“How the hell are we supposed to get it back?!” Kenrich said. “We can’t take on a small army.”
“We don’t really have a choice now, do we?” Violet said, crossing her arms.
“Throwing our lives away isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
“My life has already been thrown away twice now so we just have to hope everything will work out if we do it again.”
“You're delusional, V! We don’t have the ring anymore. Now, we’re just normal people who don't get any more chances at life.”
“Which is why we need a solid plan. I’m not saying that we run in the middle of the city and start swinging our swords around blindly! We just need to think…”
“Is there any way for us to get an edge in the fight?”
“Well, we can imagine that they will be looking for us, so the only advantage we might have is being able to dictate the time and place of our battle. The obvious answer would be for you to use those damn devil-powers of yours, but you’d need to be able to activate them when you want to.”
“I don’t know if I can. I only seem to feel that much rage when someone I care about dies.”
“Can you just replay the events in your head? Just try to get as angry as possible and see if it works.”
“I can try, but please stand behind a tree or something. I still don’t trust myself in that form.”
Violet took Atlas and went a substantial distance away from Kenrich as they found a place to stand behind a few sturdy looking trees. Violet peeked her head out and stared at Kenrich from a distance. Atlas did the same.
Kenrich tried to replay the death of Violet at the hands of the Coalition members in Fril, her death at the hands of Tinsen, and how he felt when he heard that they had killed Geralt. He did feel an immense amount of anger, but it was hard to feel as angry as he had in that cell when the pain of that moment was still so fresh. Anger is always something that dissipates as time passes, making it hard to relive that same amount of passion for a second time. Violet saw a slight orange glint in his eyes as he stood there trying, but it always went out after only a few flickers. It seemed like trying to will this power to activate would be impossible, at least for now. Kenrich looked over at Violet and shook his head. She shrugged her shoulders and led Atlas back to their campsite.
“I don’t think I can do it,” Kenrich said. “I feel the anger, and I feel the heat that I remember feeling, but it’s just not as intense as it was in that cell.”
“It’s okay. It was a longshot anyway to assume you could master using these powers after only discovering them less than an hour ago. Speaking of which, now that enough time has passed, they almost certainly know about our escape and are probably going to send a convoy our way soon.”
“The guard at the gate will probably be suspicious of us if we try to come back in, so it looks like if we do fight them, the battle will have to take place outside the walls of the city.”
“From what we heard in the prison, Tinsel is out there getting drunk on his ass, so if they do come out to find us, we might have an edge by being sober at least.”
“Their numbers are still going to be too much for us to handle though.”
“That’s true…but we do have quite a nice pile of stones in our inventory,” Violet said, holding out their rainbow of stones.
“Do you think we can somehow win with these?”
“We have no choice but to try! Here’s what I’m thinking-”
They truly did have a wide assortment of stones that they acquired, and they managed to retrieve all of them, minus the Ring of Life, from the chest in the prison meaning they could use any of their previous tactics or even some new ones. They had stamina stones, speed stones, healing stones, glitter stones, water breathing stones, music stones, mist stones, and a reanimation and freeze stone. Violet explained her plan to Kenrich who listened closely. He was very impressed by Violet's creativity and had a new sense of hope that he was expressly lacking before. These stones helped them win battles with the odds stacked against them before, and he was hoping they would do it again.
“Now, how does that sound?” Violet said with an obvious sense of accomplishment in her voice.
“You insane son of a bitch…that might just work.”
“Not bad, right? It has to be executed flawlessly though, so make sure to pull your weight.”
“I won’t let you down. I guess all we have to do is wait for the convoy to leave the gate. Are you sure that Tinsen will come out personally?”
“Not a doubt in my mind. That guy needs to be the center of everything. There’s no doubt that he’ll bring the ring too because he doesn’t trust anyone. He’d never let someone else hold on to it.”
“So, while we wait…can I ask you about your time in the military?”
“Depends on what you wanna ask. A lot of horrible things happened in such a short amount of time.”
“I won’t ask then. I don’t want you to have to relive all of that.”
“No, it’s okay. I think I trust you enough to go into it a little bit at least. I don’t see you as the type that would use my past against me.”
“I would never. I promise.”
“You better not. You may be stronger now than that scared little boy back in Millin, but I’d still wipe the floor with you.”
“I wasn’t a scared little boy! I’m pretty tall!”
“Your constant whining made you appear at least six inches shorter to me.”
“I’m sorry for not being able to immediately adapt to blood and gore!”
“About time you apologized. Anyway, so you wanna know about my military time, huh? Hm…Where should I start?”
*Flashback five years ago*
Location: North Admia: 1st Division Military Base - Shangloo Border
“Hey, Violet! Look!” a female voice said. “What does this banana remind you of?”
A young girl was peeking down at a young Violet from the top bunk of a bed. She had light blonde hair with matching long, blonde eyelashes that made her appear like some sort of mystical fairy. She was an average height for a woman at 5’5” and appeared almost dainty, which could not be further from the truth. She was holding a peeled banana in the face of Violet who was sitting glumly on the edge of the bottom bunk.
“I’m not playing these games with you, Fae. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“C’mon! It’s just us girls here, Vivi! What does it remind you of? And make sure to say it slowwwwwly,” Fae said with a mischievous grin.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The sleeping quarters in the military base they resided in were for girls only, and with them being the only two girls stationed here, they did not need to worry about anyone else being present. The room was oppressively sterile on its own, but the pink decor and stuffed animals lining Fae’s bed made Violet immune to its depressive grip. That was always how their relationship had worked.
“There’s definitely something wrong with you. We should be preparing for tomorrow, not acting like middle schoolers.”
“Well, we’re only sixteen! We’re just as close to that than being adults. I’m just happy we didn’t have to finish high school. That shit was a major drag.”
“You should have never followed me to the academy, Fae. You could have lived a normal life if you weren’t so damn stubborn…”
“Hey, you’ve always been the stubborn one! Of course I’m going to follow my best friend. I’m with you to hell and back, Vivi.”
“I just really need you to focus on staying alive, Fae. We get deployed in Shangloo tomorrow and it’s going to be dangerous. It’s not gonna be anything like our sparring back in the academy. They’re going to do everything they can to kill us, so stay behind me the entire time we’re there. Understand?”
“I’m not helpless, y’know? You don’t seem to remember how I was a straight ‘A’ student at the academy while you only scraped by with ‘C’s’. You should be riding my coattails!”
“Like I said, things are going to be different once we touch down in Shangloo. We must stick together.”
“There goes Violet’s famous ‘overprotective’ side…Stop worrying, Vivi. We’ll be fine. Commander Sticks said the war will last a couple weeks at most. He says that Shangloo should surrender almost immediately once they see our might, our will to fight, and that our victory won’t be slight!”
“I doubt he said it quite like that, but that blind confidence is going to end up snuffing out a lot of lives if we don’t all take this seriously. I don’t care about the mission, just put your own life first, Fae.”
“Sorry, but no. I can’t put anyone’s life over my precious babe’s!”
Fae leaned down even more from the top bunk to try and give Violet a kiss. Violet pushed her away, giggling.
“Quit it, you weirdo,” Violet said jokingly. “I guess if you put my life first and I put yours first, then we should be fine. Just promise to take it seriously. Do you promise?”
“I promise…Whatever makes you happy, Vivi. We should get some rest. I’m pooped after all those drills.”
“Goodnight, Fae.”
“Night, babe.”
War had been declared on Shangloo only a day prior, and with the first division being the closest to their border with Shangloo, they were the first to be deployed on the front lines. The public was told that the war started over Shangloo’s terrible history of slavery and the kidnapping of Admian children, but that was nothing more than propaganda spread by the Admian government to get the public on board for the war. Their real reason for declaring war was nothing even close to as noble as that. It was only the whim of the new Emperor Thelden who had just succeeded his late father earlier that year. Nothing helps bring a country together under a new ruler than a justified war. The government had thought Shangloo would be an easy target due to their small population, but they would soon learn that they were mistaken.
“Up and at ‘em, minnows!” said a loud booming voice from outside the door. “Breakfast is being served in ten minutes!”
“Ugh…” Violet groaned. She noticed that her blanket was halfway off her body, and her pillow had been thrown across the room.
“Couldn’t sleep well, could ya?” Fae said, peeking her head down at a dazed Violet.
“I don’t know how you could…You said you’d take this seriously!”
“So, I have to prove that through insomnia? Sorry, but you know I always sleep like a rock.”
“A rock using a cutting stone maybe…”
“So what if I snore a little?! Everyone has flaws! You should be happy knowing that I’m knee-deep in dreamland. Don’t you want your friend to be healthy?”
“Healthy and alive. Now, let’s get some breakfast before all those beasts take the best stuff.”
“I won’t tolerate a lack of sausage!” Fae said before jumping down from the top bunk.
“A bit indecent don’t you think?” Violet said, giggling.
“You’re such a hypocrite!”
Violet and Fae made their way to the cafeteria which was filled to the brim with soldiers. Even though they had gotten there only a few minutes after the announcement, they still were unable to beat the crowd.
“Ugh…This place is always fucking full,” Violet said, irritated.
“It can’t be helped, Vivi. Let’s just get in line before there’s nothing left.”
They made their way to the back of the breakfast line. There were twenty soldiers in front of them and each was taking more than their fair share.
“Violet! I can see the sausages! Oh no! There’re only a few left…”
“Save my spot.”
Violet got out of line and went around the side of the line until she spotted the tub of sausages. The two soldiers adjacent to the container had their backs turned as they talked with one another. Violet saw this as her chance and quickly plunged her hand in the small mound of sausage, grabbing a handful. The two soldiers turned back around after hearing the noise of sausage theft but were unable to catch Violet as she had already left the scene of the crime.
“Weren’t there more sausages like a second ago?” the soldier said.
“You probably just need some new glasses,” the other soldier said.
“I don’t wear glasses…”
“Then, I guess you should get some.”
Violet snuck back around to Fae with sausages encased in her cupped hands. The soldiers looked at her oddly as she speedwalked to the back of the line, but had no reason to expect anything strange. Once returning to her spot, she threw a pile of sausages on Fae’s empty plate.
“My hero! You really never could refuse a damsel in distress. Wait, did you wash your hands before tightly gripping my sausages?”
“Wow, you’re gonna complain after all I went through to get those for you?”
“I’ll take that as a no. You better not have touched anything gross…”
They then went through the breakfast line normally and stacked their plates full of eggs, toast, and bacon. The sausage was of course empty when they reached it. Violet told Fae to eat as much as she could since it would probably be a while before they got to eat to their heart’s content again. After finishing their plates, Violet and Fae were approached by a large imposing figure who they knew very well.
“Hello, Fae…and Violet,” the large man said.
“What’s up, Commander Sticks!” Fae said, saluting him with butter smeared on her cheek.
Commander Sticks was as tall as he was muscular. He was an older man in his mid-fifties who had reached his rank through his actions rather than his words. He was well respected in the military for his toughness and military prowess, but he was an old-fashioned man. He felt that there was no need for women in the military and saw them as weak. There was one thing that he and Violet could agree on though, and that was their mission to protect Fae.
“Fae, you’ve really made a mess of yourself…” Violet said, before using a napkin to wipe Fae’s face like an overbearing mother.
“I can clean myself off!”
“What can we do for you, commander?” Violet asked.
“I’ve just come to tell you about the squadrons you will both be belonging to as we deploy after everyone is finished here. Violet, you have been assigned to the fourth squadron. Fae, you will be part of the eight squadron, with me.”
“What?! You can’t separate us!” Violet yelled, slamming the table.
“V-Violet…” Fae said softly.
“You’d do best not to go against the orders of your commander, Violet. You should be happy that she is going to be in my squadron. It’s truly the safest place to be.”
“I’d do a much better job at protecting her than you, jackass!”
“Hold your tongue! I could have you court-martialed! She’ll be much safer with me by her side.”
“WHY DOES EVERYONE FEEL LIKE I’M SO FUCKING HELPLESS!” Fae yelled. They had everyone’s attention now. “I’m sick of being treated like some glass vase that can break with the slightest amount of pressure! I’m not weak! I don’t need to be protected!”
Fae got up and stormed out of the cafeteria. Violet wanted to say something to stop her but could not muster up the courage. She knew she was in the wrong. Fae never wanted to be babied or protected, she only wanted to be treated like a normal person.
“She can cry all she wants,” Commander Sticks said. “All that matters is that she stays alive.”
He then walked off leaving Violet by herself with her thoughts.