Alexia Leinfell watched her son ride away with Sven. She knew of the man and the other scouts the kingdom sent out. She sighed as she turned back towards the house, and upon entering, she felt that it was too big now. She cooked dinner that night, enough for just her and Brondin, luckily, but the house felt colder with just the two of them. Both of them had hoped that Kestevere wouldn’t have to leave for another four to six years, but apparently, the system and the gods both had different plans. She and Brondin washed the dishes together before retiring to bed silently. The gap that Kestevere left behind would be evident to anyone who saw them despite it being temporary.
As Alexia drifted to sleep, she began to smell the fields of battle that she’d once stood upon. Her eyes flew open, and the wind started whipping around her. She pulled her sword from the sheath as she waved her squad forward.
“Stand tall! Stand strong! Defeat the enemy for all that may follow us upon this planet!” Alexia yelled before cutting down the first of many enemies. She pushed forward so that she and the rest of her people could reach the squad captain ahead, Captain Avalon. They’d fought this war together for a couple of years, but nothing had come from it. Death. Bodies feeding the earth and animals as enemies were left behind in the wake of scarlet gore.
Waves of magic began to rise from the enemy’s rear line, and Alexia stabbed her sword into the ground in preparation for the assault of forces.
“Forge the wall! Earth’s Favor: Shield Maiden!” She shouted, pouring more magic into the wall of earth by shouting the incantation. Her squad followed her example and reinforced the wall with sheets of ice, gusts of air, and freezing magma over the wall. The attacks all hit at once, and the force alone was enough to knock her squad back with the recoil. Alexia’s head hit the ground as she bounced along the ground. She could hear Captain Brondin shouting for her as her consciousness began to return to her, and he lifted her onto her feet.
“Leinfell, are you alright?” He shouted over the roars of battle.
“I will be. I need to go on. We need to go on. The war can end here,” she slurred, still feeling the effects of the physical and magical shockwave that had torn through her.
“I’ll do it. You’re going back to the medics,” Brondin said, motioning to one of his men. He turned his back to Alexia, who continued to dispute his decision.
“No! If you’re going, my squad will follow. We’re the shield to your sword, Captain.”
“I said no,” he said, flames igniting upon his armor and weapons, “you must live. You and him.”
“Who are you talking about,” she asked, attempting to feign ignorance.
“Our son. I know because the medic told me. I tried to be fair to you and your squad, but allowing you to endanger not only yourself isn’t fair to me,” Brondin said gruffly before leaping back into combat and proving that the moniker ‘Phoenix Captain’ was an apt description. Alexia quickly recovered from the battlefield and was taken back to the ridge where the medical tents were set. She was healed, and a medic specializing in internal injury was able to verify that she was safe, and so was her son.
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The battle was coming to a close, and Tearford was nearly won. Alexia hadn’t let her gaze falter from Brondin for even a moment, and she knew her time as a soldier was ending. The boy she was carrying was to be the future strength of Graeden. She realized that Brondin was rightfully angry at her for risking her life and the life that was born amidst the death and sorrow of the war. As Major Voltin and Brondin surrounded the remaining forces on the enemy side, Alexia felt her heart beginning to slow. Safety was in sight.
From nearly a mile away, Alexia noticed that something was wrong. A soldier stood behind her allies and began wrapping himself in an aura of lightning. Alexia yelled across the battlefield to warn Brondin as the enemy dropped into a stance that allowed him to pierce through all defenses with the speed and force of lightning itself.
Alexia forced the magic through and pushed all of her mana into the ground she knelt upon.
“Terra Blitz!” She cried out, going beyond her control limit and causing the magic to run wild around the enemy. The ambient magic amplified the strength of her own magic, and the ground imploded upon itself, swallowing the corpses and any unlucky survivors in the immediate area before exploding into a geyser of scarlet soil that fell from above. She forced herself back onto her feet, the exhaustion of overtaxing her mana beginning to take its toll and ravaging her magic pathways. Her breathing was labored as she saw the battle end. Brondin looked back towards her with a look that held nothing but gratitude for her and relief that the war was finally over.
* * *
Alexia woke from the nightmare that had been common in the first few years after the war had ended. Over time, she’d healed from the strain the war had placed on her mind and heart. Alexia was sure that she’d killed mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and many others. It was a choice that she’d made to protect those that she’d loved at the beginning of the war in her own kingdom, as well as those that she learned to love and loved to learn about.
Getting out of bed, she went into the kitchen to make herself a glass of cold water. The cup was filled with the crispest, coldest water she could desire, and she found that it helped to calm her nerves.
“You’re up early this morning. Did you have a nightmare about the war as well,” Brondin asked exhaustion and worry creasing his forehead.
“I did. I hope it’s not a sign of what’s to come, but I know who we are. I know who Kest can be,” Alexia said, filling the cup with water for the man she’d once fought beside. The silence between the two was in reverence for all of those who lost their lives, no matter the side.
“It’ll be fine. He’s already a good fighter, and he awoke younger than either of us did. He’ll have time to prepare for whatever the world may throw his way,” Brondin said as he intertwined his hand in hers.
“I know. You saved us so that we could live. I saved you so that we could raise him properly together. He’s got his father’s hard-headed attitude and his mother’s kindness and looks,” she said, snickering. The two continued getting ready as the pressure that had invaded the house in Kestevere’s absence began to fade, and hope from the past and for the future filled the hearts of the couple who looked forward to the time that the fallen had sacrificed for.
Alexia left the house as the sun crested the forest to the east, and she made her trek down to the village, where she would continue to help raise and nurture the children that she considered her own family. A mother’s love isn’t limited to blood. A mother’s love is free for all who find themselves in need.