General Giana/GxG/(BWBW)

EIGHT

G I A N A

I had been away from war...away from death's grabbing hands, but the reality didn't bring me as much peace as it would others. My eyes remained planted on the field in front me that could be seen perfectly from the elevated patio, which was attached to the training room where I stood.

The moon's glow fell onto my beautifully melanated skin as thoughts ran through my mind with the most prominent one being my people, my warriors, who were still in the midst of the war risking their lives for their kingdom while I was forced to remain here under the instruction of Jular, who himself was busy at war.

I felt useless, I felt as if I was stepping away from my mission, from my purpose, as if I was failing the souls that I had promised to lead to victory.

A leader fights alongside their people.

The reality rattled on and weighed on me continuously and I had come to the conclusion early this morning that I shall return to war.

So now I stood here in my safe space of the palace, gathering what was left of my mental before I travelled to prepare.

I shall return to war

With the thought came the turning of my body, but the mere movement did nothing but leave me a victim to shock and fright, who halted my steps as I immediately met the sight of Nina standing directly behind me.

"Why would you do that?" I asked her as I hid the fright she had fueled under the space of my ego.

"Where are you going?" She questioned me while ignoring my ask of her.

"That is none of your concern," I told her while annoyance settled in me at the fact that she walked with the habit of popping up when least expected or wanted. "Why are you always lurking?"

"I'm not," She voiced while meeting my eyes with her silver orbs. "You're just not very aware most times,"

I must play a fool to catch the man who believes he is wise.

The words stood in my mind to push down frustration that wanted to plant itself in the midst of our exchange, which in return prompted me to walk past her with the aim of going to my weapons room to execute my plan of returning to war to fight alongside m—

"I will not be patching you up a second time," The firmness of her announcement had me halting my steps with a turn of my body to gaze at her vessel that was once behind me.

"What?"

"If you return to battle you will be hurt again," She spoke without a hint of uncertainty present in her voice.

I must play a fool to catch the man who believes he is wise.

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it is simply reality," She voiced and silence erupted around us as I tried my best to keep down my—

I must play a fool to catch the man who believes he is wise.

I must play a fool to catch the man who believes he is wise.

I must play a fool—

"And why are you so convinced that the world is against you?" She inquired, destroying my composure's attempt to restrict my ill thoughts and feelings so they could not break past my lips and settled between us.

"The world and are fine, but you and your people don't hold the same standing," I told her truthfully as I grew tired of this game of suppressing my thoughts in a plan to get her comfortable enough to lean back and relax, which would inevitably lead her to fall since she seemed to already be comfortable, especially with the fact that she had everybody stretching to wrap around her little finger.

"And why is that?"

"That is none of your concern," I told her. "But if you must know, the treaty between your kind and the wolves is no secret,"

"Did you forget that I was banished?" She asked as if the fact was supposed to leave my trust to bend in submission for her. "Which means that I do not fall under that agreement,"

"No matter how far a child travels it will never erase where it was born,"

Just because the fact of her banishment had Kai and everyone else mindlessly throwing their trust doe—

"A parable?" She asked with a raise of her right bow as her hands travelled behind her back to simply unite with one another. "I thought you held a dislike for those,"

"I don't, my dislike is only for the words you offer since I can't seem to discover their intent," I expressed truthfully.

"That's because you see things as you are and not as it is,"

"My perspective has never failed me yet," I responded with a bit more venom in my voice, and with that, I turned in preparation to leave, but once again I was stopped by her words which had my head turning so I could gaze in her direction.

"Fine, go to battle and die then," She instructed but I could tell the releasing of her words were meant to direct me to do the opposite. "Since you seem to have nothing to live for,"

"I h—"

"Your father, and mother, I know, so why don't you act like it?" She asked, her voice still calm while she gazed into my eyes with a frown gripping her brows for a stifling embrace.

Silence

It's a losing battle, Giana

BUT

A leader fights alongside their people.

AND

I would rather die at war than be captured and led by those beasts.

"I left the healing mixture in the weapons room, the instructions are on the jar," She stated and her revelation pulled me from my thoughts while also dragging confusion from its slumber, so it could float on the surface of everything else I felt. "Have fun fighting with death,"

With that, she walked past me and left, but one thing remained in mind, and that was the fact that her prior leaving of the healing mixture. It revealed that she knew there was no convincing me to remain here in the palace, so why did she spend her time going back and forth with me?