Crowns and Guns.

Water (part 3)

I am standing on the archery range, on top of a small hill. On one side, I can see the playground in the valley, where kids are playing, waiting for school to start. From this vantage point, the kids just looked like a twister of green, as all the kids are obligated to wear green clothing per ORCHID guidance. I always enjoyed the sound of playing kids, it was the one reminder I have that life goes on, and humanity will prevail. Those kids are the future of humanity, and will hopefully outlive any elf.

On the other side of the hill, I can see the border wall, separating the military compound from the dangerous forests. Armed guards are stationed on the watchtowers, armed with giant magic weapons, built into the structure. Large protective runes are drawn on the wall, designed to keep the elves out.

The grass I am standing on is kind of muddy. Raindrops are falling down, covering my face in a small film of water, and while my leather jacket is waterproof, my dress isn't, so my skirt is soaking. But I don't really mind. The great part about working outside is that I get to wear shoes. And even tho it is cold outside, my feet feel warm and cosy inside my high leather boots. I do feel bad for the kids on the playground, even tho the playground is partially covered by a glass roof, those kids don't have shoes, nor leather jackets, and are still playing around in the cold. They don't seem that bothered tho.

I wipe the raindrops from my eyes and forehead and try to see through the rain. Five recruits are climbing the stone stairs leading to the top of the hill. They are walking slowly, as if they don't have a care in the world, even tho they are already a couple of minutes late. I shake my head in disbelief. I hope they take training for a war more seriously.

The recruits reach the top, casually chatting, unaware of my rising agitation. One is a redheaded boy with green eyes and freckles named Jerry, another a tall guy with black hair named Tony, and a short girl with brown hair named Kelsey, the commander's daughter. All of them are teenagers, between the ages of seventeen and nineteen. The other two are May and Katie. The latter waves as she arrives.

Tony and Jerry are dressed in blue pants, a leather jacket, and black leather boots. Kelsey and May are dressed the same as me, in a blue full-body dress with a jacket over it, and black boots.

"Hello, Lieutenant Riley," Katie says. "The commander received your message and allowed me to join the class. I have a note from him to prove it somewhere." She searches into her pockets.

I look at Katie from top to bottom. The dress she wears under her jacket is green instead of blue, as expected, cause she hasn't reached the age of sixteen yet. But she also is walking on her bare feet, not wearing shoes.

Katie finds the note, and hands it to me. I glance at it, before putting it into my own pocket. I quickly check my pocket watch to check the time and look back at the recruits. I cross my arms and raise my voice.

"Recruits, you are six minutes late. I expect you to be on time tomorrow, otherwise, you will get written up."

"But we are only a few minutes late," Kelsey complains.

"In a battle, a few seconds can mean the difference between life and death. So don't get me started about minutes." The recruits look down and mutter some inaudible apologies.

"And you!" I point at Katie. "Recruit, where are your shoes?"

Katie takes a step back. "The commander told me I couldn't get shoes until I was sixteen, because ORCHID rations leather," she stammers.

I sigh. ORCHID sometimes really can go fuck itself, with their arcane and unnuanced decisions. I sit down on a nearby stone bench and start untying my own boots.

"What are you doing?" Katie asks.

"I am going to give you my shoes. They will be a bit too big, but you are gonna get sick if you keep walking around on your bare feet in this weather."

"But, won't you get cold instead?"

"I am your commanding officer Katie. I am responsible for your safety first, and then the safety of myself." I toss her the shoes. "Now put them on."

It is almost like I can hear my mother's voice in the wind and rain. "When we get to the overgrown city, I will buy you all the shoes you can ever want, I promise."

I push the memory out of my mind while Katie reluctantly puts on the boots. I shiver when my feet touch the muddy grass. Determined not to show any of the recruits any moment of weakness, I walk to the archery targets. I gesture for the recruits to come closer, and stand around me in a circle. I pull my gun from my holster and show it to them.

"So, this is a necrotic gun. One of the most dangerous human inventions ever."

"Cool," Jerry exclaims while reaching for the gun. I grab his hand and twist it.

"You do not touch the gun unless I give you permission, Jerry."

He steps back rubbing his hand, and looking at the ground.

I point at the barrel of the gun, a piece of black featureless wood. "This is the barrel. That is where the magic happens. And this" I point at the handle. "Is the handle. Notice the bright red runes on the right side. They are glowing brightly, which means it is charged."

I turn to the recruits. "Who can tell me why it is important to always check if your gun is charged?"

Kelsey laughs. "Cause you can't fire a discharged gun."

I shake my head. "You couldn't be more wrong, Kelsey. It is perfectly possible to fire a discharged gun."

"How?" Kelsey asks. "If the gun is discharged, where does it get its magic from."

I shake my head. "The person holding the gun. Firing it once will put most people out of battle immediately, and will cause lifelong complications. It is painful, but it can be done."

The recruits nod in silence.

I continue. "Firing while it is discharged will also permanently break the gun, making it impossible to ever charge again."

The recruits remain silent, and I switch my attention to a field mouse, running in the grass, quite near to my bare feet. I can hear it rustle through the wet grass, and kind of make out its tail. In one movement, I aim the gun at the mouse and fire it.

The glowing runes on the side sizzle out, as a blast of red light escapes from the barrel, hitting the field mouse. It dies with a squeak, which is barely audible above the sound of the recruits, who gasp and jump back, startled. Blue, glowing smoke escapes from the rodent's body and floats towards the gun as if it is getting sucked in by the barrel. After the barrel has consumed all the smoke, the runes start glowing again.

The students look in awe, motionless, with their mouths right open.

I show them the glowing runes again. "If you kill a creature with it, any creature, it will use its life energy to recharge the gun."

Katie raises her hand, excitingly.

"Yes, Katie," I say.

"What if you miss?"

"Well, if you miss, the gun will discharge."

Katie shakes her head. "I understand that, but if we miss, how do we ever recharge our gun? You said yourself that if you fire a discharged gun, it won't ever charge again."

I nod. "You are right. There is no way to charge a discharged gun. If you ever miss, your gun is useless."

"Is there anything we can do to prevent that?" Jerry asks.

I scoff. "Yes, don't miss."

I turn around and grab the wooden crate standing behind the archery target.

"In this box are practice guns. They use way less energy, so firing them won't kill you, but you will also be unable to harm anything with it. Hence they are perfect for practice. Do keep in mind that they use your life energy, so if you fire it too often you will feel weak, lightheaded and tired."

I hand out the guns to the recruits, and they look at them confused.

"How do we fire it?" Katie asks. "There is no trigger."

I laugh. "It is magic, Katie. You have to focus on the gun, and will it to fire."