ONIUM | Open Novella Contest 2020

Chapter 1: Dress for the Job

A warm, breathy puff turned to mist as it tickled her cheek. Vivian groaned as she snuggled deeper into her bedroll. Chilly mornings almost made her wish she was back in the palace, tucked into her thick comforter with a roaring fire in the hearth.

Almost wished. Warmth was a comfort she was willing to forgo if she never had to set foot in that place again.

Hot breath fanned her face a second time, causing Vivan to shove the culprit away. "Enough Lunam, I'm awake." Her black stallion chuffed before shuffling to a patch of dewy grass. He knew they were traveling to a town and wanted oats as much as Vivian wanted a real meal.

The girl sat up with a groan, grumbling at her poor sleeping habits. She cursed at the mid morning light, realizing that her nightmare riddled sleep cost her precious time.

Vivian sighed. Slumber had never been easy, making mornings even worse. Last night's fire was nothing but ash. It looked like breakfast would be a cold one.

Lunam munched happily on his meal, apathetic to his owner's frustrated mumbling as she packed up camp. As her only traveling companion, he was used to her half-awake antics. The girl finally settled on a fallen log, eating a meager breakfast of stale biscuit.

While she munched on the tasteless meal, Vivian pulled out a map and surveyed her handiwork. The parchment was littered with various sized circles over towns and well-known landmarks.

Random X's were sparsely scrawled through the circles. They may have been few for two years of work, but the young woman was proud of every cross. Her eyes traced the invisible line between her last mark and her current position.

She and Lunam had been traveling for nearly a week, keeping along the hunting trails and avoiding people at all cost. After the trouble she caused in Tollis, Vivian wasn't going to take any chances.

The girl sighed. Now that she was close to the next town, she could no longer afford to be the carefree adventuress in the woods who slept on the ground. It was time to get tough again.

Making sure the traces of the night's fire were covered, she led Lunam to a nearby stream. While the horse took a hearty drink, the girl proceeded to dunk her face into the water.

Her grogginess drifted downstream as Vivian leaned back on her knees. The person looking back at her was unrecognizable from the frightened young woman who ran away from home years ago.

Crown Princess Vivian Gale of Pandem no longer existed. The person staring back at her was none other than the treasonous rogue Onium, the man responsible for undermining more than one of the Crown's schemes.

Thick, long eyelashes and light brown irises were the only similarity that might give away Vivian's true identity. She had changed everything else as often as possible to avoid recognition: cutting her hair, wearing men's clothing, procuring weapons.

Anything she could do to distance herself from her former life. Being caught as a vigilante was a death sentence but Vivian preferred it to the alternative. Her secret was the reason she traveled alone and avoided interactions as much as possible. Allowing a traveling companion to get too close would be disastrous.

The girl pulled up a dark, hooded cowl to hide her thick black hair and the lower part of her face. A scar ran underneath her right eye, giving her fair appearance a much needed dangerous quality.

A thick black cloak added a little extra padding to her shoulders. The dark leather jerkin she stole from a knight's squire hid her tightly bound chest well enough. Underneath was a black tunic she won from a stable hand playing cards. Black trousers were tucked into smart black boots she took from a cabin boy after drinking him under the table.