“Mom! Mom! Wake up! You have to see what Chief Triminiv gave me!”

  Nadeden’s eyes flash open to find Adamus standing over her, beaming with pride as he holds up “A baseball bat!” He lifts the smooth, sculpted wood, equipped with a metal hilt, over his head as if to worship it.

  “Baseball?” Nadeden sighs, barely awake. “People still play that?”

  “Elves do!” Adamus proclaims, swinging the bat around in a triumphant whirlwind. “Triminiv is gonna teach our whole class how to play! She said that I could be a batter! So she gave me a bat!”

  In his overjoyed recklessness, Adamus strikes the bat into a wall of the cabin. Nadeden springs out of bed, “Hey! Careful where you swing that thing.”

  Adamus lowers the bat. “Oh, sorry, Mom.” Nadeden adjusts her prosthetic leg, sighing at Adamus’s hurt voice. She comforts him, “It’s fine. Just-” She looks at her son. Her son, who is now holding a weapon. Or something that could be a weapon. Well, anything could be a weapon in theory, at least. She pushes the thoughts aside.

  He isn’t having those thoughts of violence, and neither should she. Nadeden has done her job well; Adamus doesn’t need to defend himself here.

  He’s safe.

  Let it go. She thinks Let it go.

  “Just be careful next time.” She mutters, kneeling down to place a hand on Adamus’s shoulder.

  “I will!” Adamus thoughtlessly exclaims before running off to his room.

  Nadeden shakes her head disapprovingly as he vanishes from her sight. As she rises from the ground, her leg worryingly clicks out of its socket. She stomps down to slam the metal back into place.

  Sleeping with it on probably wasn’t the best idea, but given that she’s gotten to the point where she can hardly even remember that her real leg is gone, the thought to take it off must have slipped her mind. Still, a checkup wouldn’t hurt.

  She’ll visit Hadel later today.

  “You missed breakfast,” Hadel states with a grin.

  “Yeah, yeah. I know.” Nadeden groans as she enters the workshop. The place reeks with the acrid smells of oil and soot and swirls with the sounds of archaic machinery.

  “We had eggs, by the way. In case you were wondering.” Hadel mutters, putting the finishing touches on a water filter.

  “Well, maybe if someone had fixed my alarm clock, I would have been able to wake up at a reasonable hour.” Nadeden sneers, sitting down on a steel stool.

  “Hey, I’ll get to it!” Hadel cuts back with a series of excuses: “I’ve had a lot on my plate lately. I’m trying to prioritize. I’ll have it done soon, I swear.”

  Nadeden chuckles, “It’s fine, Hadel, really. I’m not here about that.”

  “What’re you here for then? You aren’t exactly the type to just swoop in and socialize.” Hadel steps away from the water filter, moving over to his workbench, which Nadeden places her leg on. “It came out of its socket when I woke up today, made an odd noise when it happened to.”

  “So you’ve been sleeping with it on?”

  Nadeden rolls her eyes at the comment. Hadel shrugs and examines the leg’s connection points.

  Nadeden turns away as he works, her eyes fix themselves onto the town hall. Chief Triminiv has gathered the village children in the field outside the hall and is now helping them place mats and lines of chalk on the grass in a meticulous fashion. As if they were preparing for an activity or game of sorts. Adamus assists in the preparation, helping a martain boy measure the placement of a mat.

  “What do you know about baseball, Hadel?” Nadeden asks, still with her gaze on the field.

  “Not much, I was never exactly the type for sports,” Hadel answers, engrossed in his work. “Saw Adamus get that bat this morning, though. He was awfully happy about that.”

  “Sure seems that way. When he woke me up, he was swinging that thing around like a parade baton.” Nadeden happily remarks, turning back to Hadel before growing more serious, “Do you think it’s safe for him to be running around with something like that?”

  Hadel glances up at Nadeden before returning to his task with a chuckle, “I don’t know. That sort of thing is up for you to decide.”

  “Maybe.” Nadeden taps her chin.

  Adamus has certainly become more independent lately. He didn’t wake her to go to the communal breakfast, but he did wake her to show off his new bat. Now that Nadeden has come to think of it, Adamus has been attending breakfast and most of the other village events alone lately.

  It isn’t him being alone that she worries about, after all, the village is relatively small. Everyone here knows each other very well and knows that if any harm were to befall the children or anyone in the village, for that matter, the aggressor in question would face swift and harsh punishment at the hands of Chief Triminiv.

  It feels strange to Nadeden to not be the one who is the most feared in the village or the most infamous, but given that Triminiv is not only centuries older than her but has seen countless more battles, it is both oddly humbling and reassuring to someone like her now living a somewhat peaceful life.

  However, Nadeden does have one complaint about her Elven counterpart, “I would be happier if he were actually studying. I may have never received an education, but even I know that Triminiv should be teaching those kids something useful instead of how to play some game.”

  “I said the same thing about twenty years ago!”

  “Oh boy, here we go. See what you’ve done, Nadeden?” Hadel sets down his wrench as his Father stumbles into the workshop.

  Mr. Cusack strokes his mountainous beard that drapes down to his rotund stomach, plopping down on the stool opposite Nadeden. “Teaching Hadel and his sister the family trade was all I was concerned with. Never quite saw the purpose of them learning anything else.”

  Nadeden crosses her arms at the statement, “So what made you change your mind?”

  Mr. Cusack slowly lets his hand drift from his beard as he somberly recollects, “Helena did. She was never meant to work among metal and machines the way the rest of our family was. That fact only became clearer and clearer as she aged. However, she found ways to support our family while still carving her own path. She never quite found her calling, but it was good for her to have different opportunities instead of being forced into this life.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to do with Adamus…”

  Mr. Cusack hangs his head at Nadeden’s statement as she turns back to the field outside town hall. The class has finished setting up for their game and is now listening to Triminiv explain the rules.

  Her attention is drawn back to the workbench as Hadel hands her the now-adjusted prosthetic. “Some of the connection points were worn down; they just needed a little tightening.”

  Nadeden clicks the leg back into place after Hadel’s explanation. “Thanks, Hadel.” She says, leaping off the stool.

  “No problem.” Hadel smiles as his Father continues to stroke his beard.

  It is only once Nadeden is gone that he speaks again. “Did Triminiv tell her about the dealings in the city?”

  “No.” Hadel sighs, moving back to the water filter. “She’ll hear about it at dinner tonight.”

  “The human war has made its way here.” Triminiv grimly states to the small gathering that she plucked out of the town hall during dinner.

  “We should stay out of it,” Nadeden mutters, cracking her neck among the straight-laced martian warriors and human veterans.

  “That is certainly an option.” Triminiv flatly bites back in her ever ghastly ancient voice, “But we have to consider the possibility that the war makes its way here, Nadeden, and given your experience, I expected a little more input than a basic declaration of neutrality.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “What else is there to declare, Triminiv? If any soldiers come here, we simply beat them back; you could probably do so yourself.”

  Two of the humans in the room nod their heads at Nadeden’s words. A martian nods as well, trading looks of agreement with the humans before seeing that their fellow martians are less enthusiastic.

  “While I admire your mindset, Nadeden, the chance of our homes being plundered doesn’t compare to the chance of them being caught in the crossfire.”

  Nadeden considers Triminv’s comment with the rest of the room. The thought of fleeing the village is simply out of the question. Triminiv has spent the past century building this place and turning it into a haven for refugees after the previous vicious human war.

  Us humans, Nadeden thinks we’re always killing each other, aren’t we?

  “What side would we take in that event?” The martian who nodded along with the humans earlier asks the question in haste, without thinking of the repercussions.

  “Neither of them.” Nadeden snarls.

  “Now, now. Perhaps Ulimin has a point, Nadeden. An alliance is a powerful thing.” Triminiv holds out her hand. The sleeve of her elegant white blouse hangs loosely around her wrist.

  “Not between the Republic and the Division.” Nadeden coldly states, spitting out bitterly, “Both of them will stab us in the back and take whatever they please the second we let our guard down.”

  “Then we simply must keep our guard up,” Triminiv says without any of the scorn that Nadeden has so boldly displayed.

  A previously silent martian speaks up, “I think it’s pretty clear why Nadeden doesn’t want to side with either of the human governments, my lady. It should be clear to everyone in this room as well. That is, unless we have simply chosen to forget the tales we have heard of the Scorched Archer.”

  Triminiv raises her hand once again. “Similar tales have been told about my bloody and violent youth, Talimi. I even wrote about them. So what exactly is your point? Besides pulling up old wounds?”

  “She’s trying to say that they might come after me, Triminiv. I’m a fugitive of both governments.” Nadeden sighs, resting her head on her palm.

  A chill suddenly cuts into the room. It is the last bit of cold that anyone in the village will feel tonight.

  “I understand.” Trimininv crosses her arms, telling the group, “We’ll continue this conversation tomorrow, then. I’m sure everyone is wondering where we’ve all gone off to.”

  Nadeden watches her feet as she walks toward her cabin in the dead of night.

  Adamus skips steadily behind her, trying to keep her pace while still being anxious to go home. “What’s wrong, Mom?”

  Nadeden cracks her neck again, turning to Adamus. “Why do you think something’s wrong?”

  “You have your head down and you’re walking all slow, like this.” Adamus hunches over, shoving his nose to his feet as he walks in a mocking impression of his Mother.

  Nadeden laughs, “That’s not how I was walking!”

  “Liar! It totally was!” Adamus stomps the ground, springing out of the impression.

  “Nah, if I’m lying, my pants would be on fire, that’s how it works.” Nadeden picks up speed as Adamus follows her.

  “No, it isn’t! That’s a… uh…”

  “A figure of speech.” Nadeden takes the liberty of finishing the sentence, stepping onto the cabin’s porch.

  “Yeah!” Adamus grins, pointing up his finger to Nadeden as if she’s achieved something by knowing the basic fact.

  “Chief Triminiv taught us about those the other day!” He exclaims as Nadeden places her hand on the door, “Really? That’s pretty smart stuff, y’know.” She plays up her amazement for the sake of Adamus’s joy.

  “Yep! We’re even going to write sentences with them tomorrow!”

  Nadeden opens the door, still keeping her eyes trained on Adamus. “That’s great, Adamus. Maybe we should read a few books with sentences like that so you can get some ideas. I’ll ask Mrs. Feldur if she has any in the librar-”

  Nadeden stops herself, seeing that Adamus’s mood has suddenly changed as his eyes gaze out into the dark of the cabin.

  “Hi.” Adamus greets the stranger with a smile.

  Nadeden looks up to view the figure standing in the hallway.

  He holds the faint glow of a candle in his hand.

  The light shines off his glasses.

  “Adamus, go to your room.” Nadeden orders in a voice of fear that she didn’t know she could feel.

  “But-” Adamus blurts out in confusion.

  “Now.” Nadeden orders in a voice that she had wished to forget.

  Adamus hurries off, looking back at the stranger in the hall as he shuts his door.

  “He’s grown.”

  “What do you want, Gelmidas?” Nadeden asks, being careful to hide the fear trembling within her.

  Gelmidas steps forward, Nadeden tightens her fists.

  “I warned you, Nadeden.” He mindlessly breathes out the fact, unsure of what to do now that she’s in front of him.

  “How many did you bring here?” She asks, blood rushing to her knuckles.

  “Just the ones I trust.”

  “Are they here for me?” Nadeden slowly lifts her hand, letting the blood rush out of her fist as she points at Admus’s room.

  “Or for him?”

  Gelmidas sighs. “Both.”

  Even without the crown on his head, he can still feel the weight of it. “The Republic sent spies. They found evidence, Nadeden, not of you, but of him. The people are still calling for your arrest, some even want your execution, so I figured that I would kill two birds with one stone.”

  “You aren’t taking him,” Nadeden desperately states. “We already spoke about this, Gelmidas. I have made myself very clear that-”

  “You’re right. I gave you the chance back then, but now I’m loyal to my people.” Gelmidas interrupts.

  The candle in his hands is beginning to look like a weapon. Nadeden lunges forward without thinking. She wrests the burning wax from Gelmidas, terrified. “Neither of us wants this.”

  Gelmidas slowly backs away. “It’s not about what we want, Nadeden.”

  “Then what is it about? What your people want, what the Division wants?” She keeps the flame pointed towards him in the darkness of the cabin. Her palms squeeze the wax for dear life like she’s holding a weapon for the first time again.

  “That’s exactly what it’s about.” Gelmidas regains his confidence, moving forward. “I need to keep the peace. Please, Nadeden, try to understand.” In his attempt to appeal to her, Gelmidas tries to take back the candle, but the wax is far too melted.

  The flame slips and falls to the wooden floor.

  It spreads across it in a matter of seconds.

  Nadeden gasps, “What have you done?”

  She runs to Adamus’s door. She drops the rest of the molten candle as she grips the metal doorknob and rips the room open. The Warbound is waiting on the horizon, standing like ghosts in the window. They all hold torches in their hands as the wall falls to ash. Nadeden snatches Adamus off his bed.

  “What did you do?” She turns to Gelmidas, who stands in the doorway.

  “WHAT DID YOU DO!” Nadeden shouts out in anger, if for no other purpose than to drive this feeling of dread out of her.

  Adamus mumbles, “I didn’t do anything.”

  Gelmidas enters the flaming room, mouth agape. Nadeden sprints for the doorway, only for Gelmidas to block the path.

  “Nadeden, please just come with me.”

  She shoves Gelmidas aside, making for the front door as the cabin goes up in flames around her. A torch strikes her face once she opens the door. She falls to the collapsing floor as Davon helps Gelmidas make a quick exit.

  “Was that really necessary?”

  Davon ignores the comment and shouts out to the others. “Make it look convincing!”

  Orson reluctantly tosses his torch to the nearest cabin in disgust.

  Davon hurls his off into the distance.

  Shanna clings to hers.

  She walks through the burning village, watching as its denizens flee from their homes, still with her torch in hand. Amid the chaos surrounding her and the watching eyes stabbing into her, she throws the torch to the wind and walks off into the night, finding herself unable to think of anything except the horrors surrounding her.

  Within the cabin, Nadeden can’t see amidst the fire that burns over her eyes.

  She wanders desperately about her inflamed home in search of water. Adamus, now separated from his Mother, splashes a bottle of water over her face. He chokes on the smoke and ash as Nadeden slowly begins to reclaim her sight. Blinking rapidly, she grabs Adamus, keeping him tied to her with only his back toward the flames that are crawling all around them.

  Nadeden doesn’t mutter a single word or tear as the roof of the cabin collapses and a trail of flame latches onto her metal leg. Adamus falls from her hands, the fire consumes his back as she lies empty and helpless.

  The fire takes an entire side of her as Adamus falls backward.

  Flames crawl over his arms, ripping them open as the metal beams of the roof tear into him.

  As the beams fall to the ground, Nadeden wants to scream, she wants to shout, cry, go to him, just simply do anything to save him or ease his pain, but she can’t.

  She can’t do anything. She’s trapped under fire and blood.

  Three pairs of arms grip the hulking mass of enflamed wood that pins Nadeden down and lift it with all their might.

  Nadeden doesn’t even flinch as Triminiv pulls her up by her burning palms. The Elf rests Nadeden’s hands on her neck, the fire melts down and twists her pointed ears as she calmly drapes a cloak over Nadeden. Hadel splashes a bucket of water over them both, dousing the flames.

  Mr. Cusack reaches out for Adamus, only to be pushed aside by Gelmidas, who runs to his son. “You’re a monster.” The old man stands, although his body quivers. “You’re all monsters.”

  “It wasn’t supposed to go this way!” Gelmidas yells back, throwing a finger at Davon, “Get her as far away as possible!” The finger swings to Nadeden as tears fall from Gelmidas’s face. “Prison her, exile her, do whatever you have to do, Davon! But if you kill her, so help me I’ll—”

  “Like you killed the boy?” Triminiv’s ghastly voice turns to a low roar, shaking the ground beneath her, “Does the action only seem real now that you’ve gone through with it?”

  “I’ll kill you…” Nadeden mumbles through her choked breath, cutting apart the confrontation,

  “I’m going to kill all of you.”

  She shoves Triminiv aside, marching to Gelmidas, only to trip and fall to the ground.

  Hadel reaches to lift her, but Nadeden screams instead.

  Her tears fall as everyone watches, “Why didn’t you kill me?” She questions, choking on everything around her, “Why?”

  Hadel grips her as a blue light enraptures them and traps them in rain.

  “Why?” Nadeden asks again, burying her face in the mud of Terra-gilma.

  Hadel wraps his bandana around her as he kneels down to face the sky and ask the same question.