A few days after raising the flag, Franklin and Louis are at Wilbur’s forge to ask for new weapons. Louis steps forward, “Wilbur, we have plenty of tools now. Can’t you get us some good weapons now? We’re tired of using this junk!”

  Wilbur rubs his black beard and replies, “It’s true that good weapons are essential. The problem is that without Elanor, we can’t get any more Moon Iron.”

  Franklin pipes up, “We already have plenty of tools. That’s why now we should focus on weapons!”

  At this moment, Laurel comes over. She glances at the boys and then ignores them to tell Wilbur, “Vickie wants to know when you’ll finish her cooking tools.”

  “Oh, that’s right, she did ask for those,” Wilbur responds, rubbing his head sheepishly, “sorry boys, that will take up the rest of the moon iron.”

  Franklin yells in shock, “No way!” He then glares at Laurel and spits, “You just came to get in my way, didn’t you!”

  Laurel steps back in surprise and screams back, “No one cares about you. Why would I come out here just to bother you!”

  “Whatever, we’re going to get weapons! Tell Vickie weapons are more important,” Franklin retorts while swinging his arm across his body to emphasize his point.

  Laurel rolls her eyes, “I’m not your messenger. Tell her yourself. There’s no way you’ll be able to convince anyone. You're just too dumb.”

  Wilbur and Louis move to stop the fight. Louis says to Franklin, “Hey man, you’re going too far.” While Wilbur steps toward Laurel, “Let’s be nice, alright.”

  But Franklin is already incensed. He ignores their intentions and runs, swinging his fists at Laurel. As Franklin punches Laurel’s shoulder with all his strength, everyone looks on in shock. Laurel’s bones squeak under the sudden pressure, but she, too, is at the foundation stage. This one attack isn’t capable of taking her out.

  Laurel has been through multiple horrible battles by now due to her eyes. Once she feels the pain, her mind almost shuts off. She allows her shoulder to be pushed back while stepping in with her other foot. Her elbow then smashes into Franklin’s gut causing him to stumble backward.

  As Franklin feels his lunch coming up, Laurel continues her assault, stepping past him and sweeping her arm at his neck. As Franklin tries to move back, he’s caught between Laurel’s leg and arm, causing him to fall to the ground. Laurel spins around as he falls as if she’s dancing, and just as he lands, she pulls a knife from her belt and goes to finish him.

  John upon the hill is once again practicing his new technique. Sparks once again fly out. It looks pretty but is useless for fighting. ‘If I hold back too much, it’s nothing, and if I put too much into it, I’ll blow myself up!’ John waves his branches in frustration. ‘I better check in on everyone! Don’t want anything dangerous to happen,’ he thinks, distracting himself.

  “Oh good, something is happening,” John says in relief.

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  Down below, Wilbur is holding the arm of Laurel as she crouches over a shocked Franklin. John sends his voice down to the group, “Alright, that’s enough, you two!”

  Still breathing heavily from the sudden adrenaline rush, Laurel blinks a few times and looks around. Franklin coughs and groans as his stomach and head both spin. Laurel looks at her hand, shaking slightly, “what happened?”

  Wilbur pulls her to her feet and says, “That’s what I want to know!”

  “let’s calm down. Laurel go home for now,” John says.

  Laurel's eyes drop to the ground as she says, “Yeah, sorry.” She then turns away and heads home while rubbing her shoulder.

  John looks over Franklin’s body and sighs, “it seems like you’ll be alright, lad. Wilbur, Louis, what happened?”

  Wilbur just shakes his head while. But Louis bends down to help Franklin up and explains, “I know that Franklin and Laurel have been fighting for a while. I didn’t know it was this bad, though. Franklin threw a punch and hit Laurel… Then she went insane and tried to kill him.”

  “I see. Why did the fight start in the first place?”

  Wilbur shrugs and informs John, “We’re running out of Moon Iron, so everyone's been pushing me to make things for them. Vickie wants cooking tools, while the boys want weapons. Honestly, I’m glad Franklin and Louis came instead. Anna’s been mentioning weapons every time I see her lately.”

  John shakes his branches in a head-shaking way and replies, “Isn’t this a simple thing to fix. There are plenty of old metal weapons. Reforge them into kitchenware while using the moon iron for weapons. Yes, moon iron cooking goods would be preferable. But from a use perspective, the moon iron will be better put towards weapons that may save lives.”

  “You’re right. We’ll do as you say,” Wilbur says, then he looks at the two boys, “Franklin, I’ll take you home. Louis, go tell your mom about the compromise for me.”

  Louis nods, “Ok, I’m sure she’ll understand. She’s just tired of wooden tools.”

  With that, Wilbur takes Franklin home and explains to Anna and Arron. Arron is shocked since he thought they were on good terms. Wilbur was also surprised, but he had some suspicions because Donna had explained the prank.

  Later that night, Mellisa brings her daughter over to their house to apologize. ‘It’s their fault for putting all these things about fighting into my daughter’s head,’ she grumbles internally. After the knock, Anna opens the door.

  Anna smiles, “good evening Mellisa, Laurel. What brings you here?”

  Mellisa returns Anna’s smile and responds, “I just thought we should apologize. My daughter went too far.”

  Laurel glances past Anna to Franklin and says, “I’m sorry. I don’t. I didn’t mean to go that far. Sorry.”

  Mellisa pats her daughter on the back and asks, “Is franklin alright?”

  “He’s fine,” Anna responds, then pats Laurel on the shoulder, “Don’t feel too bad. In the end, it’s just a few bruises. In fact, it’s good for him. Franklin tends to get complacent once he gets the basics down. As a larger male, he shouldn’t have been taken down by you so quickly. If he was going to lose in a fight of skill, he should have gone for a more critical attack to ensure his victory in the first strike.”

  Laurel is shocked by Franklin’s mom and shakes her head as she begins to plead her guilt, “No, I shouldn’t have pulled the knife on him! He shouldn’t be blamed. Not even I expected me to do that.”

  Anna gives Laurel a stony face and explains, “This is good for both of you to hear in that case. If you start a fight, you must win! I won’t accept either of you coming back in a casket hearing you didn’t take a fight seriously.”

  Mellisa squeezes her daughter, “Hopefully, they never have to fight.”

  Anna looks Mellisa in the eye, “I disagree. I hope they have endless victorious battles.”

  “Do you want them to come back like your parents and late husband!” Mellisa can’t help but scream back in frustration.

  Anna looks at Mellisa with dead eyes. “I said I wouldn’t accept them coming back dead.”

  Arron then pops into the doorframe, “We’ve all had quite the day. Let’s call it a night here.” He then pulls Anna inside and puts his hand on the door.

  “Alright, have a goodnight,” Mellisa says while nodding. As they walk away, Laurel glances at Franklin in bed one last time.