Hi, my name is Michael and I just turned 20. I haven't been able to go to college yet do to external reasons, but I am very interested in going next fall, and this is one of my picks. My main concern is being too old. (this may be very overdramatic but its a genuine concern for me). I'm mildly introverted too so it worries me even more haha, sorry if this question is strange.
The packages for the Eastern District went on the left. The ones for the Conclave quarter went in the center satchel, sealed separately, because the clerks check seals and she had learned early that the appearance of additional security made them less likely to open things. Sable walked towards the counter, arranging more documents, and placing them neatly inside.
The smell of the envelopes rang a familiar scent. Not one she found pleasure in though. She worked as a document courier for a private company known as Grayvane, one of a dozen that operate the delivery network that Valdenmere runs on. While working, she had learned many things. Knowing which routes were approachable on which days, which Conclave buildings have new staff looking to earn a name for themselves, and the art of being inconspicuous.
The city of Valdenmere woke in layers. Carts, couriers, and Dyad teams working on night hauls all rose at dawn. The Conclave quarters opening at the second bell, with the market squares not opening until the third. In her six years working as a courier for Grayvane, Sable had learned to time her routes around these.
Once she finished organizing and placing the last of the documents in her bag, only one remained. No address, only a recipient and instructions to wait. She placed it inside her coat.
Moving from her small bedroom, having only a narrow bed, into the living area of her apartment, she knelt onto the floor. Reaching a finger under a board in the floor, she pried it open and pulled out a small lock box. Inside she kept four months of savings, a forged transit pass that she had never needed, and one other thing she never really looked at. She retrieved a small amount of the money, and returned the box to its place, placing the board back on top of it.
Sable ate her breakfast standing up. She always ate standing up. It was faster, and it kept the table cleared. She determined, years ago that the table must be clear. Through the small, narrow window next to her table, she peered upon the city doing what it always did: moving.
A registered pair was crossing the courtyard below. She could tell by the gold pin on their collars, and the way they moved, an involuntary gravity that was developed through a long bond, ones body knowing where the others was without looking. She looked away.
As Sable shuffled away from the window, she heard a knock. She glanced toward the door, though she knew who would be there. There's only one person that ever came to her house.
Before Sable could even venture towards the door to open it, Feather made herself at home, taking her shoes off because she knew Sable wouldn't let her hear the end of getting her floors messy, she said, "I brought you breakfast, because I am oh so kind and just happened to walk right into the bakery."
Sable let out a sigh. "I just ate. Also, this is the third day this week you've just happened to walk into that exact bakery. Crazy coincidence, huh?"
Feather smiled in a way that showed she wasn't going to argue the point and walked to the table, setting down two parcels. "Take it, you need it. Those daily routes are gonna get to you eventually."
"It's been six years and nothings changed." She said, glaring at the table that is no longer clear. Sable grabbed the parcel and began eating the bread.
"Crazy stuff last night Sable, you missed it." Feather said while taking a bite of bread and swaying her feet back and forth. "A sweep by the Conclave at the Dockwards. Three unregistered pairs, two had children. The children are with 'related family', stated by a commander."
Sable nodded while chewing another piece of the bread. Feather always knew stuff like this. She worked as a Thread for the Freeborn Compact, getting information out of Valdenmere and into the Cells.
"Going to the Conclave Quarter today?" Feather asked.
"Just for a minute, I've got a document to deliver." Sable responded, a curious tone in her voice.
"Watch the Eastern Gate. New officer, one of the marked ones. You'll know him by the arm."
"Marked ones?" Sable asked.
"The Conclave's been implanting detection capability into some officers. Permanent. More sensitive than the old instruments. It reads in colors, and most people won't ever see it light up. They call it a loyalty mark." Feather paused. "I don't know what it cost them to get it. Nobody outside does."
"And since when did you keep track of the staffing rotation of the Conclave?" Sable questioned.
"Since always." Feather said pleasantly with a smile. "Eat your bread."
Sable took another bite before walking over to her satchel and inspecting the area surrounding it, making sure she's missing nothing. She was very thoughtful in her work, and it had earned her a spot as one of the senior couriers at Greyvane. She patted the inside of her coat, ensuring the document she had placed there hadn't fallen out, and returned to the table, standing next to it.
"You were right when you said it's been six years and nothing has changed. Six years of knowing you, and I've still never seen you sit and eat at the table." Feather said with a chuckle.
"And it's been 4 years since I gave you a key to my home, yet I still question that decision monthly." Sable gave a warm smile.
Feather began cleaning up after herself and stood up, making her way to the door. "Thanks for having me over! There's some important stuff I must attend to, but I will see you sooner or later.". She gave a polite wave and left.
Sable finished up her piece of bread, which now tasted much more stale.
Sable grabbed her satchel and left. It was relatively light for a normal day, but she paid no mind to it. She walked patiently down the steps and went right on the road, going towards the Eastern District. She passed by the Eastern Gate, only needing to go through it when returning to the Residential District.
The Administrative Quarter, located in the Eastern District, was its own city inside of Valdenmere. Tall stone walls, and wide stone paths decorated the roads. It was silent, but a different kind. It was filled with registered pairs that moved slowly, though they knew the destination in mind. Sable had learned years ago to look through them, not at them.
Except for the pair by the eastern wall. They were impossible to look through.
They walked almost argumentatively. The lady on the left, younger, was speaking to the man to her right, yet the man refused to look towards her. Their gold pins mirroring where the other was standing, and the gravity of a long bonded pair, but it seemed as if they didn't want to be together at all. The space between their hands, which should have been nothing, was speaking louder by the step.
Sable looked away after a moment. She knew it was none of her business, but it was also the strongest reminder of the argument she'd held for the past eleven years.
Walking past, she entered into the Iron Pact consulate. Sable had heard rumors that this building kept files on half of the citizens of Valdenmere. She believed it.
She approached the older lady working the front desk. The woman looked as if she had a particular efficiency to her, as if she had studied and sorted through thousands of documents, but had yet to find interest in any of them. The tall walls made of stone, inside, yet they seemed polished more than others. Smooth in a way that is indescribable. Sable placed the package on the desk next to the lady, and she received it with a groan.
Sable exited the building, checking her coat pocket again. It isn't the first time she'd received a package like this, but it wasn't common.
She heard the familiar pounding of hooves on stone roads coming toward her. Taking a precautionary step back, Sable looked up to find a carriage stopping in front of her. A Pair Commander for the Iron Pact got out of the carriage and scuffled his way inside, paying no attention to Sable. Exactly how it should be.
Crossing the river that separated the Administrative Quarter and the Dockwards, she made her way onto the much less kept streets. The Dockwards were an area for the much less fortunate, most earning their living from fishing in the rivers that passed through, but did not make enough to live sustainably.
Walking through the narrow stone roads riddled with potholes, she noticed a man lying on the ground next to what appeared to be an abandoned building. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a few irons and placed them in his hand. As he looked up to understand what happened, Sable continued to walk away.
Continuing down the path, she came upon a large building that she delivered to on a regular basis, but didn't know what it specifically does. She'd never asked, simply because it wasn't her place to. She walked inside and noticed no one was at the front desk today, but there was a pile of documents sitting there. The building had always smelled like rot, but today it was more noticeable. Could it have been related to the sweep by the Conclave? She ignored it and placed her documents in the pile before returning outside.
Sable had one package left. She began her trek back towards the Administrative Quarter and looked at the light. Much later than expected.
Passing by the unhoused man again, he tried to speak to Sable but she simply waved and continued on her way. No time.
She had one delivery left, the one with no address. She found the building by the name alone, a narrow door set between two larger ones in the administrative quarter that she had delivered to twice before without ever learning what happened inside. She knocked. A hand appeared, took the document without a word, and the door closed. No signature. She noted it in her book anyway and turned back toward the Eastern Gate.
Sable makes her way towards the Residential Quarter. The tall buildings still standing around her, covering the remaining sunlight. Registered pairs aren't as abundant as usual. She makes a note of it, and continues onward, the Eastern Gate in the distance.
Then she hears a bloodcurdling scream.
It came from directly in front of Sable. She began rushing over, for a reason she did not understand. When the Eastern Gate finally came into closer view, she understood why the pairs were nowhere to be found. Four registered pairs surrounded a woman and two children, taking her into custody. The man at the gate had a red glow emitting from his arm.
Sable tried to look away and continue walking forward into the line. The pairs escorted the family out of the way, and everything returned to the way it was meant to be. Calm.
One by one the line grew shorter, and as Sable neared it she had better vision on the new scanner. A piece of black metal implanted in his forearm, with light emitting from it. It showed an amber light.
The man working the station waved Sable forward. She walked toward the man and he reached his arm out, pointing towards her. At first, the device showed no color. Slowly, a blue-white color faded in. The officer stared at it for much longer than every other reading before. He looked up towards Sable, holding her gaze with an unsettling stillness. He looked back towards the loyalty mark, and moved to the side.
"You may go." he said with an unsettling, monotone voice. Sable passed by him slowly.
She looked around, a blank expression on her face.
She plodded towards an alleyway. What had just happened? She looked towards her hands. They weren't shaking. Should she have been detained? Why had she been able to leave? What did that color mean? All questions that remained unanswered.
Sable retreated towards her house, walking down the narrow passageways between apartments. She looked around, wary of being followed. There was no one. There never was.
Approaching her steps, she took them slowly, thoughts racing through her mind. She entered, taking her shoes off, and approached her table. She sat down at the table for the first time in six years. Then it hit her. They had something else in mind.