Just as General Zayn expected, it took three days to reach the village of Chroma. The entire group was thankful that they hadn't had any problems reaching it. Yet, there was something that Zayn did not anticipate. Just because they had not encountered hardships... didn't mean Chroma hadn't.
Chroma, as it now stood, was in ruins.
There were dead bodies everywhere, laying about the street in piles. Clusters of battered survivors tended to the bodies, only looking up when they heard the sound of the soldiers' approach. The group watched in shock as three men and two women were washing the blood from a corpse's face. Immediately, the general rode forward towards those villagers. They flinched at the sight of him at first. They hadn't had the best luck with the last men that had come in with swords.
In the meantime, Iris readied herself to follow after him. Before she could move, though, she heard a horrified gasp from behind her. She turned her head to see Ra and Shen, who were both looking at Jehrth. The archer's face was devoid of all color, mind for the tint of green that insinuated that he might be sick.
"What's wrong?" Iris asked, confused.
"This is where I grew up. This is where I live," Jehrth said in a low voice, "This is where my family lives."
"Gods," Iris whispered, and took another good look at the ravaged town, "I'm so sorry, Jehrth. Maybe they survived --your family. It looks like some of the people here did, by some force of luck. Do not fret until you know for sure." Even with the consolation, the archer still looked positively terrified.
Iris would have said more, but she decided it would be best to leave him alone for now. She knew her words wouldn't make him any less worried for the fate of his loved ones, so it was best to not say any at all. She rode Gretchen up to the general.
"What happened here?" she heard him ask the forlorn villagers.
"We were attacked by the gods damned Tokens," said one man within the group, "It was last night. They came with torches and swords. They killed a lot of us... burnt a good bit of our marketplace. But... we stood against them. All of our men fought against them with the weapons we have. Ah, but it won't be enough time. By what I understand, they'll probably regroup and come back for the rest of us tonight. They have to know by now we're just making them work for it.
"Hmmm," the general rubbed his chin.
"Unless... unless you were sent to help?" Iris could see the hope flash in the man's eyes from where she sat, "Please, soldier... help us. I know you're captain or general or whoever the hell gives the orders probably didn't tell you to, and perhaps you might get into trouble... but it is our lives. Please."
Iris saw Zayn nod.
"Thank you, sir." The man introduced himself as Rehan of Chroma, taking the general's hand in his and shaking it profusely. "May I get your name? All of them?"
"This is Ra, Dregar, Shen, Jehrth, and Ingred," Zayn motioned to each one.
Rehan squinted his eyes. "Jehrth?" A moment passed. "Hell, it is you, isn't it?"
Jehrth nodded.
"Ah, I'd say welcome home but..." he looked around pitiably. "...it isn't much of a home anymore, is it?" Rehan's eyes clouded with sorrow. Finally, he turned back to the general. "And your name?"
"Zayn Rothstead."
"The Zayn Rothstead?" one of the others asked, "You're the general, aren't you?"
"Aye," replied Zayn, and then continued speaking, "That I am. We were on our way to Wallfront. Still, I will not neglect lives when I could save them. About how many Tokens came to Chroma? Do you know?"
"There were a good many. We killed some of them though. I would say about twenty, maybe twenty five, went running when they saw their friends dying. If duty and orders do not drive them back here tonight, revenge surely will. I thank you for your help. Really. You have given us some hope yet," said the first man that had spoken, "Before you came into town, we had none for ourselves. We were ready to fight to the very last one of us."
Silence followed.
"We still would fight with you, if you will let us. There aren't many men left, here... but there are enough that we could draw some of the attention away from you," he told Zayn, "Would you have us stand and fight? We may not have much for weapons and training, but we have heart. We would protect our town... our women... our children. We would protect it to the very end." Iris saw the determination in the villager's eyes. For a moment, it was as if she were looking at an embodiment of her will power.
"I will not make you fight," the general answered, "But I will not make you not fight. I understand what it's like to want to stand against those that threaten your loved ones. Anyone who wants to make a stand... can."
Then, one of the women spoke.
"You heard him," her voice was loud and determined as she spoke to the man Zayn was speaking to, "Anyone can fight. It's time you believed that yourself. You had me standing idly by, minding the children when you know I could've helped too. I'm damned good with a blade... and I will fight tonight. I could have saved more lives had you let me march with you during last night's attack." Iris gave the woman a once over. She was younger, about twenty eight or so, with visible muscles.
"Women can't fight, Darsa. You would be killed if you were to fight a man. You know that," he said over his shoulder, and then looked at Zayn and about apologized for the interruption.
A moment passed. Then, Zayn surprised them. "No, let her. If Darsa wishes to fight, then she should" Zayn answered, not unkindly, "Anyone has that right. Maybe she'll make the difference we need."
Iris sucked in a breath and her eyes went terribly wide. "What?" she blurted without thinking, "You would let a woman fight?"
Zayn turned to her slowly. "You heard me, Ingred. If this woman is good at what she does, why should I stop her? What right do I have to tell her what to do? I am not her general. Plus, there's a good chance she might surprise us," he answered. Iris was nothing short of speechless.
"Do you not agree?" he asked.
Then, before Iris could answer, Darsa stepped forward to face Iris herself. Iris could immediately tell that the swordswoman was offended by her outburst. Hell, Iris would have been offended if she'd heard a man question a woman's ability to fight. She knew that. Iris sighed, waiting for whatever Darsa would say to her. The rogue stared into the villager's brown eyes, seeing a bit of anger within them.
"Course he doesn't," Darsa snorted. When Iris decided to say nothing, she kept on. "Would you not let me fight, if you were general? You might want to listen to him --all of you lot." She looked to the villagers that doubted her. "He's the most reasonable man I've met so far. The most understanding. Why must most men be such bastards? You should learn to believe in your women. Not all of us are dainty flowers," she snapped. Iris wanted to laugh, but instead kept her mouth shut. Zayn wanted to laugh too, but Iris didn't know that. Kayde did laugh... but not loud enough for anyone to hear.
"I did not mean you offense," the rogue replied.
"Well, you failed," she snapped, and started to turn away, "But thank you, general. I am honored to have the opportunity to fight alongside you."
----
Much to Iris's misfortune, that was not the last time she saw Darsa. Iris wanted to shove a foot up the general's ass, because he paired her with the brash woman that evening. No doubt for her smart mouth earlier. Iris wanted to internally groan as she watched Darsa swing her sword around in the stables.
"You know, I don't know why all of us were assigned to a damned soldier," she grumbled as she kept swinging, "I don't need any more training... and I sure as hell don't need some blasted cunt telling me I can't fight because I'm a lady. And why am I the only one put under you? Surely this was some cruel joke."
"It was," Iris stood from where she sat, "The general's cruel joke. But not for you... for me. I'm sure he knew I would be berated for questioning his judgment. And I never told you that you couldn't fight. I just asked whether or not he would let a woman fight with us." With that, Iris went and corrected Darsa's posture.
"I'm no sword-wielder, but I know that you should never leave your chest unguarded. That would be immediate death for you," Iris mentioned. Needless to say, Darsa did not take the criticism well. With a frosty glare and a toss of her brown hair, she continued doing what she was doing.
"I will not have a man tell me what to do. Especially one who does not believe in me. You may sound innocent enough now, but why else would you say what you did earlier?" she asked, swinging her sword in a wide arc, "You're just a bastard soldier who thinks women have a place."
With that, Iris grew angry. She stopped Darsa's blade mid-swing with one of her daggers and lunged for the swords-woman's chest. They both fell down to the floor, Iris on top... pointing her other dagger at Darsa's heart. The swords-woman looked alarmed at what had just happened... but also angry.
"I told you not to leave your chest unguarded," she growled, "Don't be such a fool-woman, I don't care whether or not your man or woman. You'll bleed the same if someone stabs you in the heart."
"A fool-woman?" she snapped, "You call me a fool because I am not a man. I could be as strong as you. Don't stereotype me, soldier."
"You are doing the same... stereotyping me as if I'm one of the other men who didn't believe in you. Do not put words into my mouth. I do not think you are a fool because you are a woman," Iris growled. Perhaps it was the expression Iris made, or the passion behind her words... But Darsa's face went pale and her eyes went wide as she stared hard into the rogue's face. Immediately, Darsa dropped her sword and snatched at the leather in hair.
Iris knew she'd been caught. In a softer voice, Iris said, "Do not think for one second that I don't believe in the power of women."
Darsa was speechless. Iris stood up afterwards... and pulled her hair back up.
"Stand up," was all Iris said as she walked away.
Darsa scrambled to her feet and practically ran over to the rogue. It was a forced confrontation. The swordswoman stood directly in front of Iris and stared right into her face. This time, Darsa did not look angry... but disbelieving and somewhat reverential. Iris met her gaze with an emotionless expression.
"You're... a soldier. You can't be a woman," her voice broke, "It is illegal."
"That it is," Iris said in Ingred's rough voice, "I'll kill you if you say it to anyone"
In truth, Iris knew she couldn't kill Darsa.
"Understood." The tension eased. "I won't say anything," Darsa smiled a little, "I was hoping that one day I would meet someone like you. Someone who would take all my ideals to the next level. I admire you. Gods, you're really brave. Even I would never think to disguise myself as a man. But I would ask you a question: does your general not know of you?"
"No. He doesn't. He would have my head if he did."
"I see."
After that, Iris continued to train Darsa the best she could. In truth, from what Iris could tell, the swords-woman was quite good with her blade. Much better that Iris was at using a sword. The villager seemed to also be impressed at Iris's skill with her blades. In fact, she even told Iris that.
"You are one of the best fighters I've ever sparred against," Darsa complimented her.
"He is quite good," the general interrupted from behind them. Both of the women turned to the stable doors to see Zayn standing at the entrance. Immediately, Darsa gave him sort of a salute... while Iris just stared at him. She wanted nothing more to smirk at him for pairing her with the swords-woman but decided against it.
"Come, Ingred. It is about nightfall. I am sure Darsa is ready. I have a thing or two I should like to discuss with the group."
Iris nodded, and began walking towards the general. In the meantime, Darsa just stared at the two of them. It was quiet as Iris marched past the general. Instead of breaking the silence, the woman just watched Zayn. As soon as the rogue could no longer see Zayn, Darsa saw the general's eyes follow Iris. Linger on her. And even though she knew that she wasn't the best at reading people, the swords-woman saw the shine in the general's eyes. At that moment, Darsa knew that the general did know.
And that made her heart melt.
Even with the rogue's word earlier that Zayn did not know of her, Darsa had suspected that the opposite was true, even though the rogue believed otherwise. After all, why else would the war general of their country allow her, a woman, to fight with her village? Generally, men wouldn't even consider it. Of course, earlier she was confused on why Iris hadn't been executed yet. But now she knew why.
Once Iris was out of sight, General Zayn's eyes snapped to Darsa. The swords-woman smirked, yet her eyes were kind.
"You care for... that soldier." She still kept the rogue's secret. "Don't you?"
The general looked surprised at first, and then tried thinking of a good answer. He wanted to deny it. This woman knew about Iris. He knew it in the look on her face. For a moment, he about waved it off to protect her secret, but he knew that it was forfeit. With a sigh, he instead gave the grinning villager the truth.
"Perhaps."