It has only been a day of stay for Aeon and Eleftheria in the Moonfire Kingdom. Although Aeon barely passed the qualifications set by Estin, herself, the ill communications between them just gets worse with each hours that flows by.
Aeon and Eleftheria were in the barracks, training with the other knights, who had already acknowledged them except the general, who was gone for a while to run some errands for the queen.
“Jeez, that general hasn’t said a word ever since yesterday. She became too stingy towards you, Emp.” Eleftheria commented with a sigh as she kept dodging a female’s knight’s punches and kicks.
“I know. Given her reasons, I couldn’t blame her for that. I am sure that her last battles took a heavy toll on her mind that she gets really pressured when tacticians were heavily involved.” Aeon replied as she kept throwing punches to a dodging male knight.
“Still, she shouldn’t have acted like that towards you just because you are a tactician as well.”
“Don’t mind the general, I am sure that deep inside, she still cares for you Aeon. Of what Eleftheria said yesterday probably got her thinking.” The knight, who was practicing with Eleftheria, said.
“Agreed, she has just grown frustrated towards people who could predict her movements no matter what she does. Let’s just say that she is an “all-attack and no plan” type of person.” The other knight added.
“No wonder she had never reached the semi-finals.” Eleftheria rolled her eyes.
“But, she is ridiculously strong, I tell you! You saw her match with Aeon yesterday!” The second knight said.
“I don’t know, Aeon dodged and blocked two of her first blows.” The honey-haired replied.
“Well, she has nobody to train with to refine her skills. She prefers someone just as strong or stronger than her so she could learn a lot.” The first knight responded.
“Speaking of sparring partner, you could train with her, Eleftheria!” The second knight said.
“Me? Train with that goofball? She needs to apologize to Emp, first!”
“Oh yeah, that reminds me, why are you calling Aeon as Emp? Weird nickname.” The first knight wondered.
“Ahh, that is—” But Eleftheria was trailed off when Estin came and called out,
“Aeon, Eleftheria, I need to talk to you about the upcoming mock Warzone tomorrow.”
The four people stopped and exchanged glances,
“Go for it, you two.” The first knight smiled.
“And psst! I will have to catch you up later, Aeon! I got to tell you something!” The second knight whispered.
Aeon raised an eyebrow and she and Eleftheria looked at each other before nodding and turning back to the two knights.
“Alright.” The maroon-haired smiled before she led the way with the honey-haired following her towards Estin.
“Now, this will be just a short discussion. I am just here to tell about your opponent.” Estin sooner took out a paper and looked at it,
“The opponent for your mock Warzone will be the Mineria Kingdom, have you heard about them?”
“They are that kingdom who uses weapons majorly, right? They have small amount but powerful mages to match.” Aeon answered.
“Correct. And I’ve heard that they have new recruits as well and they will most likely face you along with a few of their veterans.” The redhead added.
“Ehh?! Then, will we have some veterans on our side, too?” Eleftheria asked.
“Of course, except generals, since we are kinda like the climax of the battle. We go last.”
Aeon hummed, “I have seen one of their matches and they are more into using their ridiculously large numbers to wear out their opponents.”
“How many are we, by the way, general?” The honey-haired sorceress asked.
Estin sighed before answering,
“500. And we are going to face against two thousands of them.”
“WHAT?! That’s overkill!” The sorceress shouted.
“Expect to lose this one. This is only a mock Warzone so winning or losing doesn’t matter. Reason why I let this kingdom go against you was for me to know how capable you are in fighting against large numbers.” Estin said before looking up at them.
“Eleftheria, you will be on the frontlines the whole duration of the war. Do you have that much stamina?”
Eleftheria nodded, “Stamina building was one of my main trainings so I have no problem.”
“Good. And Aeon, you will be at the back. Since your main role is a tactician, you will be directing your team and making sure that your plans have at least 90% accuracy. Got that?” Estin sooner looked up at the maroon-haired, who blinked,
“Can I ask a favor? Please settle me within the frontlines with Eleftheria and the others. I want to assist them that way.” Aeon said.
This is why I hate tacticians; they are so full of themselves. Estin thought before sighing. This is only a mock anyway and if she fails then I can freely send her away.
“Alright, I’ll be counting on you.” The redhead answered.
“Thank you.”
Eleftheria crossed her arms; she seems too calm instead of scolding Aeon for being reckless. She looked like she has witnessed something, herself.
“Any other questions?” The general asked.
“None.” The two of them answered simultaneously.
“Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow.” And Estin turned her heels to walk away.
Eleftheria pouted and scoffed, “Stingy..”
Aeon couldn’t help but scratch the back of her head upon the sudden change of Estin’s attitude towards her. It is not like Estin was completely aloof but somehow, the treatment went for the worse.
She acts like a child, who couldn’t buy a toy because her parents didn’t want to. The maroon-head thought and that reminds her of something.
“Ahh, I just remembered to go back. I’ll get going. Are you coming?” Aeon asked as she looked down at her friend.
“Naah, I need to go back to the main square to go look for defensive magic books.” The other said.
“Alright. I’ll see you back at the inn.” The taller one replied before she turned around to walk back into the barracks.
Upon reaching inside, there stood the male knight that Aeon had faced earlier with his arms crossed over his chest, he is in his heavy, bright blue-outlined, dark armor with his black hair slicked back and his blue eyes peering towards the other.
“Let me guess, she was still rude to you?” The man smirked.
Aeon nodded, “Despite her formal voice, I could tell.”
“Well, I called you here for that reason! Do you want her to soften up towards you? None, including me, have dared to do this since we were afraid but since you are a tactician and was wrongly insulted, I think it will work out.” He said with a grin.
The maroon-haired’s ears perked, a chance to befriend the general? That one big opportunity for her to reassure Estin is something she must take. With her form suddenly beaming with pure determination, she replied,
“Tell me.”
The male cleared his throat before continuing,
“Why not court her?”
Aeon blinked and could feel her cheeks heating up, “W-What?”
“I don’t mean it that way! Just go and be stubborn in getting close to her! Give her flowers and chocolates! Give anything she likes! And here, I have a list of it!” He grabbed a folded paper from his satchel and gave it to the other, which she took it.
The tactician unfolded the paper and went to scan through it, blinking at the items listed in it with one of them catching her full attention,
“Horns?”
“Yep! We noticed that the general loves collecting them! One of the knights saw her cutting off a minotaur’s horn and taking it with her.”
“Huh.. I see.. I guess this is her most favorite.” Aeon sooner folded the paper and tucked it into her pocket.
“Well, I wish you good luck, though! If you want to find her, she has her own personal barracks, where she stays in, just a few blocks away from the palace!” The male grinned.
The tactician nodded, “Thank you for this advice. I shall immediately conduct appropriate and necessary movements towards the general.”
And with that said, she turned her heels and walked off the barracks. The male was sooner greeted with his peers, one is Halber, who has bandages wrapped around her face, with her eyes, nose and mouth exposed and with a neck plaster cast. It totally looked like Eleftheria did a great number on her in a single blow. The other is another tall male with dark skin and black hair in a caesar cut, donning the same type of armor that the other male has.
“Are you sure about this, Helfor? General Estin might eat her alive.” The male asked.
“And she might find out that you listed down everything she likes, which was creepy enough already.” Halber added.
“Oh shush the both of you, that tactician seems to be determined to get close to the general! Besides, we don’t want an ill relationship between all of us here, her included.” Helfor looked back at them with a confident grin.
The dark-skinned male scoffed, “What makes you so sure that they won’t go after each other’s necks?”
“Instincts, Draco. And me and that tactician already shared one solid connection as brothers!” Helfor gave a huge laugh, which is obnoxiously loud.
“Aeon is a woman, though.” Halber rolled her eyes.
“Aw shut it! Woman or man, we are all brothers and I will call her bro if I want to!” Helfor playfully retorted, “By the way, how were your injuries? They looked really bad.” He emphasized the word really.
“Totally, the healers were thankful that my skull and neck didn’t completely crack or it would be agonizing. Jeez, and it felt like that sorceress was still holding back.” The woman responded with a sigh.
“Her strength reminds me of those beings created by the gods.” Draco said.
“You mean the Creations? Those species were born from rumors. Personally, I don’t think they exist at all.” Halber replied.
“Me neither unless proven otherwise!” Helfor followed up.
“You’re right.” Draco heaved a sigh.
Within the large palace, Estin is in the throne room, kneeling down in one knee with her head bowed down facing another female, who sat upon her royal, high chair.
The female had a pale skin, which matched her long, snow-colored hair tied into a clean bun, she has her eyes closed shut. She looked malnourished based on how the shoulder pads of her dress are slipping off slightly from her shoulders, revealing her notable collarbone. She is also wearing her red cape and her golden queen’s crown.
“I pray for your success in the battlefield, tomorrow, Estin Stronghold. You are our strongest key player that we have.” The queen said.
“We have all odds stacked against us but we will do whatever we can to bring victory upon the empire, your highness.”
“Oh, I am sure you will. Add the fact that the Empress of War have joined you.”
“So far, I haven’t encountered the sacred knight yet. Perhaps, she was one of those late recruits; I doubt she will make it in the battlefield.”
“That’s odd. She’s not tardy in terms of such events. However, if that is your report then I have no more comments. How was the other recruit named Eleftheria Goldenarm?”
“She’s really powerful, your highness, I believe she will be one of the key players as well. Her ability to fight using both magic and fists is outstanding.” Judging from the scarlet-haired’s tone of voice, she is proud and relieved to have such a gem standing with the army.
“That’s great news! It seems we are lucky to have her on our side!” The queen delightfully replied.
“Clearly, your highness.”
“Well then, I am glad that the mock battle went well and it allowed you to determine the things you need. Dismissed and good luck with your mock Warzone.”
Isn’t she going to ask about Aeon? Wait, why do I care about her? Tomorrow will be her last day here in the kingdom so I shouldn’t mind about this. Maybe the queen realized that we don’t need people like her after all since we got Eleftheria. The redhead thought.
“Thank you for your time, your highness.” Estin finally stood up and turned to leave the room.
As she had finally reached outside, she heaved a sigh as she looked at her steps that are leading her towards her own barracks, “Jeez.. who and where is that Empress of War anyway? If she was indeed a late recruit then I will give her a scolding once she gets here.” She muttered, without even noticing that there was a woman in front of the door while holding a large, platinum horn with her two hands.
“Really.. she—ack!” Estin yelped when she bumped onto the horn.
“Ah, sorry about that, General Estin.” The voice said.
“Who the hell are you? This is trespassi—” But she stopped midway when she looked up and saw the last person she ever wanted to see:
Aeon Gertrude Reigns.
Aeon earned a large frown from the other woman but that left her unfazed,
“Good day, General Estin.”
“Wha—?!” Estin jumped back in surprise but she immediately arranged her posture while clearing her throat and glared up at her with her arms crossed,
“What do you want?”
“I..” Aeon furrowed her eyebrows before she gently moved her hands forward, attempting to give the horn to the other female, “I want to give you this.”
Estin looked down at the horn and back up at her with an eyebrow raised, “And you are expecting me to accept it? What’s wrong with you?”
“I want to court you.”
Estin froze. Did she hear it right? They just met yesterday and now Aeon is making such a bold move on her already? That made her eyes widen and blush profusely,
“W-W-W-What are you talking about!? Are you crazy?!” The scarlet-haired shouted.
“I don’t mean it that way. I just want to get close to you.” The taller female replied.
“Get close—” Estin groaned, wanting to give herself a slap on the cheek for assuming, “I see. Well, tough luck for you, I don’t want to get close to you. No matter what you do, I will still hate you for being annoying.” She said before she walked past by the other to go inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Aeon turned to watch her leave before looking down sadly. Even if it was just for her to befriend with the general, the pain of rejection that struck her became similar to that of being rejected after confessing feelings; it felt like a thousand of ten-wheelers crushed her heart countless of times.
After a few more moments, Estin opened the door once again and went towards Aeon, grabbing the horn.
Aeon flinched and looked at Estin in surprised.
“On the other hand, I don’t have this kind of horn yet. But, I still hate you.” The redhead said before she went back inside once more, closing the door behind her.
The maroon-haired blinked before smiling in contentment and relief,
“You’re welcome.” She whispered and spun around to leave the barracks. Having to remove that heavy burden on her shoulders, she couldn’t help but still her smile until she made it back at the inn.
All that is left for today is to relax and calm herself for the upcoming mock Warzone tomorrow.
The only day to prove her own worth towards her loathing yet beautiful general.
