The Art of Guessing

Chapter One

The yelling outside my window is what wakes me. I'm not scared of it, in fact, it's like an alarm. It's the soldiers making their morning rounds. Their boots like heavy reminders of the war we were crushed between. Halcan, of course, had no part in this war, our small, sea-locked country was a peace-loving one. But being sandwiched between two sparring countries had its downsides. The people felt unsafe and threatened, so to ease the anxiety of many, the council opted for a small army. That was twenty five years ago. Today, my father is the General of this small army of two-thousand men and women, only a hundred or so were on-base, though.  I slip out of my bed and lean over the windowsill, the view is still breathtaking to me. We're high up in the mountains, so the air is cool even in the late August sun. mountains surround our fortress on all sides, the tallest peaks are still patched with snow from last year, maybe the year before that. Winter would be here soon, and something told me that this one would be longer and colder than the last.
"Cassidy!"
I look down, it's one of the soldiers... Jack or something along those lines, Jacob maybe?
"General's lookin' for ya, says he's got a job for ya to do!" Jake- that was his name- called up.
I nod down at him. "Thanks! I'll uh- I'll get right on that," I'm used to them referring to my dad as General,  but it's always been an issue putting the name to his face. I saw him as Dad, the guy who listened to classic rock and made flower crowns when I was feeling sad.
I retreat back inside my room before anymore soldiers can try to talk to me. It's not that I didn't want to talk to them, I actually enjoyed it, but if Dad has something for me to do, it's probably best if I take care of it as fast as I could. I went down the worn-down stone steps of the north tower. It was as far from the men's barracks as possible, and I was on the top floor. My brother Alex calls me the princess with a dragon of a father. He may be a tad overprotective. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I jump as a man rounds the corner. Losing my footing on the last step, I'm ready to accept my fate and fall on my butt, closing my eyes. To my surprise, the only thing I feel is a steady hand on my back. I open my eyes to meet deep chocolate colored ones. Eyes aren't normally the first thing I notice about a person, but at this proximity it was pretty easy to look at them.
"You good?" His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
I find my feet and stand wordlessly. I nod. I've never seen him around before, he's tall, but then again, everyone's taller than my tiny five-foot-four frame. The dark circles under his eyes contrast his pale skin, telling me that he doesn't sleep much. He looks me over for a moment before meeting my gaze again.
"Uh... thanks for catching me... but why're you up here?" I asked him.
The man shrugged. "I'm looking for someone, maybe you've seen him?" He squints at me a little bit. I realize that he's studying me, looking for something.
"It depends, who are you looking for?" I notice he isn't wearing a uniform. No wonder I didn't recognize him; He wasn't in the army. "Who are you?" I add, my hand moving instinctively to the pocket of my jeans where the stun crystal my dad gave me when I was six sat idly by, waiting to be used.
The man smiles, letting out a hard breath that sounds like laughter. His grin is crooked, but it's charming on him. "No need for the magic crystal, I'm not going to hurt you," He's completely relaxed, at ease. It's a strange sight to see where everyone around me has always been alert and tense. "My name is Kronos, and I'm looking for my friend, Daniel," He explained, leaning against the wall.
"We don't have a Daniel here that I recall, Kronos," The name sounds fake to me. Who names their kid Kronos? I almost feel bad for the guy.
Almost.
"And just how trusty is your memory... sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Kronos says, challenging me. He's crossed his arms now, his eyes narrow at me, though he's still got the charming smile on.
"Reliable enough, thanks. And it's Cassidy. What does your friend look like?" I ask, just in case I did forget about this Daniel character.
"About yay-high-" He holds his hand about two inches below the top of his head. "Well built, looks like he's from the south side of the island, I don't know if his hair is the same though...." Kronos looks down to the side, pondering. "Any of this ringing a bell?"
My hand still rested on the stun crystal. "You just described like ten of the guys on base right now," I say flatly. "Is there nothing definable about the guy?"
Kronos shrugged. "Haven't seen him in a long while, he could've changed. But it's doubtful, I suppose. He's got white hair?"
I narrow my eyes at him and tighten my grip on the crystal. I hear someone yelling orders outside. "There's no one on this base with white hair, how old is this Daniel?"
Kronos looks up at the wooden ceiling. "Last time I saw him he was.... sixteen? But that was nineteen years ago... so twenty or so maybe? Based on how long he's usually out..." Kronos trailed off, lost in thought.
All I could think was that this guy was crazy. In the same breath, magic made all sorts of crazy things happen. Although I'd never heard of a slowed aging process. Every muscle I have is on edge.
"It's hard to explain, and I know that you're probably confused, I'm-" He falls to the ground in a daze, my stun crystal pressed against his chest.
I don't trust him.
Not yet at least.
The stun crystal affects only last for five minutes, so I pull him down the hallway as fast as I can, even though he's a good half a foot taller than me. Why do people even get that tall. It's ridiculous. A soldier passes by and gives me an alarmed look.
"An intruder? How'd he get in?!" His voice isn't loud, it's panicked, but he's not shouting.
My sarcasm takes over my sensibility. "Intru-da window,"
The guard steps forward. "Do you need some help?" The joke had gone over his head.
Idiot.
I shake my head and tell him that I don't and he annoys me for a few more seconds before continuing to my father's office alone, I drag Kronos -who's actually surprisingly lightweight - through the hallways until he starts to giggle. My five minutes were up.
"You're clever," He looks up at me. "That was funny,"
"What?" I narrow my eyes at him.
"Intru-da window! I've been alive... since 1697, and I've never heard that before!" He laughed.
1697? "But that would make you..." I trail off, trying to do the math in my head. I fail and hold up my fingers, trying to count.
"Three hundred and twenty? Yeah, I know," Kronos stands up.
Why did I let him go?
To count my goddamn fingers.
Good job, me.
"I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" Kronos held up his hands, he was defensive now. He knew I wasn't all bark and no bite.
"If... if you're three hundred and twenty ...How come you look like you're only twenty?" I hold the crystal out even though it was low on charge.
"Because I'm immortal,"
"That's Impossible! The only way anything can be immortal is if it's a vampire or a-" I watch as Kronos runs towards the window. "Where do you think you're going?!" I chase after him. "You can't just waltz in here like-"
He leapt out the window. Five stories up. I collide with the wall and lean out. A shot of black soars past me I watch in awe as the oily black raven flies by me. "...The only way anything else can be immortal is if it's a familiar."
The bird lands and in a slightly disturbing transformation, becomes a man again. Same pale skin, goatee, and gelled back hair. "I literally got in through the window," He grins.
"You're looking for your mage," I state as if it were matter-of-fact.
"So you know him?" His eyes light up with hope.
I find no comfort in crushing it. "No... sorry,"
"Cassandra!" My father's voice carries down the hall.
"That's my dad- I should go... and you should too,the last time we had a familiar in here... it didn't end well," I push him towards the window. "I'll ask around about Daniel, okay? Just get out of here!" I whisper-shout.
Kronos listens to me for the first time and takes off. As soon as I turn around my dad comes striding from his office. "Oh, there you are, sweetheart, I was looking for you," He takes off his glasses and cleans them off before putting them back on. I think he needs a new pair. I was born later in my parents lives, so my father is older than average. Despite being fifty-eight, he stood tall and his crew cut hair was starting to look more gray than the mousy brown he'd passed on to me and my brother, Alex. The corners of his eyes crinkled heavily when he smiled these days, and laugh lines have become more prominent on his rounded cheeks.
"What do you need?" I asked him.
"Walk with me," He holds out his arm as if he were to escort me. A running inside joke. When I was little, I was convinced I was a princess, and he was my advisor. He'd inform me of all the kingdom issues and I'd tell him how to fix it. Nowadays, he was asking me for my opinions for the same reasons.
"We have an overcrowding issue, and I want to know what you suggest we could do about it," He said quietly. "The soldiers are complaining there's not enough space,"
I thought for a moment. A place to put things when it got too crowded. I had the upstairs, but I knew there was something above me. "The attic? It's large, and mostly empty other than mom's things and old files," I suggest.
"Where do you suggest we put your mother's things?" He asked, his voice weary at the mention of her.
My mom died when I was three, I don't remember her much. Dad and Alex don't talk about her much, either. I only know she died from a rare heart disease, and that her eyes were the same hazel-green as mine. As were the freckles that flecked the same pixie nose and narrow shoulders.
"I have room in my closet for them, and the files can go into the new storage shed," I suggest.
Dad nods, like he's impressed with my thought process. "I'll leave that to you then, a personal project, if you will. Clean out the attic, you're the only person I trust with your mother's things, besides myself,"
My initial reaction is disdain, the attic is dusty and full of spiderwebs. Probably spiders too. I shudder. I hate spiders. I know my dad needs me to do this because he can't, and maybe if Kronos shows up I can get him to help me. So I press my shoulders back and stand tall.  I'm about to step away from him when my stomach growls.
"Can we go to the mess hall first? I haven't eaten yet," I ask.
Dad laughs. "I need another cup of coffee, so I don't see why I can't sit down with you for breakfast,"
We make our way down to the mess hall, it's abuzz with the sound of soldiers getting back from their early morning rounds. I glance around and find a nearly empty table, two younger-looking men were making faces at each other, and an older woman was egging them on.  I point out the table and dad nods, we make our way over to it and sit down on the wooden bench. The trio becomes quiet as we do.  I've noticed it for years, and my father is aware of the unnerving quiet as well.
"Please, don't stop having fun because I'm around,"  He says, handing me his empty coffee mug. "Can you fill this up for me?"
"Yeah, two sugars, right?" I ask, making sure.
"You got it," My father nods, a warm smile making his crow's feet deepen.
I weave through the tables with practiced agility. I get into the crowded kitchen and manage to grab a bagel from the baked goods shelf before the other soldiers notice that it's been restocked. Which only takes a few seconds, they're on it like sirens on seamen. Except for the fact that they aren't singing to the baked goods. The coffee machine has a line. Which isn't a surprise, coffee has become wildly popular since Halcan has started trade with the country to the south of us two years ago. I wait patiently and begin to tap my foot out of boredom. I stare at the stone ceiling, finding patterns i've seen all my life.  I step forward into the back of a tall man. I back up and look up at his black hair that's swept back. He turns and he gives me a charming grin that sits crooked on his face.
"My my, It seems we keep running into each other," Kronos puts his hands on his hips.
I struggle to find words in my initial shock. "What." Is all I manage to cough out.
"Look, I know he's here. I do! Don't look at me like that," He gestures at my face.
I had taken to looking at him skeptically. He kept waltzing in here as if it were nothing! Which hurt my pride and scared me at the same time.  If he was friendly, how easily might an enemy get in? Given proper time and thought? The idea sent shivers down my spine.  I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. "You really need my help?"
"Yes." He says earnestly.
"Why? What use could I possibly be to you? I'm a totally average human, no magical abilities," I asked him.
He raises an eyebrow, and suddenly he was looking at me skeptically. "You're sure about that,"
I pull my head back a little in defense. "Of course I'm sure about that! D'you think I have some latent ability?"
"No..." Kronos shakes his head.
I begin to speak. "So why-"
"You look like someone who helps others," He tried. "And I could really use your help finding my friend,"
It's my turn to get coffee, I step past Kronos and begin to brew the bitter drink. "You know he's in the building?"
"Somewhere up high, yes," Kronos nods. "So you'll help?"
I begin to think. The two highest places here were my room and the attic.
"How old did you say this guy was again?" I ask.
"Maybe twenty? You're going to help me look?" Kronos repeats.
I drop two sugar cubes into the hot coffee and look at him. "I've been craving some adventure lately, follow my lead,"