OUR SPOT // SkepHalo

Chapter 25

Warning: Death, gore, blood, mention of death, strong language

     Darryl sat awkwardly, staring at the fire crackling in front of him. Zak took a sip of his water and coughed, " So, uh, the General's a girl."

     The brunette hid his face in his hands. " I feel so awful, I can't believe I just assumed she'd be a guy."

     " It's not that bad," Zak laughed. " No one told you!"

     " Yeah but I should've known! She's the best fighter in this entire kingdom!" He pulled his knees up to his chest. " I'm so awful!"

     Zak put a hand on his shoulder, silently enjoying seeing him breaking down over such a small detail. The General exited her tent, this time looking much more official. She sat down across from the two and Darryl hurried to contain himself. It was silent as the brunette was quietly trying to gather his thoughts, and Zak thought it best to take over for just a moment.

     " So, General, I've heard you're quite famous for your fighting," he said. She perked up.

     " You can just call me Hanna," she explained. " And I'm not really a big deal. My dad was a soldier for the last king, he taught me everything I know."

     Darryl felt a pang in his heart at the mention of the old king. Zak continued, " You're far too modest! My friend here has told me only good things. Says you're one of the best."

     " No, she's the best, not just one of them," Darryl chimed in. Hanna laughed nervously.

     " Gosh, I wouldn't go that far," she dismissed. " Last time I was at the castle, I challenged a couple of the trainees to a fight and I was actually beaten!"

     Darryl's eyes widened. He hadn't heard about her visit, maybe it was while he was on his last mission? Either way, he should've heard something, given that she was rarely bested.

     " No way, by whom," the peasant marveled.

     She shrugged. " Some kid, I think he's a little younger than I am. After that, I took him out for a drink and we became good friends."

     Darryl took note of how her fingers twitched when she spoke. She was withholding information. What part of that would she keep to herself? Who was this trainee she was talking about? The hitman was unaware of any that would be strong enough to beat the General, but then again, he never really checked on them.

     " Wow, what was his name," Zak wondered. Hanna seemed hesitant to respond. Darryl knew he needed to interject before she started to get suspicious about all the questions.

     " Enough about my life, tell me about you," Hanna said suddenly, changing the subject.

     " We really should get to our inspections before it's dark, I'd like to be able to leave early tomorrow morning," Darryl responded. " No offense to you, but it's important we keep to a schedule. We've got to make it to the camp at the border of Tantulan in two days."

     " Right, of course, sorry for the distractions," she apologized. They stood up and she led them around the camp. " Okay so, this is the like, makeshift armory or something. We just call it the armor tent."

     Darryl nodded, looking only briefly at each thing she pointed out, while Zak stared with a childlike wonder. As they walked, several soldiers tried to start conversations with Hanna, but she politely dismissed them each time. The younger male observed her with a sort of confusion in his brain. This girl was suspected to be planning on killing the King? She looked like she couldn't hurt a fly!