ODDS
1203 Words
Ussiariah had just turned away from the burning ruins of the Argantean ships when he spotted the man in charge of the gate's reconstruction quickly approaching them while being followed by a tall, well-built teenager, dressed all in colorful green clothing that accentuated his olive skin.
-Iktan? – He called out at the scrawny man, gesturing at his unknown companion – Who is this?
-Commander! – Iktan smiled widely, nodding at the young short-haired man beside him – This is King Ishtun, regent of Mavaer!
- A-Are you Anam's grandchild? – The youngster rushed to offer his hand to the masked man – She did not mention that you were a Yahurian…
No – Ussi tilted his head at him with a hint of amusement in his eyes, extending his arm to his right and signaling to the two girls standing by his tall frame – Anam-Xe´s grandchildren are right here.
-Oh – The newcomer muttered in confusion, clumsily redirecting his hand towards the women – I… It's just... Anam never said that her grandchildren were female. She told me you were orchestrating Lowland's liberation, so I assumed…
-That we had to be men… Of course! – Sehira chimed in cynically, shaking his hand – Go figure… Well, sorry to disappoint, but I am the one who sent Anam to Mavaer. And to be fair, one would only expect the ruler of such an important city to be a little older, now that I think about it.
-Well, you don't seem that grown up to me either – The young monarch smirked at her scornfully, still holding her hand – You know? To be the mastermind behind a rebellion and all…
-How could you possibly tell? – She replied defiantly, scowling at him.
-Enough! – The masked man intervened, looking sternly in the direction of the girl and raising a brow at her – What is going on here?
His eyes darting to a clueless Souna, then returning to Sehira, who let go of Ishtun´s hand with disdain, and turned to face the warrior, smiling proudly at him.
-When we found out that Njál was marching towards Mavaer, we sent Anam to warn them – She explained – We hoped she could convince them to evacuate the city before it was too late and join us instead. So now those demons are heading towards an empty city!
-It is not empty though – The young king replied with a pained expression – Not everyone would follow me. There are still people there who will die a tragic death.
-But… But you warned them! – The girl exclaimed in bewilderment – Didn't you? Didn't Anam tell them about the horrors that they made us go through?
-We did – The ruler sighed sadly – But they would not listen… I guess not everyone wants to be saved after all.
-Where is Anam? – Souna asked, holding the limp body of the sleeping blue-haired child against her chest.
-She got sick on her way back here – The tall man whispered ashamedly, his voice noticeably breaking – She did not make it. I am so sorry… She is the only reason why we are all here today, and I will miss her deeply.
Both women looked at each other briefly before hugging the distressed boy reassuringly and patting his back.
-It's fine kid – Souna smiled kindly at him – She was old, and she had lived a rough life. But in the little time we got to know her, we learned about how important destiny was for her. If she died fulfilling her fate, we know she surely went happily.
-She did – The newcomer agreed, timidly smiling back at her, then taking a step back – And that is exactly what she told me before she passed.
-So… How many people joined you in the end, then? – The Commander asked him with curiosity after a short moment of silence.
-Most… My army too! – Ishtun responded, nodding at the warrior – We were supposed to help free the city and then team up with Lowland's gate. But I guess you already beat us to that.
-Well, it is true Lowland's gate is free, for now. But we could still use your men – The warrior narrowed his eyes at him– So, the teaming up part stands. What do you say? Do you want to get that city of yours back?
-Of course, Sir! – The eager ruler replied – That is my sole purpose! It's all that keeps me going now!
-All right… Ishtun! – The masked man exclaimed happily, offering him his hand at last – Let's take a look at that army of yours and see what we can do.
They had been sitting in the empty dining room for a short while. The Yahurian making quick calculations inside his head with the information he had just gathered about the Mavaerian army while the clearly starved kid ate before him.
He liked their new odds. Adding Ishtun´s reserves to theirs meant almost doubling their manpower, they had also been lucky enough to get their hands on a good quantity of newer guns. And even if there still weren't enough of them to arm their entire troops, they would surely be useful.
The firearms that Sehira had managed to smuggle and the ones they had seized from the fallen invaders were much more advanced than his ancestors´ antiques. These had pre-assembled ammunition rounds, which made them faster and easier to handle.
Now they had more warriors... And they had more guns. Even if he would still have to figure out how to distribute them wisely among their men and make sure everyone could properly wield one, Ussi knew that their chances had just improved by a lot.
-How old are you? – The Yahurian asked inquisitively, studying his features while the young man gorged himself on the food that had been placed before him a moment ago.
-Seventeen, Sir – Ishtun replied between mouthfuls, eyeing him with mistrust – I know what you must think. That I am too young to be ruling over my people, or leading this army, but…
-Not at all – The warrior interjected, waving his hand at him – I was your age when I was made Commander of the Yahurian army... Age has nothing to do with whether you have the guts to fight for your people or not. So, do you?
-I… Y-You know? – The excited young monarch stammered nervously – I was only a small kid when your men freed my land of the Xiblenean menace, and I will never forget the magnificence of your army. I saw you marching through our gates while holding my father's hand and I remember thinking that I would die happily if I got to be half as brave as those glorious warriors one day.
- Well kid, your chance is finally here – Ussi replied, giving him a kind look – Now call your captain and your lieutenants. We all need to sit down and figure out a strategy soon if we want to win this war.
- Writer
