“Lucas! There you are! Where the hell did you go? We were about to send someone to look for you!” Sidyn was not concerned in the slightest, only very annoyed.
“I went to help a child of Fleyw Bresh cross the border,” was his simple response. “She wanted to get back home so I brought her to the nearby town. She’s got a dream of helping her people so I couldn’t just walk away.”
“You decided to play escort with so many soldiers around?” Sidyn took a deep breath. “Gods help us in the days to come, I think we’re going to need it.”
“Do you know where Veradis is?”
“I believe she’s with the children of Fleyw Bresh.”
“And where are they?”
“Just look outside, they’re all over the place. It’s not my job to babysit them.”
Lucas sighed and left. At least it wasn’t that hard to find them; each group of children of Fleyw Bresh stuck close to each other. All he needed to do was find the other elders and he saw Veradis, watching the Fleyw Bresh practice as she talked with Clari.
“We were planning on getting married this winter,” he heard Clari say as he got closer. He slowed in order to find a better time to interrupt them.
“That’s still such a ways away,” Veradis pointed out casually. “In the few times I’ve seen the two of you together, it always looked like you’d happily be swept off your feet right then and there. Why wait so long?”
“It was the first time that we had a chance to get all of our family together. My uncle promised to get a hold of my parents and siblings back in the mountains. Most of Lucas’s family already lives in our village, so the only person we’d need to get a hold of is his sister. Besides, it gives us plenty of time to prepare for what comes next.”
“How many are you hoping for?”
“I’d like at least three, but… I suppose we’ll just see what happens.”
“I’m sure Thalis will be more than willing to see your wish to fruition. Beyond saving both of our nations’ people from the king, you have even more to gain from this.” Veradis smiled. “Your kingdom will need a new king and, with that king, a queen. You and your children will hardly have to worry about anything.”
“Yes, but… will that come at the expense of never seeing their father..? Neither of us have big dreams of grandeur. I’ve always been perfectly content to have a little house in the countryside, or anything, really, if it meant we could grow old together. The only thing about our life in Alyselin that I would have ever dreamed of changing was how Lucas ran into trouble no matter what he did. If he does become king at the end of this… it’s sure to be busy and tiring work to build Seothia up again. How much time would he really be able to spare?”
“You’ve got the spirit of a child of Fleyw Bresh, Clari. We, too, are happy with what the gods have given us, however small it might’ve been. It’s a turning point in history for all of us. Together, we will see the beginning of a new era and learn how to live in the changing times.”
Lucas took this as his opportunity to make himself known to them. He decided not to mention anything about what he overheard. “Veradis, how would you say the children of Fleyw Bresh are coming along?”
“They’re putting in their best efforts, though it’s going to take much longer for them to be able to stand up against anyone,” she responded solemnly. “They’re putting in a lot of effort, however. It’s like a second wind of confidence and resolve. Orestis willing, they will be ready by the time Pastor Takedon returns.”
“We might have to change our plans a bit…” he admitted. “I left and ended up helping a girl get across the border. Everyone’s right about how many soldiers there are. We’re going to have to find a safer place to wait for Takedon to come back.”
“So we’re leaving soon, then?”
“If you can get everyone ready by then, I think it’s safest if we leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning. Hopefully we won’t run into any fights.”
…
Lucas spread the word to the rest of the camp and was able to get Aredes to do whatever magical bird-spelling thing he did to give Takedon the update. They spent a good majority of the night trying to figure out where they could go. Everywhere either seemed to have too many soldiers occupying the area around them or were too close to where they’d already been before. They briefly brought up heading back to Nixon and seeing if they could get the help from the rest of those townspeople, too, though it was quickly shot down. By now a lot more soldiers would have been stationed there. It was too much of a risk.
They chose to follow the path Takedon was supposed to take and meet him halfway. They hardly had the supplies to last them that long, but they decided that they just had to make it count that much more. At the very least, it was smarter than waiting here in a place that felt like it was becoming more hostile by the hour.
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Part of the path was through a forest. Before they got there, they maintained a few hushed conversations amongst themselves. Now everything was silent, everyone seemingly waiting for the bad thing that they all knew was bound to happen. The terrain partially proved to help them stay hidden from the soldiers, though it also meant that their enemies could do the same. With a group this large, anyone looking for them would have no trouble finding them. Meanwhile, they could very well get surrounded without ever noticing it…
“We’re almost out of this stretch,” Lucas called to everyone behind him, daring to break the silence. “It shouldn’t be long before we’re out of here.”
For the past hour, Missa had been muttering things in their ancient language. Whatever it was, it brought butterflies and birds to her long enough for her to say something to them and then leave again. He didn’t ask what it was because he figured he wouldn’t have been able to understand it anyway. It became clear enough that it was something that probably would have been important to know when she said, “I don’t think we’re alone anymore.”
Aredes immediately realized what it meant she’d been doing. “Oh, using them to scout out the area around us! You’re pretty smart, for someone without that much natural talent.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Missa remarked with a glare. “But that’s not the point. The point is that someone else is here, and knowing our pursuers there’s definitely more than one.”
“You don’t know how many?” Sidyn hissed, trying to keep his voice low in an attempt not to alert too many others about it. There were plenty among them that would go into a panic at the news.
“Magic isn’t that specific,” she defended. “I only told them to look for someone, not to determine how many of these someones there are. At the rate they’re getting back to me, though, there’s definitely more than one.”
“Brace for an ambush, then,” Lucas decided, hating the amount of uncertainty in his voice. “Let’s hope the Fleyw Bresh are ready for a fight…”
“I think you should be hoping that they don’t already outnumber us,” Sidyn corrected. “If we’d left when I told us to, they might not have had enough forces to properly tail us. Their numbers near the lake were definitely more than our own and, however great the Fleyw Bresh’s magic is, I doubt they’re ready to take on that many at once.”
“Is there anything else we can do?”
“We pray there really are gods and that they’re on our side.”
Lucas’s sigh and nod sent Aredes out to warn the others. There was a kind of panic that ran through the group, but they were able to see past it with the help of the elders. They went into the formation they had practiced and prepared for a fight.
He slowly drew his sword when soldiers finally started to appear through the trees. A gentle hand on his shoulder broke what concentration and resolve he was beginning to build.
“Clari? You shouldn’t be out here, you should be with the elders and children…” he mumbled, looking over his shoulder to see her.
“You shouldn’t be out here, either,” she pointed out quietly. “You’re the leader of this rebellion, they shouldn’t be able to have the chance to kill you so easily. More than that… I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’m going to be fine. The soldiers need to know that we’re not afraid of them, and hiding our leader doesn’t quite do that.”
“But you’re important to everyone here. We can’t risk losing you.”
He gave her the most reassuring smile he could and gently pushed her hand off of him. “Missa, can you take her to the others and make sure she stays there? Act as the last defense, in case the soldiers get that far.”
“And remind the Fleyw Bresh they probably shouldn’t use any fire magic,” Sidyn added. “They’re going to end up setting the damn forest on fire.”
Missa, though not without a hint of reluctance, nodded and disappeared with Clari.
Sidyn drew his own sword. “I’m assuming you still practice with that thing?”
“If we had that blade tournament this year, I would’ve beaten all of them by a long shot.”
“Let’s hope that good bladework is inherited, then. You’re going to need it. At the very least, we’re going to make sure you and a group of others have an opening to meet up with Pastor Takedon.”
“We’re not leaving anyone behind.”
Apparently, Sidyn found the sentiment amusing enough to chuckle. “I know you’ve always been naive, but be honest with yourself. You know for a fact that that’s not going to be the case forever.”
“What about the honor of it, then?”
“There’s honor in running away, as long as you intend to pick up that sword again one day.”
The soldiers got close enough that it was no longer time for chatting. Already they could hear the ominous words of the Fleyw Bresh as they used their magic; it was time the few of them in the front started to put up a fight as well.
Lucas fought the best he could, but it quickly became apparent that there were too many soldiers for them. He was all too aware of the signs that the Fleyw Bresh truly weren’t prepared for this. They were going to get overwhelmed soon and there wasn’t even enough room for any of them to escape and live to fight another day.
He was trying to figure out a possible solution to get them all out when he blocked the attack of a familiar face. “Svend?”
“I wondered where you went all of a sudden,” the Seothian soldier remarked with a smirk. “It got real quiet in Alyselin once you left. I knew you were up to something, but I didn’t think you were stupid, too. The Fleyw Bresh? Really, Lucas? What makes you think that people are going to recognize a rebellion won only by the help of tynmir? Or have you not thought about that part at all?”
“They want their freedom just as much as we do, that’s all that should matter. Where they were born or whether or not they have magic isn’t a part of this at all.”
“So that’s what you think? Look at them, they aren’t anything like real soldiers. They can’t even put up a fight against us. I daresay your little game of rebellion is coming to an end, and it’s all in the king’s favor.” Svend quickly moved to knock him to the ground. “There’s an easy way that you can help all of these people. They can all go to their safe homes like they should be, and everything goes back to how it was. You come with me and you finally get to learn what happens to those who disobey the king.”
“Lucas, focus! He’s just trying to mess with you,” Sidyn shouted from over all the other noise.
It was a futile effort, though. “Are you sure I can trust you?”
“Have you ever known me to lack the honor to be honest?” Svend returned.
Lucas sighed. “No. I’ll come with you, just… leave everyone else alone.”
Svend smiled and grabbed his hand. “Everyone, pull back! We’ve got what we came for.”