Standing in the field before the edge of the forest, I could almost picture myself somewhere safe. The grass seemed impossibly green and gentle. The sky was clear, and the sun beat down on all of us with it's warm, caressing rays. On either side of me were Arne, Seraphina, Sven, Ogen, Tamas, Alana, and a few more rebels.

I closed my eyes and breathed in the sweet, spring air. The flowers we were all adorned with had a gentle perfume that nearly lulled us into a false sense of comfort. But there would be no comfort as we stood awaiting the arrival of the Ithican army.

There were only a few more minutes of peace before we could hear the furious chatter of birds as they rose above the trees, likely disturbed by many moving through the forest. They were almost upon us.

I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter.

The first soldier appeared through the tree line toting a light blue Ithican flag high in the air. Behind him, the army began spilling from the tree line. A small pit grew in my stomach as they kept pouring out of the trees. The light blue fabric of their uniform and the bright reflections of their armor made them look like a lake spanning 1,000 bodies.

We were already outnumbered.

A small part formed in their ranks, and King Henrich and Queen Luciana came forward on pure white horses. If the army was a lake, then the king and queen looked like they were effortlessly skimming across the surface of the water. They had elevated themselves above everyone else.

They came to the front of the human lake and stopped, waiting for my next move. We had just entered into a deadly battle of chess, and I hoped my next move would throw them pause.

My hand rest lightly on the hilt of my sword as I stepped forward from my own warriors and began to walk towards the opposing army. Queen Luciana and King Henrich didn't move a muscle. They practically looked like statues in their perfectly pristine armor perched upon immaculate mounts.

"Hello, mother and father," I greeted.

"Amberleigh, I see you and your little Elven rebels are trying to win the gods over with your little flower ritual. It's folly, come back with us now, a few flowers won't save them," Luciana said.

I stared up at her with the sun a backdrop to her regal armor. She wore a cape of crisscrossed metal studded with jewels so fine that it looked like fabric. She practically looked god-like, but I had met the gods, and she was nothing like them. I stood my ground firm and unyielding. I may not bear their finery upon my body, but I wore the traditions of my ancestors and of those I was trying to save. It was more than they could say.

"I won't be going back with you. I won't turn my back on them, and I won't let you steal my power. It is time that you are stopped, but before that," I paused and scanned the rows of blank-faced soldiers before me. "I think your army deserves to know the truth."

I stole a breath to project my voice loud enough so that all could hear, or at least I hoped they could. "Queen Luciana has been blessed with a conniving and unscrupulous tongue. Think of everything she has ever told and question if it is the truth. I have discovered the truth, and I wish today could go without death, so I speak now, hoping that I can convince even some of you to defect to the resistance. You are being forced to fight in a battle that you don't even know the full depth of.

"Over the years, the Elven rulers have grown increasingly corrupt, filling the lands with racism leading to the enslavement of Fauns and Satyrs and ripping mixed families apart. They have staunched magical education to force inferiority in other races and have plotted to kill me, their daughter, to steal my power.

"The gods have spoken to me, and they are unhappy with the darkness that has infected the land caused by these rulers. They ask you to fight against, and to kill, innocents who have been pushed out of their homes and kept from happiness because of King Henrich and Queen Luciana. If you do not want to fight for these snakes, or you do not wish to kill mothers, fathers, friends, or lovers that simply want to live a life of equality and acceptance. Then I ask you to defect to the resistance."

I was slightly out of breath as I finished speaking, and I glanced at the army that still stood before me. None of them moved.

"I tried to accept you as my own, even though you were raised by humans." Luciana spat. I could feel the tingle of magic in the air as she spoke, "and now you spread these lies, hoping to manipulate them into joining you," she paused. A single soldier broke ranks and walked out from the front lines. The soldier glanced between me and the king and queen before she ripped the fabric emblem of Ithica off of her shoulder and moved to stand behind me.

I gave her a slight nod and smile, hoping she understood my thanks. Within the next few minutes, over fifty soldiers broke ranks to stand behind me. A small pile of Ithican emblems separated my parents and I. Luciana's cheeks were red with anger, but she held her tongue.

"Is that all?" King Heinrich shouted at the army. A few more soldiers scurried out and quickly fell in behind the others, joining the resistance.

King Henrich faced me now, "So you have collected yourself a few more weak-willed soldiers, you are still horrifically outnumbered. Expect to be slaughtered."

I gave him a bright smile, of which he seemed surprised, "Oh, you think this is everyone? I think you will find we have far greater numbers than you realized. You have hurt many, and they are ready to fight back. It's time that you pay for your deeds."

King Heinrich's eyes widened slightly, and as I turned around to head back to my side of the clearing, I could see the faces beginning to collect on the tree line. Our numbers still didn't reach theirs, but it was far closer than they realized.

The second we got back to our congregation, Soren began barking orders to the soldiers. Directing them to form a wedge formation. We moved quickly knowing that the Ithican army was rapidly preparing themselves for battle, collecting their shields and more weapons.

I was stood next to a young Ithican soldier that had defected. He must not have been much older than eighteen or nineteen.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Marcus," he said swiftly.

"Are you nervous?"

"N-no. My queen."

I offered him an encouraging smile, "It's okay to be nervous, we all are." I chose the same words that Alana had spoken to me earlier today. I plucked one of the flowers from the crown around my head and tucked it into the bun at the nape of his neck. "I learned today that this ancient tradition is supposed to help protects warriors on the battlefield; the land will be looking out for you now."

"Th-thank you, my queen."

"Marcus, we fight together. You can call me Amberleigh."

He sent me a nervous smile, and then his face grew stern in concentration as he stared back at the opposing army.

A horn sounded in the distance. It was time.

As a unit, we marched forward, the first line of soldiers, Ithican and rebel alike, planted the edges of their shields into the ground to create a barrier. The Ithican army met us in the middle.

I had a split-second moment to wonder where Ulric was before a battle cry sounded amongst the Ithican army, and they charged. Our second line erupted from behind the shields to meet their soldiers. Just as I was coming up to a large man, preparing myself to attack him with my sword, an arrow sliced through his neck, spraying a fine layer of blood over my face. Our archers were already working hard.

War was chaos, everywhere around me was chaos. Individual battles carried on everywhere I looked. An Ithican soldier sliced through a rebel, a rebel in a sword fight with another soldier. Within minutes bodies were already lining the ground, some dead, some dying. Blood was heavy on the air, a sharp iron-laden scent that nearly gagged me.

I felt a pressure behind me and turned around with my sword raised just in time to block a heavy blow from an Ithican soldier. Instinct took over, and after a few exchanges, I had him on his knees and his sword out of reach. I went in for the killing blow, a sword to the heart, and paused.

I had never killed anyone before, and even though he had tried to kill me, I wasn't sure if I could do it. The man stared at me, afraid and confused as to what I was waiting for. Eventually, I ripped off his helmet and struck my pommel against his forehead, knocking him unconscious.

I moved on. I had one job during this battle--to kill Luciana. The others would take care of Heinrich. I scanned the battlefield and spotted the two white horses running towards the tree line riderless.

Dammit, how would I find them now? I wove my way through the mess of bodies. I only came across two more soldiers along my path that attempted to challenge me in battle. One was decapitated by Seraphina, who winked at me and turned back to a man, twice her size, to fight with. I prayed for that man. The other I defeated similarly to the first, by knocking him unconscious.

Nearly to the back of the Ithican army, I glanced around. In the distance, I saw Soren locked in a ferocious battle with Heinrich. I wanted to run and help, but I knew that this was between the two former best friends. I also had other things to take care of. Luciana was still out of sight, and I had to find her. The sooner I did, the sooner I could command the army to stop. The sooner this would all stop.

I felt another pressure behind me, my danger awareness warning me of something coming. But just because I knew it was coming, didn't mean I could stop it. Fatal blows are supposed to be fatal for a reason. I turned on my heel to defend myself against whatever was behind me. The second I did, I felt a sharp pinch and a burning heat against my left shoulder, just above my heart.

My mouth opened in a silent gasp, and I stared down at my chest, where a small, thin sword was protruding from. I could feel the end of the sword sticking out of my back.

I dropped to my knees. My body feeling numb at the shock. Up close, I could see a faint red shimmer on the blade, the sign of Renatus's magic. But Renatus wasn't the person that stood before me. No, it was Luciana. She had found me first.

She had stabbed me in the back now metaphorically and literally. I should have expected something like this out of a snake like her, but I guess even up to the end, a part of me hoped that she was going to change. It was the same childlike part of me that had spent every night dreaming of my real parents.

Luciana's eyes were wild with untamed energy, and a craze had taken over her mind and soul. "My sweet daughter," she grinned at me. "Look at what you made me do."

With a devilish finger, she reached out to wiggle the sword causing the blade to shift inside my chest; I screamed in pain as I crumbled to the ground. That single action had kickstarted the worst pain of my life, it was unbearable. Every beat of my heart made the wound screech, and the wet stickiness of blood soon soaked the front of my armor and underclothes.

As I stared up at the woman who I so desperately wanted to call mother in excruciating pain, Zora's words came to me. "This is war, and war comes to us hand in hand with death, and some people just need killing."

Some people do just need killing.

I knew I needed more energy before I could even try to attack her, so I began to take in as much energy from the grass where my body lay.

Luciana was oblivious to my silent attempt to gain strength and instead stared out at the battle before her. "The resistance is quite scrappy, I will admit. But they are no match for us. I must say, Amberleigh, I'm surprised you left for them. Frankly, I'm a little hurt, you left your own mother for the resistance."

I still needed more energy and quick. I needed to take her by surprise.

I suddenly remembered the flowers around my head. Maybe the legends of the flowers were true. The land does, in fact, protect the warriors who wear them, just in a different way than everyone thought. I focused on the gentle brush of the petals against my forehead. A faint tingle greeted me. Just like my lessons with Ulric in the maze, I pictured the flow of magic in the small flowers and leaves that ran through their veins. Where they pressed against my skin, I imagined opening up a door and pulling in that magic, that energy. Slowly but surely, the tingling increased until I felt a gentle flow entering into my own body.

A wilted petal fell down my face and rest against my cheek. I had taken all of the energy I could, which caused all of the tiny flowers to wither and die. It was just enough energy for me to slowly stand to my unsteady feet.

With Luciana's sword still protruding from my chest. I gripped onto my own sword and grabbed her shoulders. She turned to me; her mouth was paused mid-sentence from surprise. I stared directly into her eyes as I pulled her closer and stabbed my sword through her heart. "I'm sorry mother, look at what you made me do."

We both collapsed to the ground. She was dead, I was nearly unconscious, but I was queen.

Checkmate.

Author's note:

Well then, that was exciting.

We're almost done with the book. The next update will hold the last two chapters.

Are y'alls excited?