Daughter of Death

XIII

After explaining the plan, Hallez and her contubernium headed to the battlefield, where the fort was located and built.

    Along the way, she spotted various breakfast foods in the other legionnaires' hands. Pancakes, bagels, cereal, milk, waffles, eggs, biscuits, bacon, pizza—

    Hallez didn't realize how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten anything since...what, yesterday morning? It felt like two years ago. She only ate two times a day—breakfast and dinner—and she had missed dinner last night. According to the rest of her contubernium, she couldn't eat breakfast until the MFSDO was over.

    So, basically, she would be extremely hungry as well as sleep-deprived, since she got no sleep last night, which was just great.

    It didn't bother her as much as it would most people. She used to pull all-nighters for five days straight, every month, until Cade caught her in the middle of the night star-gazing, and scolded her for hours on end. She had also sometimes forgotten to eat dinner before sleeping as well, out of pure stupidity, and ended up waking up the next morning, feeling extremely hungry, and incredibly fatigued.

    Not the best experience.

    Cade had scolded her for that too.

    It used to annoy her.

    They stopped once, at the weaponry, to get Hallez a weapon, but none of them quite fit her. She felt weird, holding a basic three-foot long sword, or a bow, or a spear, or even a dagger. Travis even gestured to a broadsword once, and Hallez raised an eyebrow, giving him a look.

    He winced. "Alright, yeah, I'll admit, not the best idea I've ever had."

    "Have you ever had training with a weapon?" Fiona asked.

    Hallez shook her head. "Not really. I know some basic self-defense techniques barehanded." She took out her pocketknife. "I think I'll just use this if I need it. I know how to throw it if I'm really desperate."

    Fiona picked out a small dagger. "At least take a dagger."

    She was reluctant. She doubted she would have any use for it, since if she did use it, she would probably hurt herself more than anyone else. But as she agreed hesitantly, she realized it did bring her some comfort, knowing that she could defend herself if completely necessary.

    Because Fiona and Travis then both explained how brutal the First and Third Cohorts were especially.

    "They are shameless," Travis said. "They would do anything to win. They're ruthless, and brutal. Don't be surprised if you don't come out unscathed."

    Hallez looked at him, intrigued. "Even if the plan works?"

    "Even if the plan works."

    Lavi rolled her eyes. "You're making them sound like a bunch of wild dogs."

    "But he's right," Fiona said unexpectedly. "They're the smart kind of wild, but this plan should work."

    "The emphasis on should doesn't really help Fiona," Lavi said in a singsong voice.

    Hal tested the dagger. It was lighter, and easier to wield, than the sword, bow or spear, that was for sure. Still, she hoped having it wouldn't be a mistake later on.

    They arrived at the edge of the battlefield, finally. A shallow, wide valley in the hills, north of the Castra. The fortress was built right on the western shores of the river Hallez had first taken a dump in. That stopped Hallez for a second.