50. Assemble the Troops
50
ASSEMBLE THE TROOPS
*Raven*
I watch Mother as she paces back and forth among the line of troops. No one would call this an army. It’s more like a rag-tag team of poorly trained teenagers. They aren’t all so young, but they are scrawny, pale, and a little gaunt. It’s evident that many of them have not seen the sun in ages. Even outside in the bright light of the sun, most of them squint, unused to the bright glare of natural light.
“Raven, a little help please?” my mother calls to me.
I imagine a small cloud covering the sun, and the next moment it’s there, shading the worst of the early afternoon brightness.
Mother still isn’t fully certain that my plan will work. I can’t blame her. We have to take into account a lot of variables. Her main concern is that, if I fail, there’s no backup. Her “troops” can take on a small band of old, overweight soldiers if the need arises–thankfully, it hasn’t yet. My plan involves a much scarier possibility. We might be met face to face with the full force of Dun’s Crossing’s warriors. They’re battle ready at all times. While the people of Escuro have been hiding underground for the last two decades, the warriors of Dun’s Crossing have stayed fit and sharp.
Then there’s the sheer number of them. Every man in Escuro has the option to join the army when he turns 18. Some of them even lie about their age so they can join earlier. It’s considered the highest honor in the land to be chosen. The army is never lacking in numbers, and those numbers include the strongest, healthiest, most loyal members of the kingdom.
There are maybe 100 soldiers from Escuro, and none of them have proper battle training. They don’t have a general; they have my mother. That isn’t to say mother isn’t excellent at what she does, but she’s never fought in a war either. She’s experienced great loss from war, sure, but she’s never had to fight. She’s never had to kill.
Still, she and my Aunt Nola have done their very best, and what Escuro’s soldiers lack in size, they make up for in speed and cunning. Then there is the small contingent like Sybil and Melany who can control the animals. They are exactly who King Gavin fears the most, and Sybil is definitely the angriest person I’ve ever met. She’ll rip his head off herself if Kieran doesn’t do the job.
I watch from one side of the field where Mother taught me to use my gifts. Mother guides them through sparring drills, hand to hand combat and weaponry. She makes the group with gifts fight extra hard, warning them that, in the heat of the moment, they may not necessarily be able to rely on their gift to help them. She shoots me a meaningful look as she says this. She still isn’t sure about this, I know.
“With all due respect, Luna,” a young guy shouts to Mother, his chest heaving with exertion from his sparring practice. “We’re ready to fight. We’re thirsty for it.”
“Be that as it may, Braden,” she responds with a withering look that could shoot daggers through the young man. “You’ve never seen the warriors from Dun’s Crossing. I have. You haven’t experienced their savage cruelty. I have. While it’s all well and good to feel passion, to feel a hunger for the fight, even, that isn’t enough to win a war.”
“We aren’t just hungry for it,” Sybil spits. “We’re bloodthirsty. It’s time that Dun’s Crossing pays for what they did to us.”
A loud chorus of cheers rings through the air as a palpable energy rips through the crowd.
“And what if they kill you all?” mother asks gravely. “What if your bloodthirst isn’t enough to beat them?”
“The animals will help,” Melany says sweetly. “They’ve helped before and they will again. And King Gavin won’t be able to poison half our people this time.”
‘Mother,’ I call through our mind-link. ‘We’ve got this. I know you’re afraid, but we’re ready for the fight. We can’t keep hiding underground. Our people deserve to live in the sun.’
She turns to look at me over her shoulder, shielding her eyes from the brightness that’s still shining through the wispy clouds.
‘You know these soldiers better than any of us,’ she answers reluctantly. ‘Do we have a shot at defeating them?’
‘Only if you trust me, ’ I tell her firmly.
Mother nods to me and claps loudly, bringing everyone’s attention back to her.
“All right then,” she tells them decidedly. “We don’t want to waste all of our energy on sparring when there’s an actual war to fight. Raven is going to walk us all through our plan of attack.”
I stand, surprised at this, and walk over the group, ignoring Sybil’s characteristic snarl. There’s nothing she can do or say to get to me now. When Escuro is free, and the soldiers from Dun’s Crossing are defeated for good, she won’t have any choice but to respect me.
“We’re going to need the strongest of you near the river bank,” I tell them. “If any of the soldiers manage to survive the crossing, we’ll need our best line of defense ready to take them out.”
We spend the next several hours organizing our soldiers and going over the plan over and over again. By the end of the day, I’m sure I can recite it in my sleep. I can’t help but feel a swell of pride at how well most of the soldiers listen to me. They trust me, and they know that I will fight as hard as I can to lead them to victory.
When Mother is finally satisfied that everyone has a good handle on the strategy, she finally dismisses everyone, reminding them to rest up and be on their toes. We don’t know exactly when the warriors will come, but I know they will, especially if Kieran succeeds in his plan of killing King Gavin.
Mother and I walk toward the river to assess the best hiding spots. The bank is full of overgrown brush that will easily conceal our fighters. Back just a few feet is a lush part of forest that wasn’t burned down by Dun’s Crossing. Wildlife abound inside, our backup should we need them. I’m more confident than ever in our success. I just wish Mother felt the same.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she says from behind me as we pick our way through the thicket. “You think I don’t believe in you.”
I stop walking and turn to face her.
“That isn’t it, exactly,” I say hesitantly. “You’ve shown me more faith in the last several days than I’ve received from anyone in my entire life. But you seem resigned to think we have no hope in winning.”
She grabs my chin gently to look up at her.
“You have no idea how hard it was to lose you,” she whispers. “How hard it was to lose your father. I went from being a queen of a vibrant kingdom, a wife, and a mother, to having absolutely nothing at all. Those people took away my kingdom and my family in one fell swoop. I’m not sure that I can take losing what little I have left.”
I cover the hand she has on my face with my own then grab her other hand with my free one and squeeze gently.
“When this is all over, you’re going to get it all back,” I promise her. “You have me back, Kieran is going to bring Father back, you have Kieran as a son now, and when we defeat the soldiers, you’ll have your kingdom back. They’ll be stronger than ever, and you’ll get to be the queen who ushers in a new era of prosperity for Escuro.”
She laughs and swipes at tears that are racing down her rosy cheeks.
“My darling,” she chuckles, “you have seen more cruelty in this world than most, but you’ve kept a brave and kind spirit. I’m so proud to be your mother.”
“I’m proud to be your daughter,” I say earnestly, pulling her into a tight embrace. “You have no idea how relieved I am that you’re my mother and not that witch.”
“You and I both,” she laughs again, running her fingers gently over my face. She seems so much lighter and happier than I’ve seen her since I arrived, and I know she’s starting to truly have hope. Her expression abruptly changes, though, and she looks across the river, searching for something I can’t see.
“What is it?” I ask, worried. Surely the troops from Dun’s Crossing aren’t here already.
She gasps and nearly collapses, but I steady her, holding her tightly as she continues to stare in the distance.
“I can feel him,” she says in a daze. “Your father. I can feel him! I never thought I would sense his presence again, but he’s on his way home.”
I continue holding her to me as we both stare across the river. I hope she’s right, because if he’s nearby, that means Kieran is too.