The ground beneath me was closing in, suffocating me as if I were immersed in water. Light flashed in my eyes, blinding me.
I could hear piercing screams that curdled my blood. It only took me a moment to realize that they were my own.
The light continued to blind me until I could see nothing. I waited for the impact of the metal ground.
But it never came.
I opened my eyes to see the streets swirling beneath me. I was rising higher and higher into the air. My mind was pounding from adrenalin, and it was several seconds later that I felt the strong arms secured around my waist. I looked behind me and saw—heaven above!—Cyrus grinning like an idiot as he gripped onto a rope ladder that was attached to a metal platform, which was dangling from…
…a helicopter? I gaped at the silent, sleek beast of a machine. As it rose into the air above the capital of Toran, I looked below to see the emperor waving his arms erratically.
Emperor Cedonia. My father.
My father, who was deemed mentally insane three years ago when my mother was executed for teaching me the history of this world.
My father, who I loved. Who I couldn’t help but love because he was my father. He raised me, he fed me, he nurtured me.
He also imprisoned me and everyone in this city. And that was one thing I would not stand for.
But now it was too late. The Book of Knowledge was gone forever.
“I always say that third time’s a charm.”
I glanced back at Cyrus, blinking. “What?”
He grinned at me as wind rushed past us. “This is the third time I’ve saved you from dying. I guess without body guards you’re pretty useless.”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “You’re an idiot.” We hung together on the ladder as the helicopter rose above the city. There were several rugged men and women already sticking their heads out of the helicopter to peer at me.
They were rebels.
I indicated to the people with my free hand while still holding onto the ladder. “This is unexpected.”
He laughed, his white hair blowing haphazardly in the wind. It was only then that I realized how close we were. Cyrus had his hand wrapped around my waist to secure us both to the ladder. “Unexpected? You’re the emperor’s daughter,” he remarked. “What’s more surprising than that?” He peered at me for a moment. “Who would have thought you would be stealing a book from the library to rebel against your own father. I honestly didn’t know you were a princess. But now it makes sense. The snobbish attitude, I mean.”
“Excuse me? I wouldn’t be talking,” I growled. “It would have been ten times better if you hadn’t been so difficult.” I glanced down at the fading speck of my father’s form. “But I guess that’s because you’re a rebel,” I murmured, still staring at what was once mine. I gripped the rope of the ladder hard. “But now The Book of Knowledge is gone. It doesn’t matter anymore. The people will never know the history of this world.”
“Actually…” Cyrus began.
I gave him a sharp look.
“I have the book saved into my memory.”
And when he said that, I slapped him.
Oh yes. And I slapped him hard.
He recovered, but the slap made the ladder jerk violently. “What did you do that for?” he cried as we swung to the side.
“Don’t you dare joke with me like that!”
He had a hurt expression on his face. “I wasn’t joking.”
My heart stopped beating as the ladder swayed in the air. “What?”
“I’m a cyborg, remember? I have a hard drive installed in my brain,” he said. “I’ve been storing those books in it for months now for the rebels to plan the rebellion against humans and robots.”
It felt as if the world fell away from existence. “You have?” was all that could escape my mouth. I thought I would implode from joy.
“Yes, and I—”
And that was when I wrapped one arm around his neck and kissed him.
I pulled away abruptly when I realized what I had done. Cyrus’ look of shock mirrored my own as heat flushed my face. Did I really just do that?
But Cyrus only laughed like the idiot he was. “I thought you hated cyborgs.”
I couldn’t help the heat that came over my face. “I do.”
I did, didn’t I? I rubbed my nose awkwardly. Whatever.
Cyrus became silent as I looked at Toran disappearing in the distance. The helicopter was moving gradually away and into the Outlands—somewhere I had only dreamed of going.
I had The Book of Knowledge and now I could finally free my people from the tyranny of our government. With this knowledge, I was going to overthrow my father.
And I was going to start a revolution.
————————
A/N: And that is the last chapter (but take a peek at the next chapter for a surprise!). Thank you guys so much for supporting me in writing this. It was a blast, and I can honestly say that it was completely random and I never would have written it had it not been for my little sister participating in the "Rory's Story Cubes" game with me. So that's who this dedication goes out to!
Also, I've loved reading all your thoughts and opinions on this story, everyone! I hope Lira, Cyrus (...Lyrus? :3), and this story were able to make a good impression on you. I'll leave you with a quote I found quite aptly to describe Lira's whole way of thinking:
"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."- Marcus Garvey
YOU ARE READING
The Girl Who Started the Revolution
Science Fiction❝One girl, one book, and an entire nation that wants to keep her from it.❞
