Fearless (A Mulan Retelling)

Chapter Thirty Eight

Iris walked out of the cell, with her hand and dagger covered in blood. She knew it quite possibly looked gruesome, but at the moment, she didn't care. All she cared about was that her family might find their graves in two weeks. Two weeks. When she stepped back to where Kayde and Thedorn stood, their eyes shot to her... and then to her hand.

"Gods," Thedorn shivered, "You killed him?"

Iris nodded at the both of them.

"Aye, the Token is dead. He deserved no less. But his information did not die with him," Iris said, "in the morning, I shall have a lot to discuss with the General."

Thedorn still stood motionlessly, staring at her as if she were some type of weird zoo animal. She furrowed a brow at him and stared at him hard in the eyes. She didn't understand why she was looked at strangely. Zayn was going to kill the captain anyways, so it wasn't as if she'd committed a crime.

"You're a girl," the lieutenant spoke, "How did you kill him?"

Oh. That.

How easily she had forgotten that, as a woman, she was looked upon as fragile. After all, girls weren't supposed to be able to kill anyone. They were supposed to cook, clean, and wring their fingers over petty things. Iris sighed and looked down at her blade. Soldier or not, she would not be seen as weak.

"With a dagger," she commented, "It was easy enough with his circumstances. Give me some credit, his hands were bound. I'm not that incompetent, now."

"Of course not... miss," the soldier still fumbled over his words, "I've just never seen a woman with a weapon, is all."

"Well," she said with a twitch of her lips, "There's a first time for everything, I guess. With the war going on, it would be foolish to walk around without a way of protecting myself." As she spoke, she slid the bloody blade back into its spot on her calf, not caring that it dirtied her skin.

"Right," he replied, looking nauseous, "At least you got the information."

"And you got a mess to clean. Sorry about that," she said. She drew the handkerchief she'd stuffed in the left breast of her gown and wiped her hands. "Shall we go, then?" she asked Kayde. "I'm tired."

Kayde looked thoroughly amused at her. He even laughed a little before he said, "Of course, Miss Elisa. Let us get you back home."

Wordlessly, Iris walked past Kayde and Thedorn. Only the guardian followed her out. She walked fast, so it took a minute for him to catch up with her. But when he did, he sent a crooked smile her way.

"You really have changed," he pointed out once they were out of everyone's earshor. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at him.

"You've told me this," she said with a chuckle, "In fact, I think it was earlier today." She teased and then looked away from him and up to the moon. Tonight, only half of it shined in the night sky. Kayde followed her eyes to see what she was staring at, but drew his eyes back to her face after only a second.

The glow of the night washed over her porcelain face, highlighting its angles. Iris sighed. "It sure is nice out here, isn't it? I wish I had the time to go for a walk through the city."

A smile wisped to life on the guardian's face, and a sudden idea came to mind. "You should make time, then. I could use a walk myself."

Iris's head snapped to him. "Right now?"