𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄
COMPLETED
❝She's the girl with the magic finger,❞
❝and you're the boy with the magic mind...❞
Unable to return home, Caron and James must live life on the run. An unexpected complication rips the pair apart as they have...
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NO ARMY, NO MATTER HOW LARGE, COULD EVER BE COMPLETE. In every battle, soldiers were lost to the cause, dead bodies piling up as the war was won or lost. Blood stained armour the only thing to return home when all was said and done. Swords given to unworthy recruits who would have to take the place of warriors.
It was for this reason that Caron suggested that they ventured to another nearby town, an attempt to bring more troops to their cause. By now, word have spread of their deeds, a battle won and fought already, although the war still raged on; a sleeping dragon guarding its precious treasure.
James stayed further back than the rest, shoulders slumped as his backpack full of food weighed heavily on him. He hadn't been avoiding Caron, it just wasn't like that. But she was different now, a fire born of anger and guilt. Nothing could ever be the same and if she could not spare Aerona's life then...well, she wouldn't be Caron anymore.
Puffs of white, fluffy smoke appeared in the air before them, the murmurs of the town reaching their ears. They had been told it was a peaceful settlement. The people there had not shared any ideals against Abaddon, though they likely struggled from his rule. Their empty bellies could show signs of a grumble while their mouths remained tightly shut. Their bones – visible through their thin skin – could not persuade them to end their time of peace.
But, perhaps, two princesses, a night and a boy who only recently learned there was something special about him, might.
In all honesty, James didn't want to force them into anything. If these people, children and mothers and fathers, had no desire to fight against tyranny, he would be okay with that. After all, he and Caron had been on the run for so, so long. And if running wasn't an option, they would have stayed put and they would have stayed quiet. It would have been their choice. Their choice to ignore the signs, their choice to never fight back.
And he could have lived with it.
"What are you thinking about?" Aerona asked, pausing in their journey so that she could stand side by side with James. "I don't have any money but even if I did I wouldn't trade it for your thoughts. People starve and die that way."
"Exactly," James muttered. "These people have learned to live with it all. They made peace with the fact that no help was coming and didn't want to rock the boat. So, why do we think we should make them?"
Aerona searched his face, her eyes glittering in the morning sun. She could read him like a book – in a way that not even Caron had managed. With every glance, he felt his soul opening up, like he just might spill his secrets if she would ask the right question. And he would do it willingly, too.
"We shouldn't pretend that we are Fate," James muttered, glancing back at the ground and forcing his feet to move forward.
"I agree," Aerona said. "But I don't think we're trying to be. Fate lives on in the minds of those who believe in her. If we don't survive this war, our ideals, our values and our hope will live on in those we inspire. Perhaps Caron hopes to inspire these people, too."
