A Battle of Pride and Desire

Chapter Twenty Five

Brigette emerged from the common bathroom after vomiting and sprinted into the ballroom. She pulled the vent off its hinges and grabbed the bow and arrows she knew would be waiting for her. She was moving in double quick time since the guards had alerted her and Taran of the fae's movement. Sure enough the day was an overcast one as the seers expected. Taran was in the basement with the queen discussing their plans. Brigette assumed they both already knew but every second mattered. Brigette had pulled on Magmella's uniform which she had been so disgusted to wear a few weeks ago. She had pulled the dagger out of the wall this morning and it was now strapped to her leg once more. The entirety of Magmella would be awake by now, the horns of the castle had not stopped ringing since the guards' announcement. Bunkers were dotted around the land - anyone who wanted to fight could fight and those who didn't would find safety there.

To her surprise, Brigette knew she wouldn't be going to a bunker, she knew she would be fighting on the frontlines with the warriors. Her technique was certainly lacking but if Juno wanted this from her, then she would do it. The other reasons she might have been doing it for were reasons Brigette ignored. She fumbled with the bow as she slung it across her body and made her way down the stairs to Taran and the queen. Time was passing quickly and the queen would need to be brought to safety quickly. Brigette nearly tripped down the stairs in her haste and a few guards cursed at her as she bounded into them. She ignored them, her mind focused on one destination and two people. She knew Taran and the queen were in the third room on the left and she ran in without knocking. Taran and the queen were bent over some sheets along with a few males and females who Brigette knew to be the top ranking warriors. She had seen them pass through the castle a few times in the past few weeks for meetings with Taran.

"Brigette," Taran said when she walked in and he took in her attire. "You're not fighting."

Brigette just raised an eyebrow, "Oh, I am."

"No you're not," one of the females piped up. "You could bring us down, it's dangerous. You'll hide with the queen."

The female had a point but, "I can fight."

"I don't doubt that," one of the males smirked. "But you need to stay with the queen."

Brigette took slow strides towards the table, each step iterating a word, "I. Will. Fight."

Taran just sighed and ushered her over to the table, "This is why I can't stand you but also why we're-"

"Taran," a warning from the queen.

His eyes darted to her and he nodded once in understanding, "Listen carefully," he said to them all.

What?

"Conor will escort my mother to a bunker across town, we can't keep her here it's too obvious. He'll have heard the horns he should be here soon with Liam and Crea."

Crea who Brigette hadn't met yet and would now meet under the worst circumstances.

"She'll be in bunker 47," he pointed to the map. "This bunker will be heavily guarded, protect it with your life."

He then delegated different parts of the town to different leaders and then finally the castle, "This is my territory. They'll be expecting me here at the very least. We fight until our last breath and we don't give up. Fight for our children, fight for our people, fight for those who died in battle for Magmella before us."

"What are the fae's numbers looking like?" one of the females asked.

Taran looked each of them in the eye, "1,000."

Brigette didn't want to but a slight sigh of relief came from her mouth, "We outnumber them massively. How many do we have?"

Taran gave her a stern glare, "4,000 today but 1 fae is equal to 5 of us. I don't know why they haven't brought all their troops out today but just know it will be evenly matched."