“What are you doing in here?” Tarana grumbled, trying to hide her amusement.
Roxanne blinked. “I heard you had been killed. I should have known better than to trust that moron’s judgment.”
“Yeah, about that.” Tarana glared. “Why the hell did you have men follow me?”
Roxanne appeared to be over her surprise. “Because you’re an idiot and I was afraid you would do exactly what you just did.”
Tarana cocked her head. “Well, that’s odd. Because they seemed to do absolutely nothing to stop me.”
“What do you want me to say?” Roxanne demanded. “I sent incompetent guards after you? Yeah, they were. Who cares?”
Tarana shrugged. “I just think maybe they weren't sent to protect me at all, just report back to you if I managed to get myself killed.”
Sitting down on Tarana's bed, Roxanne put her head in her hands. “Tarana, I was pissed at you. I didn't want you killed, which is why I sent those morons after you. Like I said, I know Prisca and I knew you had just made yourself a very dangerous enemy. While she wouldn't be stupid enough to fight a fellow soldier while she was in the army, she certainly had no qualms about attacking you after you got her kicked out. I wanted to make sure you two settled it without either of you getting killed. Apparently those orders were far too complicated for the guys I sent out after you.” She groaned. “You are in such big trouble, Tarana. Even if you did get that stupid award, the general isn't going to ignore the fact that you just killed Prisca. In front of an audience, no less. And that guard just had to announce to everyone that the both of you were dead.” She lifted her head. “Prisca is dead, right? Since apparently those morons can't tell the difference between dead and alive.”
Tarana nodded once and Roxanne ran a hand through her hair. “Well, that's that, then. She winced as she heard her name being called from down the hallway. Roxanne walked out of the room and called back to Kendall, then turned back to Tarana and took a deep breath. “Look,” she paused for a moment, “I'll do what I can to keep you out of trouble, alright? I don't know if it will be enough or not, but let me talk to General Kendall for you.”
At that moment, Kendall stormed into the room and spotted Tarana standing amidst the wreckage of what had once been her end table. “Just what is going on?” he boomed.
Roxanne stepped between Kendall and Tarana. “Kendall,” she said slowly, “Prisca attacked Tarana in Ralinos this afternoon. All she did was defend herself, which unfortunately resulted in Prisca's death. One of my men saw the entire thing.”
Looking over Roxanne's shoulder at Tarana, Kendall swore loudly. “Do you realize how this reflects on the army? The town is in an uproar. Rivalry is one thing, but murdering a girl in front of the entire town?” His voice rose in anger.
Tarana opened her mouth to reply, but Roxanne broke in. “I know it's a horrible mess and shouldn't have happened, but I swear it will never happen again.”
Kendall glared at her. “Of course it won't. Prisca is dead. I don't think you quite realize the magnitude of what she has done. I work hard to keep the peace between the civilians of the town and the army. That peace has just been destroyed and I don't know if I will ever be able to recover that trust. Did you even give her permission to enter town?”
“Yes,” Roxanne replied without hesitation, “I did.”
“And you must have also given her permission to carry her sword into town?”
“No, she didn't,” Tarana finally broke in.
Shooting a glare at Tarana, Roxanne shook her head. “If anything, that's what she should be punished for. Simply forgetting to remove her sword before entering town.”
“Why don't you let the girl talk for herself,” Kendall growled. “What has gotten into you, Tarana? I award you with a medal for your enthusiasm and loyalty and you immediately go and murder the girl you told me was your friend!” He continued ranting for quite some time, but Tarana stopped listening, pushing around the pieces of the broken end table with one foot. Finally, he threw up his hands. “Until the battle, you will stay here in the stronghold. If I catch you outside the grounds, you will be immediately disbanded from the army. You will continue to attend training, every morning without fail.” He narrowed his eyes. “And return your damn medal. Scum like you don't deserve something like that.”
Reaching into her pocket, Tarana calmly pulled out the medal and handed it back to him. Without another word, Kendall turned sharply and strode out of the room with heavy steps. Breathing a long sigh, Roxanne glanced at Tarana, looking exhausted. “Please do as he says, Tarana.” Without waiting for a reply, she walked out the door, closing it behind her.
For the next week, Tarana stayed in the building as ordered, leaving only to attend training. In her free time, she continued training on her own until she couldn't force herself to move any longer and collapsed on her bed. She saw little of Roxanne or Kendall and didn’t dare sit with them during meals. One misty and dark afternoon after training, she started to follow everyone back inside, then turned and walked down the path toward Ralinos instead.
Tarana strode down the street, her sword clanking against her leg with every step. It was lightly drizzling and she absentmindedly pushed a few strands of hair off of her damp face. The street had turned to mud with the recent rain and the road was covered with the impressions of boots. Without bothering to glance up at the other people and buildings around her, she headed straight down the main road, farther and farther away from the stronghold. As she reached the poorest section of town, she barely noticed when two small girls ran up beside her.
“Excuse me…” the taller of the two girls tugged at Tarana's shirt. She glanced down at the girl, glaring. The girl’s long black hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Her scrawny body was clothed in muddy rags that looked as if they could fall apart at any moment. Her bare feet rested on top of the cold mud and she anxiously hopped from one foot to another.
“Get lost,” Tarana growled and kept walking. The girls trotted to keep up with her.
“Excuse me!” the girl persisted. “Are you Tarana?”
Tarana groaned and wheeled around to face the two. “Yeah, that’s me. I suppose you want to tell me to get out of your town?” The girls shook their heads. “Then what do you want with me?” she sighed. “Get on with it, I don’t have all day.” She rested a hand on her sword, noticing with a grim smile how the other people passing by kept their heads down and increased their pace.
“We saw you a few days ago!” the smaller girl piped up. Tarana turned her attention to the girl, who had wavy black hair pulled into short pigtails. Vaguely amused, she noticed that the girl carried a small wooden sword.
Tarana shrugged. “So? Not my problem.”
The taller one shushed the other. “Our mom took us to see you a few days ago, when you won that award! Did you see us there? We've been practicing really hard so that when we're old enough to join the army, we can be just like you.”
She stared at the two girls, taken aback. “You must be joking.”
The girls seemed not to notice her shock. “We’ve heard all kinds of stories about you. You don’t let anyone push you around.”
Tarana raised an eyebrow. “So that’s what the stories say about me, do they?” The girls smiled up at her and nodded. “And you want to be just like me?” They nodded again. She studied the girls for a moment, noting their resemblance. “This is your sister?” she addressed the taller girl, drawing her sword and pointing it at the other.
Seeming nonplussed, the girl put her arm around the smaller girl, who no longer looked quite as confident. “Yes, her name is Annie. Mine’s Jessie.” Tarana nodded and returned her sword to its sheath.
“Well if you are so intent on becoming just like me, you had better get started right away, don’t you think?” The girls nodded enthusiastically, the rain running down their exuberant faces. “Well then,” Tarana continued, “you had better take this.” She pulled Roxanne's knife out from her belt. Unf
olding it and holding it by the deathly sharp blade, she held it out to Jessie.
Hesitating, Jessie took the dagger by the handle, holding it awkwardly in front of her. “I’ve never exactly used one of these before,” she explained. Her sister stared at the dagger, eyes wide.
“No problem, it’s not difficult to kill someone,” Tarana said kindly. She took hold of Jessie’s hand, repositioning her grip on the dagger. “There you go.” Jessie looked up at her with wide brown eyes and Tarana nodded at her reassuringly.
“I don’t know if I should-“ Jessie trailed off. A strand of black hair had slipped out of her ponytail and hung in front of her face, but she didn’t bother to brush it away. The rain grew more insistent and Tarana impatiently wiped the water out of her own eyes.
“Should what?” Tarana asked, sounding concerned. “You’re doing fine. Now, why don’t you practice using it?”
Not understanding, Jessie looked back up at Tarana, the dagger hanging limply in her hand. Rain ran in rivulets down the polished blade and streamed off the tip. “What do you mean?”
Tarana shrugged. “Well when I was about your age, I murdered my sister, Aurora.” She glanced briefly at Annie, who looked about ready to burst into tears. Tarana grinned at Jessie and was met by a furious glare. The girl threw the dagger down, where it sank slightly into the soft mud.
“What is wrong with you?” she shouted, her brown eyes suddenly fierce.
Blinking, Tarana knelt to retrieve the dagger, wiping it off on her pants. “I thought you said you wanted to be just like me.”
“Why would you do that to your own sister?” Jessie stepped in between Tarana and her own sister.
The grin faded from Tarana’s face. “Listen kid, just trust me. You do not want to be like me.”
“Tell me! Why would you do that?” Jessie stamped her small foot, mud splattering into the air.
“Just beat it,” Tarana said tiredly. She turned and looked toward the stronghold. Slowly, she started walking back. Her boots sank slightly into the mud, making each step an arduous task. Unexpectedly, she felt no joy from crushing the two girls’ dreams. She just felt wet, cold, and tired. Jessie’s yells could still be heard over the drone of the rain, unable to be blocked out.
Back in the stronghold, nobody had noticed Tarana's absence. When she walked through the main door, she noted with some interest that it was complete chaos. Soldiers were running up and down the stairs in hordes, filling the air with shouts and orders. Only slightly curious, she leisurely walked up the stairs toward her room, ignoring the people yelling at her to get out of the way. As she turned down the hallway to her room, she saw Roxanne jogging in her direction. She paused and waited expectantly for Roxanne to fill her in.
“Did you hear?” Roxanne panted. “It's just been announced; the battle's taking place in exactly a week from today.”
Tarana cocked her head. “The big final battle everyone's been so excited about? The one where we're fighting the entire Citizens’ Army?”
“Everyone'll be there,” Roxanne smiled with excitement. “All our troops and all of there's. They've been saying that this is it: our final battle and then we'll be rewarded with our Age's wizard. Isn't that fantastic? Everything we've ever worked for is finally almost here.”
Tarana wrinkled her forehead. “So what, this wizard is just going to appear or what?”
“That's what's so great!” Roxanne laughed. “I have absolutely no idea what will happen.” Her expression suddenly turned more serious. “But seriously, Tarana, everyone will be there, you know what I mean?” She waited for Tarana to nod in acknowledgment. “You don't want to find those two, alright? Trust me, if they are even still with the army, you don't want to see them get killed or have to fight them yourself.”
“Alright, alright,” Tarana snapped. “I don't even want to see them anyway. But how in the world is their entire army going to get here in just a week?”
Roxanne shrugged. “They must already be on their way. It's not like this is coming as a big surprise. It was fated to happen eventually, we just didn't know when exactly.”
Wrinkling her forehead in confusion, Tarana looked around at the busy hallway, full of people. “Fated by who?”
“How should I know?” Roxanne threw her hands up in frustration. “Look, I'm only an officer of a small squad. I don't know everything that goes on; I just follow my orders and try to prepare my unit the best I can, alright?”
“Fine,” Tarana grumbled, heading into her room and slamming the door. “I'll look forward to it.”
The week passed as a blur of contained chaos. They continued to train as usual, but for much longer periods of time. Forbidden from entering town for the week, the officers were almost constantly in meetings or leading training sessions. The night before the battle, all the soldiers were called into the dining hall, where they were given a final pep talk by Kendall, as well as a general strategy for attack, which consisted of several waves of fighting.
“Remember!” he bellowed. “We must win this battle if we want the wizard to appear to us, ready to lead the world to its former glory!” After the deafening roar of cheers had ended, he continued to assign different squads to certain waves and locations. Much further into the night, they were finally dismissed, ordered to get as much sleep as possible before breakfast the next day.
Although she didn't feel nearly as excited as her fellow soldiers acted, it still took Tarana a long time to fall asleep that night. After what seemed only like a couple minutes of sleep, she awoke groggily to the sound of someone pounding on all the doors down the hallway. She winced as they got to her door and the sound echoed noisily around her room. Sliding out of bed, she slowly pulled on her armor and sword in the cold, gray light.
The crowded dining hall was surprisingly quiet that morning. After a quick breakfast of stale bread and overripe fruit, they got into groups according to their squad, as ordered. After another long period of reviewing battle strategies and plans, of which Tarana paid absolutely no attention, they finally filed outside.
Roxanne's group was near the front as they massed through the shadowy town. The ground was still muddy from the rains, although the sky was clear that morning. The low sun reflected off their armor, sending spots of light bouncing across the buildings they passed. Very few townspeople were out, but the ones they did pass simply stared at the army, staying well out of the way.
Finally passing through the final sections of town where the shelters were made of tarps, they entered the wide, open valley, where they halted. Several of the other groups, continued on, climbing up the dull, rock-strewn hills that surrounded them. There, at the mouth of Ralinos, they waited, watching everyone get into position. Kendall travelled between each group periodically, occasionally shifting groups around. As the morning passed and the sun gradually rose higher in the sky, they stood attentively, watching the other groups at the perimeter.
Before midday, they heard a yell.
All heads turning toward the sound, they saw one of the groups draw their swords, their yells carried clearly on the breath of the wind. In one massive hiss, the rest of the army drew their swords, waiting. Looking like a landslide of green and gold, the hill began to move as Citizens' soldiers spilled over the crest, meeting with the Wizard's soldiers. Half of the Wizard's army in the valley began to run toward the action, including Roxanne's group. Soon losing track of Roxanne in the rush, Tarana met the clash of soldiers.
She strode through the battlefield, half-heartedly striking away anyone who came near her. The roar of the battle surrounded her; yelling, screaming, and the clanging of swords all meshed together into one loud drone. Her eyes darted back and forth underneath her helm as she searched the crowd. Bellowing, one man dressed in bright green and gold armor came hurtling toward her from the side. Tarana sighed and methodically fended him off until he raised his sword, preparing to hack her in two. She nearly stabbed him through the middle, but hesitated and sliced into his leg instead, leav
ing him screaming on the ground, but alive.
As the fighting continued unabated, Tarana continued her search. The soldiers had spread out throughout the valley and she wondered just how long it would go on and if any wizard would really show up. Wherever she walked, there was still plenty of fighting. All around her, the loose dirt had been kicked up into the air and a slight haze obstructed her view. Below her, the ground had been beaten into a muddy pulp mixed with blood. A shadow passed over the soldiers as the sun took refuge behind a puffy cloud lazily floating overhead.
Finally, she caught sight of a young man with curly black hair. He seemed taller than she remembered, and more muscular as well. She stood and watched him from a distance as he fended off one of her fellow soldiers. As he finally ended the struggle with a rapid succession of slices, she smiled contentedly. Her smile broadened as she noticed another man nearby with dark brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail. He turned to say something to the first man, but she was too far away to hear the words over the roar of battle. Against her better judgment, she continued to walk closer to the two men, curious.
As she drew nearer, Tarana lost sight of them as a group of battling soldiers stepped into her line of sight. Irritated, she picked her way around the mob, searching for the men. Passing the group, she looked around and was confused to see no trace of them. She stood for a moment, searching the crowd when she suddenly heard footsteps come up quickly from behind her. Spinning around, she raised her sword instinctively, just in time to block an oncoming attack. The swords rang as they clashed together. Tarana froze as she looked into the face of her attacker. His deep brown eyes were cold and unfriendly, but familiar nonetheless. It was Djerr. She stepped back, dropping her sword arm to her side.
Confused, Djerr stepped back as well, his head cocked to the side. He looked at the small soldier, a helm hiding everything but the eyes. Looking into those eyes, he tried to understand why the soldier had lowered the sword and with a flash of realization, his mouth dropped open slightly as he recognized her light blue eyes. He lowered his sword as well, searching for something to say, when a forceful hand pushed him aside.
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