Alitia: Crown of Ash

XXVIII: An Unwanted Respite

When break arrived for the students of Alitia, it came without a grand announcement. Exhaustion permeated every aspect of life, and the Millennium Six freed all of its students early for the break at the halfway point of the semester. It was too hard to focus during class for teachers and students alike, and the head teachers were being dragged away from their schools to the meeting about what to do with Igni's recent invasions. 

Luce packed everything together unceremoniously. The rest of her roommates followed suit, and even those who weren't leaving for break (a group consisting of Sophia, S.M., Helena, and Tanith), took this as a chance to clean up the area. Luce managed to close her suitcase with some brute force, and she let out a sigh before closing her eyes and trying not to think about what was happening in the world. 

It was early morning when they all woke up, and teachers were out in the courtyard helping students to leave Alitia to head home for break. Portals were opened and closed in a dreary cycle. None of the eight had departed quite yet, and Luce was trying to enjoy her last few moments with the group for the time being. Still, her early morning sleepiness made it hard for her to feel anything but numbness. 

"There's something happening soon," Tanith declared, breaking through the silence of the room. Eyes shifted to watch her in curiosity, and Tanith shook her head in disapproval. "You aren't going to want to hear about this, but... People are wanting to go to war with Igni."

"You can't be serious," Sophia breathed with wide, fearful eyes. "What's going to happen if we go to war? Millennia doesn't exactly have an army standing on hand to march into battle against Igni so suddenly."

"I'm not sure," Tanith admitted. "But I can say that it wouldn't be good. Zylphia and Jin told me about it. There are a bunch of people meeting to figure out what the next step is going to be. That's why break is starting a few days early. Nobody is able to concentrate with all of this uncertainty. For the first time since the War of Starlight, Millennia is actually going to be making a declaration for combat."

"Why is this happening?" Carys despaired, sitting down on the couch with a heavy frown. "I don't think that we deserve to deal with all of this on top of everything else, and yet, here we are."

"Unlike last time, there's a lot for us to deal with regarding interplanetary politics," Tanith explained. "There wasn't a solid person to declare war against last time since Iago kept himself hidden, but that's different now. King Surion is clearly trying to pull Millennia into combat, so we actually have a target for fighting. I don't know how this is going to end, but chances are that we're going to have another war on our hands."

Nobody knew what to say to Tanith's words. The room felt suppressive in its silence, and Luce looked down at the floor. Talking about everything that had taken place regarding the rest of the team had made her feel much better, but the idea of being launched into combat all over again made her feel sick. Luce knew that this was always a possibility, but she didn't want to believe it until there was an actual declaration. All of a sudden, the truth was rushing up to slap her in the face, and she couldn't escape it this way. 

"We're going to have to find a way to get out of this," S.M. murmured. "I don't think that proving I wasn't involved with Octavia's death is going to help at this point. What he wants right now is bloodshed, and there's not going to be a way for us to stop that. We're going to have to grin and bear it by marching off to battle no matter how much we hate the concept."

"I feel like we should try and do something, but I don't know if there's anything that would work," Helena sighed. "I don't want to deal with fighting all over again, but... If he really wants to take us to war, we aren't going to be able to stop him. King Surion is a disgusting man, and if he really wants to fight, then... We aren't going to have a choice."