The Destined Protector (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 1)

Fourteen · · · Mell

Harbor of Thonits, Pent, Pezda

MELL WIPED THE EXTRA TEARS FROM HER EYES. The ones on her cheeks soaked into the dirty cloth that covered her face. Mell breathed heavily taking in the stench of the cloth. She shuffled through the thick crowd, making her way to Day, her best friend and favorite servant.

Day Chast was pretty. At least that's what Mell thought. Many times, Mell told Day that she was even prettier than she was, and that's saying a lot not that Mell wanted to be arrogant for anything. Day had a good build from working in Mell's treetop castle and she had amazing hair that Mell envied. Her hair was a rich dark brown, long, and compacted into small tight curls. Day's eyes were a beautiful dark brown and Mell always thought they looked kind of like her own.

Mell scanned the crowd searching for dark brown amongst the gray, blue skin that she despised so. Before they entered a small building made of constant metal covered in aca bark and dried palm leaves, two Pent guards stationed themselves outside the open entrance as the five other guards pushed their prisoners inside. Mell was sure she heard a grunt from Day and winced at the sound.

The Pent soldiers were dressed very differently than Fanny's own soldiers. The breastplates were made of large fish scales of a type of species that Mell didn't know about. It made their armor see through so Mell was able to see their white shirts underneath. Some of their shirts were stained red from cuts they got in battle and others were as clean and light as day. A few of the soldiers looked older with wrinkles on their foreheads and sunken eyes. Others were on the young side, at about twenty births or a little older. One, Mell noticed, looked about her and Ryn's age, young.

This young boy, who was one of the guards that stood outside the small building, had blue, gray skin. Yellow blotches covered his face on his arms from what Mell could see. Under his transparent helmet, Mell could see his dirty blonde hair, though it was more brown than blonde. It was unusual for a Pent, but not unnatural. His eyes were dark blue, like the farthest depths of the ocean. From the way he bounced up and down, Mell could he was nervous. That he was new. A new soldier in the Pent army. Part of Mell wondered if this soldier knew Ryn. She didn't doubt it.

What looked like a sharp sword hung at the young soldier's side. His left hand rested on the hilt as if he was ready for an attack at any moment. Mell doubted that these soldiers got much action around the Harbor of Thonits.

When Mell went through the alleyway on the right side of the building, she spotted two more guards standing at the side entrance. Under the cloth, she snarled. Mell needed to get in, Somehow, she needed to get in. Day needed her.

Mell circled the building only to find herself back at the front of the building again and a crowd full of people. People from all different planets bumped into her as she tried to go against the flow of traffic. Most of them were Pents. Dressed head to toe in silk fabrics that showed their stomachs and went up to their thighs. Mell envied their clothes. She wanted to wear something other than the dirty cloth on her face and the smelly rags she called clothes. Mell wanted the silk that Day sewed for her and the beautiful designs she created. It almost made her tear up thinking about it.

In the distance, Mell heard thunder. It was going to rain. She could already feel the sun leaving her skin and sinking behind the clouds. Mist started to form down the dusty street and she could see it hanging in the leaves of the aca forest. A bolt of lightning flashed overhead making Mell duck and run for cover under the small building.

As it started to downpour and another bolt of lightning flashed, Mell backed up and fell into someone tripping over their feet. A yelp sounded from Mell's mouth as the strong figure who caught her chuckled. She gasped when she noticed who it was. It was the young Pent soldier. His eyes were, even more, striking close up.