Fall of the World: A Revue Starlight Fanfiction

Chapter 20: Attack

Morning came far too soon for Tamao's liking. As the noise of people coming out of their tents rose, it woke her up. She groaned and was about to reach for a pillow to shove over her face, before remembering where she was. She opened her eyes.

Suzu was still here. She was curled up right beside her, sound asleep. Tamao was jealous. Then again, she was used to the noise. She could easily sleep through it.

Tamao tapped her on the shoulder. Suzu stirred after a few taps. She opened her eyes and looked up at Tamao.

"Good morning!" Suzu smiled, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah but... I'm still exhausted." Tamao sighed.

"Hmm... well, maybe you can sleep on the walk? I could carry you or something so you can rest." Suzu offered.

"We'll see."

They got up and went out. Suzu led her to where Koharu and Hisame were at. They had some food. Bread. Suzu told Tamao to stay there and left. Tamao assumed she was going to get food for the two of them.

"Good morning." Tamao greeted the two girls.

"Was Suzu behaved?" Hisame questioned.

Tamao nodded, "She was."

"That's a first."

"Where's Kyoko at?" Tamao questioned.

"Getting permission to leave with us." Koharu replied.

"Okay."

Suzu soon returned with some bread for the two of them. Tamao thanked her and ate it. She knew better than to comment on what she normally had to eat. Though...

"Tamao? What kind of stuff do you eat at the castle?" Suzu asked exactly what she was avoiding.

"Well, it depends." Tamao answered, "Whatever we have in abundance. Sometimes it's eggs, sometimes might be meat, different types of food from wheat and the likes. Whatever the cook of the day wants to make."

"That sounds really good... all we get is bread and then whatever animals live around here..." Suzu pouted.

"You'll get to experience it yourself soon enough."

"Eh? Really? You'll include us?"

"What else am I going to do with you?" Tamao was confused by that.

"Make us stay on our own." Koharu answered, "We did work in a kingdom before and that was how they treated us."

"Oh. Well, you're all part of the family when you're there. I'll treat you the same as everyone else in the castle." Tamao reassured them all.

She had a big job here. Not only did she have to get her kingdom back under control, but she had the duty of showing these three that not all royalty was bad. She didn't have to but she wanted them to know that there were good people out there. Good people in high positions of power.

"You haven't corrected us with your name." Hisame commented, "Is there a reason?"

"I don't like being called queen. I didn't like being called princess either. I don't like the title because it makes me seem... superior and out of reach. I want to be seen as a friend to the staff." Tamao explained her reasoning. She knew it was crazy to not care about her title.

"I see you all are up and ready." Kyoko finally joined them, "They agreed. If you're ready, we can go now."

"How long will we walk together for?" Suzu asked.

"Until we get close to the borders of the kingdoms. Then we'll split up."

"Okay."

They got ready and then set out on their journey. Tamao was still exhausted and not ready for this. They all could tell. She was falling behind them. Struggling to keep up. Struggling to dodge tree roots and the likes.