[[Until We Become Lions]]

Chapter 61

The most difficult part of being the face for Libertad was the inability to actually partake in any of the operations or missions. Clara Garcia had always considered herself a woman of action. It was why she had gone to school for journalism - a field that required one to step beyond the safe spaces of polite manners and tempered attitudes. It was why she had started attending protests to speak out against the sanctions and prejudiced laws that Anton Castillo enacted upon a country that, despite her status as an elite-born Yaran, would still never accept her. But if a mission went wrong, if they were betrayed and she ended up captured or worse, then this rebellion would crumble and die with her.

It may seem a bit egotistical to believe one's life was the difference between bringing down a tyrannical government and breaking the foundations of it to rebuild something anew. That was where Clara exceeded though, where no one else could. She knew the costs, she knew how long she would be fighting to see Yara birthed into the nation that she knew it could become - and she was willing to sacrifice everything for it, something very few others could confidently say.

Clara reflected on all she had given up to be here, stranded for the most part on an archipelago with just enough food and water to stave off the effects of starvation, and with just enough medical supplies to keep her leg from falling off. To be honest, this was the most alive she had ever felt aside from those early protesting days. She remembered the nights she and Talia would stay awake, constructing signs and flyers out of old magazines and newspapers like they were suddenly in grade school again. Talia Benavídez had actually been the one who broke Clara out of her professionalist shell and took her to her first protest, had been the one to spark the idea for Libertad, and was the first person Clara had ever felt romantic inclinations for.

Clara always told others that the reason her father had disowned her from their family had been because she was arrested for her involvement with the protests, but that was only partially true. It was the realization that his daughter would not settle down into an obedient life with a successful husband that really did the trick. The fact that she wanted to choose who she could be with, and the fact that she wanted to tear down a government that not only divided its people into two categories but also defined who and who wasn't acceptable to love.

When she met Juan, he had already formed the foundations of a rebellion. So Clara took all she learned from Talia and implemented it with Juan's knowledge and together they were the newborn faces of Libertad. Amaia would join not long after, and slowly their little ragtag family began to grow. She didn't realize just how incomplete they were though until Danijela came along.

The thing about Danijela was that Clara was ninety-percent sure Danijela would have turned them all over to Castillo in a heartbeat. Clara had risked everything in placing her trust in the woman, but it had paid off in both expected, and unexpected ways. Perhaps it was because of Danijela's hope that Castillo could still be spared, which was probably the most intriguing aspect that Clara found interest in. At this point, Danijela was probably one of the few who knew Castillo for who he was, or, she could have simply been exposed to a different mask. One less obvious than the one Castillo presented for the rest of the country. Juan was adamant that Castillo had to die in order for the revolution to take root, to flourish in the aftermath. Danijela stood on the opposite side of the railing, determined that peace could still be brought with each leader left standing. Clara was still indecisive about which theory held more sway.

    Clara stood on the dock, watching as Juan shuffled the last of his gear into his boat. She tried to conceal the underlying concern she felt sending Juan, who was not only Libertad's second most valuable member but also the unspoken competition for something Clara was not entirely sure she quite understood just yet. The night of their celebration, Clara had almost made a daring move towards one Danijela Rojas. It could have just been the alcohol. Or maybe the way the stars reflected off Danijela's close to ebony skin. Or perhaps it was just something as simple as that Clara found the Rojas woman to be incredibly, and immeasurably attractive. She knew there was no harm in the simple recognition, but there was an issue in acting upon said attraction. For Clara Garcia, there was no doubt that her first love had to be for Libertad and the people of Yara. She could not spare even the tiniest piece of herself for something so selfish, even if now there was a sinking feeling in her stomach knowing she was not the one going to aid Danijela across the sea.