The Seven Heroes of Erde

Ditto

Chapter Eighteen

Ditto

Ditto followed Crystal into the next room over. "What is it?"

"Have you forgotten that I will die if I'm found in this Kingdom?" Crystal asked in a strained voice. "Going to the Queen is like going to death itself."

Ditto rolled her eyes. "It's not like you're going alone. You have an ice-spitting dragon-"

"-Who's tiny-" Crystal cut in.

Ditto ignored her and went on. "And there are six of us, plus Safir, a fire-spitting wyvern. Besides, we have life-or-death information here. The queen can't ignore that."

"The same way the Queen couldn't ignore us?" Crystal shot back.

Ditto folded her arms. "We survived."

"We're wanted fugitives."

"Details."

"That's not– Janet almost died."

Ditto had always loved stories. Stories of heroes and knights who saved kingdoms and cities from menacing villains. In this story, she knew that she had to save her home, but she had to save the world first. It was exactly like a book - one character wanting to fall out, or two, and it was the job of the others to keep them back in.

All she had to do was make Crystal understand.

Ditto launched into a speech. "You willingly came to your tribe to save Janet, your friend. You're not as afraid as you think you are. But this whole thing - it's not just about Janet. It's about the entire world. If we leave the most powerful military force uninformed because you were too afraid to try, it could end the world. This is the rising action! Come on!" Ditto put on her most heroic smile.

Ditto detected traces of guilt in Crystal's expression as she looked away. Ditto knew that speech would work. It was in every story ever.

Crystal scoffed. "I'm not afraid of dying. I'm-..." her ice-stone face cracked a bit with emotion, "-I'm afraid of what she'll do to you once I'm dead." And with that, her stone-faced expression came right back up.

Ditto sighed. "Look. We have a walking volcano if need be. We have five other trained elementalists, plus you guys can train me and that'll make six. She won't hurt me, the delegate, or Verity, because of her relation to the Water King, or Janet if we tell her who Janet is. All we have to do is keep you and Ember out of the way, and then no attacking and no death."

It was only then that Ditto realized that she was saying that half to herself. During the Air Tribe, Ditto had been so horrified when they got captured - she'd made up lies to escape being imprisoned and killed, because she knew that without a weapon she was dead in that arena.

Now, hearing herself say it, she had to believe that this would go better.

Crystal sighed. "Temper Tantrum can die for all I care." She paced to the other end of the room, looking out the window with a distant look in her eyes. "Why didn't I kill her when I had the chance?" she whispered.

"Because you were opposed by a wyvern, six elementals, and life-or-death knowledge," Ditto replied flatly. "Are you going to let that go to waste?"

Crystal let out a big sigh. "Whatever Verity's planning, it's not going to work. You don't know the queen like I do. She isn't as dumb or merciful as you think."

"You don't know what she's planning," Ditto pointed out. She knew that whatever it was would be well thought out. Verity wasn't reckless like Crystal or Ember. She'd come up with a working plan.