"Iris, wake up, Iris, Iris! Wake up!"

She opened one of her eyes to see a figure hovering over her and shouting her name. Rolling over, she pulled a blanket over her head,

"five more minutes."

"Eric, is she awake yet? We need to report now!" A voice called from outside the room.

"I'm working on it, Lyric! She's like a rock. A very, very large rock!”

"Oh, please help me, Eden," He pleaded.

Determined to wake her, he grasped her by the shoulders and started furiously shaking her side to side. "WAKE UP!" He yelled over and over again. She let out a whimper and slid out of bed,

"I'm awake. I'm awake. Just let me get ready."

"There’s no time!" he barked as he grabbed her arm and ushered her out the door.

THUD

Iris fell to the ground clutching her forehead in pain.

"Owww."

Wobbling back to her feet she ducked under the door frame and in the hall she spotted a person in front of them. Against the wall was a brown-eyed and olive skinned woman with her arms crossed and her left brow raised. Staring daggers at the two of them.

“Good morning, Lyric,” Iris said with a smile.

"Finally, you're ready to go! I've been waiting here for like ten minutes!" she snapped back.

Together they hurried out the barracks' corridor, passing empty rooms on either side, making it outside.

They made their way to the quad, a vast open space now filled with hundreds of soldiers standing side by side. Seeing a few openings the three of them fell into line. Eric jumped up and down trying to see the front.

"Iris, do you see Commander Reeves anywhere?"

She looked out beyond the rows of soldiers but saw nothing. The only thing in her view was the Commander's Hall. The soldiers started murmuring to each other, trying to figure out what was happening. The murmuring fell silent as the twin-doors of the Hall burst open.

Commander Reeves walked out and stepped onto a wooden platform in front of the crowd. He wore a navy blue military uniform with a single red feather pinned to the right of his chest. He scanned the rows of men and women, and time felt as if it had stopped until his voice carried throughout the camp,

"I have gathered you all here today to disclose that in ten days, we shall head out towards the outskirts of the City of Seles. There we will gather with Prince Baldwin's troops and take on the forces of Versia that have assembled near the border. You should all feel honored that you will be fighting under the command of Prince Baldwin! Together we will end these nine years of bloodshed!"

Resentment swelled in her chest at the mention of Versia. Together with the rest of the soldiers, she let out a cheer followed by fist pumps into the air.

"Glory to Eden, Glory to Invictia!" Commander Reeves shouted out.

Glory to Eden, Glory to Invictia, the soldiers chorused back. The crowd dissipated and she, Eric, and Lyric made their way to the training field to find their Captain. Scanning the open field, she spotted him. At the far end of the area, he laid on top of a bench snoring. Making their way there, the rest of their unit arrived forming a half-circle around him.

"Captain Lentus," she coughed. Startled, Lentus jumped up from the bench and launched a punch into her direction.

"You won't take me alive, you scum!" He screamed, still lost in his dream.

Iris took a single step to the side, and the fist flew right past her. Lentus, now off-balance, nose dived towards the ground. Iris reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket, making him come to an abrupt stop, inches before he face-planted into the dirt. Letting out a grunt, he looked up to see Iris's face.

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"Oh, is that you, Iris? I swear you were an assassin trying to murder me.”

"Nice to see you too, captain,"

Fixing his uniform and readjusting the white feather on his jacket, he started to debrief the unit. The plan was to set out ten days from now when the early morning sunrises. Until they were free to do what they wanted, see loved ones, family, and say their goodbyes. Iris left the field by herself and found herself back in the quad. She walked up to the doors of the building that Commander Reeves previously stepped through. She took a deep breath and entered.

Inside, she walked up the stairs leading to the second floor. Taking a right at the top, she entered the first room on the left. The room was cramped and void of life. It had a big bookshelf covering the entire left wall and a closet on the right, sitting against the far wall was a desk, overflowing with paperwork.

Iris wandered about the room, waiting for the resident to arrive. She found herself opening the closet and looking at what hung inside.

Inside were three outfits; one set of everyday clothes, a heavy jacket with a long-sleeved shirt, and a military officer's uniform. Running her hands across the uniform seams, she counted eleven buttons running down the left-hand side of the navy blue uniform, each one with the insignia of Invicta carved on it. While Iris admired the deep sea green feathered pinned to its chest, a voice called out from behind her,

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Iris turned around and saluted. There stood a thin, worn-out man. His appearance was ragged; eyes sunken in with large bags beneath, and messy gray hair covered the top of his head that had started to thin. Despite looking like a man who hadn't slept in days, he wore a giant grin on his face, much like her father's once tender smile. Holding his arms open, he said in a warm tone,

"It’s good to see you Iris?"

Opening her arms up, she hugged the man tightly.

"It's great to see you too, Uncle Amiel."

After their long embrace, Amiel looked at Iris, seeing every scar, callus, and cut that she had accumulated over the past few years of training. They laughed, told stories of training and battle, and enjoyed each other's company, even if only for a little. They eventually each took opposite seats at the desk. Amiel's snarky grin and attitude quickly changed to a frown as they sat down facing each other.

"Iris, I know that it has been your goal to join the effort, but I don't know if I could bear sending my niece off to war" he said solemnly.

"Uncle, I've been training for the past nine years for this. I can't stand by and do nothing." Iris stood her ground not giving in.

The two of them sat there staring at each other. Seconds folded into minutes, and minutes passed, but Amiel could only sigh.

"As a fellow soldier, I cannot stop you from heading into battle for your nation, but before you go, please heed my warning, not as just an uncle but as a superior officer."

Standing up, he walked towards the closet and opened its doors. Reaching in, he grabbed the military officer uniform and studied it. He stared deeply into the buttons of the uniform, seeing his reflection looking back at him. He took a deep sigh and looked back at Iris,

"I've been a soldier my whole life. The day I first saw this uniform, the prestige, the honor that carried with you as you wore it. I made it my life goal to have it. Forty years later, the uniform is now mine. But now that it is in my hands, I can't seem to put it on. All I see when I look at this uniform now is the bodies I have slain, the blood I have spilled for my nation. I see my younger self looking back at me. I can't help but question it. Was it worth it?

Iris stood up and raised her voice in objection,

"You know that isn't what I'm doing this for. I couldn't care less about medals and honor. It's so much more than that. I'll die before I don’t do whatever it takes to get revenge on what they did.”

Putting the uniform back into the closet, Amiel faced her with an anxious look in his eyes and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Iris, I know I can't stop you from doing this, but please take care of yourself, don't let yourself get consumed with the past."

Amiel and Iris embraced each other once again, this time filled with the thought that it could be their last.

Leaving the embrace, Amiel closed the window and sat down at his desk. Shoulders slumped and an expression now fitting his age he spoke softly,

"Iris, my last plea for you is to return to your father. Just for a day. It would be best if you gave him his goodbyes. I love my younger brother, and just like you, he is haunted by the past. I know he has made mistakes, but he needs you, and you might not realize it, but you need him too. He loves you so much, more than you could ever know."

Iris filled with anger at the mention of her father. She forced a smile on her face and, not wanting to continue talking about the subject, agreed to see him. Leaving the building, she stood there for a moment with the sun glistening over her head. It was finally time. Nine years of waiting, nine years of training for the time she could finally join the fight. She could fight for her kingdom, for her family, for her mother.

The travel time for her to get home was around eight days on foot, so she had to find a carriage to bring her there. Arriving back in the barracks, she prepared a pair of extra clothes and was ready to leave. She said her goodbyes to Lyric and Eric and left a letter of leave at her Lentus’s door..

As the sun started to set Iris hitched a ride on the back of a passing carriage. She recalled her dream last night.

"When times were simple," she thought, but those memories only fueled her desire to fight.

They took everything from her, so it was only fair that she took everything from them.