t know much about sorcery or demons, but this last bit puzzled me.
“A red demon?”
“Yes, like the color red. Hence our home furnishings. She’s around here somewhere...”
“Is that...?” I pointed Ausrine’s pet fox, who had sauntered in to sniff me and circle me cautiously. I held out my hand for her to examine.
“Oh heavens no, that’s Ausrine’s synthetic fox, Chelsea.” Mrs. Romanov peered about the room impatiently. “Aza, show yourself, I see you in ultraviolet. And take a more or less welcoming form, dear.”
I flinched as a cold chill ran down my spine when Azanaxalphrion materialized before me. An androgenous human figure, clothed in an old fashioned school uniform, only entirely in red. The demon gazed right through me and gave an unnaturally stiff bow. Ausrine’s mother gave an amused laugh at my discomfort. Before I could debate whether to try and maintain eye contact with the crimson youth, it vanished. I felt the air stir around me and I was discomfortingly assured by Mrs. Romanov’s tracking gaze that Aza was in fact still present.
“The other’s are out on a few errands for me. Come, you’ll take luncheon with us, won't you?” Ausrine nodded behind her mother’s back, urging me to accept her invitation. I nervously peered about and bowed graciously, heading towards the table.
I pulled out the chair for Ausrine and felt the Captain’s judgmental stare on me from his seat at the head of the table. He gave a disapproving grunt. My glassheart jumped in my pocket and I discreetly clasped it.
Ausrine: I have to warn you, my mother’s cooking is... Rather awful. Please try to bare it and above all say you like it very much!
User: Certainly. I’d hate to think of what would happen if I didn’t.
Ausrine: She let Aza eat the last guest who said they didn’t like it.
User: Haha.
To this day I have no idea if she was joking or not. Ausrine’s mother vanished into the adjoining room and returned with a tray laden with towering pastries. I remember thinking they didn’t look too bad before she set them down for us to eat. I recall I was terribly wrong about that.
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