Deserving of More

Chapter Seven: Warriors

"Resistance to what?" I asked, looking at my friend, utterly lost.

She straightened up, standing taller, and looked at me directly.

"The almighty Queen Veronica."

The world spun for a moment and I had to stop myself from tipping over. I took a deep breath.

"Are you crazy?!" I said in a loud whisper, "I am in the King's Army! I could be tried for treason for this! Put in front of a firing squad!"

"I won't let that happen," came a voice to my left. I turned in its direction and became frozen solid when I saw whom it belonged to.

"Mike!" Grace's face lit up before she hugged him. He approached me after they parted.

"General Shinoda, sir," I stood at attention, trying not to watch this hero watch me.

"At ease, Lieutenant," he said gently, "We're equals here."

"What is here, exactly, sir?"

"Headquarters for the resistance group against Queen Veronica," he replied, "We aim to reveal the truth. No matter how awful or ugly."

"The truth, sir?"

"Please. Mike, \" he replied, running a hand through his dark hair, "Yes. The truth. Things appear a certain way. But things aren't what they seem."

A familiar phrase.

"Yeah," I said, a slight flatness in my voice, "I've heard that somewhere."

The General gave me a knowing look and a slow blink.

"He comes to you in dreams, doesn't he?"

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"How did you know that, sir?"

"You're not the only one, Lieutenant. That tells me you are right where you should be," he replied with a smirk, "And it's Mike. At least in here."

"Right where I should be?"

He nodded.

"I haven't exactly decided how best to use your skills," he said, his eyes narrowing, "But I trust Grace's judgement. And Chester's." I must've made an expression of confusion, because he chuckled ever so slightly. "Yes. Chester's judgement. He still helps us, even now."

"He knew about this?!"

General Shinoda... Mike looked at Grace.

"You haven't told her?" he asked.

"Not yet," she replied, "Besides, shouldn't some of it come from you?"

"I suppose," he conceded, motioning at me, "Come on. We'll talk." He led me across the room towards a door, and ushered me inside a small office. "Please, Minerva," he gestured at a chair, "Sit."

I complied, and looked this man I admired in the face as I waited for him to speak. He looked so tired. I could only imagine what he had endured these past weeks and months since losing his best friend. His chosen brother. I knew how I felt, and I was sure it was only a fraction of his grief.

"I like to think of Veronica as magician," he began, "She creates illusions. Smoke and mirrors. Distractions. Persuasion. Even brainwashing. So no one really sees what's going on, even though it's right in front of them." He paused, and looked at me. "Does that make sense?"

"As a writer, I enjoy the metaphor," I replied, "And yes, it does. Something has been off for me since the king... Chester died, but I can't quite get a hold of what, exactly."

"We will show you. Dissolve her illusions for you. But I will warn you, the truth is ugly. Awful. Sickening, even. If you don't think you can handle it, walk out the door right now and don't come back. I'll transfer you somewhere else far from here. I don't need any sort of weakness or disloyalty down here."

"I would do anything for him. For you," I said, steeling myself as best I could, "I would rather carry an awful truth than live in a comfortable lie."

"Hmm," he mused, a slight smile curling his lips, "Maybe you do belong here after all." I tilted my head questioningly. "When Grace first told me she was going to talk to you, I was concerned. We've been burned before by soldiers with fickle hearts. But she insisted. Said you were different. That your love, respect, and loyalty for him, me, and the other Generals was real. And thorough. That Chester chose to come to you the way he does to us. Don't misunderstand; I do see it. Feel it. But I also have to protect the other Generals, Grace, Chester, myself, everyone devoted to this cause, and all of their families. So my skepticism isn't personal. It's me, being protective, because I must."

"I understand," I told him, once again looking into his dark eyes, "I hope I can prove myself to you. If you, Chester, and Grace are behind this, then so am I. Even if I don't quite understand why, yet."

"You really are loyal, aren't you?"

"It's what you do for anyone who has saved your life." Now it was his turn to tilt his head.

"We saved your life?" I nodded. He smiled. "We never get tired of hearing that. I'm glad we could help." I turned a little pink and tried to look away. I heard him take a deep breath. "Demons." He uttered the word as a statement. Not a question. I looked up at him again. He nodded. "Demons. You have the plague, don't you?"

I swallowed. I'd never been asked that question directly. A direct question deserved a direct answer. I nodded, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I do."

"Hey," he said gently, "Don't be ashamed. Don't forget- my best friend in the world had it. It never caused me to love him any less. Even when his demons were out," I watched his eyes well up, "I knew the real Chester was still in there." His voice cracked when he spoke the king's name and I felt tears form in my own eyes. "And I know he fought hard against them, despite what happened."

"I know he did too," I said softly, focusing my energy on not crying, "I aspire to his strength."

A smile full of sadness blossomed across his features.

"You sitting in that chair right now shows your strength," he said with a solemn nod, "And now that you're here, with us, we will help you however we can. You don't have to suffer alone, or in silence. We're family here. You're family now."

"Speaking of here," I began, "What is this place? Why is this even here?"

Mike sighed.

"I knew, from the beginning, that something wasn't right," he began, "It was too soon after Adria. He was still vulnerable. Fragile. But, he wouldn't be persuaded. That damn stubborn streak of his. So they married. And then, he saw what we saw. But it was too late. He couldn't just oust her like he did to Adria. Adria spews her crazy babble and everybody rolls their eyes. But Veronica had all ready endeared herself to the people. Deeply. She knew how to paint a pretty picture for the world to see, while something different went on behind the canvas. He... We... feared. Factions. Sides. Civil war. The destruction of the kingdom.

We knew that we had to be subtle. Slow. Screaming from the rooftops of the city wouldn't work. No one would listen. You can't deprogram the masses with a bomb of truth. They won't accept it. So, this is what we decided to do. Gather our evidence. Build a network over time, exposing the truth to more people, with the hope that eventually, we will outnumber those who fawn over her and can banish her without bloodshed or tragedy.

He was proud of this internal rebellion. It was working. We didn't anticipate-" his voice cracked again. "We didn't anticipate what happened. We carry on for him. This is what he wanted. But she has her claws in even deeper now. I will let Grace tell you all the details. She knows them very well."

"Grace," I said her name in a whisper, "Why does she know the details? And you?" I furrowed my brow, processing everything I had just heard, "Just who is she?"

"Grace," he said, adding a pause, "Is the true Queen."