Private Ramses was thrown behind the first boulder in sight the moment machine-gun fire erupted over Black Feather Bay. She buried her face in that boiling, powder-like sand. Victoria's mind fell into panic. She never expected to die so young. The young Duchess breathed through her teeth into the sand as gunfire slammed against the stones she cowered behind. There was no way to tell if anyone else was left standing. At that moment, Victoria could only be certain that she herself was still alive, yet how long her life would continue was still up for debate as a song from powerful weapons sang out over the southern shore of her Kingdom.
Victoria only noticed the mysterious boat once that day before it came back around to start firing at them. She had her guard down, assuming it was safe to complete such an easy mission. Then, out of nowhere the shots started ripping the beach apart, and Victoria found herself on the ground. Faron had been gone since his spat with Sachi, leaving the Duchess and her Training Officer alone when their gatling guns began firing. She recalled the strength with which Officer Shelik had shoved her behind those rocks, and how the man ran back into the chaos as soon as she was safe.
Is he dead? Victoria thought to herself. Is Faron? Sachi too? She pushed her forehead deeper into the sand as the shots rang closer, louder, definitely striking the exact boulder she crouched behind. Did they set up another turret? These shots won't end! It feels like they have infinite ammunition!
The Duchess did her best to focus, to find some logical action to get her away from this crisis. There had to be a way to make things better. She shut her eyes hard, thinking if there was any information about the traps, or perhaps something Officer Shelik had mentioned that could help save her. Nothing came. There wasn't a single thing she could do in that moment other than make herself smaller and crawl deeper into the sands. Victoria forehead ground against the coarse sand until a few small cuts formed. She abandoned a plan for safety, instead thinking back to a time in her life that made sense; a time that brought her comfort. As she reached desperately for that peaceful memory to take over, the frightening gunfire drifted from her ears. A once deafening song of chaos faded to silence as she tightened her already closed eyes, harder and harder still to latch onto that favorite moment of her brief life.
I can't die now. Not here. Please... Not yet.
That ferocious buzz of machine gun fire morphed into a slightly uncalm breeze that pushed through the castle-sized trees of the Red Grove. It was here that her Duke-father spent his afternoons with the young Duchess before the end of his Military career.
"The lungs." Antony's voice was low but somehow clear through the wind's rustle in her ears, and the target in her sights started to feel more soulless than any paper target she ever pointed a weapon at in her life. "Just aim there." Victoria was recalling her first hunt. She turned eight just a few days prior, and now a Crystalope—the Corvus Kingdom's rare species of gem-antlered deer—grazed less than fifty yards from her rifle's barrel. The buck had no idea such a deadly predator lurked just out of its sight. However, the magnificent twenty-two point trophy was all the Duchess could think about as she locked the red dot at her vision's center on the creature's lungs. She and her father had gotten lucky finding such a coveted piece of wild game so close to King Henry's place. Disappointing the man with a missed shot would ruin the miracle—ruin how special she was. An impressive shot was her only option, so Victoria followed her father's words like the highest form of law to guarantee success.
"Do you have the shot?" asked the Duke of the Red Charles, speaking in a whisper only seasoned hunters could hear without missing a syllable.
Victoria's breathing felt shaky as the exact point she wanted came into perfect focus. Still, the child was worried whether or not she could she really pull the trigger? The Crystalope was so beautiful when seen through the focused eye of her rifle's scope. He was a tall buck, well-fed and without a scar on his face: she wondered if the deer ever had to fight for food in his life. His fur was autum red, with black antlers coated in shimmering gemstone-like patches similar to ruby and gold. This perfect animal was just sitting there, eating; and the small girl wasn't even hungry. Did she really need to kill it? Victoria's heavy breathing ceased when she reminded herself how important this task was.
How could I ever defend this Kingdom if I'm afraid of a deer?
"Yes..." she confirmed slowly, careful not to speak loud enough to alert the buck or shift her sights. "I've got him."
Antony's voice remained as still as his daughter's. "Safety off."
The small girl flicked her weapon's safety mechanism swiftly enough to keep her weapon from jerking out of position from her desired target.
"Ready..."
The child's raven-shaded hair blew wildly behind her as she readied herself for the next word out of her Captain-father's mouth.
"Fire."
Victoria's questions and doubts all snapped out of existence once Antony's word hit her ears. Her finger squeezed on the weapon's trigger slowly, just as she'd been trained, and the crack of her round's release echoed through the Red Grove. Her target dropped within a fraction of a moment, and Victoria finally let out a long breath as she watched her first kill fall. The next sound, not even allowing for a moment's reprieve between the shot, was the horrid last gasps of air that beautiful, unlucky Crystalope would take on their world. She studied the buck through her scope as the beast lurched around before collapsing into the dirt. He kicked a few times, some desperate effort to stand once more despite the blood flooding into the animal's lungs. He would die there, writhing in some cruel mix of confusion and pain; her alone being responsible for the loss of life.
Did I need to pull the trigger?
Her self-doubt was instantly silenced by her father's next words. "Immaculate shot, sweetheart." A proud smile took over his face, and the Duke's voice grew louder. "By the Banished God...! You're a natural, Victoria!"
The baby crow felt a wave of relief wash over her as her hero's approval crashed down with those perfect words. Yet, despite the satisfaction in knowing she had followed her father's direction so well, an uneasy stain of guilt still lingered in her mind. Should I even say it? she thought to herself. Will he get mad?
She decided the words needed to be said. "I didn't like that. Why did he-?"
Captain Ramses cut her off, knowing the question already. "He didn't deserve to die. No one does." He paused to allow his daughter to regain her footing, knowing proper eye contact was needed for a conversation of this magnitude. "No one sane enjoys pulling that trigger. But to be a soldier of our Royal Military, you will need to be strong enough to pull that trigger when the time comes..."
Victoria's smoke-shaded eyes hit the grass at her feet, not fully understanding the message yet at that age. "But Mortals are... people, right? It's not the same."
Antony took a knee and placed one of his oversized hands on his daughter's cheek, redirecting her attention to the wisdom in his eyes. "Sweetheart... any Mortal who would hurt you or your mother—the Mortals of our Kingdom—they're nothing more than deer to me."
The coldness of her father surprised Victoria, for this was the first time she truly understood what being a Captain must have taken from his soul; with who knew how many bloodied deer in his wake.
Victoria's father continued, pointing at the rifle by his daughter's feet to refocus her attention. "Looking through that sight is much different than taking aim at a target. To truly take aim, you must have already made the decision that your target is dead." He furrowed his bushy brows, "Life is precious, irreplaceable, and taking it feels wrong for a reason. It is." Her gray eyes met the same shade in her father's stare. "Killing is not something to do without care, or even without tears. It's painful from both ends of that sight... but the question is: are you willing to face that pain to protect the people you love? Because if you truly want to do what I do, please know, you will be a deer to any enemy you meet."
The young girl looked back at her rifle on the ground, pondering the weight of following her Captain-father's footsteps. How many more times will I have to pull that trigger?
She finally spoke. "I can do it! I'll be strong enough, father!" Those childish eyes rose again with confidence. "You can count on me to keep us safe!"
A comforting hand fell onto the child's head and rustled at her hair softly. "I know you're strong enough." He gazed down too proudly. The Captain had to look away before tearing up. "Sweetheart...?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for being my daughter." A tear formed in his eyes, too proud over his only child's declaration. "You will always be the greatest blessing the world could've given me." Antony pulled his daughter in and hugged her tightly with joy. He rocked her back and forth and she closed her eyes with a feeling of comfort as she let herself rest on her father's chest.
Then, that rocking became violent; too real. Victoria opened her eyes to find herself still tucked behind the large stones where her squad-leader had thrown her. Officer Shelik was back, pushing gently at her shoulder to pull the frightened Private back to reality.
"Private Ramses! Victoria! Get up! It's all over now."
Private Ramses was surprised at the lack of noise surrounding her as all senses started to creep back to full strength. She rose back to a seated position slowly, rearranging her hair from its messy state as she tried to observe everything around her.
"What was all that?" Victoria's stare was still half-caught in her favorite memory. "Is it really over?"
Zayne rubbed at a series of small, fresh bruises on his forearms. "They ran out of ammo and sped away—might've beached themselves around here at some point. I'll be honest, Private, it was hard to tell in all that mess. Don't bring that up when we report to Captain Holo when this is all over." He winced with a pained expression as he moved over an especially purple welt on his neck. "Bastards were using some high-caliber weapons to get me this bad."
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Victoria stared in shock at the dozens of small welts wrapped around her Officer's arms. Those are from bullets?
Another voice chimed in; it was Faron's. "Those ugly fuckers tore up the whole beach! I barely made it out."
Victoria glanced past Officer Shelik to see her mohawked squad-mate pushing his balled-up shirt into a wound on his left shoulder. "They shot you?" she said, aghast.
Zayne rolled his eyes at the Duchess' concern. "They grazed him once. He's the luckiest kid I've ever met. He didn't even have a rock to hide behind when I showed up—dancing around like a damn fool."
"They kept bouncin' next to me!" The oversized teen called back. "I just had to keep runnin' wherever seemed safe."
"He looked like an idiot!" said Officer Shelik to end the topic's discussion. "But I can't find the stubborn one."
Victoria's eyes widened. "Sachi's gone?!"
"It would seem so," the Training Officer said calmly.
Private Ramses glanced around astounded. "Well, where is he?!" she snapped, suddenly finding the voice her nerves had stolen since departing Gilgamere. "We have to look for him!"
"We did. You were sleeping," stated Faron plainly. "He's gone. All we could find was a trail of blood leading to the water. That... and one of his arms." He stumbled on those final words, remembering the gruesome sight too clearly.
Victoria gasped even louder, covering her mouth with both hands. "His whole arm?"
"He got shredded by those gatling guns." Officer Shelik didn't bother to look up from his bruises as he responded. "They must have mounted turrets on that odd dinghy. It's like Faron said, we searched the area he was clearing and couldn't find any other sign of his body."
"Those fuckin' machine guns must've torn him to pieces. Animals!" Faron was still pushing at the wound on his shoulder, but his tone seemed surprisingly somber when speaking of Sachi. "That long-eared fool. He should've shut his yappy mouth."
"You chased him off!" Victoria rose and aimed a finger at Faron's chest. "If it wasn't for you-"
"That's enough." Officer Shelik cut off his subordinate before another fight broke out. "We don't have the resources to go on a manhunt this afternoon, so it looks like we'll be riding to the border wall to report this before heading home. A higher ranked squad will have to track down the gunmen as well as Private Van'Heatah's corpse." He stretched out his lower back with both hands. "Such a pain to ride out here for nonsense like this."
No... Panic gripped at Victoria's thoughts as her Officer's words sunk in. There's just no way Sachi's really dead...
"The safest option we have at this time is to evacuate the beach," continued Zayne. "We don't want to get caught up in another barrage of machine-gun fire if they circle back." He finished stretching and turned to find their wagon. Thankfully he'd parked far enough away for their horses to remain uninjured; spooked as they were by all the noise. "After a blast like that, a team on the western wall should be mobilized shortly. If we hurry, we can reach the border by the first light tomorrow. We'd have to spend a night beside the road, but our safest bet is-"
"No!" Victoria silenced Zayne with a pained tone pulled from her gut. "Sachi wouldn't die so easily!" Her voice was raw with emotion as she continued, "I watched that boy get eaten alive during the exams and he walked away like it was nothing!" She clenched her fists and fought harder to reject the image of Sachi's tattered remains from her mind. "I set him on fire almost every day we trained—Sachi barely felt my flames after two weeks! He's not some regular Human, he's built differently than us! I refuse to believe that a few stupid bullets could kill my friend Sachi!"
Officer Shelik groaned at the thought of spending any longer searching Black Feather Bay. "Aye... Sachi may still be alive, but he's not here. We already checked. There's a strong chance he stumbled into the sea after getting shot and drowned."
"I don't know about that one, Zayne..." Faron spoke up suddenly, catching both his Officer and squad-mate's attentions. "I'm pretty sure I saw those assholes land near Long Ears' side for a second."
"You did?" A flicker of hope flashed in Victoria's eyes.
"It was hard to tell..." Faron turned away, afraid he might be wrong. "Might've just looked like it from how I was runnin' around so much. I never really got a chance to stand still and watch."
"Did you hear that?" Private Ramses turned back to their squad's Training Officer. "If they landed-"
Zayne spoke at Faron before the young Duchess could finish. "Did you see anything else on that boat? Like how many crewed the thing."
"No, Mr. Zayne. Nothin' like that." Faron mulled over a thought. "But I think I saw their flag."
Private Ramses chirped before fully processing the words. "What flag?"
"It was waving at the boat's tail," answered Faron. "Small thing, but I think saw it."
It was Zayne's turn to investigate, though his tone was hesitant. "What did it look like, Private Ali?"
Faron rubbed at his chin. "I think it was shaped like a diamond—green with bits of white on the edges too." He furrowed his brow as he pushed the image to front of his mind. "There were these symbols at the center. Four of 'em; two different pairs horns, some ugly pig's jaw, and a red letter in language on top—couldn't be Romani 'cuz I didn't recognize it for the life of me. I remember thinkin' the whole flag looked like some kinda' fucked up compass."
"Shit..." Officer Shelik slapped at his forehead and collapsed his head's weight into the hand. Faron's vauge description made him realize exactlu of who shot at them. "It was K.A.S.H."
"Cash?" The Privates raised their brows and spoke in unison.
"They're a gang of heathens—real nasty ones at that." His eyes screamed how serious the threat was, though his tone remained as irriated as usual. "K.A.S.H controls most of the balckblack-market trade in the world..." He sighed and continued, "Why in Hel's name would they of all people be hunting penguins on our shore?"
"So, they set the penguin traps?" Victoria's happy expression made it clear how ignorant she was of the threat they faced. "Maybe they noticed Sachi healing and took him captive! What if their gang just wants to ransom him back to our Kingdom?"
A dark realization hit Officer Shelik as Victoria's words sunk in. "Shit... she's almost right." The soldier met the young woman's gaze with hopeless eyes. "Elvish slaves are incredibly sought after by the worst Mortals in our world. Those bastards must be looking to sell him off to the highest bidder."
Faron and Victoria were silent for a brief moment, then they yelled the same thought at Goji Squad's leader.
"A SLAVE?!"
"Aye..." groaned Officer Shelik. "K.A.S.H. has been heavily involved in Battle's underground slave trade for over a century." He sighed again, deeper this time, then went on, "He'll most likely be taken to a work camp in the west before they find a buyer—torture, manual labor, all that mess. It won't take long until someone of his heritage gets sold off. He's tall and strong, with mixed-blood and a handsome face. He might even be sold as a stud to some weak bloodline looking to use him for children with strong Radiances."
"What the fuck?" Victoria raised her arms, disgusted in both posture and expression. "Why are we still standing here? We need to go save him right now! We can't let Sachi get-"
"It's not that simple." Zayne rubbed at his face in frustration. "They sped off in that crazy boat. There's no way we can catch them in our wagon."
"Well... actually..." The pair turned to see Private Ali so see his hand raised like the large boy was sitting in a classroom. "I saw them pull into a cove near my side of the beach." He nodded at his Officer Shelik. "I saw it after you pushed me down and saved me. They're close—just a bit further west from the bay."
"See!" That glimmer of hope shined again in Victoria's gray eyes. "We can still save him, Sir! Let's go before-!"
"It's not that simple, Private Ramses." Zayne had entertained this idea long enough. "This isn't some ragtag team of poachers we're dealing with. K.A.S.H. is a criminal network that stretches across every single mile of our world—land or sea. Storming their base with two Privates lacking any combat experience would be a suicide mission! We don't even know how many of those heathens are waiting for us in their hideout—or how strong they are! We'd be completely outnumbered and hopelessly outgunned." The soldier gave Victoria a glare that said he was done debating the topic. "I will be taking you both to the border where competent soldiers will be able to lead a rescue mission."
The obvious insult left both Privates silent. Zayne was right. Neither teen had fought against anyone, not really. Never once had their lives truly been on the line, and these criminals were clearly merciless if they were willing to tear up Black Feather Bay to get rid of mere Privates. In truth, Faron and Victoria were nothing more than rabbits waiting to be hunted by the predators from K.A.S.H.
Officer Shelik continued, turning to make his way back toward their wagon. "A team from the border wall should be moving swiftly to save him. But right now, the only thing we can do is-"
"No!" Victoria's fierce tone silenced her squad leader's cowardice. "You can run away if you'd like, but I refuse to walk away from this!" She pointed back and forth from Faron to Officer Shelik. "I'm going after Sachi!"
Faron rolled his eyes at Victoria's overconfidence. "Oh, what? The Duchess caught a lil' crush on that long-eared asshole? You about to go die for him just because ya smile every time he talks."
"Fuck that!" she snapped back. "Sachi's our squad-mate, Faron! We owe it to him to chase that boat down—just like how Blāzar Squad chased after Dallis. Y'know?" Her brows furrowed as she continued, "And besides, I won't let my first mission end in failure. A stain like that on my record would be unforgivable! You may not care about moving up or getting promoted, but I will become a Captain one day! And by the Banished God, I won't get there by turning tail on my first mission and losing a squad-mate to some shitty heathens! No! My record will be immaculate..." An intensity grew in her voice that neither Faron nor Officer Shelik thought she possessed. Victoria continued with the same ferocity, "No one will ever be able to say I was handed a promotion or given special treatment because of who my father is! My merit will be unquestionable! My accomplishments will speak for themselves! So, I don't need you two to follow me... I'll go after that boat all by myself and make Second Officer when I drag him back to Gilgamere!"
Zayne remained silent for a moment as he allowed his Private's words to sink in. However, the squad leader's silence was filled by protests from Faron.
"Is everyone from the capital insane?!" Faron asked the sky. "What kinda' Duchess would throw her life away so stupidly?"
Victoria crossed her arms and looked at Faron as if he had just spoken in some tongue of riddles. "Having ambition is far from 'stupid.' I'd say it's more foolish to dance through life without any destination in mind." Her tone grew scornful as she shook her head at Faron's fear-soaked face. "Go scamper back to the Meadows if all you are is some oversized wuss! Our mission just changed, and I'm seeing it through. With or without you two!"
"We just got shot at by machine-guns, Ramses. For fuck's sake, I barely made it out alive!" The mohawked Private stared at the shoulder he was applying pressure to. "I'm no fool for keepin' away from more of that shit! It's pattern recognition—most tots have it too! Clearly y'all capital-folk missed that lesson in preschool. Fuck... you're as yappy as the Elf—two peas in the same shit-covered pod."
"Pft!" scoffed the Duchess. "You're pathetic. How could you not want to fight for one of your own? Sachi grew up alongside you in the Green Edge."
That was enough to push Faron into anger. "I don't owe that long-eared bastard an ounce of blood! We all know his people wouldn't give a damn about either of us if the tables were turned around. We wouldn't even be soldiers, they'd own us, Ramses!"
"He's not from Camelot!" exclaimed Victoria, feeling fire starting to brew in her belly. "He grew up down the road from you, idiot! I doubt he knows a single thing about their culture or God. He doesn't hate you for being Human, he hates you because you're an ass to him!" Her stare became apathetic. "Like it or not... he's one of us now, Faron."
Officer Shelik cut into his Privates' bickering suddenly. "Shut it..." His voice was decisive. "She's right." The man's tone was surprising for the teens. Neither had ever heard their Training Officer speak with such authority. "There's no way Revin will let me have a desk job if I let that kid die on my first mission as a squad leader. He'd make me bring on a fucking replacement and keep teaching..." The deep look in his spectacles was filled with an intense rage of blue flames, cold flames that left his underlings speechless. "No... we're going after Sachi. And I'm getting my office!"
"Are you kiddin' me!" Faron threw his arms over his head in exasperation over Officer Shelik's greedy reasoning.
Victoria's face on the other hand lit up with glee. "Really? You mean..."
"That's right, Private Ramses." Officer Shelik gave the Duchess a respectful nod. "It looks like you'll need those pistols after all to secure our promotions..."
(To Be Continued...)
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