Deep in the Northern Forest, Cara wiped the sweat from her brow and quickly repositioned the daab in her hand. Royal Mehk soldiers fought against their exiled brothers and sisters, maintaining their disarming strategies to minimize the loss of life. A horde of Yaak stomped through the forest, making way for the Night Army’s beasts. Lions pummeled Mehk soldiers while oxen pinned them against the trees. As much as she wanted to admire the power of these beast clans, the battlefield was not the place to do so.
Cara scanned the field and caught sight of Sofia lunging toward a mixed group of rebel soldiers. She watched her bestie swing her staff at the oncoming enemies, throttling them easily without fear. Cara was impressed with the swift improvement Sofia exerted on the battlefield, but part of her felt that the aggressive fighting style was not like Sofia’s at all. Cara felt her body tense, sensing danger. Before she could turn to attack the enemy, Lek swooped in and took out the rebel. A little shaken from the close encounter, Cara shook her head. Now was not the time to focus on the fighting skills of others.
“Cara,” Lek yelled from the sky. “Get your act together! Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Just focus on you!” Cara shouted back, knowing he was absolutely right but not wanting to admit it. “I’m in the game. I believe I’m beating you twenty-six to sixteen!” She wasn’t actually keeping track, but Cara wasn’t about to let Lek know that.
The fighting felt surreal with every soldier she struck. Normal twelve-year-olds fought monsters in video games, but nothing about this summer had been normal. What’s normal about running through the woods with swords on my back, fighting flying garudas, and talking oxen three times my size? Everything seemed impossible, but Cara shook away her doubts as she slashed at the oncoming soldiers while keeping an eye out for Sofia.
“How can you keep score at a time like this?” Lek asked, settling down to fight by Cara’s side. “Just focus on not getting hurt!”
“Aww. Are you worried I might scar my pretty face?” Cara teased.
The next wave of rebels came swarming around them. Lek and Cara were forced to fight back-to-back but continued their banter.
“No one ever said you were pretty,” Lek joked, knocking out two more enemy soldiers.
“Hey! That’s not nice,” Cara whined as she struck down the nearest soldier.
Lek swirled around to neutralize a rebel. “But it’s better to have your face than to lose it on the battlefield.”
“Well, at least your face could be improved with a few scars,” Cara shouted as she slid under Lek’s legs.
He grabbed Cara’s arms and pulled her up to complete their new move.
“It’ll add some character to your babyface,” she winked.
“I knew you spent a lot of time staring at my face!”
“No, I don’t!” Cara kicked several rebels across the face while Lek spun her around.
“You just said my face would be improved with scars.” Lek tossed Cara into the air. “How would you know if you didn’t look at me all the time!?” he shouted, finishing off the remaining rebels.
Cara fell just in time for him to catch her. “Be quiet, Lek, and keep your head in the game!”
“Yes, ma’am.” Breathing hard, he set her down gently and saluted her as they reached a brief lull in the fight.
Gazing up at him, Cara was reminded of the months of sparring that had helped improve her footwork so much that the duo invented a fighting style that combined their strengths on the ground and in the air. It required an unbreakable trust between them, and Cara was grateful for it.
Another wave forced the pair into a fighting stance once more.
Cara and Lek found a rhythm to the battle that mirrored a horrific dance. The two sides shuffled and twirled as the never-ending barrage of rebel soldiers came at the royal troops. Beat after beat, soldiers on both sides fell. Cara focused on her immediate surroundings and constantly checked in with Lek, who refused to leave her side.
The pair fought well together and moved succinctly. At some point, Cara lost sight of Sofia completely and could only hope that Chai or Song were by her side.
Hours passed as the royal troops fought tirelessly. The smell of iron and salt filled the air, tainting the fresh breeze of the Northern Forest. It was as if a spell was cast on the royal troops, which gave them the stamina to fight on and on.
Cara’s body was not so lucky, and her endurance was waning. Lek noticed and stayed close to her side. Deep into the night, the rebel troops finally retreated. Cara had regrouped with the Sawaan brothers, but no one had seen Sofia for quite some time. Concerned for her safety, Cara forgot her fatigue and immediately set off to find her friend.
As she ran through the battlefield, Cara’s stomach turned at the sight of the death and destruction surrounding her. While training physically prepared her body for the strenuous challenges of battle, nothing could prepare her mentally for the chaos before her. This war is the most useless violence I’ve ever seen. Countless Mehk warriors made their way back with broken wings and bloodied bodies. Others were not so fortunate, slain by a Night Army that did not subscribe to the Mehk mantra of disarming, not destroying, your enemy.
Thrown into a battle that she didn’t truly understand, Cara couldn’t really question the morality of war when the soldier charging at you seeks your destruction. She could only react in defense of herself and those around her. Cara couldn’t contemplate what was happening in the heat of battle, but now, in the silence of victory, she had to suppress her desire to break down in tears and ignore the blood on her hands. No child should be exposed to such tragedies.
Along the farthest border of the enemy line, Cara found Sofia standing with her staff poised on the neck of a rebel soldier. Sofia swore at the wounded Mehk boy, demanding to know where the mistress was. The soldier shook his head repeatedly, claiming to have no information. His mangled leg lay twisted in an unsightly manner, and blood dripped from a gaping wound on his head. Sofia would not relent and drove her staff deeper into the boy’s throat, clearly cutting off his breath.
“Sofe!” Cara shouted, unnerved by the pure evil that Sofia exuded. “Come on, Sofe. You gotta let up.” She edged towards her friend, her hands raised as if coaxing a wild beast. “Give the kid a chance to talk.”
Ignoring Cara entirely, Sofia demanded, “Tell me where the mistress is!” She refused to loosen her hold, and the boy continued to struggle. “Is she back in her lair, or has she come to command the army? Your time is running out. Tell me now.”
Cara stumbled as she witnessed Sofia twisting the staff deeper and grinning as she reveled in the feel of the weapon being driven into the soldier’s neck. As Sofia lifted her staff and prepared to bring her weapon down, Cara tackled her and knocked the staff out of her hands. The rebel soldier quickly took advantage of the unintended assistance and scampered away as fast as he could with his broken leg, not looking back. He promptly took flight and disappeared into the night, lost to the darkness of the forest.
“Why did you do that!?” Sofia screeched from the ground, and Cara stumbled back in shock, her eyes wide. “I was interrogating the enemy. He could have given us vital information!” She pushed Cara off of her and turned toward her weapon.
The staff rested evenly between them. Sofia slowly reached over and grabbed it, picking it up from the ground without trying to raise any suspicions. Cara got up and brushed the dirt from her uniform, unaware of the danger beside her. Sofia gripped the staff in her hands and aimed. As she released her weapon, Cara stepped forward at the sound of the youngest royal guard calling her name.
Cara instinctually turned her head at the thwack of Sofia’s staff hitting the ground. Cara’s heart hiccupped before she slid back slowly toward the sound of Lek’s hastened footsteps. She did not stop until she felt his hand on her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of Sofia. Cara stood still with eyes wide, unable to understand what had transpired. The noise around her blurred into static. She felt the vibrations of Lek’s voice but couldn’t fully process anything he was saying.
A singular thought ran through Cara’s mind—Sofia just tried to hit me with her krabong. The scene repeated over and over in her mind.
Cara’s body refused to move, observing Sofia placing her staff at her side and stomping away from the group. In all the years they had been friends, Sofia never ever resorted to violence. Not even when trouble came looking for her in Colorado. It wasn’t in her nature. The Sofia she knew would never have threatened the enemy soldier and could hardly raise her voice, let alone her weapon.
Cara heard Chai and Song calling after her friend, but Sofia simply walked ahead of them toward the palace. Something must have snapped in Sofia after the attempted abduction. Combined with what she had seen on the battlefield, Cara was certain that one thing was true. The person who just tried to attack her looked identical to Sofia but was not the Sofia she knew and loved.