No, I thought, running to the commanders’ house and up the stairs to where we had planned out all of it. Inside, I saw haggard chiefs who looked like they had just woken up, probably because they just had.

One of them, a man that I could not recognize, stood almost like a sentry, over the map. That man, I realized, was a guard. I did not know why they had a guard here, for most of them were able-bodied men in their prime, but there we were.

“These strongholds were built for the cities long ago to stave off destruction from other free cities, not from tribes.” One of the chiefs was roaring. “But I’ll be damned if we do not try!”

“It’s impossible! We cannot hold out!” Another said.

“We must surrender! They have sent a force fifteen-thousand-strong. How can we hope to beat these kinds of odds?!”

I figured that this was the time for me to cite my own story. “Because,” I said, “I already have.”

The chiefs looked up. “Ah! Just the person that I wanted here!” Ail’ujao told me. “Can you tell them that we have to beat such odds in order to fulfill the prophecies? It is impossible for us to lose, isn’t it, if we have you on our side!”

“Only sort of.” I said, “But yes, it should be hard for you to lose if you have me on your side, as prophecy itself should be behind me. However, we do not know what kind of forests God might take us through. But whatever the outcome, we must fight. My father did not die with his work completed for you all to just argue and not even try to fight.”

They nodded. “It will be done, m’lady,” Ail’ujao said with satisfaction. Fine. If I had to support his side of this argument to win, so be it.

“And one more thing,” I said. “Do not call me that. I was born a tribeswoman and I will stay a tribeswoman for as long as I live. I am not a queen like they have in the free cities. I am the one who shall unite us all, and nothing more.”

“Yes, uniter” Yoiu’ja said as the others echoed him. He was a strange fellow. The man was from the far east, where they had many customs that were totally different from ours, but this man was just strange and it was more than the fact that I could mistake him for a sentry in a tower at times, even though he wore flowing robes. He spoke rarely and when he finally did speak, he added some of the most valuable parts of the conversation that could be added. He was also a tall man, an unusually tall man, even with his people. I wondered what had happened to him that made him so, not just the tallness, as that could be natural, but his general demeanor.

The chiefs immediately set to work with me directing them. At times I would hear men screaming for their mothers and I would try to get out of the place to help them. However, Chief Yoiu’ja would always stop me with an open hand to his mouth, which meant to stop. Once, the chiefs even stood up to thank him, but, as always, he did not speak much, and only said, “It is my duty,” and would not say anymore on that.

Messengers would run in and out and I would be the one usually giving the orders to them as the chiefs were too engrossed in their planning to notice the messengers. Once, one of them even asked me, “Why are you giving orders to me?”

I answered simply, “Because it can be only me, for they will not allow it to be any different, even if they do not realize it.”

Sometimes, I was tempted to give my own orders, but I knew that lives were at stake here, and if I did, I would be directly endangering thousands of people, indirectly endangering millions.

The siege itself went worse and worse. The chiefs commanded the battle with increasing worry as every time that they looked up they seemed to be increasingly worried as they were in the tower that looked out over the battlefield.

I myself could see it, even though I certainly was no expert in things such as battlefield tactics, but I knew a losing battle when I saw it. Our forces kept on getting killed left and right as their forces seemed not to be taking a scratch. Finally, when they started to employ the ladders, the chiefs ordered a retreat. But just before that I had received a message: the horses were on the way, and close.

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“No,” I said. “We cannot retreat now. I know that it seems grim but we must not. I have just received a message that the horses—the calvary—is close!”

“We do not have time for the calvary to reach us—we got the same message,” Ail’ujao said with a frustrated tone.

“Then I will fight in the battle myself.” I said.

“No.” The sentry—no, Chief Yoiu’ja said.

I unsheathed my sword. “You’ll have to kill me to stop me from going into battle.”

“No.” Chief Yoiu’ja said and tried to slam my head with the hilt of his sword.

Ani’sja, who had been silent for most of this time, unsheathed his sword, too, but in his eyes I did not see the intent to protect, but rather the intent to hurt.

I deflected the first blow from Chief Yoiu’ja, but he was damn good with a sword. He moved faster than I could’ve hoped to and before I knew it I was also trying to duel two people. I tried to do that, but they quickly slammed me on the head with the hilts of their swords. Everything went black.

I awoke on a stretcher in dark tunnels. There was no light, except for the light of those torches that the men were carrying. All around us, pools of water and stalactites showed themselves.

I sat up. “What happened?”

I felt a great pain in my shoulder, almost like someone had stuck a sword there…wait a minute.

What if someone had?

Everything came flooding back to me. Ani’sja’s lying with whores, the fighting between us, all of it. I almost spat with my hatred of him. I felt the pain in my shoulder grow as I touched the bandages and I could not use that arm, but luckily it was my left arm and not my right. If it had been my right, then that really would have been bad.

No one listened to me. The caves were wide but also small. On the one hand, the caves spread out majestically all throughout my field of view. On the other, there was only a relatively small path that we could walk without being in the water.

“Lie back down, dear.” One of the women said.

All of the sudden sleepiness overwhelmed me and I laid back down.

I awoke outside the caves, to another soldier leaning on his sword.

Not this again, I thought, Please Lord not this again.

The last time that this had happened, I had lost someone who could’ve been a lifelong friend.

I was in a tent, a hastily set up tent, and the soldier was leaning on his sword amidst endless carnage. Bodies were lain all around him and he looked haggard. The soldier smiled when he saw me. I was laying on a bed of roses, which penetrated my skin. The tent itself was a brown tent, and small. It was through the flaps that I could see the soldier leaning on his sword.

I got up and felt immediate pain everywhere, but still I got out of the bed of roses and looked around the tent for bandages, holding my greatest wounds.

I was clothed in almost clear linens, and I suspected that I looked haggard, too.

I found them right next to the edges of the tent, and suddenly, a part of the prophecy came back to me, and just in time.

She shall sleep in a bed of roses, but shall not need bandaging.

Where had that come from? I had never heard the prophecy in full, just bits and pieces, but I was sure that I had never heard that.

I put the bandages down, and quickly realized that the wounds were clearing up. I had really only been a weakling when I had been holding my wounds like that, for they had been small wounds.

Still, my linens were soaked through and so I decided to quickly change. The man outside might think that I was weak. There were clothes right next to the bandages, and they were much thicker. I put them on and felt an immediate warm that I hadn’t felt before. I saw a belt with my sword in it, as well as my spear right next to it, and I put it on, even if it was hard to put on.

Finally, I stepped out of the tent to meet the soldier who was smiling grimly now.

“All my friends,” He was saying, “And all of my comrades. Everyone.”

“What do you mean?” I asked but he did not seem to notice me.

“My own wife.” He said. “Gone.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“You see, they have now left me to guard a girl.” He said, seeming to only partially recognize my presence.

“Why?” I asked.

Finally, he turned around and I could see his face. It was bloody and caked with grease. His brown eyes, even, seemed to blend into his face a bit.

“Because they say that the prophecy is that a man who has lost everything will guard a girl who has lost nothing.” He said.

“But that cannot be true.” I said, “I have lost a husband along this journey.”

“And they chose me.” He continued. “I could tell you to stop right there, but nothing matters to me. I will guide you back to the camp if you want me to, I do know the way, and after that I suspect that they shall execute me. But that is fine.”

“Please,” I said, deeply worried for this man that I had never met, “Tell me what’s wrong and maybe we can make it better.”

“You sound like you think that it can be made better.” The man said. “It cannot. Do not even try. You will only hurt yourself and others with your naivety.”

“I will not, I promise you. Guide me to the camp and I will reward you handsomely. You will have everything that you could ever want.”

“What about my wife back?” He asked. “What about my children down from the heavens? What about the people that I knew, my comrades, risen again. No, I believe that the only way to meet them is to meet them in heaven, but I already have a date with Hell’s mistress.”

“What do you mean?” I asked again.

“You are that mistress.” He said, then moved closer to me.