Chapter 1 - The Second Reckoning Squad

Arbell Criff is a complete fairy addict, her whole pastime is dedicated to gathering all kind of trinkets and stuff related to fairies. She is also unbeatable on the subject of folktales and fairytales, enough to warrant her the title of « Fairy Queen » within her friends circle. In general, people find her quite cute and funny, and she always made sure of not going out of control when talking about her passion. As for her job, Arbell worked as an illustrator for a major car company. She was drawing the advertising in the magazine, and while she couldn’t give free rein to her hobby, she always made sure make a nod to her whimsical ideas, that was why she was praised so much by her colleagues. 

It was quite late in the day, probably around 5PM. Arbell was focused on her research for her next draft, alternating between scribbling on paper or fiddling with her pen. By some miracle she  somehow managed to hear her boss voice :
« Arbell, you can take your break. Be back in 15 minutes, there will be a meeting for our next car showcase. »
« Fine for me. »

After yawning softly, Arbell put her computer and tablet on standby, rose up from her chair and went for the water fountain. After emptying twice her wooden cup, she decided to go for some fresh air. Working in a seven floor building, and having her office located on the sixth floor, it was faster for her to reach for the roof. Few seconds later, she pushed the panels leading to the outside. As often when she was alone, Arbell liked to make self-comment : 
« I wonder if I could draw an orange glittering in that next advertising… That would be neat ! People will look at it, wishing to escape their monotonous everyday life and go for an extraordinary journey in the unknown, like that last tale I read. Oh I know ! I should go for a snowy theme... It’s trending lately ! »

While deep in thought, Arbell closed the few step leading to the fence. She couldn’t have heard the panels opening once more as she was gazing the flickering lights of the city. She couldn’t feel either the oppressive presence that was drawing near her. Wearing a beige trench coat and puffing on smoke, the lone figure was slowly making her way to Arbell. Without making a sound, like an empty shadow she closed in the few step put her hands forward and --

Only then, Arbell noticed something, a sort of figure in the reflection of her glasses. But it couldn’t be more late, without even understanding what was going on, she was pushed. It wasn’t that light push you had with your friends after few words, it wasn’t that kind of push at all. In fact, it was forceful enough to make her lose balance and yet.. she didn’t feel anything in that push. There was no aggresiveness, no ressentment, no affection, nothing. All she did know though was that at last, her feet weren’t in the floor anymore, she was flying but Arbell wasn’t in a fairytale, she wasn’t a fairy either and so - just like that... the fairy was gone.

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??? - Grayford / Below the cliff

It was nightfall, and while you couldn’t see much ahead, the landscape was quite breathtakingly beautiful : the numerous glittering lights in the sky were reflected in the snow, giving it a shining silver tone.

A group of soldiers were stationed not too far from this amazing sight, below a massive cliff. A grand total of three tents - made of white sheets - were placed here and there, forming a sort of triangle around a firecamp. Gathered around the fire to keep them warm, six people were discussing. They were all wearing silver-colored light armor displaying an emblem. It was a pretty one : some kind of grey-winged bird was sitting at the top of three blue roses, looking upwards. Perhaps was it looking at his owner, or at the sky. Everyone at the exception of a woman with braided hair, wearing more casual clothes. The latter brought in a grave tone some kind of serious issue.
"So… Commander… What should we do with this girl ?"

All gazes shifted to the brought up concern : next to the fire was laying a red-haired woman, wearing the Grayford’s military uniform. On her back a grieve wound was visible.

Another soldier sitting next to the casual-fitted woman took the floor : "She can’t possibly survive this fall, and that wound doesn't make it any easier."

"But she’s still breathing ! There could be a way to save her, somehow…"

"She’s wearing the Grayford’s suit, that spells trouble for me. We should just get ride of -."

As the two of them were in debate, a fierce voice cut the argument of the young man : "Enough Regulus. It could indeed indeed spell trouble for us, but given the situation it may be more grave than expected. That girl has a deep wound on her back, and unless she was attacked by some wild Raourg, I will tend to believe that we’re not alone here."

"With all due respect commandant, it could have been the work of another squad." interjected the young man named Regulus.

"Impossible, we’re the furthest in this area." Replied the braid-haired woman.

"I should agree with Regulus on this one though,"  stepped in another man "she may be a spy. Or at least it could be all orchestrated by Grayford."

"This leads nowhere. The girl is wounded, I’m not letting her there without any treatment. That’s not the morals of the squad I'm leading." After a brief pause, the commandant resumed : "Maya can you tend her wounds ?" 

The braided-haired woman rose her head at the mention of her name before giving a quick reply : "I shall, sir."

The woman nammed Maya wasn't very tall, she could even be defined as the ‘petite’ girl. She had long chestnut-braided hair and wore a thin red scarf around her neck as well as a knapsack around her waist. 

The commandant nodded, a faint smile shaping on his face. He added "Fey, in case something happen, I want you to stay on alert next to Maya’s tent."

The young man quickly rising up was the same who stepped in the conversation to agree with Regulus. He was a blondie with curly hair. He had this carefree aura and wearing that pure smile. He departured to his task replying quickly : "I shall, my commandant."

Keeping up on splitting up the work, the commandant added : "We are leaving tomorrow, before the sun rises. Regulus, Claire, Albert make preparations and pack stuff so we can be on time, better not staying here for too long. We will carry the girl in the carriage."

The three young people replied together : "We shall, my commandant." 

Without any more words, they all scattered around the camp to carry on their tasks. The small fire was quickly extinguished and soon all hints of it were erased to put off an eventual enemy’s tracking. 

In her tent Maya decided to throw the girl’s clothes. They were too much soiled and bloodied to be worn ever again. She then examined the wounds. Just then she heard Fey’s voice through the fabric : "Is that a good moment ?"
Maya waited a bit before replying "Yes, go on."

"What do you think about this situation ?"

"I have to agree that it wasn't really a rational decision, all things considered. Still I don't regret it. This woman badly needs treatment"

"And how is she ?"

"Sadly, not well... God forbid. Regulus was right. The wound is hideous and deep, she lost a lot of blood. That would be a miracle if she manages to stay alive after this."

"How come a soldier from Grayford's can be that badly injured ? It can't be a wild Raourg nor someone from our faction right ? Then... Friendly fire ? What a scums..."

"Let's not jump to conclusions that quickly. Her wounds doesn't appear to be slash... And she wasn't pierced. This is strange, could it be... No. Let's keep it rational. My take on this would be that her assailants were actively trying to kill."

"Well, the commandant was right to hurry us into leaving the camp then. We’re in for a ride." Fey quickly paused "Oh ! Albert lost his rock-paper-scissors for the tenth time in a row ! Guess he’s going to be the first on watch duty - again.»

Maya giggled "Albert’s either an idiot or a genius, I’ll start to believe he’s doing it on purpose."

After this exchange, silence came back to the tent and its surrounding. The chestnut-haired girl decided to clean up the wound and give the girl her spare clothes so she could at least have privacy. 
Some time passed again, Maya slowly exited the tent, with a sorrowful expression and went to speak to Fey. The young boy quickly understand what she meant to say. But before she could speak, both of them heard a weak voice coming from the tent.

"W- Where am… I ?"

Maya and Fey exchanged a wide open look before rushing in the tent. It was indeed a miracle. The doomed girl was now sitting on the improvised operating table, looking at them with a completely lost expression.

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All the squad was now looking at the red-haired girl. Her haircut was a mess and Maya’s spares were barely fitting but she didn’t seem to mind. Looking absolutely everywhere with quick glance, she was totally distraught.

The commandant was the first to speak : "How are you feeling, are you hurt ? In pain ? Don’t worry you’re safe here." 

The girl looked surprised by this choice of words "Pain ? Hurt ? Safe ? I… I don’t know… My head… It's... Hazy…"

"It’s fine, replied the commandant, you’ll have time to sort out everything. Maybe you could give us your name ?"

The girl looked at him, puzzled then muttered "My name…?" Memories then flashed through her eyes, again foggy images quickly filled her brains. "Argh…" she quickly put her hands to support her head while grimacing. Fast enough, the girl remembered her name "I'm… My name... Arbell, Arbell Criff" but strangely, a second one came to mind. She tried to open her lips to pronounce it, but the sounds kept stuck in her throat.

Regulus then turned to Maya and whispered "What about that wound on her back?".
The concerned party replied with a stern look "It… is gone… Like there was nothing in the first place."
"It can’t be !"

Before the discussion went further, the commandant raised his hand and everyone hushed. « Let’s put this matter aside for now. So you're Arbell... I know everything may look strange to you, but know that you're safe here."

Arbell had a hard time figuring out what he said... She noticed the uniform of the soldiers before her. "Military ?" Sweats were slowly running on her forhead.

"Indeed, We're the Second Reckoning Squad from Enberfelt. I'm their commandant, Fredrick Euzel"

Despite the headache, Arbell raised her head to look at the commandant. Fredrick was a tall man with a short beard, he had a funny look for a commandant as he was more giving a « teddybear » or a « doting father » vibe. Actually being the oldest of the group, he was probably in his early thirties. 

"Wait commandant, you're giving her your name ? Isn't that dangerous ? What is she's really a spy ?" muttered Albert.

"That's a good remark, Albert. I trust Maya's judgment and I agree with her. Something went bad up ahead. At least her knowing our names may facilitate the communciation between us." His look became a bit more darker "... And if she reveals herself to be a spy or whatever, then I'll trust in your skills."

And like this aparté never happened he slowly he kept up with the introduction « Here you have Albert, along with Rey, whom you already met a few minutes ago »
Following that introduction, the two men waved at her. The former was certainly the youngest of the squad, he had black spiky hair and had a earring, only on the left ear. Not much could be said about Albert, at least not before his companion took the parole « Albert is probably the clumsiest person I know of. » The reply didn’t take long to arrive : « Give me a break ! »

Arbell was starting to lose track of the discussion, hazy memories still lingered in her head and flashy noise buzzed in her hears. She still tried to keep her composure to have a look at everyone present. 

"As for the last man member, here’s Regulus" He didn’t bother taking a look at the girl, with an aloof attitude he kept on staring at the floor. He had white hair, a bit longer than the other, tied in a sort of short ponytail. 
"And to finish up : our two women : Claire and Maya." Claire had a long wavy black hair and was pretty tall, probably a bit higher than Fey. 

But Arbell was feeling more and more sick. Who were these peoples ? They said I'm safe but is it truly the case ? And why am I in a damn tent !? Where is the medic-   she couldn't finish that thought as the headache became a bit more painful. She tried her best to withstand the pain when a comment from Claire snapped her remaining conscious :
« Your red hair is quite beautiful you know !"

"Red... hair ? But I don't have red hair... Wait..."

She took a strand of hair. There was no mistake. It was... red.

"Nononono... No ! No ! I don't have red hair. What's this... Ah-"
She stopped... Everything came up at once : her job, her colleague, her life… her fall. She couldn’t hold it anymore and suddenly shout out her lungs before bursting in tears. After all, there was no way she was home anymore. Right? Right…?

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Arbell passed out after so much emotional distress. Making sure the red-haired girl’s life wasn’t in danger, Maya stepped out of tent and went to see Fredrick. "Sir, I must talk to you about an important matter"

The commandant lightly nodded.

"It’s about Arbell. Before I called you… Her heart… It, it…" she struggled to breathe, searching for the right words to express her mind. After a few seconds, that looked minutes for her - she managed to get through her mind : "it... stopped. »

Fredrick was now looking at her with a dubious expression.

"I’m certain." tried to finish Maya "At this very moment, she... died."

But Maya surely didn’t notice that during ‘this very moment’ the red glowing sun-shaped tattoo on the woman's hand, nor did she witnessed it being replaced by an orange glowing fairy-shaped tattoo.