The Dream Shifter

Chapter 299

The scenes replayed through her mind endlessly. She tried to think of any way to have done things differently. None of the results turned out in her success. 'It was all I could do. I have to appear strong. They'll just see me as a child…' Eudokia knew it was going to be difficult, but she had not mentally prepared for the oppressive nature. She thought the academy's cruelty was terrible, yet the aura she felt from everyone did not have the same feel. It somehow felt worse.

Hours passed until the morning turned to afternoon. Eudokia returned to the barracks. Her presence remained something of a wonder-filled show. A child charged with leading a team of adults. They all waited to see how long the show lasted. They took bets behind her back on when she would back, something that took her months to discover.

Another routine patrol came for the 241st Squad. Eudokia had her team lined up in the courtyard near their exit. She paced down the four members. "Corporal Hilarion," she called, in a clear penetrating voice.

"Yes, sir!" the young man replied. He was the tallest of the group. While he listened to every order Eudokia gave, he did enjoy towering over her trying to push her. It never worked, something he did poorly to hide his disappointment.

"Corporal Hestia."

The only woman in the squad piped up, "Yes, sir!" She saw nothing in common with Eudokia and actually kept more of a distance from her than the rest of the team. It was always difficult to tell what thoughts turned behind her eyes. Eudokia felt the woman judged her with every slight glance in her direction. She had the feeling she was the least approving of her as leader, even more than Nikon, which seemed difficult to believe.

"Corporal Daidalos."

"Yes, sir!" Daidalos fell in line quicker than the rest with Eudokia's new command. She felt he was scheming things along with Nikon, but never saw any proof of it. He went along with the flow, but there was something unsettling about him. Eudokia just could never place a finger on what caused her intuition to decide it.

"Lieutenant Sergeant Nikon."

"By the book again," he muttered, "Yes, sir!" It was merely by rank that he was Eudokia's second in command. She would have picked someone else if she could, he was the most verbally disruptive and insubordinate of the group. Yet she preferred it that way, it made it easier to read him than the rest of the group. Eudokia always knew where she stood in the group by his actions. It was an odd measuring stick to have.

Eudokia turned around. Her hand motioned to the gatekeeper to open the massive stone doors. The doors looked impossible to move and hardly practical, yet when activated they moved with fluid grace as though part of nature. They made not a single sound, eerily so, more signs of the construction done by MPs.

Stepping out, she motioned to her team. "Corporal Hestia, you have point."

"Yes, sir!" Hestia hustled to the front leading the team out. Everything carried out in routine. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. It had been six months since the last intrusion and it was only one scientist. It cleaned up quickly with no support needed. Most of the soldiers could not remember any other intrusion. Only soldiers with more than one tour actually had other stories of intrusions. It was rare for more than a handful of soldiers to have actually been present at an intrusion.

Days continued to pass evenly for Eudokia. Those with early bets lost them as she outlasted most of the pessimistic estimates. She became a bit of a legend among the South Gate as word spread further. More soldiers joined trying to guess what would break her.

Eudokia walked briskly through the courtyard, ignoring all of the glances, half stares and fake ignored looks. She had grown used to it. The feel was truly different from the academy. She almost preferred to have been back at the academy, as no one was mature enough to hide what they felt. It was always in the open and you understood everyone's place. Her new world was a silent cold war. She always had to remain vigilant.

She came to a stop, not quite to her destination. Her eyes caught sight in time, an irregularly shaped form of stone extruded out from the normally smoothly polished walkway. Eudokia walked around it, but discovered another, followed by more. 'Another MP is somewhere nearby.' Carefully, she scanned around the courtyard. There were too many for her to know who caused it. It was not the first time, so she just activated her field and kept walking. 'They're just looking for a reaction, anything out of me.' She always only showed them her soldier's face. She knew it bothered countless numbers of soldiers that she failed to meet their expectations of how an inexperience immature child should act.

The library finally arrived with only a few more steps. She disappeared into the tall structure that filled up a quarter of the headquarters. Border duty held a lot of down time and long hours of little to do. Inside the library, soldiers had the chance to pass time or break up the normal grind. Eudokia used it as a safe retreat and place to keep learning. Learning was something suggested, but never required for the soldiers. A large percent of the books were related to foreign studies usually history or language.

Eudokia retrieved the next book in the series she read and found a comfortable place to sit. No one was around. She could not feel the distant stares or the whispered the words.

It was silent. The way she preferred.

However, someone had discovered her, hidden away in the towers of books. A little child leaned around one of the massive hard wood shelves to stare at Eudokia. The girl watched intently for several minutes before tempting an approach. She looked down at Eudokia seated up against the shelf. "Hello, I didn't think I'd find anyone else back here! My name is Dareia!"

Nearly ten years ago, life was simpler, but still very complicated. The people recovered from the rebellion, but the mark it left remained easily felt. It was something less talked about and people wished to ignore it more often. Life had stability again. They were comfortable with their situation.

Deep inside the marble and stone construct of the palace, a young voice screamed in pain. It was loud and piercing, threatening the very stone. Such stone was old and proud, unwilling to bend to the childishness coming from the voice, even if it pained it.

"I can't take this anymore!" snapped the voice, once more. They threw down what they held and jumped up from the marble floor. "It doesn't make any sense!"

Across the large chamber from them, an aging man stood with a full head of gray hair. He leaned forward and began marching in silence towards them. His features hardened with wrinkles making his expression more severe. Only a meter away, his feet stopped next to the two things they threw. Loosely staring down, he towered over them. "Pick it back up," he ordered, in a grave tone.

"But it's too hard!"

"Your lesson is not over until I say it is." He started to lift his hand in a slow action. "I said, pick it up."

They whimpered a little under the booming voice. It made him shrink away. "But you said I could stop whenever."

"Did you really think I would let to just quit?" His presence grew worse, darkening out much of his face. Only his eyes remained visible to them.

Tears formed up in their eyes. They wanted to look away, but could not turn. Something seemed to compel them to stay fixed on his eyes. It was as though being swallowed up by something cold and dark. Emptiness poured out into a deep endless void. "I'm really scared!" they cried, tears pouring down their face.

All the tension popped in a second, along with the shadow covering him. "I'm so sorry, my dear!" He knelt down quickly hugging her. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck crying into his shoulder. "It's alright, Eudokia. Daddy will stop."

"Daddy's too scary! Your face was really creepy!"

Eudokia's honest words pierced his heart deeply turning his face blue. "Creepy," he muttered. Hearing his daughter call him creepy made him want to cry.

Once all of the emotions settled down, the two sat on the floor. He handed over the things she dropped. Eudokia still did not understand them. "Why do we have to do something so hard? I thought you were going to teach me how to use my power, Daddy."

"These are part of your lessons as well, dear." He patted her on the head. A warm smile grew across his face. "I taught you all of the basics, but to advance you need to grow a strong foundation."

"But how does logic games and number puzzles help?"

He pointed down at the puzzle she tried to complete. Numbers suddenly appeared on the paper completing the puzzle in mere moments, that Eudokia struggled with for what seemed like hours. "It's not about solving the puzzle. It's about holding the information in your head. That's why I'm not allowing you to write any notes on the paper. You need to keep it all in your head and always remember it. It is important with our power to be able to always know where everything is and what it is or else it can't exist."

Eudokia nodded to him. "I know that already, Daddy. I was meaning why these, the academy doesn't used Sudoku for training."

Her father looked a little surprised to hear such a response. "How do you know what the academy uses for these exercises?"

"Demmy showed me! I asked him after the last lesson."

He sighed at the thought of having been undermined. "I can't believe him. He's too conventional at times. It's true that the academy has different methods for this and they've had millennia to refine it, but it's not always about doing what's well tested." The man nodded to himself, it felt a little weak the way he backed up his words.

She tilted her head to her side a little confused by her father's response. "Huh? Is it because you like Japan?"

The question turned his face red in an instant. "What are you talking about, Eudokia?" Denial clearly colored his expression.

"You don't?" Her head leaned a little more. "But I saw Daddy playing and looking really excited in his closet."

Jumping up, he realized he was cornered by his own daughter. She discovered his secret, that he thought he kept well hidden from everyone. "When did you?"

"A while ago," she answered quickly. Eudokia did not understand why he acted so strangely. "Daddy looked like he was having fun. You always have a sad look on your face, so I thought you liked it. Am I wrong?"

She completely disarmed him, but it was innocent and earnest. He sighed and patted her on her head. "You're not wrong, dear." He smiled a little for her. 'I didn't realize she noticed. I guess I can't hide my emotions as well as I thought. I'll have to try to remember to smile a little more for her sake.'

A heavy knock came to the door. It rang out in a particular manner. Both of them seemed to know immediately who it was, as their expression changed. Eudokia jumped up getting very excited suddenly. She ran over the large stone doors as they slowly opened. "Demmy!" Eudokia shouted enthusiastically.

He looked down at Eudokia, a bit of a wrinkle entered his eyebrow. Unfortunately, he did not have much time to react. She already leapt up and climbed up the tall man. "Lady Eudokia," he uttered carefully.

Eudokia pouted from her perch on his shoulder. "I told you not to call me that, Demmy! How many times do you have to keep telling you?"

"Until you stop giving me nicknames, Lady Eudokia."

She crossed her hands in a huff, resistant on his request. "Demmy's being meanie."

He sighed to himself. Stepping into the room, he approached the center where Eudokia left her father. "Your Majesty." He straightened himself up in the presence of his King.

The King's face narrowed a little, understanding the difference of their stations. "Demosthenes, you had a safe travel?"

"Yes, Majesty."

"Hey, no serious talk!" Eudokia leaned in, using her arm wrapped out around Demosthenes' neck for support, to get in between the two. "Demmy just got back, Daddy!" She carried a rough look with puffed cheeks that only a child could pull off.

"I'm sorry, dear. You two can play shortly, but we need to talk for a minute, alright?" He patted her on the head to comfort her. She glared a little at him doubting his words. "I won't steal your time. I bet he brought you a souvenir back from his trip, right?"

"Did you really, Demmy?" Eudokia's eyes perked up immediately. She turned her attention over to Demosthenes in anticipation.

The pace of the two was a little difficult for him to keep up with, even though he was used to it. Demosthenes dug out of his pocket a small box wrapped up carefully. He presented it to Eudokia. "It's popular currently in Japan I'm told."

She accepted the gift. "Will you play with me after you're done talking?" Her eyes darted between the box and Demosthenes. An excited glow of curiosity filled her eyes. She desperately wanted to know what was inside, but she had to be sure.

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise." The warm smile on the young child's face made Demosthenes grin a little. He lowered her down to the ground, allowing her to run off. Once she was far enough away, he turned back to his King. The old man was already on the other side of him working to the doorway. "Majesty."

"Eudokia seems to have grown very fond of you recently, Demosthenes," he commented, as they walked slowly.

Glancing at his King, Demosthenes read the scene, while responding. "I just wish she'd call me my name."

The King laughed a little hearing Demosthenes complain about his daughter's whims. "It's an improvement over her last one, Demon."

"I guess, your Majesty." He did have to agree with the man. The last name made Demosthenes feel a little self-conscious. He was not sure if it had a source, as Eudokia never gave him a reason. She only called him by it for the last few months in the same cheerful tone. It made it difficult for him to know if she was afraid of him. Demosthenes was not blind to the impression others had on him, being too serious.

"Still, getting more excited to see you over her own father," he muttered. There was a hint of him pouting a little, strange for someone ruling a kingdom.

It was not something he was really pleased with, but Eudokia's nature made it difficult to just ignore her. "It's only because you've gotten strict in your training with her."

"Because you haven't been as tough as you need to be her. I never attended the academy, but I know about what happens in there. I can't do anything about the prejudice, but I can prepare her for the challenges she'll face. It's my duty as her father to make sure she's able to survive. Even if she doesn't understand the reasons right now."

Demosthenes nodded in agreement. It was something he tried to mirror in his training with her, but it was difficult somehow. "I know…" He did not understand how the King could manage it. There was something about Eudokia that Demosthenes could not get past. The threshold of the room was finally behind them. He drew the doors closed.

When the clear ring of the sealed doors sang out through the hall, the King leaned against the wall. He broke out into a sudden fit of coughing that he did not seem to be able to stop. Mere moments passed, but he looked even older than before. Sweat covered his face.

"Your Majesty!" Demosthenes shouted, as he went to help. It eventually calmed down, but he looked worse from the experience. He helped his King through the hall and to a nearby balcony. The King always preferred the fresh air and sight of Atlantis. It seemed to calm him down. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

He took a deep breath in before replying. "It just seems that way. I keep it all back with my power when I'm with her. So it just built up." It was painful, but he did feel better at least. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Demosthenes looking at him. He knew the look he gave him. "Don't look at me like that, old friend. We both knew how things would end. More importantly, your report."

It was back to business. "Yes, your Majesty. I delivered your gift as you requested."

"That's good," he said, a little grin came across his lips. "The seal will remain in place for another few years. How is he doing?"

"He's very lively and spirited."

"I'm glad. It was the right decision to leave him with Tomiko and Isamu. They'll be able to give him a happy, peaceful life away from all of threats here in Atlantis. I can only imagine what those old men would do if they knew of him. I have many enemies." He stared off at the towers popping up throughout the dense structures of the capital. The white stone of the city masked the darkness in an aura of majestic wonder too easily seen as purity. He knew how dirty the stone truly was, such things were not suitable environments for growing up. "Speaking of enemies. What are they up to?"

"I put stop to another team. They still seem interested in him, despite their failures. It seems like they have given up for now trying to recapture him, but they are monitoring him."

A grim expression appeared on his face. "I fear Japan may be no safer than Atlantis for him, but they at least won't want him dead." His eyes stared off to the horizon. "Though they only want him because they continue to fail without him."

Demosthenes agreed with him. He did not have the intimate understanding of the people as the King did, but he had seen enough to know how they would act. "They are patience. I believe they'll keep trying. There is something driving them."

"It's true. They are quite desperate, but they've been at this for a very long time. So a few years won't mean a lot to them." The King turned away from the balcony to look at Demosthenes. "Promise me, old friend. Watch over him. Protect him until the day comes."

"Your Majesty!" Demosthenes spoke with some surprise in his voice. The tone of his words made it seem like a final request. "You'll see him again! You'll be able to explain everything to him then!"

He dropped a hand on Demosthenes' shoulder. "It's fine. I'm dying and I don't know how long I'll last. I'll hold out as long as I can until he becomes an adult and I tell him everything. He at least deserves a happy childhood before learning the truth. However, if I don't make it. I entrust my will to you. He'll need to know the truth."

Demosthenes stared at his King for a while. He heard the words, but felt unable to say anything. It was important to him. Everything they worked for had to succeed. Demosthenes understood the grave situation they stood within. "I promise, your Majesty! He'll be the one to save Atlantis."

"Thanks, old friend…" Trailing off, his voice seemed to weaken at the end. His eyes closed almost as if something relieved him of a great pressure. The stress disappeared from his eyes. Silence filled the balcony until it became awkward. Demosthenes stretched out to touch him. "Oh and try to learn to be a little less rigid. No one likes a stick in the mud."

A flattened and slightly annoyed expression painted Demosthenes' face. He made him worry for nothing. "I'll try."