➳ Camille

I headed home, loneliness creeping in. Jude left me? For what? I didn’t know.

I kicked a pebble. A shadow flickered in front of me, but when I rubbed my eyes, nothing was there. I resolved that it must have been the fog. I trudged home, holding in a lonely sigh, when I passed the candy shop.

Nikki had gone home earlier. I found her stocking the shelves silently. The door was closed and the “open” sign was flipped over. With a soft sigh, one that I had been holding in, I continued.

I opened the door to Jude’s house and walked to the ladder. I put my hands on the uneven ladder, when a voice sounded behind me.

“Camille!” Jude said excitedly. “Come on! I need to show you something exciting.”

“You left me,” I said flatly, beginning to climb the ladder once again. Jude softly covered my hand and pulled me down the ladder.

“You need to see this.” Jude brought me to the living room. “Take off your shirt,” he instructed. 

“Woah.” I took a generous step backward. “Slow down a bit. Or a lot…”

I let out a cry of terror and shock. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Jude’s fist in front of my face. 

I woke up in my closet bedroom, shirtless and in pain. My back ached endlessly, starbursts of pain erupting across my spine. I wanted to get up and punch the crap out of Jude, but I could barely move. A haze of red covered my vision.

I felt a thin blanket that seemed to be attached to me. I turned my head to find a thin, translucent blanket beside. 

No. It wasn’t a blanket.

I screamed. Tears instantly began pouring from my eyes. How in Ienus did this happen?

It clicked a moment later. These were Rikki’s wings. I suspected they had changed a bit. The wings were the same shade as my eyes and were much floppier than hers, though that was probably because I had no strength. Had Jude done this to me? Without asking?

Had he seen me shirtless? 

I needed to get out of here. I gathered my strength. Hopefully Jude wasn’t home and I could get out without a fuss.

The door burst open. I cursed, thinking that Jude had heard my scream. Instead, I found Lars standing beside a certain elf with dark red hair and emerald green eyes.

“Hello,” William said with a smile, out of breath.

“William?” I asked.

“I’ve been looking for you. Lars here helped a bit.” William looked me over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just can’t move.”

“Come on. We have to get out of here.” 

“Why? What’s-”

I was cut off by another certain someone bursting in beside William: Jude. 

“Who’s this?” Jude asked.

“I’m William,” he said. “You?”

“Doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to save Camille’s life… Did you do this to her?”

Jude curled his fists. “You need to get out. Camille needs to go to lead her army. We are part of the Alliance.”

“I’m aware. I’m from Grand Olea and I was part of their army. We know everything about your army.

“Oh really?” Jude’s voice was thick with anger.

“William, help me out,” I said. 

“I’m not letting you leave with him,” Jude threatened.

Jude suddenly collapsed to the ground in a fit of pain. Behind him, Lars snickered, an empty vile in his hand.

“I ain’t nothing but a helper,” Lars said. “And trust me, this was better for all of you.” Lars looked over to William. “Get her out of here. The army needs her and she needs you.”

Lars promptly walked away and climbed down the ladder. William looked at me, lightly biting his lip.

“You can pick me up,” I said. I didn’t want to leave Jude on the ground, but there was nothing I could do. William lightly scooped me up into a set of strong arms. He gave me a plain white t-shirt with holes for my wings and brought me outside. I relaxed in his grip, my eyes drifting shut.

“DEVANNNNNA!” someone shouted, waking me from my haze. “What happened?” Sketch’s head stood over me. 

“A lot…” I mumbled. I shifted in William’s arms.

“You have wings… was that on purpose?”

“It wasn’t my choice… but there is nothing I can do about it now.” I stretched my arms and flexed my toes, slowly regaining feeling. My legs still dangled from how William held me. 

I realized with a sudden sensation what was going on. “Are we going to battle now?”

“Yes,” William said from above me. “You and I will ride by car, if you don’t mind…” 

“Wait; that doesn’t make sense. To get to Fort Elysium by land we need to cross through Grand Olea. We aren’t doing that. Right?”

“We’re riding by car to the shore, gathering people along the way,” Sketch explained. “Then we’ll get on the provided ships and sail to Fort Elysium.”

“There was a lot of planning without me… wasn’t there?” 

Sketch nodded. I sighed in response.

William carried me to the car after the interaction. He laid me down in the back and gave me a blanket and some water. He also offered me a red cloak.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“To hide your wings… Some people aren’t exactly excited about it.”

“Oh,” was all I could think to say. 

William climbed into the front seat and handed me a microphone. I grabbed it weakly, pressing the button to turn it on. I gathered all my strength before speaking. 

“Army of Skog!” I called. I could hear my voice from outside the car. “It is our time! We will trek through Skog, gather all the army members we can, board ships at the shore, and sail to battle. Our mission is to protect Fort Elysium from the vile Grand Olea and their allies!”

I could faintly hear cheers erupt from the army, but I was exhausted. As soon as William began to drive, I let myself fall into deep sleep.

As I slept, my usual dreams plagued my mind. I woke up only an hour after I fell asleep. I stretched my legs and arms, finally feeling like I wasn’t chained down. 

I took a deep breath and a drink of water. I sat up and tossed my blanket away. I wrapped my red cloak around me and flexed my feet. 

“Can I go outside?” I asked. 

William turned around, smiling faintly. “Ah. I’m glad you are alright. Feel free to do whatever you please, Camille.”

“Call me Devanna around the others.”

William nodded, clearly a bit confused, but he didn’t question it. Instead, he stopped the car and allowed me to go outside.

I got out of the car and stretched every muscle I could think to stretch. My wings fluttered up behind me, surprising me. I jumped back.

“You good?” I turned around to find a girl with purple hair that was half-short, half-long. She was average height and had small grey eyes.

“Yes, just getting used to the new… addition to my body,” I said.

“So the rumors are true then? You’ve stolen Rikki’s wings?”

“No. Jude took them… His heart was in the right place, I think…”

“Devanna?”

“Yes…? Wait. What’s your name?”

"Astoria.” The girl smiled mischievously. “Now, let me ask you a question or two…”

The questions came at a rapid pace.

“Are you prepared for battle? 

“Are you ready to fight against where you come from? 

“Are you prepared to take the life of someone? 

“Are you ready to give your life for the Alliance?”

I looked at Astoria with mild amusement. I’ve been through so much in so little time. I barely have gotten to process a hardship before a new challenge was thrown at me.

I was prepared for battle. I had trained for very long. I could stab and twist my dagger deep into anyone’s heart, nevermind their armour. My sword skills were powerful enough as well.

I would fight against where I came from without a doubt. Cerevaux disowned me like I was a naughty child. Cerevaux gave in to Grand Olea with any resistance. I would only be upset fighting against Skye; Queen Asherah was a person to respect.

I would take a life. I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I would do it.

I would not give my life. I wasn’t prepared to. I would fight my hardest and I wouldn’t back down. Not to the Major Army, not to death.

I would not be defeated.