Chapter 12: Plan (Part 1)
1353 Words
Axel and the twins soon reached the hideout. They were now waiting for Belle.
“Any day now,” Jack said, growing more impatient by the minute.
“She’ll be back,” Axel assured. “Soon.”
“That’s what you said ten minutes ago, mate.”
“Going to the edge of the Middle Clouds and coming back here is going to take a while.”
“A long while.”
The door suddenly opened and Belle returned.
“No one followed you, right?” Luna asked.
“Of course not,” Belle replied. “I’m a spy. I know how to sneak around.”
“Training to be a spy,” Axel corrected.
“Shut up.”
“I could have some rebels take care of those dragons for you, you know,” Luna suggested.
“That’s fine, but I would rather take care of them myself.”
“Why bother?” Jack asked. “They’re just beasts after all, and they’re not even useful anymore.”
“They’re not just beasts, and I can’t just leave them to die. Oh, forgot to mention – I talked to the rebel spies in the Middle Clouds.”
“You did?” Luna said. “Are they OK? How’s it going in the district? Any news on the festival or the empire?”
“Whoa, slow down. They’re OK. I asked them how things were going in the Middle Clouds. They mostly stay inside the hideouts, because there’s just not much to do. The festivities are still in full swing, with very low guard presence. They’re picking them off one by one. The king doesn’t seem to be giving much attention to the district; nothing new going on there. But it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the guards realise their numbers are dwindling.”
Luna sighed with relief. “Thank God they’re alright. We’ll get to them as soon as possible.”
“That’s what I told them.” She sighed. “Well, I don’t know about all of you, but I think that potion your brother gave me is starting to take effect. I’m feeling really sleepy.”
“That’s not the potion, Belle. That’s just you being exhausted,” Axel said.
“Yeah, well, whatever the case may be…”
“Sorry, sis, but you can’t go to sleep yet,” Jack said. “If you go to sleep now, you’ll fall into a coma.”
“Wait, what?” Belle was taken aback. “Seriously?”
“No, of course, not,” Jack said, laughing. “I’m just joking.”
“Oh, right. Hilarious. You’ve got a wonderful sense of humour.”
“So I’m told. Seriously though, you shouldn’t go to sleep unless you want a splitting headache when you wake up.”
Belle turned to Luna. “Is he being serious now?”
“I’m afraid he is,” Luna replied. “You’ve gotta wait about four hours to go to sleep.”
“I’m starting to wish I didn’t take that potion.”
“Hey, don’t blame the potion, blame the king. You should be thanking me, sis.”
“Of course. Well, I’m going to rest for now. See you guys later.” She headed to her quarters.
“I’m off as well,” Luna said. “We’ll meet again in a few hours to discuss our next step.”
“You do realise you can have normal conversations with people without ordering them around,” Jack said.
“I can’t help it; just as you can’t help making bad jokes every thirty seconds.”
“Hey, now wait a minute-”
“She’s got a point,” Axel chimed in.
“Now, come on-”
“I’ll see you guys later.” She walked off towards her cabin.
“Talk to you later, Jack,” Axel said, and also went to his quarters.
For a few hours they rested, ate food and reflected on the day. Axel meditated, Belle fell asleep and the twins went to their quarters to rest; something they hadn’t done in a long time.
After the constant fighting and getting interrupted by explosions, it felt great for Axel to finally have a few hours of uninterrupted silence; although the lack of violence made him a bit uneasy. He hated to admit it, but when he was out of constant battles and fighting, or when he didn’t have an objective, he didn’t quite know what to do. It had been so long since he had normally talked to people that he had almost begun to forget it. He had become used to living in the present, as dwelling on the past always leads to him thinking about his parents; but when there wasn’t anything happening in the present, he had no choice but to dwell on the past.
He managed to wait a few more hours, until Luna knocked in and asked Axel to join the meeting in the main hall. Axel got up and headed out.
It was evening now, and the main hall was lit up golden. He saw that about two dozen more rebels were waiting for the meeting to begin. Jack was practicing the magic spell Axel taught him to transform his clothes, much to the amusement of the other soldiers. Luna soon appeared and joined them.
“Belle?” Axel asked.
“Headache,” She quickly replied. “I’ll brief her later.”
“I warned her,” Jack said, almost in a tune.
One of the rebels immediately approached Luna and asked, “Sir, about Will…”
“I know. I’ll take care of it. Trust me.”
He thanked her and went back into the crowd, where he began talking to his friends. He looked very nervous.
“Who’s Will?” Axel questioned.
“I’ll explain in time.”
She went in the centre of the crowd, and Jack joined her.
We’ve made great progress today,” Luna said loudly as she addressed the rebellion. “We’re ahead of schedule, albeit due to unforeseen circumstances. We lost a lot of lives, but their sacrifices did not go in vain! The raids were successful!”
The rebels cheered. Their enthusiasm was infectious; even Axel felt like cheering alongside them.
“We’ve already halved the imperial presence on the Lower Clouds,” Luna continued. “It is but a matter of time until we are reunited with our brothers and sisters in the Middle Clouds; and from there, we take down the Core.”
“Now, that does sound simple,” Jack said. “And it is. But simple does not mean easy. Certainly not in this case. Remember warriors, this is a race against time. We have two more days to take down Ender. It will take another year to get an opportunity this good, and we don’t have a year.”
“We need to be careful; and more importantly, we need to have faith amongst ourselves. If we keep our progress up, in the coming days, we will change the course of history! All I ask for is patience and faith. I trust you all know your tasks, and I trust you will all perform them valiantly. Let us work together and defeat Ender once and for all!”
The rebels cheered even louder. Axel was impressed by her ability to capture a crowd. He was also surprised at how much trust she had in her rebellion.
“Now, settle down, settle down,” Jack said. “It’s time to talk strategy.” He cleared his throat. “We’ve dealt with the two imperial strongholds. We’ve crippled the guards’ forces. Now we need to finish them off. There are three officials, each in charge of a battalion, stationed around the district. Now, immediately fighting the battalions head on will no doubt result in casualties. The spies will need to assassinate the officials first. Once that’s done, it will be much easier for the fighters to cripple the battalions. To all the spies in this hall, inform the others on duty. We’ve contacted with the thieves guild; they will aid you in your mission. You leave at dawn.” The spies nodded in response.
“Will you be aiding us in battle, sir?” A rebel asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Luna answered. “As much as we’d want to, our efforts are needed elsewhere.” Axel assumed that she referred to this ‘Will’ character.
The sun was beginning to set, and the hall was now pale orange.
“The other issue,” Luna went on, “Is an outpost, which has been set up in the Warren Residence. That cannot be dealt with through stealth. It will require a full frontal assault; a final one before we are able to advance to the Middle Clouds. Once the battalions are gone, the remaining guards will converge at the outpost. All of us will collect our forces and regroup near the art merchant, and from there, we’ll attack the outpost. It will not be remotely easy, and that’s why all of us will have to collectively work together to defeat them.”
“And yes, now the issue you’ve all been waiting for,” Jack said. “The elephant in the room. The bounty hunters. The assassins.”
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