The Ember Within

Failure

We were still in the midst of our mundane comrade meeting when Arden erupted from his seat, a tempest of chaos. The air crackled with tension, thick and suffocating, mingling with the scent of damp earth and stale magic that lingered in the dimly lit Squadron Hall. "Edward is sabotaging our every plan!" he shouted, his voice a volatile mix of fury and desperation. I could see the pulse in his neck throbbing, the way his fists clenched and unclenched, as if he were wrestling with something far deeper than just anger.

Arden was a close friend of Sharon's who had lost his entire family to Edward, except for his brother and sister, Arina, who had been captured by him. Despite this, he saw hope in the Rebels and decided to join us in pursuit of revenge. His outburst triggered a memory—a mission gone awry, where Arden had barely escaped capture.

 The shadows of that night loomed in his eyes, fueling his ire. "We're wasting our time in this stuffy room, concocting yet another scheme! This is the 600th letter from the king! Do you know why I remember that? Because that many times, I've put my life on the line! We don't even know who we're sacrificing ourselves for! The leader protects him or herself, but what about us? And Sharon, answer me honestly—he or she gives orders to you, but what do you truly know about him or her except his name: 'Calista'? We don't even know her or his gender!"

His fist pounded the table, sending his chair tumbling, the thud echoing like a death knell in the charged atmosphere. He squeezed the letter in his hand until his knuckles turned white, his frustration palpable. I could feel the fear and uncertainty mirrored in the faces of my comrades, each one grappling with their own doubts.

Sharon shot me a quick, worried glance, his brow furrowing as he stepped forward, almost instinctively acting as a shield. "Arden, you don't trust Calista, but I do. Don't forget, he has sacrificed his own identity for our freedom. We've seen results, haven't we? The Squadron Hall is the proof of that." He reached over, taking the crumpled letter from Arden, his voice steady, yet I could hear the tremor beneath the surface.

"Calista is doing this for the greater good," Adelyn warned ,her voice calm but edged with concern. Adelyn was like a sister to me, working under me in the pub, she was appointed by Sharon after I had requested him for another person to support my work and had somehow found about Rebels, thereafter joining us. She didn't know Calista's identity yet her support that she gave unknowingly, made my heart at ease. 

"If King Edward discovers his identity, our hard work will be shattered, including this very place. We can't afford to lose hope now." Her words hung in the air, a small thread of optimism against Arden's hatred.

"Let's end this here and now," I interjected, my heart racing as I opened the door, the wood creaking ominously. I hoped to defuse the rising tension. "We'll discuss our next mission tomorrow. We're all exhausted after another failure." The weight of their expectations pressed down on me, each pair of eyes heavy with doubt.

As everyone began to leave the Squadron Hall, our underground sanctuary shielded by layers of combined magic, Sharon approached me, his expression grave. "Can we talk?" he asked calmly neglecting all the chaos that just took place, closing the door behind him and weaving a protective spell to block any eavesdroppers, the faint shimmer of magic barely visible in the dim light.

"Scarlet," he began, urgency tinging his voice, "as the leader, Calista, you've been our guiding light in this fight to establish the Rebels. But how long can you remain in the shadows, pretending to be one of us? The doubts are creeping in, and they're starting to question your identity."

His words struck a chord, reverberating through me like a distant bell tolling. Each ring sent shivers of doubt spiraling through my mind, the burden of my secret growing heavier. They needed to know the truth, yet revealing myself felt like plunging a dagger into my own heart. If Edward discovered I was his niece, everything we had fought for would come crashing down. My disguise was a shield, not for my own safety, but for theirs.