The Blood Tome

So It Begins

"Ella..." Ally began as she strapped knives to her calves beneath the folds of her armoured boots. "Your friend over there, how do you know them?"

Eleanora glanced over to Wandi, who was running a hand through their fluffy curls as they laughed with various soldiers among the camouflage tents. Their round lips were chafed, but full of joy, and they stood at least a head taller than the rest of their friends. "Wandi? We go way back. Their mom was a captain of the guards, so we grew up together. We even dated at one point, back when we were younger, but that didn't last very long."

Ally nodded, a twinge of guilt presiding in her lungs, but she quickly swallowed the lump of annoyance and smiled at her companion. After all, why should she be jealous?

As if reading her thoughts, Eleanora stopped preparing her armour, squaring her shoulders with Ally's and placing her hands on her forearms in a gentle embrace. At first, she looked in her eyes before averting her gaze, remembering that the prolonged eye contact seemed uncomfortable to her girlfriend.

Eleanora pressed her forehead to her companion's, beginning her story bluntly. "Ally, we dated because it was expected of us. The public adored our dynamic, and though we had no marriage requirements placed upon us, the pressure was immense. It didn't last long because neither of us wanted it. No matter the intimacy we attempted to create during our time together, it never amounted to anything other than the friendship we shared in our youth. Since then, we've largely gone our separate ways. You have nothing to fear. I care deeply about Wandi, but not in the same sense that I care about you, alright?"

Allura smiled, pulling Eleanora into a hug. She couldn't say she wasn't relieved, although she would be lying if she said she didn't make a few glances towards the captain of the camp, levelling her gaze and deciphering their stance like an unsolved puzzle. The jealousy had subsided, but the unease was still present. She set her feelings aside, chalking it up to immaturity of the heart as the group finished preparing for battle.

Soon, she reconvened with the Naerwoodian nation, readying herself and her select troops along the determined route. It had taken convincing to get Varak to wear Azhurian battle equipment, but after a hushed discussion from Aurelius, they seemed to give in to the idea. The troops got to work, manoeuvring through the woods and setting up various tents and resources in a clearing several miles toward the north. Wandi, Eleanora, and select troops had stayed behind to protect the camp that had already been erected prior to this plan. Once the camp had been set, the troops simply lay in wait.

Hours passed by and Ally lost herself in her examinations of the forest around her. She rested her feet against the rough bark of a fallen tree and lay on her back, glaring up at the sky and watching the subtle differences in cloud formations between Waylandrian clouds and the clouds of her hometown. The entomological makeup of the forest intrigued her, and as she watched the creepy crawlies wind their way through blades of yellowed grass, she braced herself as the rumbling of an approaching convoy took over her thoughts. Hand hovering in place above her hip, she prepared to unsheath her sword. Varak met her gaze, pressing a single finger to their lips and motioning to Aurelius to put out the campfire.

Ally inched toward the edge of the clearing, dodging behind a bush and hiding herself from the wooden wheels that neared their trap. She could feel a silence fall like a heavy blanket of anticipation upon her friends, and she pressed her ear between the leaves of the dark brush before her, awaiting the inevitable stop of the convoy. Stealing her attention toward Varak, she nodded, tapping her fingers against her outer thigh in a complicated pattern she had spent the last few hours memorising. Varak grinned, slithering toward Allie's position. The waiting game was pulling to a close. The approaching envoy had stopped for their break, just as Wandi's informants had anticipated. In one giant wave, an onslaught took over. From the trees, Naerwoodian archers send a rain of arrows down upon the Dhampirian forces. In a moment of severe confusion, the enemy troops begin swinging wildly, running into the thicket in an attempt to gain an understanding of their whereabouts.