Rising from Dust

Although she’d showered, Zarafa imagined blood remained on her hands, the deep red staining the crevices. Her heart weighed heavy in her chest, though her tears hadn’t returned since leaving the battlefield. Like it or not, however she may explain the circumstances, there was a death at her hands. It marked her as less-than-controlled, no matter her intentions. She would have to stand out in the crowd tonight. She would have to be at least as put-together as Dexter and Astrid herself, all but ignoring the ribbing the other contestants were sure to give her, hoping to get her to lash out and get more marks against her. She refused to even consider dipping to that level. She was so close to the new life she’d been tirelessly working for. No jealous contestants would be able to keep her from it. Not now. Not ever.

“Are you ready?” Dexter’s voice sounded behind her, softer than usual. He was proud of her battle prowess on the field that morning, but he was nervous about the next part... they both were.

“Yes,” she replied, keeping her voice firm and confident. She lingered in front of the mirror, taking in the image to hold in her mind when confronted with... trying people and circumstances. She took in her tall, straight posture, her steely green eyes, and her fiery red hair twisted up by the expert hands of the two girls Dexter had enlisted to help pull her together for tonight’s test. Running her fingers down the front of the silky blue gown she had selected, she frowned at it, unsure. “What do you think of the dress?” she hesitantly asked, the nerves she had been ignoring rising up like bile in her throat.

His eyes gained a slight twinkle as he gazed at her before coming forward and cupping her face in his hand. “Zarafa, dear, you are stunning. Now, remember not to let your guard slip tonight, regardless of what anyone says. Tonight’s test is far more important than your battle this morning. Should you fail tonight and still make it into the ranks of the Higher Power... you’ll likely be nothing more than a soldier for the Dragon Hunters.”

“The Dragon Hunters?” she repeated in confusion. “That bunch of goons on Zilferia?”

Dexter’s lips twitch in humor at the question. “Yes. Dravyn has decided to enlist their help. They’ve become a part of the Higher Power, though a near-useless part, I’ll admit,” he chuckled. She quirked an eyebrow at him. He was in rare form today. He usually kept to himself, and seemed more robotic than human. She’d almost begun to think he had no emotions or sense of humor.

“I see. Though it won’t matter- I aim for much higher than the Dragon Hunters of Zilferia.”

“Of course,” he replied, a smile in his eyes, though his face reverted back to its stoic, passive nature. “Now then... it’s time.” He backed up a step to let her out of the bathroom. She slipped past him, but hesitated at the door to the hallway and looked back at him, hoping for one last nugget of inspiration or guidance. Instead, he nodded for her to proceed. “I’ll see you in a few hours, my dear.”

Giving him a steady nod in return, Zarafa turned back to the door, letting out a deep breath before striding through, closing it behind her. Straightening even further, Zarafa closed her eyes for a moment before continuing down the hall. I may not have been born a noble, but that means nothing for this test. Whether I pass or fail... is entirely up to me.

“Zarafa,” Astrid recognized when she entered the room. Zarafa nodded in response, not surprised that she had learned her name. After her performance that morning, she had managed to stand out on both ends of the spectrum. She was a spectacular fighter, but... supposedly, undisciplined. Thanks to the man who had crumpled at exactly the wrong time.

“Yes.” Zarafa remained standing, though she walked a little closer to Astrid, who relaxed in a chair at the head of the table.

“Please, come sit beside me while we wait for the others to arrive,” Astrid offered, waving a hand toward the nearest seat to her right. Zarafa hesitantly slid into the seat, keeping her back stiff and her hands folded in her lap. “Come now,” Astrid snorted when she noticed this, waving a hand at her. “No need for all that just yet. This is just a bit of informality before you’re all under scrutiny.”

Zarafa dipped her head in acknowledgment and relaxed, but only a little. Even if this was ‘off the books,’ she needed to be careful. Even the informal interactions during this time could add to or detract from her overall image before Astrid. Finally, she spoke. “Where is everyone?”

“I asked for you to come a little early so we could speak one-on-one before the room gets stuffy with everyone’s desperation,” Astrid replied coolly, resting her hands on the table between them. “I have a few questions for you.”

“Of course,” Zarafa quickly replied, though in the back of her mind she was panicking. She’s going to ask what happened to make me slip up so badly that I killed that man.

“How long have you been training for this?”

The question caught Zarafa off-guard. “Oh. Um... just a year, ma’am.”

“One year... you know, most competitors train for at least half a decade before applying for such a prominent position among the Higher Power.”

“I know, ma’am. I didn’t feel it necessary to wait that long, and neither did Dexter.”

“Of course,” Astrid replied, her eyes burrowing into Zarafa curiously. “I simply find it intriguing that you so outmatched every other competitor, even those who trained for a decade, and had applied before. An especially remarkable feat for someone still in their twenties. You are the reason the fight was over so much faster than any previous test. You were, in fact, the only one of the group who hadn’t done this before.”

Zarafa felt a cold sweat break out at the back of her neck at this. “I... I was?”

“Of course. Well, the only real competitor who hasn’t, at least. Those who were just as new as you stood out on that field, trembling like leaves in the wind, but you... you didn’t bat an eye, but moved to crush them all beneath your boot. You almost made it look easy.”

“Well... I do have a bit of an advantage, ma’am,” Zarafa admitted, barely keeping from squirming in her seat.

“Oh, I know about your transition,” Astrid scoffed, waving away her confession. “Three other men in the arena were vampires as well. Not to mention five with the Gift of Fighting, and two with the Gift of Mind Reading. My dear Zarafa, you were not at an advantage with your new vampirism. Rather, you were up against higher odds than you clearly realized.”

“Oh...” Zarafa gulped, realizing that the fight could have easily gone another way. She was only sitting beside Astrid now, as the victor, thanks to the universe smiling down on her. Evidently, she should have been outmatched at every turn.

“Now, as impressed as I am at your fighting prowess, you and I both know that a mistake was made out there. A mistake that very well could end up costing you the position among the Higher Power.” Astrid’s gaze hardened as she drew the conversation in the one direction Zarafa had most been dreading, though she had also expected it.

“...Yes,” Zarafa acknowledged, straightening and closing her eyes briefly. “I’ll make no excuses for the way that the fight went... for the outcome. I did my best, and what happened happened... I know there is no way to excuse my actions, so I can only apologize for how things turned out.”

“Oh, my dear Zarafa,” Astrid chuckled, leaning back in her chair once more. “I’m fully aware of what happened in that arena, and how it wasn’t necessarily your fault. Still, you are correct. There is now a death at your hands, regardless of the situation, and that puts me in an awkward position. You’ll have to really shine tonight to make the position and have it not reflect poorly on me. Understand?” She looked at Zarafa intently, fingers steepled together.

“I understand,” Zarafa automatically replied, though her brain scrambled to catch up. Is Astrid... trying to help me? Even after what happened?

“Good,” Astrid smiled, snapping. The sound echoed through the halls of the building, amplified by magic. “Now then, with that out of the way, the other contestants must be summoned for dinner. Don’t tell anyone of our conversation. ...And good luck,” she added with a wink before turning to welcome the first of the contestants to arrive. She directed him to his seat at the table, a few chairs down from Zarafa. Watching this happen with the next few people, Zarafa realized they were being ordered by their success from the battle that morning. As the victor, she was at Astrid’s right. The last man she fought, besides the one she accidentally killed, sat across from her, at Astrid’s left. As he sat, he scowled at her, his face red. Zarafa refrained from smirking back, recalling how she choked him out with her legs. The next in line sat at Zarafa’s right, his face contorting in pain as he struggled to slide into the seat. She had, after all, broken a good number of ribs on his left side. She was a little surprised he was there at all, though she quickly dismissed her surprise. Everyone here was just as desperate for the position among the Higher Power as she; if not more so, after numerous attempts at it.

“Good evening,” Zarafa greeted him after a moment, feeling awkward tension between them. “Sorry about your ribs.”

“Ah, it’s alright,” he replied nonchalantly, giving her a small smile. “Honestly, I was worse off last time.”

“Really?” she murmured in surprise. “How so?”

“Oh, a guy with the Gift of Strength threw me into the air high enough that I broke nearly every bone in my body when I landed,” he replied, a tinge of embarrassment in his voice. “Took me a good while to recover from that. I certainly didn’t make it to the dinner portion of the test,” he said with another kind smile, catching Zarafa off-guard. Was he playing nice, or was he actually a good guy? Perhaps she had misjudged the other contestants. “Sorry about that last guy you fought,” he finally said as the last few contestants trickled in. “Whatever happened... it’s a shame there’s a black mark on your name now. For what it’s worth, once you defeated me, I was rooting for you to get the position. I figured you’d win the fight. And hey, if you end up doing well enough tonight, maybe I’ll join you next time there’s an opening,” he finished, the look in his brown eyes soft and kind.

“Oh... that’s very kind of you to say,” Zarafa replied, stunned nearly into silence. This was the last thing she expected. Who was this man?

“The name’s Chance,” he said with a knowing smile. “And yes, I have the Gift of Reading Minds- but don’t worry, I only use it occasionally. On the battlefield, I use only the lightest touch. Partially because I feel it’s unfair, and because if I dedicate too much of myself to using a Gift, it slows me down on the field.”

“Ah, that I understand,” she replied, relaxing slightly. “It is the same way with magic for me.”

“Welcome, everyone,” Astrid interrupted, standing by her chair, with a smile that didn’t look natural drawn across her face. “I’m sure you are all aware of the stakes here, but I would ask that you act as naturally as you can. Think of it as a first date. You want to impress, but you also want your personality to shine through and help you stand out as not another machine, going through the motions you believe will get you the position among the Higher Power. For one, you don’t know what we’re looking for, even if you’ve been at this table before. The position we fill each time requires a different skill set, and personality. So please, relax and enjoy yourselves,” she finished and sat in her seat at the exact moment servants filed in, gleaming silver dishes piled with food in each hand.

Zarafa kept mostly to herself throughout the meal. Only a few contestants attempted to strike up a conversation. Zarafa thought that Chance would have been one to chat as well, but with his ribs the way they were, each breath was likely excruciating. She secretly admired him as he worked on slowly moving the food to his mouth with his uninjured hand. He was doing a surprisingly good job at hiding his pain. He did do well in the battle this morning, she mused, twisting the long pasta around her fork as she considered Chance’s odds at getting into the Higher Power. He was showing strength of character just being at the table with the rest of them despite his injuries, and he was honestly a very kind and assumably well-rounded person. Between his ease at the table and his abilities on the battlefield, he was a likely candidate. More probable than her, perhaps... especially with that death on her hands, forever marking her as lacking in self-control. She would have to work hard to prove herself tonight. Though if the rest of the night continued like this, she didn’t see much opportunity to prove her self-control. No one was interacting much, mostly focusing on their food as they awaited a real test. Although Zarafa realized that the dinner was likely part of the test, she found herself grasping at straws as well for opportunities to prove herself. How could she stand out from this group? What could she do right now to secure the position for herself?

By the time the food was cleared away, she still hadn’t come up with anything. Frowning to herself, she thought, Well, I suppose it’s no major loss, since no one else made any headway during the dinner either. It would have been nice to get ahead, but I still have a good chance at this.

“Alright, we’ll go ahead with the individual interviews now,” Astrid announced, standing and pushing back her chair. “Zarafa, as the victor of the battle this morning, ordinarily, I’d have you go first. I’d like to switch things up this time, however, and go in reverse order. You will be last. Delilah, come with me, please,” she instructed, waving for a girl sitting at the end of the table to follow her. “Gabrielle will be here momentarily for the rest of you,” she finished before walking off, the trembling Delilah in tow.

Moments after they disappeared, another girl came up, pale green eyes flashing as though she were already impatient with the group. “Alright, come with me,” she said, barely waiting for them to stand and walk toward her before spinning on her heel and striding away. Zarafa led the group of contestants down the halls after her, her vampire speed helping her to catch up with the angsty girl.

Gabrielle led them to a large room with a number of chairs scattered throughout. “Sit where you want. I’ll be back for the next person. After each interview, you may or may not come back to this room,” she stated matter-of-factly before turning and leaving, shutting the door firmly behind her.

After a moment, a young boy tried the door. “It’s locked,” he said, fear in his voice.

“Yeah, so?” the guy Zarafa had choked with her legs responded, casting himself into a nearby chair. “What does it matter? Were you hoping to run off before your interview?”

The boy hung his head a little and slunk into the corner of the room, looking ashamed. Zarafa stared after him for a moment. What an odd array of contestants. I wonder if they’re always so diverse. Perhaps they accept so many unlikely participants so they... can... Actually, I have no idea why they let such scared, untried people try for the position. It’s not as though they’d really be considered. Dravyn wouldn’t rely on such weaklings to lead his armies in conquering the seven realms.

Noticing a few guys eyeing her, she frowned and slid into a chair of her own. Perhaps the dress wasn’t such a good choice after all. She should have chosen the longer black one. This short, blue, silky thing was drawing far too much attention from those she didn’t care to have gazing at her long legs.

Choosing a chair by the wall turned out to be a bad idea as four guys grabbed their own chairs, circled around her and blocked her in. She gave them a small frown. “What?”

“Well, we had some questions ourselves,” one replied cockily, leaning back in his chair as he eyed her. “Who are you, for one?”

“My name is Zarafa,” she replied coolly.

“Yeah, yeah, we got that,” another groaned. “But who do you think you are, trying to be the best among us? You, a first-timer? You know how many positions I’ve tried out for? Twenty.”

“Wow. Sounds like this may not be the place for you, then,” Zarafa chuckled.

The man’s face reddened. “See, that there. That haughtiness, your inflated sense of self-importance... you’re a nobody. You only got as far as you did because of Dexter. Whatever you did to get him to mentor you, it won’t make up for your lack of talent, experience, and knowledge of the inner workings of the Higher Power. It won’t make up for you starting out as the lowest of the low back in Ponorama. You may be desperate to rise from your past, but it won’t matter. You’ll never make it into the Higher Power. You’ll always be nothing but dust in the wind,” he taunted, sneering at her, sure that his knowledge of her and her past would throw her off.

“We’re not supposed to know about any of that about the Higher Power until we’re in in the first place,” Zarafa replied, keeping her face straight. This guy has no idea what he’s talking about. Twenty applications? Seems to me he’s the nobody in the eyes of Dravyn and his Higher Power organization.

Another guy smirked. “Brown-noser. Just because we aren’t supposed to know things yet doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pry some information out anyway. Shows just how hopeless you are. You don’t know anything.”

“Well, perhaps there’s a reason none of you have been accepted yet,” she replied, easily keeping her calm.

The first guy scoffed. “They don’t know anything.”

Zarafa laughed out loud at this. “You don’t know as much about the Higher Power as you think you do, then. They have eyes everywhere.”

“Yeah, we know about their insignias,” the fourth guy sighed, rolling his eyes at her. “It doesn’t let them get into all our heads. It doesn’t have the ability to replace the Gift of Reading Minds.”

“Insig- no, that’s not what - ” She was cut off by the door opening. Gabrielle stood there, the same dissatisfied look on her face as she called the next person out. The first girl wasn’t with her. Everyone fell silent as they processed this and what it may mean. The girl was extremely unlikely to make it as a contestant, and she never came back to the room with them. Those who were gathered here after the interview were likely the ones actually being considered for the position.

“Whatever. Talking to you is a waste of breath anyway,” the first guy said before standing and leading the other three to another part of the room. Zarafa watched them go, her hands still folded nicely in her lap and her face clear of emotion. She wasn’t sure if this was part of the test, but she wouldn’t put it past them. Better to play it safe at all times. Especially since she’d need to continue to be at her best while working for the Higher Power. Might as well start now.

After all, they didn’t give second chances for those who failed them.

Zarafa remained still in her corner, quietly listening to the various conversations going on around her as she patiently waited. It wasn’t long before Gabrielle returned and retrieved another person. Again, the previous person didn’t return. By the time Gabrielle came for Zarafa, she’d been ribbed over and over, especially by the few people to return. Chance didn’t stick up for her, but he didn’t pick on her either, which she counted as a plus. Besides, she wouldn’t ask him to look after anyone but himself, despite what he’d said at dinner about rooting for her.

As Gabrielle led her down the hall, she bit her lip to keep from asking any questions. The few who had returned from their interviews announced that they had been sworn to secrecy about the whole thing. Surprisingly, they all actually kept their word and didn’t drop any hints to the other contestants, though one had come close after getting pressured from the majority of those in the room. Chance and Zarafa were the only ones to refrain from participating in any of the group’s antics, choosing to remain stoic in their selected corners, waiting patiently for the time to arrive for them to be called out. Zarafa was secretly pleased when Chance came back with Gabrielle. He would make a great member of the Higher Power, and if she couldn’t make it, she hoped he would be able to. He flashed her a smile as she walked past him, throwing in a wink to let her know that he knew her thoughts. Normally, she’d be upset at someone reading her mind, but she was glad that he understood the support he offered her was reciprocated, without having to say anything and risk her own chances of getting the position.

Gabrielle stopped without saying a word, opening a door and ushering Zarafa in; her face displaying her dissatisfied mindset. Zarafa didn’t bring it up and simply slipped past her into the darkened room. “Zarafa,” Astrid’s voice greeted, seeming to come from all around her. She had created quite the spooky atmosphere. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Zarafa snappily replied, keeping her back straight and her gaze focused straight ahead in the near pitch-black room.

A light chuckle sounded at this. “Are you sure? You don’t even know what I’ll be asking for.”

“I’ll pledge my loyalty and my life to Dravyn and the Higher Power without hesitation. Whatever you ask of me, I will do,” Zarafa replied seriously. She had meant to say it, and she knew it was true, but it was as though the air had a spell weighing heavily in the room, deepening the truth behind her words.

Astrid’s smiling face appeared before her, looking pleased. “I thought as much. Your aspirations to rise from the filth of your past is admirable. And you are intelligent enough to know that only the Higher Power can grant you enough power and prestige to become more than the dust you’ve always been.” She paused, staring into Zarafa’s green eyes for a moment before continuing, a small smile on her lips. “My instructions for you now are this: head back to the room. Gabrielle will escort you. Further instructions will await you there.”

“Yes, Astrid,” Zarafa replied with a bow before turning and showing herself out, biting back the urge to voice her thoughts. That’s it? She was surprised at how swift and simple the interrogation had been, but unsurprised that she would be rejoining the finalists.

Gabrielle again didn’t say anything, but her annoyance seemed to have increased while Zarafa was in the room with Astrid. Nearly stomping all the way back to the other competitors, Gabrielle’s back was tight with stress. Zarafa wondered if she should ask about it, but when she opened her mouth to say something, Gabrielle’s light green eyes darted back to her with a heavy look, stopping her in her tracks. Opening the door for her once more, Gabrielle gestured Zarafa inside. Chance gave her a smile, but the other three people in the room looked upset that she’d made it this far.

Gabrielle stepped into the room behind Zarafa and cleared her throat, though she already had the attention of everyone in the room. “As I’m sure you’re aware, you five have made it to ‘finalist’ status. You are all invited for the induction ceremony taking place in the morning, where one of you will be selected and sworn into the ranks of the Higher Power. For now, your instructions are to return to your beds and rest. If you do not already have an adviser, you will be assigned one, and they will relay any further instruction to you.” With that, she turned and left the room once more, leaving them all with mixed feelings of excitement, pride, and increased nerves.

Tomorrow, they’d know who’d made it, and who, in Astrid’s eyes, had failed.