The next day I was exhausted.
It was evening and Erin should be getting back from evacuating most of the city. I had spent the day dismissing the council of elves and getting the palace ready for an attack.
I was leaving the throne room after a long day of work and I was passing an empty room when I heard a thump, thump coming from it.
I frowned before I opened the door. Erin had her back to me. She was wearing a cropped tank top and she had a bag hung up on the ceiling which she was punching. We had done this in the ice palace to pass the time. We just packed snow tightly into a leather bag.
Erin wiped sweat from her forehead and looked up. "Oh, hi." She said, out of breath before she punched hard at the bag and the chain snapped. "Three down two to go." She said with a smirk and hung up a new bag.
"I wasn't expecting you back so early." I said and leaned up against the doorframe.
"Yeah...well more people stayed then we thought." She said and threw a punch. "I'd say a good 10,000 are willing to fight for you."
"Seriously?"
"Yup." Magic spiraled down her arm as she again punched the bag off the chain. It went flying and smashed through the wall. "Oops." She said, withdrawing her fist.
I snickered. "I think that's enough. I don't need you destroying more of the palace."
Erin rolled her eyes before unwrapping the tape from her hands and knuckles and punching me in the shoulder. "Ew, get away your sweaty." I joked.
"Oh, I'm sweaty?" she asked and then hugged me.
"UGH" I said and shoved her away. She wiped her hands on my shirt while giggling. "You are SO gross." I scrunched up my nose and she copied my expression mockingly. "Go take a shower."
"The pipes are all frozen dumbo." She said and crossed her arms. "The shower doesn't work."
"Oh right...then go roll around in the snow or something." I said. Erin started to crack up, but abruptly stopped laughing and bit her lip. "What is it?"
"Nothing." She sighed and pushed past me to get out of the room.
I frowned. She had been doing this the past day or two. She always caught herself talking and joking with me and then just walked away. "You sure you're, ok?" I asked. "You've been acting kind of...strange."
She looked back at me and nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." She said before turning back around and walking away.
"Just tell me if you need anything!" I called after her, although I'm not positive she heard me. She had been in her own world for days.
She's been off since she had the crystal...but I pushed that thought away. Instead, I had to prepare for the other rulers' inevitable arrival in Rivendale.
The army was training, I knew it was. I hardly knew my generals, but I knew they were some of the best in the empires. Although I'm not sure an army of twenty thousand, five hundred will be able to take basically the entire world. Although that's not counting the ten thousand citizens...
It occurred to me how loyal they must be to stay under the threat of invasion, and for resisting Fwhip's rule. That gave me a little more confidence.
I heard a metallic grinding coming from upstairs. What the heck was Erin doing? When I opened the door to her room, she was sharpening the daggers I had given her.
"Wha-" I started.
"I want a backup." She replied simply. "Just in case."
"Oh," I answered.
"Do you have a weapon besides your sparkly cold crystals?" she asked.
"My sword."
"Alright."
"You seem less talkative." I said.
"I do?" she asked, staring down at the daggers as the edges scraped against the whetstone. She didn't seem to hear me.
"Yes. What's wrong?" I asked.
"I told you before, nothing's wrong." She said and struck her dagger against the whetstone a little more violently.
"Uh huh..." I said. "I think there's something you're not telling me."
She looked up. "You always think there's something I'm not telling you."
"That's because there always is."
"Fair enough."
"So, there is something?"
"Yeah, and guess what? I'm not telling you."
I rolled my eyes. "You are so difficult. Fine. I'll leave you alone." I was about to step out when Erin spoke up.
"You have to be prepared to hurt them, Scott. They won't restrain from hurting you." She said. "Remember this is all their fault. All the blood is on their hands."
I stopped in the doorway before giving a sharp nod and walking out. She was right. People were going to get hurt. But I'm afraid the blood won't be on their hands. It'll be on mine.
I heard the marching before I saw the army.
It was five days later. The elven army had surrounded the side of Rivendale and stood in its streets. Me and Erin stood at the edge of the chasm that wrapped around the entire side of the city that wasn't surrounded by mountains. I had never noticed how much natural protection Rivendale had.
That's when I did see their army. There had to be over one hundred thousand soldiers. And did I mention the dragons? They had at least three dragons. Erin tensed when she saw them. I pretended not to see it.
"My king, what do we do?" One of the generals I had forgotten the name of asked.
"Wait." I said.
Erin tightened the strap on the elbow guards she was wearing. "This'll be fun." She smirked.
"SCOTT!" I heard Fwhip shout as he and the other rulers made their way to the edge of their cliff. They were all in full battle armor. Shrub was riding a giant wolf. Fwhip had a sword I didn't recognize with a ruby encrusted hilt and a crossbow on his back. Gem was riding a dragon. She looked worse than the last time I saw her, there was absolutely no color in her skin.
"Hello, Fwhip." I called across the ravine.
"Give it up, Scott." Joel said. "We have an army."
"If you haven't noticed, so do I." I snapped. "Believe it or not, I don't want another war. Leave. Forget about this. Forget about us. Forget about the elves and Rivendale for all I care. Maybe then we'll all be happy."
"Your too dangerous to be given free reign." Lizzie said. "Who knows? Maybe you could set an eternal winter on the world? What would we do? Better to stop it before it happens."
"You crossed a line." Jimmy sighed. "Time to pay the price."
My fists clenched and I felt ice, not just frost began to freeze around my fingers. "If wars what you want oh, you're going to get war." I growled.
"Don't be the villain, Scott." Gem pleaded. "Stop this madness."
I threw back my head and laughed. "Oh so- so this is madness now!?" I shouted. "Trying to protect my empire!? My people!?" The ice on my hands sharpened so it was like I was holding two knives and I felt my eyes flash. "What happened to always being there for me huh?!"
Katherine and Shrub looked in between each other nervously. They must have forgotten the promise they had made me almost a year ago.
"I was wrong about you." Gem said. "You are just like your brother."
I froze, not literally, but in shock. The ice melted off my hands and I stared at her.
"THAT'S UNCALLED FOR GEM!" Erin shouted at Gem and magic writhed around her arms in anger.
"You're not one to talk." Sausage answered. I didn't pay attention to their fight. But I continued to look at Gem. I knew my expression of rage had faded, but I didn't care to bring it back. I realized my mouth was slightly open and I closed it, clenching my jaw
"Fine." I spat holding my head high. "If it's a monster you want it's a monster you'll get."
"Scott-" Gem started.
"FIRE!" I shouted and unsheathed my sword. A volley of arrows exploded from the city behind me and started to rain on the rulers' army. Spikes of ice pierced the chasm horizontally, creating a 300-foot-wide walkway.
"CHARGE!" My general shouted and the armies charged. Erin's face split into a grin and she shot into the air. The battle had started.