“I mean… It isn’t all bad.” The greasy man lies, looking down at Liv’s test paper. It was a simple aptitude test to see how mentally capable the testee was. Liv had flunked the entire damn thing. Reading? Flunked. Math? Flunked. Geography? Horribly flunked. He looks over to Liv, a sympathetic, yet confused look on his face. Liv buries her face in her hands, a low groan of embarrassment escaping her lips. The greasy man gives it a once over, trying to see if he made a mistake, a clerical error that could explain the score being that low. After he finds none, he plasters on a smile etched with sympathy, sitting on the other side of the desk. “Really, it isn’t all bad! I mean… You got a 32%! That’s… That’s not the worst score I’ve ever seen!”

  "Stop..." Liv says softly into her hands, feeling the embarrassment wash over her.

  "No... No, it's nice!" He says, looking at the paper with a forced expression of positive acknowledgment.

  "Im beggin' ya," Liv begs, her face falling as her gauntleted hands trail through her hair. She felt like her head could burst with shame at any moment, "no more."

  "It's so nice, though." He drawls slowly, "I mean... Math and geography could use some polishing, maybe a bit of reading too."

  Liv feels a flush creep further across her cheeks, embarrassment flaring in her chest as the greasy man continues to look over the paper. She had known her prospects of passing with flying colors was low, but this had far exceeded her expectations. She just didn’t know what half the things on the paper meant. Reading was easy enough; she could read, just not very well. But Math and Geography were damn near impossible! She hadn't heard of any of the landmasses inked on the test, and she could hardly count high enough to do any of the problems they demanded of her. She was hungry, she was tired, she reeked,, and she was angry at herself and at the actions that led up to this situation happening in the first place.

  “I mean… You did fine on the reading section! That’s good!”

  “I know I ain’t bright, ya don’t gotta gas me up.” Liv mutters, her mind wandering to her boss. She wonders how she would’ve done if they was here. Much better, she reckons. They seemed to be good at the reading and such, always helping her out when she lived in the city, when she couldn't exactly read all the words in the abandoned stores.

  At Liv’s response, the greasy man lets out a long sigh, running a hand through his thinning, black hair. He shifts himself, leaving his seat on his seat to sit on the table. “Listen. It's not… The best test score in the world, I think we can both admit that,” He starts, his voice soft, “but… I doubt this will completely flunk your chances of getting in the Initiative. I’ve seen all types of people come in and out, all with a… Niche. You seem exceptionally strong, so lean into that! Not everyone has to be super smart, and not everyone is as strong as you are.” He smiles, slowly extracting himself from his seated position, brushing off his clothes. “Now, I have to return to work. I’ll have your results sent and, with all luck, you’ll have your results back in a week.”

  “Kay.” Liv mutters, extracting herself from the seat. She steals a glance at the emblem emblazoned on the wall, hoping against hope she got in. If she didn't, where else would she go? The thought terrifies her, the thought of being so lost, so alone. She makes her way to the door, turning the knob and making herself scarce, greeted by the moon shining in the sky. She takes a deep intake of the nights cold air, then out. Then, the realization hits her. She has no idea where to go from here. She turns, her hand attempting to turn the knob so she may enter the concrete building again.

  CHNK

  Locked.

  Liv groans, turning around, looking around the mostly empty roads. There seems to be a handful of people bustling about at this time of night, though most of them seemed to either patrol around or head to their cabin, prepared to sleep for the night. Liv considers asking one of the many people, but decides against it. She already felt dumb, she didn't need everyone else knowing that. Best to find her own way, even if it was just for the day.

  Strolling around, Liv finally has a moment to herself. Her boots crunch against the dirt, crickets chirping a melodic tune. Liv still hasn’t gotten used to looking up to see the sky and the endless array of stars and nebulae, or the smells of nature and dew. It’s all beautiful, a beauty she never could've imagined in her wildest dreams. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath in, then out. The smell of fresh dew fills her nose, a hint of an evening chill breezing across her skin. It must have rained while she was in the Strata. She wondered how time worked with Strata's, if they even had a difference. Could you store things in them? She supposes that wouldn’t work as you’d have to clear it every time.-

  THUMP

  Liv comes to a halt as her body impacts against something, or rather, someone. She stumbles back a step, throwing her arms out to steady herself. She manages to, her feet skidding against the unpaved streets. The one she ran into doesn't seem to have the same luck as they fall backward, clattering to the floor like a puppet with its string cut.

  “Oh, uh. My bad.” Liv says, walking over to the knocked over person. This woman seems to be of a lighter complexion, straight, black hair falling over her face like a tranquil waterfall. Her features are sharp, a long nose, sharp chin, and sharp cheekbones emphasizing her features further. Her skin is unblemished, her entire demeanor screaming “regal”. Her body is covered in a full plate, grey armor, a coat of arms on her chest: a large swirl within a circle, a line slashing through the center. A blade is slung around their waist, one that, too, clatters to the floor aside her. She turns to Liv as she approaches, Liv met with two bright blue irises.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “It is… Fine. I was not paying attention to my surroundings. My inattentiveness was my fault and my fault alone.” The knight woman says curtly, slowly pushing their body up. They halt as Liv squats down, throwing their arm around her shoulder, hefting the two up with little to no effort. The knight lady's eyes widen in surprise, her voice catching for a moment before she speaks. “Ah… Thank you.”

  “Ain’t nothin’. No skin off my back-.” Liv says, stopping as she finally looks up at the knight. It wasn’t obvious from her prone position, but the knight was tall. She’s easily the tallest person Liv had ever met, a crisp six feet and six inches with a thinner frame than anyone Liv had ever seen. Liv looks down at herself, a hint of a frown forming on her face. She’s met exactly two people who were around her height, that being Jessica and Ean. She was either only meeting giants, or she was just small. She was beginning to worry the latter was her reality.

  The two stand in silence for a moment, Liv staring with furrowed brows. The knight clears their throat, their balled up hand coming up to their mouth, “It is proper etiquette for you to ask me my name.”

  Liv blinks, her mind dumbstruck for a moment. Her boss spoke of “etiquette” sometimes when they spoke of her apparent boorish nature, though she had never needed to be anything but "boorish". Who was there to impress? This night, apparently. A slight, embarrassed flush creeps across her face. Embarrassed again… “Oh, sorry. Uh, what's yer name?”

  The knight nods, a small smile spreading across her face. She grabs an invisible skirt, her legs bending as she imitates a curtsy. “I am Charlotte Arcille, first daughter of Clement and Louise Arcille.”

  “Liv.” Liv responds, her hands falling to her pockets as she observes the curtsy. She cocks her head to the side. The curtsy looked all fancy. like something her boss would do if they had a body. Eventually, she shrugs, attempting it herself. Her attempt explodes in her face as she stumbles forward, barely catching herself once more, a red flush spreading across her face.

  Charlotte gives Liv a once over, assessing for a moment. “You have no etiquette skills, do you?”

  Liv blinks once more as she steadies herself, nodding in acquiescence. Of course they could clock that, not like she was hiding it. “Yeah,” Liv says, beginning to mutter, “I ain’t good at all the stuff y'all do."

  “Ah! I apologize, that was rude thing of me to say.” She says, a flush creeping across her pale skin. “I suppose I'm happy to meet someone not of... Class?”

  “Eh?” Liv cocks her head to the side, clearly taken aback.

  “I-,” Charlotte pauses, putting their pointer to their lip as they think of a way to phrase it. After a few moments, they begin again, their speech slowed, “I have not interacted with people of noble descent very often, or even basic training in the regal arts. I suppose I find it… Refreshing to speak to someone as unique as yourself.”

  “Uh… Thanks, I s’pose.” Liv says, looking around. Her eyes wander back to Charlotte’s blade. “Neat lookin’ sword.”

  Charlotte looks down at the hilt on their hip, their hand coming to thumb the pommel of the blade. She smiles, her hand tapping against the pure silver pommel with pride, a breathless laugh bubbling from her mouth. "Beautiful, isn't it? It's an heirloom of mine, though I don't believe it's always been a Synth Weapon."

  That term again, those “Synth Weapons”. It’s Liv’s first time seeing one for real, one that isn’t her boss. She whistles, looking at the sheath more inquisitively. “That’s one of them weapons? Ain’t look like mine.” Liv mutters, stroking her chin as she takes a step closer, ducking down a bit to get a better look.

  “You have one too?” She questions, giving Liv another once over. Her eyes snap to the gauntlets, her smile growing larger. “How splendid! Tell me, how well do you believe you did?” She quickly asks, taking a step closer herself, her eyes shining.

  “U-uh.” Liv’s eyes widen at the tonal shift, her inexperience in social situations hampering her yet again. “I didn’t do too well on that big ol’ test. I, uh… Scored low.” She admits shamefully, not wanting to indulge her score.

  “Truly? I thought it was quite simple…” Charlotte mumbles into her hand, her face askew with thought as she ponders. “The Strata was quite challenging, though. It took me quite a while to complete.”

  “They ain’t easy.” Liv says, an awkward chuckle escaping her lips. “Took me the whole day to get ‘em done.”

  “A day?” Charlotte echos back. Now, its her turn to be confused, her eyebrows knitting up in confusion.

  “Well, ten hours. I finished a couple o’ hours ago.” Liv says, sweat forming on the back of her neck. Was that a really bad time? She hoped not. She did bad enough on the written, so flunking this one would reflect poorly on her skills.

  “You’re serious?” Charlotte asks, though it comes out more a statement.

  “Yeah? Liv says, her eyes darting from side to side, praying Ean or Olivia would come out to get her out of this hole she’s dug herself into.

  “Impressive! I did not know I was speaking to a prodigy of combat!” Charlotte beams, looking even happier than before. “You have ignited my interest! Tell me what your Synth Weapon does? How does it act? Have you unlocked a Synth Aura yet? Have you had any formal training?”

  Liv stares on, completely befuddled. She takes a step back, taken aback, on the backfoot as she’s flooded with question after question, her starry eyed verbal attacker approaching with wonder. Liv slowly raises her hands, trying to mimic what Alexis did when they first met. “I don’t know what half the things you said mean. I, uh, don’t know nothin’ bout anythin’.”

  Charlotte stops, taking in Liv’s words. Still starry eyed, they stand to their full height, still smiling brightly. “Well, if you finished quite recently, our results should arrive at the Initiative on the same day. If you wouldn’t mind, I would be most grateful if you would grace me with your presence; in kind, I will pay you with my knowledge. Does that sound like a fair deal?”

  Liv looks at her. For the millionth time today, she feels confused and conflicted. From what she understands, dealing with her boss’ speech everyday, this woman is asking for her to stay with her in return for knowledge.

  “Well,” Liv thinks to herself, a dash of relief going through her psyche, “I was lookin’ for a place to stay anyway. I s’pose I can do good all on my own.”

  Liv nods, reaching out and grabbing Charlotte's hand, giving it a quick pump. “You got yourself a done deal.”

  Charlotte looks down at the hand as Liv releases it, her smile growing as she does another curtsy. “Very well! Come with me, my quarters are not very far.”

  With that, Charlotte walks off. Liv follows closely, behind, trying to match the far taller woman's strides. She could, at least, finally get a meal and a shower. With all luck, she would get a good night's sleep.