Uprising

Empire State of Minds

Aella looked at Alkyone who stared at her from across the bathing room. “You're going to send that letter to her sister, aren't you?” Alkyone looked at the womyn with pain evident in her eyes. “You would prefer that I didn't, wouldn't you?” She stood up, in a threatening way, “This girl may be your puppet, but that doesn't mean that I'll just ban her connections to her family!!” Aella stood too, though she was almost four inches shorter than Alkyone, she still seemed to emit an aura that commanded authority, “We cannot allow her family to read what she writes, especially not the general of the Eastern Army!! To raise the perfect soldier, we must balance love and authority!!! The perfect soldier understands when love is not-” Alkyone growled, and in no second at all, was upon Aella, staring into her eyes. Her eyes seemed to call upon storms, “And yet you would treat her as you would a daughter, if you could even have children!!! You speak in paradoxes, my friend!! I will train her for the council, but I will not train her in any way but my own.”

Alkyone turned to walk away from Aella and exited the room. She was followed by a slightly angered Aella. “You do not walk away from me! We are trying to save this world from the scourge of man, and we would have the possible salvation trained in our way. It's to avoid disaster, Alkyone! You as the Western General should now this by now!!!” Alkyone kept walking not even turning around, “I said I would do your dirty work, what more do you want with me?” The womyn was visibly shaking, and if you could see her face, tears would begin forming in her eyes. Aella grabbed her shoulder as they walked past the last room in the east hall, “You have no say in this! I want you to remember that. I have no say in this. This is all so that We may live in peace. This is not the peace I would have pictured, especially at such a cost.....A child! A CHILD, will be forcibly giving up her entire being for a battle that will never end. For what? Where there is womyn, there will always be men!! It's a cycle. Myrine knows this, and she would sacrifice a million young womyn just to see an hour of peace. When you chose this life, you knew this as well-”

They began to enter the west hallway, Alkyone still not looking back, “ I knew nothing! When I signed up for this, I do not know! I never wanted to train people to die. People so young, to give their lives for this. They become zombies, zombies being controlled by the puppet masters!!!” she pointed a finger in Aella's face as she turned around, “And you are the puppet masters, bending all these womyn to you will, making them you're good little soldiers by playing off their insecurities, giving them false strength, and sending them into battles they cannot win.” Aella almost slapped Alkyone as they stopped outside a familiar door, “This is more than any of that, Alkyone. More than even she could-” Alkyone threw the womyn backwards after grabbing her hand. “Nothing is more important than Her, and I suggest you remember that. These girls will die for you. But they will not die before you, Aella. Watch your back from now one.” Alkyone had muttered it so quietly, Aella almost didn't hear her. Alkyone walked over to the open door and pulled it shut. Inside lay the sleeping bio-weapon, designed by the darker gods and sent to the Feminists to deliver so called, “salvation.”

~*~*~

Artemis woke to Alkyone sitting at the foot of her bed, a solemn look on her face. She was looking off in the distance and seemed to be in deep thought. To respect this, Artemis tried to climb out of bed, quietly and get to the kitchen. Failing miserably, her foot got caught in the covers and she slipped onto the floor. Alkyone turned quickly, after looking to see what happened, a wide smile grew on her face, “Good morning, my dear student. If it's alright with you, I would like to skip breakfast and go right into mental training.” Artemis looked up from rubbing her head, “Why? Is Lady Aella still sleeping? Am I not going to take a bath first?” Alkyone smiled almost as if it was forced, “Yes actually, Aella is still asleep. I don't want to wake her just to eat, you know. As for a bath, if that's want you want to do, go on ahead, I will be waiting for you in the pond.”