An Unbroken Promise

Chapter 5: Blossoms of War

Tetrium had been an exhilarating experience. Seeing her plan enacted. Getting to experience the marshaling of an army under her command. It had been one of the best moments of her life, and it was such a letdown to see that most of it weren’t even needed once they got there.

The revving up of the war machine for Scriver wasn’t nearly as exciting. Maybe it was her own lack of self-care or the fact that she knew her plan had been rushed and continued to be rushed as it was enacted.  Rushing things wasn’t a good strategy for winning a war.

She found herself in the front tank, intentionally alone, with everything she would need to capture a witch. If someone were going to get hurt, it would be her since she caused all this. 

Cassie’s earlier words echoed in her ear about self-sacrificing bullshit. She shook her head. This wasn’t self-sacrificing. This was protecting everyone else from her stupid mistakes. Still, thinking about Cassie made her miss her more, and she hit her communicator for the tank that Cassie and Selene would be driving. “Hey, Cassie- Selene. How are you two doing?”

She heard a laugh that sounded like neither of them. Megan’s voice came through loud and clear, “I think you got the wrong tank, Captain.”

Adria froze for a moment as her brain processed what had happened. “Megan, you and the others were supposed to be in tank 37, in the west.”

“That’s not what our orders said. We’re just doing what we were told.” Her voice cut out a bit, and Adria heard Megan yelling at Cody about something.

Adria tried to focus back on the path, but her brain was elsewhere, trying to figure out where in the world Selene and Cassie were.

Cassie, on the other hand, was moping at the very back of the action. “What the f**k are we supposed to be doing out here?”

Selene, with a cheery smile and a can-do attitude, held up a crate. “We have the vital job of keeping everyone hydrated.”

Cassie blinked at Selene, then looked at the crate. “You have got to be joking.”

“Fluid consumption is no joke. Without a well-hydrated army, everything falls apart.” She pulled out a bottle from the crate with some difficulty with her pincers and wiggled it to make a point.

Cassie slowly looked away from the bottle and to Selene. “Do you ever get tired of people not taking you seriously?”

Selene lowered the crate, her smile disappearing. “What?”

Cassie gestured toward the crate. “Bottles? They gave you the job of delivering bottles? Aren’t you the strongest Squad Captain we have?”

Selene blushed a little. “I guess- but this is important.”

“No, this is stupid. Anyone can do this job.” She grabbed the bottle out of Selene’s pincer and opened the top. “We’ve got to work on your ambition.” She chugged the water, drank it halfway, and threw the bottle to the side.

Selene watched with a growing warmth in her heart. She was just enamored that Cassie cared about her ambition. She could have died happy right there and then.

At the front, Adria started to see abandoned tents. The population must have had scouts. The people were warned. She dropped her communicator on the console and readied herself for the fight of her life.  She grabbed the stun baton, ready to engage with a real witch for the first time. All her training led her to this moment.

Through the small window of the tank, she saw a woman standing, draped in loose clothes, covered in flowers, her arms outstretched.

Adria stopped the tank and grabbed her helmet. Her heart pounded in her chest. She’d take the witch down if it killed her. She opened the hatch and crawled out, fueled by adrenaline alone.

The woman was still and calm.

Adria slid off the tank and nearly tumbled to the ground in front of the witch. She righted herself and got in a stance, ready for a fight. “Surrender or else, witch!” Adria tried hard to make her voice menacing.

The sounds of the war machines coming up behind her, ready to strike, only fueled her adrenaline high.

“I surrender,” The witch said in a meek voice as she put her hands up.

Adria blinked. “What?”

“I surrender as long as you let my people go.”

Adria paused, looking around. The people were already gone. What looked like the runestone was unguarded. She looked back at the witch, expecting this all to be a trick. “We’re here for you and the stone. Nothing else matters.”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief and put her hands out in front of her.  “Then I’ll go peacefully.”

Adria’s mouth dropped as her brain registered what was happening. She moved forward, taking the cuffs from the back of her belt. “Really?”

The woman didn’t respond and merely held her hands out further.

Adria had already heard the hooting and hollering of the soldiers popping out of the tanks behind her. She took off her helmet and let it fall to the side, and that’s when they started chanting her name.

Adria didn’t know what to do. They shouldn't be celebrating yet. This could all be a trap, but what more could she do besides go along with it and be prepared for anything OK. I’m going to cuff you now.” She moved in slowly, held up the cuffs, and expected something to happen before they were clamped down.

Nothing happened.

The woman lowered her arms and her head.

The army behind them went wild.

As Adria helped the woman into her tank, she heard the chatter on the radio. Reports that the mission was a success. Embellished accounts of what people had seen Adria do. She tried to stop being distracted by it all as she tried to secure the witch. “I don't get it. Why didn’t you fight us?”  Adria asked as she attached the cuffs to a secure bar in the tank.

The woman sank to the floor. “We’re a peaceful people. We would never have attacked anyone, including the Camp.”

Adria stared at her in disbelief. “It’s a war-”

Adria was interrupted by the sound of her communicator going off. She heard Megan, Cody, and Ralph laughing and cheering her on.

She rushed over to turn off the communicator. Something about all this felt wrong.  She sat down and started driving back. Her whole plan was useless. It was too much. It was all too much yet again. Why had the reports said anything about a completely passive witch? Who in their right minds would believe it?  Her stomach growled.

The newly captured witch looked up.

Adria sank into her seat, focusing on the controls to turn the tank back and head as fast as possible to the Devarion. Her stomach growled again.

“Are you OK?”  The woman behind her asked in a small voice.

Adria nearly bit back, but the words reminded her of Cassie’s that morning. “I’m fine. Everything  is fine.” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “And what do you care? I’m the invading force. I just ruined your kingdom and took you hostage.” She looked back and locked eyes with the woman who should have hated her.

The woman held out her hands as far as they could go. In the middle of them was a red fruit.

Adria stared at it. “What is that?”

“It’s food.”

“How did you get it?”

“I control plants. I wouldn’t be a very good witch if I couldn’t make fruit.”

Adria blinked at it. Her stomach rumbled, and she whined as she forced herself to focus back on the path. The whole army was falling in line behind her, except the squads she had designated to stay and guard the newly acquired territory if they won. It still surprised her that they had won. She still didn’t quite believe it.

Adria stopped thinking as something rolled and hit her foot. She looked down to see the fruit there. She looked up at her prisoner. “How do I know you didn’t poison it?”

Her prisoner’s face looked shocked. “Oh wow. It’s an apple. They’re not poisonous.” She looked concerned. “Have you never seen an apple before?”

“Of course, I’ve seen an apple before!” She had never seen anything like it in her life. And Adria’s stomach betrayed her again and growled. She could somehow smell the fruit from where it was, and it only made her mouth water. She grabbed it and took a bite- telling herself it was in response to a challenge and not overwhelming hunger.

Her teeth broke through the skin, and sweet juices burst in her mouth. It was like the cookie, but different in texture, but so incredibly sweet. She ate it as fast as she could like she had never eaten anything in her life, and her stomach growled for it.  She finished and took a breath, only to find something else hit her leg. She looked down and saw another apple. She looked back.

Her prisoner was giving her a soft smile. “My name is Poppy.”

Adria was not going to dignify that with a response, but she grabbed the fruit and ate it. Afterward, she found another fruit rolled to her leg. This one was different. Orange. She didn’t care. She swallowed it too. Commander Shade would kill her. Taking food from a prisoner, a witch no less, but Adria was starving.

“You’re Adria, right? That’s the name everyone was chanting.” Poppy held up a bundle of red things with little seeds that looked absolutely amazing.

Adria tried not to address that. They didn’t need to exchange pleasantries. 

Poppy rolled the bundle of red things to Adria, and she ate it with reckless abandon.

“You’ve really never eaten any of this before, have you?” She produced another, this time green and shaped differently. 

It wobbled toward Adria’s foot, and Adria snatched it up before it could roll away. “I haven’t, and don’t patronize me.” She bit into it and had a little moment of heaven that reminded her of Cassie while she was trying to drive the tank straight. She wasn’t doing a great job. “Hey um- Can you make more of the little red ones?”

The woman looked up with a sad look on her face.

“I have a friend who-” Adria hesitated. It was wrong to ask a favor of a prisoner.  Before she could think about that too hard, she felt another bundle hit her leg, and she looked down to see more of them. She grabbed them up and stuffed them in her jacket for Cassie for later. “Thank you.” She hesitated and added, “I can’t promise I can do anything for you, but I owe you one.” She looked back to see the woman fall against the side of the tank, dejected.

“It’s war, right? Don’t worry about it. You don’t owe me anything.”

They spent the rest of the trip in silence.

Adria hated everything about handing the woman over to the guards to be taken to a particular cell they reserved for witches. Adria watched, feeling full for the first time in her life, and gripped with an uneasy sadness that made her hate herself.

Despite everyone cheering her no matter where she went, nothing about that day felt like a victory.

She retreated to her room, but not before grabbing a ration bar. She would never let herself be hungry in front of the enemy ever again. She opened the door to her room, turned on the light, and the door shut behind her. She was tackled straight to the ground.

Cassie laughed and slightly clawed at Adria’s jacket, all smiles and bright eyes. “Guess who figured out your password.” her tail and her hips swayed as she talked. Cassie tried desperately to get her fingers at the places where she knew Adria was ticklish.

Adria laughed back, defending her most vulnerable spots when she heard a squish and felt wetness on her chest.

Cassie’s smile was gone, and she looked down at the red liquid on Adria’s chest. Her eyes went wide.

Adria realized in a moment what had happened and started laughing. “You’ve ruined the surprise.” She reached into her jacket and pulled most of a bundle of fruit out to hand to Cassie.

Cassie smelled them and moved back a little. “Where did you get that?”

Adria pushed herself to sit up and grabbed Cassie’s hand with hers. She placed the red fruit in her palm. “Call it the spoils of war. They’re amazing.”

Cassie blinked at her, then sniffed the fruit. “Is it poisonous?”

Adria shrugged but continued to smile. “I had two pounds of them earlier. If they were poisonous, I’d be dead already.”

Cassie cautioned a lick, and her eyes dilated. She started eating, and Adria watched with the warmest feeling in her chest. It felt good. Giving Cassie food was the one good thing in her whole day. The only real victory.

Cassie’s mouth was a mess, and she licked at her own fur to get the juices off.

Adria laughed and reached forward with her thumb to smooth away some of the mess out of Cassie’s fur.

Cassie froze at the touch.

Adria did, too, once she realized her thumb had touched Cassie’s lip.  She quickly whipped some of the fruit off and pulled her hand away, unsure if what she had just done was OK or not.

Cassie smiled and hit her on the shoulder. “You stupid sap. Cleaning my face. I can lick my own face, thanks.” She made her point by sticking out her tongue, then licking the juices off.

Adria watched with a strange feeling that she attributed to the lingering sense of being tickled. She opened her mouth to say sorry, or retort or something, but instead got interrupted by a frantic knock at her door.

Cassie jumped, landing on the bed, sliding under the covers, and curling into a hidden ball in the back.

Adria was left alone on the floor, her fingers covered in strawberry juices, as she tried to get up. She expected Commander Shade. She didn’t expect the voice that came through the metal door.

“Squad Captain Adria! You are needed in Lord Herman’s sanctum immediately!” 

Adria got up as she realized it was Cobalt. She opened the door to find him panicking. “Is everything OK?”

“No. Nothing is OK. You are to report to Lord Herman immediately. It’s an emergency.” He turned and ran.

Adria shut the door and looked back at Cassie. “I guess I have to go.”

Cassie pushed the blanket off her head. “I’m going with you.”

“You can’t be seen with me.”

“No, you i***t, I’m going to follow you secretly. If you’re getting in trouble, I’m not letting you handle it alone, you loser.”

Adria couldn’t help but smile at that. She wanted to fight it, but the nerves about what was going on hit her hard, and the idea of having Cassie there comforted her.  “ OK. Sure.”

***

The run to Lord Herman’s room was surreal. The further they got, the more they started to see flowers. It was jarring to see light blues and yellows in a place that rarely got above a dark red for any color.

The closer they got to Lord Herman’s room, the worst it got. Foliage- green and demanding, flourished out of every nook and cranny. 

They reached the door to Lord Herman’s sanctum, and Cassie held back while Adria went in.

Cassie listened and waited. 

“Adria, you’re here finally,” Commander Shade said almost gently.

Cassie knew that once their eyes were on Adria, they would look at nothing else, and she slipped into the room as the door was closing.

Lord Herman’s sanctum had machines aplenty to hide behind, and today it had the extra foliage to conceal her. Cassie got into a position where she could see, and her natural fur and markings would camouflage her. 

Lord Herman looked pissed.

Adria saluted, then looked panicked as someone else- must have been the witch, appeared out of nowhere holding a large bundle of flowers in her still cuffed hands. Cassie’s mouth fell open as she saw the witch drape a garland of flowers around Lord Herman’s neck.

He moved to strike at her, and she flinched back toward Adria. Cassie knew Adria too well. She could recognize that protective instinct in a second. In a moment, Adria had put herself between the witch and Lord Herman, guarding her the way she used to protect Cassie. 

He sneered at her, and Cassie readied herself for the fight of her life. She got excited. This was going to be glorious. She’d go for Commander Shade while Adria took out Lord Herman. Her heart rate went up. Her ears flattened back against her head, so she nearly didn’t hear what was said next. 

Lord Herman turned to the rest of the room, pointing. “All of this is your fault, Squad Captain!”

Adria’s face showed nothing but panic. “I put her in prison.”

Commander Shade took a deep breath and offered, “Yes, we are aware, but she has gotten out. Something about breaking the walls with pansies.”

Lord Herman growled. “She was obviously a strategic ploy by the rebels to undermine our base. You brought her in. I expect you to get rid of her immediately.”

“Yes, Lord Herman,” Adria said.

Cassie gave in to disappointment but got her adrenaline back when she saw Commander Shade leaning into Adria’s ear. Cassie’s ears moved fast, at full attention, aimed directly at the old crone.

Commander Shade wasn’t stupid. From an early age, she had taught her wards a code that only they shared. They were simple commands, hidden in phrases that others wouldn’t recognize as code. “Take her to the Willowing Wood, and give her the royal treatment,” Commander Shade said with a smile in her voice.

Adria’s face flushed. Her eyes became pinpricks. Cassie’s fur stood up on end as she watched the life drain out of Adria as she forced herself to move the woman out of the room. Cassie could kill Commander Shade right then and there for daring to ask Adria to do that. Adria was a soldier through and through, but not an executioner.

Cassie waited until Adria was out, and Commander Shade had turned back to Lord Herman to say something of the incident to soothe him over, and Cassie slipped out just as the door was shutting again.

She found Adria frozen in the hall, her hand holding the witch's cuffs.

Cassie stood up, dusted herself off, and strode over to Adria. “Come on then. Let's get this over with.”

Adria didn’t move.

Cassie grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the skiffs.

Cassie did the work of getting them to the skiff bay, getting a key with Adria’s authority, and getting her to get the witch in.

Adria was gentle in helping the woman into the vehicle, like any amount of kindness now would make up for anything later. Or, Cassie thought, maybe Adria was just kind, and she couldn’t turn it off, even with the enemy.

The witch looked scared but quiet, and she wasn’t struggling. She seemed resigned.

“Hey, you gotta show me how to drive this thing, OK?” Cassie said to Adria, touching her shoulder.

Adria nodded in a daze and turned to take the rutter. She said nothing as she got it going and slowly led them toward the gate.

Cassie moved to stand next to Adria, feigning interest in learning how it all worked. Adria muttered some useless facts about what buttons to push and looked up to the edge of the forest right outside the Devarion.

Cassie leaned in, saying in a voice barely above a whisper.  “Adria, you’re the kindest person I know.”

Adria froze at those words.

Cassie grabbed the rutter of the skiff and looked Adria in the eye. “Don’t let Commander Shade have the satisfaction of making you cruel.”

Adria stared at the forest in the distance.

“That said, I’m here to help you do whatever you need to do.”

The woman behind them started making single flowers and letting them fly in the wind, leaving a trail behind them.

They drove faster toward the edge of the woods.  Adria and Cassie said nothing more. Everything that needed to be said had been said.

Adria slowed the skiff as they reached the edge of the woods.

For a moment, both Cassie and Adria stared at it. It was immense and growing darker in the light of the fading sun. Full of dark purples and blues and faint greens. Faint lights appeared and disappeared in the depths of the trees. They had never actually been this close and had children’s stories told to them of all the dangers that awaited inside.  

Adria stopped the skiff and grabbed the stun baton attached under the control panel. “ OK, we’re getting out.” Her voice was flat.

Cassie’s eyes fell on the baton, and she prepared herself.

Adria helped the witch get out of the skiff and stood on the ground with the baton in one hand and the cuffs in the other.

Cassie perched on the edge of the skiff, her eyes on Adria’s hands. She would follow Adria anywhere- any direction she wanted to go. Dark path, light path- it didn’t matter to her. She was ready to do whatever Adria needed- to support whatever she chose.

Adria took a deep breath and dropped the baton, using her free hand to undo the cuffs. “Leave, quickly. Ralo is directly south of here.” She spoke fast, nervous.

Cassie felt a tension release from her body that she didn’t realize she was holding. It was, in a moment, an assertion that Adria was still Adria- that Commander Shade hadn’t broken her yet.

The witch stood momentarily in shock as her hands were free. She started to smile.

“Go! Before anyone sees you!” Adria’s voice was raw.

The woman smiled big as she made a ring of flowers appear. She gently dropped them over Adria’s head and declared, “You take care of yourself, Adria.” The witch turned and ran, disappearing into the dark of the Willowing Wood.

Adria fell to her knees, watching the witch escape. “This is treason, isn’t it?”

Cassie jumped down from the skiff, grabbing the baton. “Maybe.” She turned it up to the max power setting, pointed it away from the skiff, from the forest, and away from Adria. She hit the button, and a beam shot out, taking out a chunk of a tree. She looked back at the power indicator, pleased that it would be obvious it had gone off. No one would have a reason to suspect anything once the equipment was checked back in. She turned around to Adria with a smile and an outstretched hand.

Adria took the offered hand, and Cassie pulled her up.

They were close. Face to face. They were breathing each other's air.

Cassie beamed. “That witch was the weakest anyway. We’ll never see her again.”

Adria breathed heavily, her eyes searching Cassie’s face, landing on her lips. She forced herself to look Cassie in the eye. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Adria grabbed the ring of flowers, ripped them off her neck, and threw them on the ground. “Let’s get back and go to sleep. I’m exhausted.”