Vessa walked through the archway into a courtyard with two running fountains. Water coming out of three bucks in battle with each other, their antlers interlocked. The fountain on the other side of the courtyard was a single doe sculpted to look delicate and majestic. Her head slightly tilted, facing the three bucks. Vessa walked to them instead of the doe, file in hand. She sat on the lip, encircling the bucks, and let her hand fall into the water as she stared down at the file.

  Vessa had to read it, but for a moment all she did was listen to the water falling and feel the breeze on her skin.

  Finally, Vessa flipped open to the diagrams of the capital city, Merath.

  It showed the city spiraling out from one singular point. Spires decreasing in precise measurements until it became suburbs that circled around the entire city with parks taking up the rest of the space.

  There were several pages laying out the make of the spires in the city. Businesses mixed with art galleries and apartments. Government buildings and prisons. She finally got through it all and found the rest of the cities had a page a piece with some splitting the paper three ways.

  Vessa got up, put the file down. It laid open on the politics section. Her heart raced. She walked away to look at the doe. Found her hands tracing the statue. No antlers, no fawn. Vessa froze. Looked at the doe in the eyes carved out from the stone. What was it like to lose a fawn?

  Vessa walked back to the bucks locked in combat. Took up the file. The Umbaan with several leaders. A group of descendents from the Color and Light Constellations. Which explained why the Casters couldn’t just crush the rebels. Casters often had light and color as side effects of their spells or as their special signifier, but they didn’t really have control over it.

  They had tried taking over the Color and Light Constellations and lost worlds to them with no gains. Only the Dreamers were able to fight with them. But the Dreamers hadn’t been the ones to send them running. It had been some internal problems.

  Vessa shook her head. She needed to focus. Where was this associate that was supposed to be taking her to her next stop?

  Vessa kept reading to see those that lived on the planet were descendents of the Color Constellation; Painters and ones with specific colors rather than a command of all of them. Blue and purple, white and black with silver playing an unknown part. The text referred her to the magic portion of the file for more information.

  She flipped the page, and magic was in bold print. Vessa put the file down again. Walked away to the plain cream-colored arch. To the garden that laid beyond the arch with clumps of trees and flower walls.

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  Vessa looked back and wondered where all the people were. The courtyard looked well kept, yet there was no noise. A brief glance into her mind showed there were no numbers nearby either.

  It was just her and the file waiting for the associate to take them to the next destination.

  Vessa looked away from the file and towards the doe.

  “I am sorry.” Vessa said aloud. Her fingers grasping the rough stone of the arch. She looked away, back out into the garden. Almost as if she was back at base. That thought wasn’t helpful. The associate shouldn’t find Vessa like this. It would get back to Castillo, yet Vessa stayed where she was. Right after magic, the target section would begin.

  Which page had the child been on?

  “Douwell is laughing at me. Telling me she was right. Castillo is just waiting for me to fail. To break me further.” Vessa said to no one, hopefully. She should not be talking out loud.

  Vessa pressed her face to the stone, it was rough against her skin, but cool. She should go sit down and read her file. She should be professional.

  “I can’t do this,” Vessa said and leaned her entire body on the arch. This wasn’t the homes where meltdowns were met with kindness. This was so far from the homes. Where she’d been forced to talk about her compulsion to kill herself, and then listen to the others. Supporting them, confiding in them.

  “I am so glad you’re dead Samilla.” Vessa said as Samilla danced in a memory. Chasing the compulsions away by blurring the world. Samilla laughing despite the sad horror in her eyes.

  “I have to do this.” Vessa said out loud, hopefully to no one. She pushed herself off the arch and towards the bucks and the file.

  The magic section was a ramble of words that Vessa slowly read through before she realized she didn’t remember much of the politics and flipped back.

  The Painters’ world has been settled before the Empire had invaded and the Umbaan had forced the planet’s magic to become secret. Some factions had adapted, while others still fought back.

  It said nothing about why this new rebellion has started.

  “Excuse me, are you Vessa? I am sorry I am late.” A woman said and Vessa stood up and closed the file.

  “It is fine. Shall we go?” Vessa asked as she felt the doe looking at her, head slightly tilted.

  The world changed again. This time no blizzard of familiar just one moment in the courtyard, the next in darkness with stars and spaceships lighting up the night.

  The woman began walking and Vessa followed, passing large hangers to the smaller ones barely lit up enough to make them out.