Deadly Mission

Dream Team

Nadia

After General Karaman left the valley Corporal Werner mustered the soldiers. She was dividing them into groups. It wasn't clear what the groups were going to do yet. Nadia desperately wished that she would be grouped with Izumi. If they were going to battle in war, they should at least fight side by side. Corporal Werner's groups weren't only restricted to the rookies, she added names from higher ranks.

"Nadia Ataljevic!"

Nadia's heart skipped a beat, she quickly took a step forward. It took her all her might not to look back at Izumi.

"Izumi Nakajima!"

Izumi also took a step forward and stood next to Nadia. Nadia released a long breath she tensely was holding. A wave of comfort washed over Nadia. She wanted to hold Izumi's hand in that moment but she pushed the feeling away because it was inappropriate in that moment.

"You are grouped with Beeja Agarwal, Stellan Dahl, and Felipe Economou. They are on their way here."

None of those names rang a bell for Nadia, they were complete strangers. Nadia wondered what rank soldiers they were, what they looked like, and what personality they had.

"Let's go pack up our gear." Izumi said solemnly.

Nadia nodded and followed her to the gloomy barrack. Only hours ago Nadia was sulking about training, now it was all she wanted to do. They went up several flights of stairs until they reached the fifth floor. They took the second door to their left and they entered their room. It was a room for six soldiers. Nadia noticed that the other soldiers whom they shared the room with already left with their gear. Izumi went to her locker and started gathering her gear. Nadia swiftly did the same; she packed her combat suit, armor, and knives. She put them all in a brown gear bag that she shared with Izumi. Before they left their room Nadia took a last look. She had spent a year here and now all of a sudden she had to leave. Adapting to change was a challenge for Nadia but she had no choice. She shut the door and got on her way. When she was on the ground floor, Nadia saw that the sun was starting to set by looking out the loft windows. Nadia and Izumi entered the cafetaria to gather nutrition supplies. They put canned meat, bread, hardtack, and water in their gear bag. Then they went outside to the clearing and sat down in front of the lake. There was a long silence as both of them stared at the lake's surface. Nadia could see the reflection of the orange sun that was setting.

"I can't believe this, any of it." Nadia sighed.

She didn't look at Izumi, she just kept gazing into nothingness.

"Me neither."

Nadia glanced at Izumi and saw the bitterness on her face, Nadia wished she could read her thoughts.

"Do you hear that?" Izumi's brows were furrowed.

Nadia heard something close to a shriek in the distance. She looked around and saw the other soldiers pointing at the sky. When she looked up she saw dragons flying towards them.

"Holy shit!" Nadia stood up with excitement.

She blinked multiple times and pinched herself to verify she wasn't dreaming. She knew dragons existed but she never saw one in the flesh. They looked fascinating: Colorful creatures in different sizes. They launched on the hills of the valley, their riders slid down their scaled skin and walked down towards the barracks. Some of them were wearing military uniforms and suits some of them were not.

"They must be the soldiers who are joining us."

Izumi had stood up when they noticed the dragons, she was watching them like Nadia.

"Let's go meet them."

They hastily walked towards the hill they came down from. Corporal Werner was awaiting them. Shortly, all of the soldiers assembled in the clearing. Corporal Werner saluted the soldiers whose ranks were higher than hers. Nadia wondered which of them would be joining her group. It didn't matter much since Izumi would be with her but still she couldn't resist her curiosity. After learning the names of the soldiers, Werner assigned them to their groups. Nadia saw Werner point at them while she was talking to an Indian woman. The woman was not wearing a uniform so she wasn't a soldier.

"Nadia Ataljevic and Izumi Nakajima?"

"Yes." Nadia and Izumi said in unison.

The Indian woman who looked around their age reached out her hand to Izumi first.

"Beeja Agarwal, I'm a mercenary."

Izumi shook her hand cautiously, "I'm Izumi Nakajima."

Beeja turned towards Nadia, "You must be Nadia then."

Nadia shook her hand, "Yes, I am. I'm also a fairy."

"Nice."

A man who catched Nadia's eye joined them. He looked also around their age, and his gait was very confident. His appearance suggested that he was Scandinavian. He didn't reach out his hand like Beeja did.

"Stellan Dahl. I'm an adept witch from the Zetsumyona coven."

Nadia's jaw fell open, "The most prestigious coven that serves queen Odion?"

Nadia's expression seemed to stroke Stellan's ego.

He nodded, "And you all are?"

Before they could introduce themselves, the last addition to their team arrived. It was a boy with a sweet disposition.

"Hey, my name is Felipe Economou. I'm a banshee."

"Wow." Nadia was speechless.

They all introduced themselves for the last time. After everyone joined their group, Corporal Werner silenced them by putting her hand in the air.

"We are not going straight into battle soldiers because that would be a very stupid move. It is clear that queen Morana of the Kurayami queendom captured queen Odion. While General Karaman is going to try to trade with her to get our queen back, we are going to put them under siege. That is why we divided you into groups, so that we can attack from all sides. However, some of you will go to different units of the queendom to protect it from intruders and our enemies. A few of you will infiltrate the Kurayami queendom to rescue our queen. Get in a row with your group, I will assign you your tasks."

Nadia was overwhelmed by everything; the captivation of queen Odion, the new soldiers, the groups, and the tasks. It was clear which task Nadia wanted: Protection. She wanted to stay inside the borders of the queendom and protect it because the other tasks were far more dangerous. The groups who were assigned with their tasks either left with the horses from the gables or the dragons on the hills. When Nadia was in line, she thought she was going to faint.

"Let me see; a fairy, a human, a mercenary, a witch, and a banshee. You will infiltrate Kurayami. Take the horses and the route of the Ojamashimasu river."

Nadia's heart stopped when Werner told them to infiltrate Kurayami. It was a suicide mission. She wanted to grab Izumi and fly far away from there but she couldn't. She was a soldier with responsibilities and besides, Izumi would never become a runaway soldier. So they took five horses and left the valley in silence. The sun was set and the moon had risen from her nap coloring the sky dark blue with stars who were winking at them. Nadia was not ready for this journey at all.