Through the curling flames rising from the ship, he caught sight of a familiar dark head of hair and a broad, confident, grin. A grin Vincent hadn't seen since he was about ten years old.
"Adla? Is that you?" he looked at her wide-eyed, completely ignoring the havoc around him for just a moment. Standing in front of him was his childhood friend, and a member of the rebel forces. Then again, he knew that he would see her eventually as a member of the Elmirian army. For every Chiliki that escaped claimed servitude, there was no other choice for them but death or insurrection afterwards.
"You've grown, Vinny!" She ran towards him, clapping his shoulder with her furry paw. Then her eyes darted back and forth and he felt a firm thump on the back of his head. "I'm sorry our reunion had to be like this..."
He looked up at her, but she looked away, saddened. Then all went black.
It was almost midnight in Elmyr, the capital of Elmiria, and Vincent couldn't sleep. This usually happened when his father was away on diplomatic missions, as they usually sent his father to the areas where other diplomats were afraid to go, and this time it was Pyrra. Hopefully he wasn't being sent to spy as well this time, because everyone knew that spies that were caught never came back from Pyrra. He was staying up in case the nightmares decided to start while he was asleep. The only thing Vincent could do was see if Adla was awake to talk to.
The Chiliki girl was three years older than him, but his father had brought her into their house to be a companion for Vincent while he was gone on his missions after his nanny mentioned how much of a handful he was to care for alone. Vincent was two when Adla came into his life, so he had known her since forever. His nanny was happy with the extra pair of hands, even if they were those of a five-year-old's, and Vincent was happy to finally have a playmate.
As the years went by, the two grew closer and closer, especially when the nightmares started coming. He would wake her up, and she would stay up with him for hours on end, just talking until he got tired again. He had never thought much of how this may have tired her the next day. But if it did, she did an excellent job hiding it.
Tonight, though, she was already up when he walked in. And starting to climb out the window.
"Adla? What are you doing?" Vincent looked in surprise at his oldest friend, and she whipped around with her own look of shock and surprise at the sudden interruption.
"Please, Vincent. Don't take this the wrong way. I am your friend and will always be your friend. This is just something I have to do." She pleaded, walking towards him.
"You're going to try and escape, aren't you? I should call an alarm righ-" a hand clapped over his mouth.
"You do that, and I may never see you again." she growled in his ear. He could hear the hint of panic in her voice. He usually didn't hear that kind of panic unless what she was saying was extremely serious. "Now I'm going to take my hand off so that I can speak my piece. Will you promise not to raise an alarm?" Vincent nodded, and the hand was gone.
"I'm still your friend. I'd just rather be your friend on equal terms." She sighed. "And hopefully I can help that day come sooner rather than later."
"You're heading off to join the resistance!" Vincent's eyes widened. "But why? I thought you liked living with me and dad!"
"I do." She gave a sad smile. "And I am fortunate to find myself among such kind lords as you and your father. But other girls my age are nowhere near as lucky. And I want to free them."
"Adla!" A voice whispered from the ground below the open window. "I hear guards coming, so you gotta hurry up and get down here!"
Adla went back to the window. "Vincent, promise me you won't tell your father you saw me. Just say you were asleep." Vincent nodded in return, and she smiled. The torchlight outside reflected off of the tears on her face. "I'll always be your friend, no matter what." She climbed out the window and he never saw Adla again.
Until now.
Vincent woke to Adla sitting in front of him on a barrel. He tried to rise from what he was sitting on, but he would not. Looking down, he saw he was tied to the chair by his wrists and ankles. She was staring at him. "You never told anyone."
He shook his head. "You're my friend, and I never break a promise to a friend. I just told my father that I was asleep when you left and had no idea what happened."
She smiled and nodded. "I managed to persuade the captain to spare you with that story. I'm not sure how much I can get away with on that, but at least you're alive."
"I'm alive?" Vincent's eyes widened. "So you mean..."
"Nobody can see us and live. Especially not Elmirian forces." she frowned. "But you're alive because I vouched for you, and you have a further purpose."
"A further purpose?"
"A ransom."
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