Fearless (A Mulan Retelling)

Chapter Forty Four

And why shouldn't he? Kayde thought to himself. Iris is nothing short of amazing.

As much as Kayde wanted to cast his eyes away from the girl, he could not. And as much as he didn't want to admit it to himself, he cared for Iris too. She was fierce and beautiful. He wished he hadn't teased her so much in the beginning. Maybe then... it would have been different. But, he shrugged it off.

He still enjoyed seeing her happy, and if the guardian was being honest, the general deserved to be happy as well. Kayde knew that, even without knowing too terribly much about Zayn. War had an impact on anyone that experienced it... and to be inducted as general at his age had to be more than tasking. Kayde knew that, even though he was good at his weapon, he could never hope to lead thousands of men into battle... especially knowing that some would never return.

Kayde averted his eyes to the general, slightly raising an eyebrow at him. Zayn noticed the stare almost immediately. Once Zayn's focus was on Kayde, the Remorda Guardian quickly cast his eyes over to Iris, who was now fiddling with something in her satchel. Then, he raised his eyebrow even higher, as if to say I know your secret.

And then, Zayn simply heaved a big breath and shrugged a little in Kayde's direction. "Well, we should go find somewhere to tie our horses and store our belongings while the day's still young. Maybe you're wrong about the inns running around," he said, catching Iris's attention once more. She simply looked up at him for a couple of seconds.

"Good luck," was all she said.

With another chuckle, Zayn began heading for the village. Iris and Kayde followed after.

It wasn't long before they found what they were looking for. As they approached the inn, Kayde imagined it growing legs and running away from them. But, much like expected, it stayed in its place.

They tied their horses next to Shen's and went inside. It wasn't nearly as full as the one in Alabast, so this time, they each got their own rooms. Once they were assigned, Iris quietly made her way to hers. It was a smaller room, but she hardly cared. She just sat her things in the corner and made her way to the bed. It was still midday, so she wasn't planning on sleeping just yet. Instead, she just relaxed and succumbed to her thoughts.

Now that they were getting closer to their destination, she began to wonder what would happen after their mission was complete. What would happen to her? And for the next hour or so, she sat there pondering on the possibilities. Would they simply all go home? It didn't seem that simple... but what else was there? If they could truly kill the man that called himself Erodyne, would that end it?

She didn't know. She didn't know a lot about war, despite being a soldier for the a small while. Ah, she figured she would just have to wait and see. Plus, there was no guarantee that they were going to succeed. That small, niggling voice in her head was always reminding her of that. Not so long ago, that thought scared her. But now? She wasn't so afraid.

She knew that if she died now, it would at least be for a good cause. The only thing that she truly feared above all else was discovery. She, of all things, did not want to dishonor her father and aunt. If Eldia found her out, she would take the execution with as much grace as possible. But... she would not see her father shamed for her actions. Iris sighed, knowing that if nothing else, her father would live.

Maybe that would be enough.

Before she could think any more on the matter, she heard a knock at the door. With a small stretch, she went over and opened the door to find Zayn standing in front of her. She nodded in greeting and waited for him to speak. But... he did not.