Turning onto her side with a small sigh, Xena watched the last few rays of sunlight slip through the window on the side of the room.
It always knocked her into a reverie whenever she got the chance to see it. The colours, the fading warmth, it all captivated her deeply.
Deep down, she knew that it wasn't because of how beautiful the view was, but as a reward to herself for getting through the day in the living hell that was the Undercity.
'Hm.'
In front of her eyes, the afternoon light was unfurling and retracting, a continuous back-and-forth dance. The molten sun hung low, its glow filtering through the smog in a weak daydream. The evening heat had cooled into a gentle breeze that brushed across Xena's arm lightly.
Despite the peaceful atmosphere, a feeling of unease sparked in her chest. The hair on her arms stood up just as a flicker of human shadow passed through the glass, its form only in view for a second.
Xena sprang from the bed and grabbed a knife from under the pillow, believing it to be the thugs from before.
Things stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity.
Just her holding a knife at the window, until an unmistakable voice called out from behind it.
"Xena! Open up!"
'AH! Sandra, I swear to god, you're gonna give me a heart attack one day.' She thought as relief washed over her.
Walking to the window, she twisted the lock open and leaned her head outside, quickly spotting the culprit behind the surprise.
Light blonde hair up to her shoulders; a bright, mischievous face peeked up beside the window; it was none other than one of her few friends, Sandra Thalor.
They had known each other for as long as Xena could remember, sneaking around the district and narrowly escaping trouble more times than either of them could count. She was like a sister to her.
"Pssss. Get in here!"
With a rare smile on her face, she gestured for Sandra to come in. They fell down on the bed with a relieved exhale of air.
"Hehe. I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice me." Sandra teased, flicking Xena's hair.
"I wasn't that slow!" Xena protested.
"Hahaha, sure you weren't. Anyway, I just came by to tell you that there's some new blood around these parts. And that I caught them stealing my customers."
Sandra continued with a grin.
"You know the rules. Newbies aren't supposed to start working without telling the superiors."
Xena's eyebrows raised in intrigue.
"Oh? Anyone decent?"
"Yeah. A quiet one like you named Shae, and a cute little boy called Arie."
"Cute?"
"Ohohoho, yes! His hair, eyes, skin, basically everything about him."
Xena rolled her eyes at Sandra's enthusiastic description. The girl often exaggerated on things that weren't actually that big of a deal.
As they were about to carry on further, the sound of light footsteps echoed from outside the door.
"Hey Mimi, Sandra's here!" Xena called out.
"Alright! Tell her to come for dinner! It's hot!" She shouted back.
Sandra's eyes lit up in excitement for a chance to try Mimi's cooking, as she knew that the delectable smell that Xena carried with her every day wasn't from some sort of perfume.
Licking their lips, the two raced out the door and onto the peeling floorboards, the smell of the meal having already spread throughout the house. The air was thick with the rich scent of spices, slow-cooked chicken and butter.
Reaching the kitchen, three round bowls sat next to each other on a wooden board, each filled to the brim with steaming stew. Saliva filled the two girls' mouths as they stared at it with hungry eyes.
Mimi sat down at the head of the small table in the corner, Xena and Sandra eagerly following right behind.
Almost straight away Sandra and Xena dug into the food, gulping it down despite the stew burning their tongues. The flavour exploded onto their mouths in waves, each bite bringing more than the last.
Mimi wasn't any different from them and soon started dumping stew into her mouth, just as hooked on it as they were.
The greedy display continued for several minutes until the bowls were scraped clean, the stew having vanished into three very full stomachs.
They all leaned back with a satisfied sigh. Content, full of food and by her closest friends, Xena didn't think life could get much better.
It was at this moment that the day bordered on the night, creating a soft twilight.
In response, the paper from before shone a deep orange in Xena's pocket, drawing everyone's eyes.
'Please, please not now. Seriously, what the hell did I take back there?'
A jolt of panic shot through her at the sudden light. With nervous hands, Xena drew the scrap of sturdy paper from her pocket and held it up in the light.
Tiny engravings stretched over its surface and glowed with a tint of orange only found in The Wastelands.
GASP!
A sharp intake of breath came from Mimi, her eyes widening in fear.
"How did I not notice it before? This is..." Mimi whispered.
"I thought it was just some cash," Xena spoke up defensively.
Mimi turned to her. "This is not some measly cash. Dear girl, this is something worth more than all three of our lives combined. Why would you be so careless, bringing it straight into our home?"
Disbelief spread across Xena's face.
"What? How? It's just a random piece of paper."
Mimi sighed.
"Do you remember those bedtime stories I told you of the seven rulers and their journeys?"
'Why is she bringing that up now?'
"...Yes." She tilted her head in confusion.
"This is part of how they became what they are. This is an Ascendant Manuscript! Or more specifically, one of the Twilight Manuscripts."
Mimi spoke slowly.
"Do you have any idea what people will do to get their hands on this?"
Sandra put on a worried expression, but could not deny the interest in her eyes.
Xena tilted her head again. "Ascendant?"
Mimi nodded slowly, the previous warmth nowhere to be found.
"Long ago, before the world became what it is now, there were beings that stood above us. The rulers." She tapped the manuscript lightly with her wrinkled finger. "They became what they were through things like this."
Xena's eyes darted back and forth. "Through… a piece of paper?"
"In a way." She gave a soft, humourless chuckle.
"An Ascendant Manuscript is like a guide that shows you how to rise beyond what you are now." She continued. "I don't know all the intricacies of it, and I don't know how many you need. But something I do know is that the more you learn from it, the less human you become."
Xena's mind raced. 'Wait, so those stories were actually true? I thought they were just children's tales to keep their heads occupied.'
"But it isn't simple," Mimi continued. "Many who attempt to use it lose their minds halfway through the process, and some...some of them become abominations. "
Xena frowned. "Mimi, how do you know all this?"
"Because...I've seen it firsthand." Her voice trembled slightly in response.
Xena, noticing the change, reassuringly put her hand on Mimi's arm. It was not the first time she had seen her in this state. Often at midnight, her Grandma would weep tears of sorrow over her failures in her youth, though she never told Xena what mistakes they actually were.
Her eyes began to water slightly as she started talking.
"My own father he....When we were young, he sold our house for one of these."
Left my mother and I to survive on the streets, forcing her to sell her body just to raise me. And when I finally built up the courage to see him, I went up to his house, opened the door and saw a ball of...moving flesh."
A nauseous feeling materialised in the two girls' stomachs at these words.
"So listen to me now, both of you." She cleared her throat, wiping away the wetness forming near her eyes.
"I know you have your own connections with the thieves and spies. It won't be hard to dispose of this thing without anyone important noticing, but if you do that, then you might not ever leave this wretched city."
Silence fell over the table like a curse, leaving the two girls with nothing to say. Xena held her head in her hands for a minute, desperately trying to refocus her thoughts on the problems at hand.
Yet she could not ignore the shudder of excitement that ran through her at the thought of escaping the only place she had ever known.
'There must be some sort of power I'd gain if I use this manuscript...but is it really worth the price?'
She clenched her hands in frustration, her thoughts tangled in a mess of fear and longing.
Then her head snapped up as an idea struck her.
"Why do I even have to choose? If it is as important as you say, then couldn't I sell it and use the money to leave this horrid city?"
Mimi went silent, considering the suggestion. Her brows furrowed, as if she was weighing the pros and cons in her head. After a few more seconds, she gave a hesitant nod.
But before she could speak, Sandra leaned forward and placed a reassuring hand on Xena's shoulder.
"Why don't you decide after a good night's rest?" she said gently, eyeing Xena's scrunched face. "I'll sleep over tonight, too. Something this big shouldn't be rushed."
'Sandra's right. That story...her dad...it was terrifying. I can't even imagine it.' A bit of fear entered her face at the thought.
"That sounds like a good idea," Mimi added quietly.
After giving their thanks to Mimi for the meal, the girls helped clean the table and wash away the last traces of stew.
Despite the ordinary actions, the air felt much heavier than before.
The two then left the room much more troubled than before, now burdened with thoughts neither one knew what to do with.
The door shut behind them with a dull click that sounded much louder than it should have.
Xena opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It seemed neither of them had the strength to talk again tonight.
Sandra moved to the bed, the wood floor under her feet suddenly appearing a lot colder than before.
Outside, the sun had long since dipped below the horizon. The pale moon took its place, the cold light filtering through the sky.
The tiny house grew quiet.
Back in Xena's bedroom, the two girls lay side by side in the worn sheets. Sleep stubbornly refused to take them under; the story from before still lingered in their minds.
Its final image refused to dim.
'A pile of rolling flesh.'
Sandra shifted slightly before reaching out and wrapping an arm around Xena, pulling her close in comfort. Gradually, darkness swallowed their vision and they fell into a restless sleep.
In Xena's pocket, the manuscript gave off the faintest glow, invisible ink slowly shifting across the surface as if rewriting its contents, bit by bit.