Chapter 4: The Journey Begins (Part One)
1196 Words
The doors of the Night Watch transport slid open with a low mechanical hiss.
Cold air rushed out.
Lyra stood frozen.
Behind her, the academy courtyard was silent. The students who had gathered to watch were now little more than distant faces. Somewhere in the crowd, she spotted Kian.
He raised a hand.
She wanted to wave back.
Instead, she could only stare.
This wasn't goodbye for a day.
Or a week.
She didn't know when—or if—she would ever return.
"Lyra."
Her mother's voice trembled.
Dr. Mira Solis stepped forward, pulling her daughter into one last embrace.
She held her tightly, as though refusing to let go could somehow stop time.
"I haven't even packed your things," she whispered, brushing a strand of hair from Lyra's face. "You don't even have your favourite jacket."
Lyra forced a smile despite the lump in her throat.
"I think I'll survive without it."
Her mother laughed softly, though tears streamed down her cheeks.
"You've always tried to be brave."
"I learned from you."
Those words shattered what little composure her mother had left.
She hugged Lyra again.
Her father waited quietly.
When Mira finally stepped aside, Dr. Elias Solis walked forward.
Unlike his wife, he didn't cry.
But Lyra noticed something she had never seen before.
His hands were shaking.
He reached into the pocket of his coat and removed a small silver pendant.
Inside was a tiny holographic photograph of the three of them taken years ago.
"Keep it," he said.
"When things become difficult..."
He hesitated.
"...remember where home is."
Lyra accepted it with trembling hands.
"I will."
Her father looked over his shoulder at the Night Watch commander.
For just a moment, the two men locked eyes.
Then Elias turned back to his daughter.
"Science has taught me to trust evidence."
He gently squeezed her shoulder.
"But not everything in this world can be measured."
His voice dropped.
"Trust your instincts."
She nodded.
"I will."
The commander's voice interrupted the moment.
"It's time."
The words were neither cruel nor sympathetic.
Simply final.
Lyra hugged her parents one last time.
Then she climbed the ramp.
The doors began to close.
Through the narrowing gap, she watched her parents grow smaller.
Her mother was still crying.
Her father wrapped an arm around her shoulders, though his own eyes never left the transport.
The doors sealed shut.
For the first time in seventeen years...
Lyra Solis was alone.
The inside of the aircraft surprised her.
She had imagined rows of soldiers sitting in silence.
Instead...
It looked almost like a university shuttle.
About twenty teenagers occupied the cabin.
Some looked older than her.
Some younger.
Most were dressed in ordinary clothes, each carrying only a small bag.
A girl with bright blue braids laughed loudly at something a tall boy had just said.
Across from them, another recruit leaned back with his feet on the seat, completely relaxed.
Two others argued over which district had the best food.
Lyra blinked.
Why are they acting like this?
Didn't they understand what had happened?
Didn't they realise their lives had just been turned upside down?
She quietly walked to the very back of the cabin and sat beside the window.
Her backpack rested on her lap.
Her fingers tightened around the silver pendant her father had given her.
The engines hummed to life.
The transport lifted smoothly into the sky.
No applause.
No speeches.
Just silence from the crew.
As the academy disappeared beneath the clouds, Lyra felt something inside her break.
What if I never come back?
The thought refused to leave.
She imagined her bedroom.
The books scattered across her desk.
Her mother's voice calling her down for breakfast.
Her father buried beneath another mountain of research papers.
Kian complaining about homework.
Everything...
Gone in a single afternoon.
She swallowed hard.
She hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to him properly.
Laughter erupted near the front of the cabin.
"So," the tall boy said dramatically, "which one of you is secretly a legendary warrior?"
A girl rolled her eyes.
"If you are, we're all doomed."
The cabin burst into laughter.
Another recruit grinned.
"I bet they're taking us somewhere amazing."
"Or somewhere terrible."
"Same difference."
More laughter.
Lyra frowned.
How can they laugh?
How can they joke when none of us knows where we're going?
She turned toward the window, trying to block them out.
Maybe they weren't scared.
Or maybe...
This was how they hid it.
She didn't care.
Not right now.
The transport hit a pocket of turbulence.
It wasn't violent.
Just enough to make everyone sway.
A boy carrying a bottle of water stumbled down the aisle.
Before he could regain his balance—
Bump.
He crashed lightly into Lyra's shoulder.
"Oh—sorry."
The words barely left his mouth before she snapped.
"Can't you watch where you're going?"
The cabin fell quiet.
The boy blinked in surprise.
He was about her age, with messy black hair and warm brown eyes.
For a second, he simply stared at her.
Then he slowly raised both hands in surrender.
"Whoa..."
He chuckled awkwardly.
"Calm down, Princess."
A few recruits laughed.
Not cruelly.
Just because of the nickname.
Lyra's face burned with embarrassment.
Without saying another word, she stood, grabbed her backpack and walked to an empty seat on the opposite side of the cabin.
The conversations slowly resumed.
The boy scratched the back of his head.
"I only bumped into her."
"I noticed," another recruit teased.
"I think she wanted to throw you out of the aircraft."
"Good thing the doors are locked."
Everyone laughed again.
Everyone except Lyra.
She stared out the window.
Why am I so angry?
The answer came almost immediately.
She wasn't angry at him.
She was angry because her entire life had changed...
...and everyone else seemed to be moving on without looking back.
Hours later, the cabin grew quieter.
Some recruits had fallen asleep.
Others listened to music through small earpieces.
The joking had faded into tired conversations.
Lyra finally looked across the cabin.
The same boy she'd snapped at was helping another recruit lift a heavy duffel bag into the overhead compartment.
"No worries," he said with an easy smile.
"I've got it."
He wasn't loud anymore.
He wasn't trying to be the centre of attention.
He was simply helping.
A knot formed in Lyra's stomach.
She'd judged him too quickly.
The transport began descending.
A calm voice echoed through the cabin.
"Prepare for arrival."
The recruits straightened in their seats.
Outside the window, mountains stretched as far as the eye could see.
Hidden between them stood a colossal fortress of black steel and glass, built into the rock itself.
No flags.
No decorations.
Just walls.
Strong enough to withstand a war.
As the aircraft touched down, the doors slowly opened.
Cool mountain air rushed inside.
The recruits gathered their belongings.
The boy she'd shouted at walked past her with a grin.
"Try not to bite anyone else today, Princess."
His tone wasn't mocking.
If anything...
It was friendly.
For the first time since leaving home...
Lyra smiled.
Just a little.
End of Part One.
- Writer
