Three Suns

by S King

  “Would you like a tour of your new domicile, Captain Shaye?” The woman asked me, her bright pink eyes unseeing.

  “No,” I could walk around my home myself. I didn’t need a holograph pointing out the highlights of the unit for me.

  “Zephyer works fast,” I mumbled more to myself as I checked the closets and found my combat coats and bags.

  “Because he wants to be in your bed,” Eikko grumbled, looking at the living area where a dark couch and loveseat faced the massive window. There weren’t any decorations or mirrors in the room or in the hallway, something that I’d have to get from the homing district.

  I rolled my eyes, going to the bedrooms. Three in total along with two bathrooms; I marveled at the bathroom, relishing in the fact that I now had my own shower without a timer. I could take a long hot shower at any time I wanted to and no one and nothing could stop me. The bed was doubled in size in comparison to the one at my grandmother’s domicile and the closet was big enough to fit a small bed in.

  “Well I’ve found my bedroom,” Eikko leaned against the doorframe and looked at me with the same guarded look that he had with Zephyer.

  “That’s good,” I collapsed onto my bed wanting desperately to go to sleep but knew I had to go to this meeting with the top officials of the military.

  More than likely it was because of Xerminara and what I had done to her status.

  “Why don’t you take a nap,” Eikko was closer to me than before but my eyes were too tired to track his movements.

  “Because I have to go to a meeting soon,” I said through a yawn.

  “What am I supposed to do while you’re gone?”

  “Derma therapy,” I quipped, rolling over on the soft mattress and hugging a pillow close to me. He kissed the top of my head as my unconscious started to take over.

  “I’ll give you ten minutes, Ana,” he whispered against my hair before I felt a breeze to signal that he was gone.

  Good that was all I needed. Just a little nap and I would be able to deal with everything else without feeling like I was ready to fall out.

  True to his word, Eikko had woken me up before I was ready and sent me on my way to the military official base.

  Getting through the front entrance and security check points were easy but I wasn’t expecting the full layout that was waiting for me when I got to the meeting room.

  Top officials from my grandmother to Kendrick where all around the table with stone looks covering their faces. White and silver hair replaced their once golden blond hair while their eyes still held the same fire and wind that any warrior on the battlefield had. They were fierce even with their advanced ages and they meant business.

  “Captain Shaye reporting for attendance,” I announced myself, saluting my superiors out of respect before taking my seat at the foot of the table.

  “Captain, please,” Army General Lèas Fauve nodded in respect to me as he pointed to the seat at the end of the long table.

  His snow white hair was trimmed short even after he’d been out of the battlefield for more than eighty years while his dark amber eyes still reminded even the dumbest of civilians about the power that he had coursing through his veins. Age lines marred his once smooth face and the only expression that he wore now was indifference.

  I took my seat at the foot of the table, not bothering to meet anyone else’s eyes in the room. There was no sense in asking what this meeting was about because I’d find out soon enough. One thing that I could say about everyone in the room, they didn’t beat around the bush and they didn’t coat whatever it was that needed to be said.

  “The first thing that needs to be discussed is this report and request to strip Xerminara Sif from her position and merits.”

  I nodded, “ok.”

  “Explain in detail what happened to warrant such a request.”

  So, I did. No detail was spared, and no stone was left unturned. When I was asked to clarify, I did. When they wanted to know where the proof was, I produced the security feed from the corridor that the incident took place. Even as I watched all of the officials watching the tape and showing no expression, I didn’t regret what I was doing.

  Xerminara may have been my best friend but the safety of the society was, and always had been, my number one priority. She crossed the line by spitting in my face and trying to imply that my lack of a romantic relationship was the true reason that I was separating her and her new husband.

  When the screen went black with the end of the footage Fauve turned around in his seat and scribbled something on his notepad before taking a look around the table.

  “All in favor of striping Warrant Officer One Xerminara Sif of her position say aye,” he didn’t bother looking up as the room sounded with a resounding aye. “The ayes have it. All in favor of assigning Xerminara Sif to Private, First Class, say aye.” Again, the room sounded with a monotone aye.

  Fauve looked up at me after sending the order down to the processing division and sat back in his seat. For a moment, I wondered if I was facing a demotion. Until he said.

  “All in favor of promoting Captain Ostana Liri Shaye to Major, say aye.” He kept his eyes on me as the officials gave the one response that I wasn’t expecting.

  “Aye,” a unanimous decision to promote me from Captain to Major.

  In an extremely rare display of emotion Fauve smirked at me before approving my promotion and sending it to the processing division.

  “Congratulations Major Shaye,” he nodded to his comrades and dismissed the board before leaving the room.

  “Thank you,” I whispered still shell shocked with what had just happened. The only person that had remained sitting was my grandmother.

  Finally, she looked at me and smiled, “congratulations.”

  “Thanks,” I breathed, sitting back in my chair.

  She cleared her throat, “I apologize for not telling you about your sister.”

  Well the surprises just kept coming, didn’t they?

  Looking up at her, I remained silent. This was my one opportunity to get answers and I wasn’t going to screw that up by bombarding her with questions that she could pick and choose to answer.

  “Your parents knew that you were the stronger of the two, that’s why they left you here and took Theodora to Parlan. As a baby she would cry at the smallest of noises or surprises while you on the other hand,” she laughed more to herself as she remembered back on the time that I was little. “You ran toward it, ready to take on whatever it was just to protect your sister.”

  I looked down at my hands, letting her continue.

  “It broke our hearts to separate the two of you, but it had to be done. Theodora would’ve been enlisted in the arm alongside you and the three of us knew that she’d never survive one night, let alone a lifetime. So,” Othala took a steadying breath, “your parents found a couple that could pass as Theodora's parents and gave her to them. The plan was to reunite when your parents retired and I could get her a position in the entertainment district, but…” she trailed off.

  I didn’t need her to finish explaining what came next. My parents died, in turn, that shattered any plans of ever reuniting our family and becoming one again.

  “Is she happy?” My grandmother cut off my foreboding thoughts of my parents’ deaths and brought me back to the present.

  Swallowing the dryness of my mouth, I nodded, “for the most part. There are some problems right now, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

  She smirked, “that’s my girl.” Getting up from the plush chair she kissed my head, “I’m so proud of you Ostana and I am sorry.”

  I nodded, closing my eyes, “I’m sorry too.” We walked shoulder to shoulder out of the meeting room and headed for the domicile unit.

  “Are you going to be ok with Eikko by yourself?” She asked, keeping her eyes forward.

  “He couldn’t hurt a fly,” I hid my yawn behind my hand, “besides, if he gets too out of line, I’ll just light him on fire.” />
  We reached her domicile first, “I know you will,” turning to me she sighed, “it’s going to be lonely without you here but I’m glad that you’re moving forward in all aspects of your life. Get ahold of me if you need anything, understand?”

  I nodded, wanting to hug her but knew better. Public displays of affection were frowned upon, especially in the military districts. It was better to just wish her a pleasant skies and circle back to go to my domicile.

  Swiping my arm across the identification panel, it was hard not to smile as the Parlan woman appeared, saying.

  “Welcome home, Major Shaye,” she smiled at me as I crossed the threshold to my domicile and closed the door behind me.

  “What happened?” Eikko asked as I sat down at the kitchen table and leaned into the chair.

  “They made me a Major,” staring at my hands, I still couldn’t believe that my title had changed so quickly.

  “Which means…what?”

  I looked up into his rose-pink eyes and smirked, “it means that I just got a pay raise and a higher title.”

  “That’s great, right?” He tried to hide his smile behind a frown.

  Laughing softly, I nodded, “yeah, Eikko, that’s great news.”

  He clapped his hands together, standing up, “we need to celebrate then.” Going to the cabinets above the singular window he grabbed a bottle of snake venom alcohol and read the label before turning back to me. “Come on,” he held out his hand to me and waited.

  “Where are we going?”

  “It’s a surprise,” he took my hesitant hand, leading the way out of my domicile and through the barracks.

  “I hate surprises,” I grumbled allowing him to pull me along. Maybe it was because I was exhausted. Maybe it was because I liked having someone other than Emric and my grandmother to share my good news with. Maybe it was for a completely different reason that I wasn’t quite ready to admit yet. Whatever the reason though, I was glad, for once, that Eikko was beside me.

  He led me to the edge of the society and spotted me as we climbed the grassy planes only to come to the top of a cliff that would send us into the war zone should we fall.

  “How’d you find this place?” I asked, sitting down on the grass with my legs hanging off the cliff’s edge and stared at the darkened sky. Nakti had come faster than I expected and allowed me to finally see what Eikko was talking about last night, as he would say. The stars shined brighter than anything I’d ever seen and with the dark purple backdrop, the balls of gas looked like crystals.

  He shrugged, sitting next to me, “I looked over your maps when you’re gone.”

  “And you found this little place?”

  He opened the snake venom and handed me the bottle, “I did. Of course, I couldn’t check it out first because I had no way of getting back into the condo.”

  “The what?” I frowned at him as I swallowed down the bitter alcohol.

  He smirked, “the domicile.”

  “Oh,” I really needed to learn Parlan, especially since I had Theodora now. Remembering the blue sun society, I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, “do you miss it?”

  “What?”

  “Parlan.”

  “It’s my home, how could I not?” I passed him the bottle and started picking blades of grass from the ground.

  “What was it like to grow up there?”

  He coughed against the burn of alcohol and handed the bottle back to me, “it was sheer heaven. Everyone is relaxed and carefree. Whenever a fight would break out or someone was crying it was for good reason.”

  “Such as?”

  “A majority of fighting and crying comes from relationships. People fall in love and let their emotions rage; in turn,” he coughed again, “fighting happened.”

  “Have you ever been in love?” I asked offhandedly. Why, I didn’t know but now I was curious to the answer that he would give me.

  He took in a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the sky, “I've loved someone that could never love me in return,” he smirked, as if remembering who had broken his heart was bittersweet.

  Frowning, I looked at him, “but why would you do that? It's a self-torture that you don't have to put yourself through.”

  “But it's life,” it was his turn to look at me, “loving someone that refuses to love you in return. Wanting someone that doesn't want you back. That's what makes us human, right?” The way he smirked at me made me avert my eyes and wonder. What kind of person would not want Eikko? He was sweet, wore his heart-on his sleeve and didn't lie. Who could be so cruel as to not want to be with him?

  “What’s the story behind that?” I had already downed half of the snake venom and the liquid courage was slowly building up.

  Eikko laughed, taking the offered bottle, “trust me, Ana, you don’t want to know about that story.”

  Letting dead dogs lie was the best for the situation at hand. I bumped my shoulder against his, “thanks, by the way.”

  A perfectly manicured brow raised in my direction, “for?”

  I swung my arm wide, “this. Also,” I finished off the bottle and sat the biodegradable into the grass, “for not being a pain in the ass.”

  He laughed, “granted, you always say something to the contrary.”

  I blew a raspberry at him, “I don’t mean it, Eikko Kangho.” I rested my head on his shoulder. Between the alcohol and the exhaustion, I was more than ready for bed, but I was having too good of a time watching the stars with him to move.

  “What’s the story between you and Emric?”

  I snorted, “he’s my right hand. End of story.”

  “So, you’re not going to marry him?”

  “It’s forbidden to marry your siblings in Padrieg, Eikko. We’re not blood, but he’s the closest thing to a brother that I have.”

  Eikko fell silent for a moment before whispering, “let’s go on a date.”

  “That sounds nice,” I mumbled letting the darkness of sleep consume me and dream about my date, whatever that was, with Eikko.

  Whether or not it was going to happen was up to what would happen on the front line. Something that I wasn’t going to busy myself with thinking about as sleep finally consumed me. Body, mind, and soul.

  Chapter 10 Battlefield of Regrets

  The unmistakable sound of an air strike shaking the military district made me bolt upright and start moving before my body was fully online. The war sirens blared throughout the domicile unit and silenced any idle conversation.

  “What’s happening?” Eikko appeared behind me in the hallway as I grabbed my combat gear and started for the front door.

  “Stay here and don’t leave,” I tightened up my boot laces already pressing my communicator.

  “Major Shaye,” Orrie answered before the thing could full connect, “they’re five minuta out.”

  “Damn it. How did this even happen?” I rushed to the kitchen, needing to drink my health drink to get rid of the hangover headache that was threatening to knock my lights out again. As I downed the frothy pink drink, I listened to Orrie’s report.

  “During the early hours of the dana Claud reported suspicious movement on his holographic tracker. When the top officials saw it, they ordered all warriors to the front line immediately. By the time the order was passed down those seven eyed bastards were already in Padrieg territory. The bright side, if there is one, is they’re close enough that the journey won’t be too long on foot. But the downfall—” his explanation of the downfall exposed itself before he could finish. Another rumble rocked the domicile unit and sent aftershocks through the walls of my home.

  I finished off the drink, tossing the thing in the incinerator and headed for the door, “they have aircrafts and we don’t.”

  “Exactly,” he yelled at a lowly ranked officer to get him the reports on the progress of the Citlail. “We’re moving as fast as we can on the repairs, but the wreck caused too much damage for even a test run.”

  I looked behind me to see where Ei
kko was and yanked my front door open. “Send my order, we need archers of the highest grade to the battlefield. Anyone who disobeys or flees will be executed per military law.”

  “Yes ma’am,” we disconnected the communication as I took the wrought iron stairs two at time.

  As I expected it only took me three minuta to get to the military base and call attention to my warriors that were preparing for the fight of their lives.

  “Attention!” I snatched the handheld from an officer, taking a mental headcount of the warriors that were in front of me. Going through the three-point checks as well as mapping out everyone’s assigned regions in the battlefield I looked into their faces.