Chapter Text
Surprised by the noise, a flock of birds took off as Anthea rushed along the rocks. The fresh air of the sea kept her cool despite the sun’s warmth on her skin and the sweat she broke into after her escape. She smiled, welcoming the rush of freedom and, well, adrenaline – mostly from running away from her lessons.
She almost left unprepared, only learning about the impromptu visit from the Crows’ First Talon to the House de Riva this very morning. She apparently was not the only one in the dark, given the commotion amongst the fledglings, servants, and senior Crows alike. As everyone was too busy panicking and preparing for the upcoming arrival of the grand Caterina Dellamorte and her suite, Anthea managed to slip away, putting to good use her lessons in stealth to successfully avoid her least favourite one: potions and poisons. Anything that could allow her to escape Viago’s nagging on the matter was an opportunity to be seized. Instead, Anthea had grabbed a few romance novels, her favourite dagger, a cloak, and had quickly fled the city, in the direction of the bay. This unexpected event would probably grant her at least a whole day of quiet and peace, until someone would notice her absence.
She hugged her bag close to her chest as she slipped through the narrow space in between jagged rocks, flashing her fiery red mane to the sun one last time before entering her favourite hideout: a small creek on the outskirts of Treviso. The natural cave was concealed from the rest of the bay by a wall of large crooked rocks; Anthea just happened to find it a year ago. She used to sneak out at night more often back then, wondering if she should run away from the Crows and discover the world by herself… Until she had not returned early enough to the dormitory, and she had seen the distress in Viago’s eyes, utterly shaken at the idea she might have been abducted or killed. After that, he had been insufferable for a week and made sure she paid for the fright he would not admit she gave him. That was when she realized how fond she had grown of her adoptive family, and how hard it would be for her to leave them. Sure, the Crows were flawed and their methods… less than desirable. But they were her family now. However, that meant both the good and the bad of it, and she was more than happy to taste freedom from time to time away from any quarrel with her adoptive siblings and strict teachers’ corrections. And it felt good not thinking of the looming shadow of the Crows initiation sometimes.
The creek was desert, as always. She cracked another mischievous smile. Solitude, at last! This place had become her secret haven, away from prying eyes and comments about her posture or her failed potions. Anthea took off her cloak and stretched, filling her lungs with the sweet scent of the sea breeze.
She was already quite tall for her age, at the top of her twelfth summer. Viago was barely one year older than her, and yet she was taller, which she suspected was infuriating to him. She had overheard him once asking Heir about how to get bigger, to which they had silently laughed before reassuring the young man that he would definitely see a difference soon. What a silly boy.
Anthea scooted over to her reading spot, a perfectly smooth rock along a wall, with enough light to read and yet not under the direct sun, to avoid any tan marks which would betray her little adventure. She pulled a book out of her bag, a thick volume she stole from the de Riva library, with a black leather cover and golden letters on its back bearing the title “Roses and Feathers”. She was quite taken by the story, featuring an Antivan Crow and a pirate lady from Rivain – conspiracy, swashbuckling, decadence, and mostly love! What was not to love, really, for a young lady who dreamt of travels and riches?
Minutes passed in flash, then an hour. The story was a delight. Her eyes jumped line after line, barely reaching beyond the pages’ edges, in the security of her hideout. That was why she froze when she heard something coming from the entrance of the creek. She barely had the time to stand on her feet when he appeared. A thin, elegant, unwanted young man. His eyes widened in shock at her sight, probably just as surprised as she was to see someone there. Both reached to their sides instinctively at the same time, pommel of their daggers in hand. Anthea caught a glimpse of his weapon and recognized the stance both of them readied into. Another Crow.
A drop of cold sweat ran down her neck. She did not recognize the man. He was human, he looked quite young, probably sixteen, not more than eighteen. He had long dark hair, tied at the back, dark almond-shaped eyes and very fine traits. His clothes seemed rather fancy – way too fancy for a trip to the beach, and Anthea noticed the crow skulls ornamentations to his vest. Yeah, she had never seen him before. Was he from another House?
Their eyes met for a brief moment. Judging by his gaze, he had been assessing her the same way she was evaluating him. He shook his head slowly, maintaining eye contact, and she returned his nod; no need to shed blood today. Both relaxed at the same time. Anthea let out a sigh and only then realized she had been holding her breath.
“You scared me,” she simply said.
“As did you,” the young man replied.
Anthea let go of her dagger and straightened up, her book still in hand. She brushed off the sand from her pants but never took her eyes off the newcomer. He seemed uncomfortable, dancing on his feet and unsure about what to do next.
“I’ve never seen you around,” she carefully pointed out.
“I… don’t come here often.” His voice was sweet and measured, his accent rather strong. He probably was born in Antiva. His look had softened somehow, as to make her understand he did not mean to threaten her.
“I apologize, I—only wanted to hide for a while.”
Anthea gasped then chuckled. Well, that was rather unexpected. But understandable.
“Oh, I get it,” Anthea gestured around and tried to put him at ease. “Welcome to my secret place. We should not expect any other visitors. Though, I did not expect you , so you never know.”
The stranger smiled. “We should be fine then. May I?”
He pointed at another rock he had been eyeing in a corner of the creek. Anthea invited him over with a flourish of her hand then watched him settle before sitting back down. He was quite handsome. Sharp yet fine features, very contained manners, and his hair looked silky smooth. She caught herself staring before she averted her gaze, landing on the cover of her book. She had been so surprised by his arrival that she had lost track of the page she was reading! A few quick scans through the book though and she finally found her unfinished sentence. Now, to read quietly.
It turned out actually quite difficult focusing on the story while having someone else to share her haven with. Each time she needed to flick to another page, she couldn’t help but glance over at her visitor. She had assumed he too had come with something to pass the time, but he just… sat there. Palms laid flat on his thighs, back to the wall, the young Crow seemed deep in thoughts, almost… lonely. After thirty long and painful minutes, she finally closed her book.
“Do you… want to read?”
He looked back at her with surprise, as if he had forgotten she was even there. Anthea rummaged through her bag and took out another volume, the smaller one she brought with her. She raised it above her head for him to see.
“I can lend you that one if you’d like. It’s a love story though, I don’t know if you…” she pinched her lips, unsure on how to finish her sentence. She did not want an older fledgling to think of her as weak. “Anyway, that’s all I have. But you can have it if you want?”
He stared at her for a few seconds that felt like an eternity to Anthea. Then, silently, he rose up and walked the distance in between them. He timidly reached out for the book.
“That’s kind of you… thank you.”
Anthea glanced up at him as he read through the back cover. She could sense he was still unsure, uncomfortable. It felt odd. For a Crow with his looks, she had almost expected him to be more confident, or at least a bit more… social.
“Hey, you can sit here with me if you’d like,” she patted on the ground next to her and caught his eye again. “It’s better than up here, I promise. We can be loners together.”
Another stare. His shell was sure hard to crack , Anthea thought to herself. But it was okay, she did not mean to pry anyway. Life amongst the Crows could be hard, for some people even harder. She had learnt very quickly not to ask too many questions and not to meddle with other people’s business. However, something about him felt like a cry for help and she knew the power of a comforting presence during such times.
He did not even reply, though he sat beside her, a couple of feet away. He thanked her with a nod and a polite smile, then started reading. She chuckled in approval. It was better that way.
They spent most of the afternoon in silence, shifting position whenever the stiffness kicked in. She swore she heard him gasp at some point and she had refrain herself with all her might from asking why, what happened in the book, was it good? After all, she was still planning on reading it anyway.
She stole a few glances at him from time to time. The tension between them felt thinner, even though they both were still on their guard; but there was this unspoken word of mutual peace hanging in the air, to which they both clung while turning the pages. It was pleasant company. Now that he was closer, she realized how attractive he actually was. He looked like the fancy men in the paintings Viago had shown her. Surely, a pretty and elegant boy like him could only be at least from a rich family; though she knew that a rich past wouldn’t always mean a bright present amongst the Crows. Better not bring that up. That was none of her business anyway. And pretty boys were insufferable when complimented.
Hours passed; the sun had started to decline when she noticed it was getting harder to read. She would have to leave soon if she wanted to make it back home before supper. Her companion in solitude was still quite absorbed by his own volume though. She sighed to herself; she hated when people talked to her while she was reading, and even more when she couldn’t finish a book.
“Hey… I’m sorry, but I have to go.”
Again with these big surprised eyes. The scene he was immersed in seemed to dance before him as he came back to reality and noticed how late it was himself.
“Oh… I should probably go too.”
They both rushed to their feet, dusting their clothes one last time; then the stranger turned to Anthea.
“I, er…”
“You can keep it,” Anthea pointed at the novel in his hands. “You seemed to like it.”
“Oh,” a splash of red flushed to the tip of his ears. He carefully avoided her gaze, which she found extremely entertaining. “I mean, thank you. Indeed, I do.”
Anthea smirked as she attached the cloak to her shoulders. She was happy to have found a book friend. She was just surprised that friend turned out to be an older Crow teenager, as the ones she knew would have rather mocked her for such light reading.
“Well, I’m glad. If you ever come back here when you’re done with it, just leave it here. I’m not sure when I’ll come next.”
With how things were at House de Riva, she really had no idea when she would be able to escape again. She hoped her friend would be able to return here too, at least so she would get her book back.
“I’ll do that,” the dark-haired boy whispered. “Thank you for sharing it with me.”
She locked eyes with him again. Something about him intimidated her. Handsome people did that sometimes, but she knew better than falling for it. After all, seduction is only one of the many tools the Crows had to learn in their training. She could tell he was not actively trying to impress her, but she still took it as a challenge to appear as unphased as possible.
“I’m Anthea, by the way,” she stated while planting her hands on her hips, imitating the grow-ups from her house and trying to give herself some poise. She actually was about his size, if not a little taller. This helped her self-confidence.
The silence which followed felt uncomfortable. His lips parted as he was about to reply, but his name died in his throat. He averted his gaze. Something was holding him back. No questions about the past, then.
“You don’t have to tell me your name,” she quickly added. “But it’s better if I can call you differently than “Hey” if I ever meet you again.”
His look brightened. “If we meet again?”
“Well, yeah, you know the place of my secret hideout, I won’t let you go that easily,” she jested. “Plus, I’m happy to have someone join my book club! Just kidding, just kidding…”
Was it a smile on his face? It felt genuine enough. He was finally warming up to her.
“… but yeah, a name. What if I gave you one?”
“You want to give me a name?” he repeated, incredulous. Yet, somehow, his curiosity had been piqued. “What would you call me?”
“Well…” Anthea pondered. She looked down at the book he was holding and casually reached for it. “First off, you’re dashing, and then, since you liked this one, so I will call you…” He let go of the novel and she scanned the back cover for a name. “Enzo. Like the hero. Enzo, it is.”
That was the first time she heard “Enzo” laugh.
“Enzo? Like, the most common name around here?” he managed to ask. “That’s not very original.”
“A perfect name for someone who doesn’t want to be seen,” Anthea concluded.
Their laughter softly died on their lips, blossoming into an earnest and kind bliss. It would be their own contract, protecting this space, this moment, their identity. They would be anonymous friends. And that was enough for her when they parted ways as dusk fell over Treviso.
