Fearless (A Mulan Retelling)

Chapter Thirty Nine

For the next week, mass preparations were made. Soldiers stationed in Alabast were pulled and sent to Eda immediately by the order of the general. All the while, Iris could only hope that they would get there fast enough. She had faith though... after all, Alabast was only two days to the West. The thing she was worried about the most was whether or not there would be enough of them to protect her hometown.

"You shouldn't look so worried, Ingred. Everything will be fine," Zayn said as they ate breakfast, "I do not take death lightly. I understand that for every person killed, there will be a family affected... and there are many families in Eda. I swear to you that you will have your father when you go home..."

"I appreciate that, General," she replied.

Iris then looked over at Kayde, who was smiling slightly at Zayn's remark.

When you go home... Iris noted immediately that he said when, not if. Even though she knew that he would have her head if he knew the truth, she was relieved to hear the word. It gave her hope.

"What do we do now?" asked Iris after a moment, "You've spoken to everyone you needed to. We have the Token's information. And now, the soldiers are on their way to Eda. Should we linger here in Alabast much longer? Or do we continue our pursuit toward the fortress?" As she spoke, she made direct eye contact with Zayn.

"No. We shall not stay here. We leave for the next big city, Wallfront. And we leave tonight. On our way, we will pass through the villages of Chroma and Garn... but we will not stay there longer than a night. From here on out, we have to be fast in everything we do. I miscalculated when planning for the attack on Krenshai. I thought that they would halt the attacks on our towns if they had the Eldian force at their throats... I suppose I was wrong. We need to stop Erodyne, whoever he is, before he gets a chance to destroy even more of our country."

"Wallfront... that name sounds familiar..." she trailed off, trying to remember where she'd heard it.

"Yes, you have heard it. When we first encountered Kayde. That is where he is headed... that is where he leaves our group," the general reminded her, and then looked over at the guardian, "Thanks for the help you have given us."

"Do not thank me until later. We could still be attacked on our way. I could very well be killed," he reminded the general. While the words were somewhat foreboding, Kayde still looked rather cheerful.

Iris hadn't thought of Kayde leaving the group, in truth. He'd made a promise to train her and protect her... but could he really do any more from here on out? She wouldn't ask him to help their group invade the Token fortress. After all, it could cost him his life... and that wasn't in his and her father's agreement. Not that she would allow it anyways.

"I remember now," she said, looking over at her companion.

"Either way, I suggest you all go get a couple hours more of sleep and a good meal. We leave tonight, right as the moon rises..." Zayn said, "Chroma is about three days south... and even then, we will not really get a chance to rest. We won't get good rest until we arrive at Wallfront."

Everyone in the scouting group nodded and began to branch off. It was only Ingred that stayed with the general.

"Why are you still here?" he asked her, his voice not unkind.

"Why are you?" the rogue retorted.

"You should go rest, Ingred. I mean it. I know you have a gods awful habit of staying up late, like I do. But you will need your strength. I'm serious," he seemed to smile a little bit as he said the words. Iris noted it, and another retort started to form in her head. Before she could say it, though, he began to speak again.