The Day the World was Painted Red

Siege and Rescue

Asuna POV

Asuna was sitting inside the carriage a bit less than collected. She was biting her nails and moving erratically inside a fairly small space which didn't help the situation. She had way too many things to analyze and think about and it wasn't easy at all. Not even prioritizing was easy. She could at least make a list. First and foremost tactics for the war to come, although she didn't know exact numbers, strengths and weaknesses she had a vague idea about both what they were dealing with and their own army. Their victory was more than certain the problem was the casualties. These men weren't soldiers and wouldn't accept the possibility of dying as collateral damage acceptable.

Second was her own fame and image. She was undoubtedly strong and thus as always rumors had been sprouting like wildfire. The Flash, a title she had gotten through way too much to gain to lose it in a flash because of war. (A/N: Pun completely intended) Her men had to get out of this alive no matter what the cost.

Last but certainly not least was Kirito. She had known him for barely a day and yet he had that special aura that made her want to be by his side forever. Certainly the fact that he was the very first person that approached her in a friendly way in this wretched game helped. Also he was hellish on the battlefield. To top it all off, he was selfless, maybe too selfless. Like he took the hatred against all the beta-testers on him. Come on! Now she couldn't be in a one floor distance from him if she didn't want his fame rubbing off on her.

She was trying to suppress this as it wasn't an urgent matter but she didn't really have a good enough emotional control to block out that he would meet him again for the first time after a year. She wanted to be at her absolute best but then again she had to keep a rough enough look for a general that is about to go into battle. Her moves had started to trouble Aika who was in the carriage with her sent to be by her side should the need for battle, a decoy or a formal dresser arise.

'Mrs. Asuna is everything alright.' Said Aika in a flat voice.

Asuna made eye contact with her recent underling just to locate the tiniest specs of worry in her eyes in an otherwise cold and serious face.

'I am relatively fine Yuri just... a lot to think about' Said Asuna directing her eyes elsewhere. The maiden's cold emotionless gaze was really unnerving.

She didn't know a lot about the maiden but she had been programmed by her creator, whoever that was, to have an elegant, high class attitude. Aika was a beauty with an inteligent look wearing glasses and a wide blue necklace. Her hair were tied into a low-cropped bun at the back of her head. She had been assigned to Asuna for half a month now to show her how to behave in a way that would be found respectable and inspiring. Asuna appreciated the teachings and her teacher but she bet that her teacher couldn't act what she taught if her life depended on it. Although she has been a bit cold lately, correction colder than usual. But maybe it was just her stress playing tricks on her.

With that Yuri returned to silence. She rested her face on her fist and turned her eyes to the window as the green forests turned to bushes and they entered the last valley before the valley in which the mighty castle of Ambassadors of Light and Darkness was in. The sky was blue and relaxing but there were some storm clouds on the edge of the horizon. There was a vast forest ahead of them. It was a beautiful forest with beautiful colors and tall trees. But it was too dense for her own liking. It made her feel uneasy.

.

.

.

Something moved in her field of vision and then it suddenly stopped. Then something else, and something else. Before she knew it the whole green scenery was moving like a huge green carpet made of moving bugs. She knew in her gut what this was. Her breath got caught up her heart skipped a bit. As fast as she could she jumped on her sit, poked her head outside through the driver's window and then she took a deep breath and shouted.