Jaspar’s blade stopped, and a small cut started pouring blood out of the emperor’s neck from the top of it.

“Why?” Maude asked, studying the emperor’s blood red eyes, the same color at which his ability manifested in. “Why did you hide your power?” she asked. “You could have single handedly won the territory you desired. Why drag it on for so long?”

His apathetic expression and the lack of emotion in his eyes did not change. “It would have been less fun that way,” the emperor replied in the voice Maude knew she would never forget. She felt herself shiver from hearing it once more. “It was far more entertaining to watch the people struggle for their survival like ants,” he added.

Jaspar’s sword cut off anything else that the emperor might have said, and his body fell to the ground, bleeding from the wound as the life left him.

Maude turned away from him, ready to vomit again, but this time, not from having killed someone she once knew, but from the mentality that had been housed within the person.

Was there even an ounce of humanity left in that man? She wondered.

Much to her surprise, suddenly, cheering began. She had nearly forgotten that she and Jaspar had not been the only ones on the battlefield. She looked around her, noticing that the troops of the empire that had remained were fleeing into the rainy forest.

They just watched their emperor die in front of their eyes, she thought. I would flee too.

Jaspar pulled her into his arms as the cheers grew louder and louder.

“Sword saint!” someone began chanting. The majority of the battlefield began to join in, shouting “Sword saint! Sword saint! Sword saint!” over and over.

She felt herself growing weaker, nearly collapsing on Jaspar.

“We did it,” he murmured softly in her ear. “Aulbert will surely win the war now.”

“We did it,” she echoed back softly. “We won.”

He tenderly tipped her chin up to his and gently kissed her lips, blood, rain, and sweat all intermingling between the two of them. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back as the crowd roared around them.

Gently, Jaspar lowered both of them to the ground, Maude leaning her head on his shoulder. “I’m going to pass out, Jaspar,” she murmured, her vision starting to glow blurry. “I can’t stay awake any longer.”

“It’s okay to rest now,” he murmured softly to her. “I’ll make sure you get taken care of.”

She nodded, her vision growing darker. “Thank you,” she murmured softly back, before she passed out, her body falling limp in his arms.

~

Maude was incredibly comfortable. More comfortable than she had been for what felt like forever.

This must be the Rosenberg manor, she thought. Was all of the war a dream? She snuggled into the blankets. It must have been, she thought, her eyes still tightly closed. She did not want to get up yet, it was too comfortable.

Maude sighed contentedly in her half-awake stupor. If all of the war had just been an unhappy dream, that meant when the time came, she could make the right decision from the get go, and: even better! She knew for sure that she was capable of fighting for Aulbert and Jaspar! It had been somewhat unpleasant to have to fight Callum, her father, and the emperor, but…Maybe her dream had made it out to be worse than it would actually be? The emperor couldn’t possibly have been a sword saint, right?

She snuggled deeper into the warmth of the blankets, dismissing the war nightmares from her mind. Jaspar and I will get to spend the day together today, she thought, her heart rate starting to pick up. I wonder what we will get to do today? I bet the weather will be nice, too! It will be such a lovely day to spend together!

Maude was slowly working her way into consciousness. Her body was beginning to feel as if she had gotten hit by a carriage. Everywhere ached, the muscles of her arms felt like they were on fire, and her thighs and shoulders ached like she’d never felt before.

Her arms and hands stung as if she had gotten a thousand little paper cuts. Her left arm felt as though it had recently been cut to ribbons.

What the hell? She thought, her consciousness becoming a bit more coherent. What happened to me?

Scenes of the battlefield, fighting Callum, her father, and the emperor forced their way into the forefront of her mind. The emperor’s blood red eyes flashed in her mind, and she woke with a start, perspiration clinging to her skin everywhere.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It was real, she thought, her eyes peeling open. I fought in the war for Aulbert.

She sat up and looked around. She was on a cot in what appeared to be a medical tent, with curtains hanging down on one side of her bed to offer her some level of privacy. The tent was relatively quiet, but she could hear the soft groans of other people in pain, and quiet murmurs of conversations.

Maude looked down at her body, an she saw that nearly the entirety of her left arm was bandaged, almost all of he way up to her shoulder. She was wearing white pajama like clothes. She gently touched her face with her half bandaged right hand, and found a couple of bandages on it as well.

She breathed deeply, her body aching, feeling bruised everywhere.

I’m alive, she thought. Jaspar made sure they took care of me.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and then realized it was too soon to feel alleviated.

Did Jaspar make it out alive? She wondered, jumping to her feet, much to her body’s complaint. He was much more injured than I was.

She pulled back the curtain, and found herself face to face with a nurse who was sitting at a makeshift medical desk in the center of the tent. Supplies were spread out all over the desk, and she was working on cutting a bandage with scissors.

“What are you doing?” The nurse asked. “Lay back down.” It was clearly more of a command than a request.

As Maude regained her balance, she shook her head. “No,” she replied.

The nurse looked surprised at Maude’s response. “You really ought to be laying down to recover from your injuries,” she stated firmly.

“I can do that after I confirm some people are alive,” Maude replied, trying to downplay the possible severity of her injuries.

The nurse’s face was full of skepticism. “You could potentially reopen wounds if you are up and about,” the nurse replied. “You should just wait for now.”

Maude shook her head only a little bit to prevent more dizzy spells. “I won’t be able to rest if I don’t confirm right now,” she pleaded.

The nurse sighed. “Who is it that you are looking for?” she asked. She looked frustrated, but defeated.

“His highness and Duke Rosenberg,” Maude replied, her heart lightening a little. At least she’s willing to give me directions, Maude thought.

“Will you come back immediately after confirming they are alive?” the nurse asked, eyeballing Maude warily.

“I promise I will,” Maude replied. “And you will know where I am if I do not.”

The nurse let out an exasperated breath, and then gave Maude a curt nod. “They are both in a different tent than this one,” she said. “And I believe they are both in the same tent.” She paused, tapping one of her fingers quickly on her chin.

Maude’s heart started beating quickly, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Why…why are they in a different tent?” she asked.

Don’t tell me…

“It was because they were more seriously injured than you,” the nurse replied shaking one of her fingers at Maude. “Don’t go thinking that it was something else and having your mind run wild.” The nurse tsked at Maude.

Maude closed her eyes and breathed a heavy sigh. “Thank God,” she replied.

“I’m not sure which tent it is,” the nurse admitted, looking a bit sheepish. “But if you go outside, I’m sure one of the guards can tell you.”

Maude nodded. “Thank you so much,” she said. She turned and began walking out of the tent.

“You’re welcome,” she heard the nurse call after her.

Maude opened the tent’s flap, and stepped out into the warm autumn air. The leaves had begun to change their colors at the centers, leaving them spotted and shimmering in the wind like confetti.

How long has it been? She wondered. Surely I wasn’t asleep more than a few days at the most…? Or did I not stop to admire the seasons changing because I was trying to get here in time?

“Can I help you?” Maude heard a man’s voice say. She spun around and was surprised to find Silas Lupton standing there.

“Is this a dream?” she heard herself ask.

Silas, to his credit, laughed only a little bit, and looked down at the floor of the forest. “It’s not, but I appreciate the implication that I appear in your dreams.”

Maude felt herself flush. “Sorry, I, uh, I shouldn’t have said that.”

Silas just chuckled again and looked back at her. “It’s alright,” he replied. “I already know that’s not how you meant it. You told me to get lost, remember?”

“I remember,” Maude replied, looking away, and looking at some of the other guards nearby. Of all the people I could have possibly run into, she thought. “What are you doing here?” she asked Silas out loud. “I never would have expected to find you on the battlefield for Aulbert.”

He sighed, and put his hand on his hip. “I figured I owed you for causing such a mess,” he replied. “Plus this the country that one of my dear childhood friends will be living in.” He turned and looked back at Maude. “I also didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I was hopeful that I may be able to gain citizenship to Aulbert his way.” He smiled a little.

“Well, that’s…great,” Maude replied, scratching the back of her neck, and feeling her stomach sink again. He’s not going to cause anymore trouble with Fronica Von Wickten, is he? She wondered.

“I was also pretty frustrated to find out that Lady Von Wickten’s father was selling information to the empire,” he added, looking up towards the sky.

Maude felt her jaw drop and her eyes widen. “What?” she asked.

“Your duke didn’t tell you that?” he asked, looking back at her.

“He didn’t,” she replied, shaking her head a little.

Silas nodded. “It was a big deal,” he said. “The king was very upset. The Von Wicktens have pretty much been imprisoned since that ball.”

Maude shook her head, moving backwards this time. “What?” she asked again. “How did that happen?”

“I had found out shortly before that ball,” Silas replied. “I think they thought that I was safe since I could have been a double agent from the empire. But I told the king that night at the ball.” He pressed his lips together.

“You could have gained citizenship from that alone!” Maude exclaimed.

“You’re right,” he answered with a curt nod. “But you can’t be a citizen of a country that doesn’t exist, so I knew I had to fight.”

Maude’s mind was still reeling that Silas was even here at the Aulbert campsite, let alone that he’d gotten the Von Wicktens jailed.

“But you look like you are maybe doing something you shouldn’t be doing,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her.

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m looking for Duke Rosenberg and his highness. I just need to confirm they are alright and then I’ll go lay back down on my cot.”

Silas nodded sharply at her. “They are two tents down from this one,” he said, pointing her down the line of tents.

“Thank you,” she said. “And it was nice to see you again. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

“It was nice to see you too,” he replied. “And Maude…” he looked a bit pained. “I’m glad that you finally found something that was worth fighting for.”