Rise

Melanie

Two raids, two. When Edric told me about his idea to take over Jenero, the city where he is staying, I thought he was insane. Then when I found out that his date was the same as the border raid I for sure thought he was off his rocker, but something in the pit of my stomach told me to trust him, knowing that as long as he was in charge. Were familiar now, even though our friendship is new.Edric never gave me his plans in detail but I didn't mind, but when he left early in the morning I knew he was going under the cover of night, using his own team of Rise soldiers that Triton sent himself. Fin, my mother, the colonel and I didn't leave too long after him. The sun still hidden by the horizon when we climb into our transports. The colonel takes his own, leaving us with Athena. Though Fin and I couldn't actually talk about what was going to happen, we still had other ways of communicating, a nod of the head or a squeeze of our hands were enough to say that everything was going to be okay. Besides Jenero, Imber is one of the farthest cities away from the eastern border, making this trip a long and exhausting one, filled will my mother telling me to keep straight or Fin and her subtly taking jabs at Alana behind her back. Though my sister and my brother never got along, they still love each other, they have to. Or everything we've done together, all the promises and secrets we have mean nothing, are nothing. The thought itself makes me car sick.We stop at Genesis for the transports to idle, or else they would overheat and lose a perfectly good convoy due to our stupidity. I step out of the vehicle, looking up at the blue side and the peach color light from the sun. Fin wraps his arm in my own, leading me off into a nearby market. I can hear a small baggie of breakers attached to his, jingling loudly even through the busy crowd. "How are you feeling?" He asks dully, never putting to much concern into his question. I shrug, never putting too much into my answer. "I don't know, tired, getting up at the ass crack of dawn isn't fun, Fin." I retort, hoping that he will change the subject to calm the fluttering butterflies in my stomach. He chuckles softly and walks up to a crate on one of the stands, grabbing an apple for both him and I. The vendor watching us with fervor, he can't think we are any sort of threat, our clothes too neat, too clean for us to cause trouble. My brother tosses the man two breakers, cheaper than a crown but still, it keeps him happy. "What you said about Alana isn't right." I blurt before taking a bite out of my apple. He stops and looks at me, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What do you mean?" Fin ask."You said she won't be a good ruler, I mean you never said it outright but that's what you meant. Besides you only say those things because you think you wouldn't make a great one. Stop trying to shove your fears onto others. It's childish and stupid." I state, he coughs slightly, choking on a bite of his fruit. Then he glares at me."Whatever Mel." His voice is controlled, but I could hear the anger hiding in the back of his throat. Storming off into the crowd I watch him go, blending into the heard of merchants and vendors. I sigh, what I said was true. He hides his insecurities with anger and hostility, putting all of it onto Alana. Even subconsciously, he did it as a child, when Athena would whisper into his ear about our sister, planting the seeds of his self-doubt and rage into him by age ten. I turn my head back to the transports, my mother watching me, trying to listen to us through all the noise. I can feel my lips pull into a frown as I slowly trudge my way to the convoy. "Stand up straight Melanie, have some decency you are in public. And raise your head child, you are a princess, pretend as you have somewhere to be." Athena pesters, lifting my chin before shoving me through the door. I tumble inside, my chest landing on my seat, knocking the wind out of me. I crawl up right, sitting on the floor of the transport. My mother scoffs and climbs in herself, sitting neatly in her seat."Your brother should be on his way soon" she states as I hold back my pants, breathing slowly in and out of my nose. When my breath finally comes back, Fin enters the convoy. Well, not enters, more thrown. Soldiers in their grey and blue stand at the door, pushing him in and shutting the door. "Fin sweetheart you shouldn't have strayed so far. This is an important meeting and we don't have time for you to grab a bite at some run down market" She goads, watching the scenery through our barred windows, they make this vehicle feel like a prison, and it doesn't help when you're treated like a prisoner.The ride from Genesis to the border was barely an hour, but it felt like a century with my mother and brother. Fin wouldn't speak with me, not even about the court, he just stared out the window, refusing to look at anything but me. I'm not mad though, fin needed to hear what I said, maybe it knocked some sense into him. I chuckled to myself at the thought of my brother using his brain, stifling the smile forming on my face. We were the first ones to arrive at the Aition River, a border for our country and a weapon for any invaders. A line of blue and grey blocks me from seeing the other side Aition, so we wait. The sound of a transports' wheels hitting the gravel draws everyone's attention. I look out the window behind my mother, the peach color now gone and replaced with a beautiful blue across the entire horizon. Dust shoots from the back of the moving transport, their soldiers splitting for them to get by. The sound of a door slamming makes my head snap to the left. The colonel steps out of his ride, strolling over to one of the bridges that go over the Aition River. Tobias stands in front of Queen Evelyn, the ruthless fire queen. He doesn't shake, he never flinches and I pray that he doesn't stutter. We must show strength and power. If it wasn't for this raid I would have told my mother not to agree to Evelyn's deal. I would have told her that it was just another person trying to bully us out of our birthright, but my life has changed. I don't want my birthright anymore, I want justice, equality. A place where I won't get treated like a doll, is that too much to ask?My mother huffs, quickly and gracefully stepping out of the convoy. Fin follows right behind and I climb out after, my eyes squint from the rising sun. I can feel my mother's eyes assessing me though she strides forward, so I keep my back straight and my head held high, doing the things that were drilled into my brain. My mother's eyes aren't the only ones I feel, across the field, on the other side of the bridge I can see Kira Curae staring me down. She wears white jeans and a red motorbike jacket, showing her healers ability to us all, she gets that from her aunt, who wears an Ignis healer uniform. Three guards flank us each, guarding us against who knows what. Knowing my mother it's more than likely a show for her trying to outrank Evelyn in strength and power. "Queen Athena." Evelyn's chilling voice sends shivers down my spine, I try my best to stay still and I see Kira doing the same, even her own people fear her. "Queen Evelyn" Athena replies, nodding in the woman's direction, looking at each and every one of the people on the other before continuing. "I hope Princess Adara is well. Or maybe she hasn't come home at all" my mother goads, watching and waiting for Evelyn's reaction. The amber-eyed woman laughs."I did not come all this way, in such short notice, to speak of rumors involving my daughter. I would appreciate it greatly if we would just get on with our deal and go our separate ways, you're son coming with us to rule by my daughter's side." The mention of Fin makes him tense up, snapping into focus. "If you wish." With a turn of Athena's head, two more guards march their way to us, carrying a giant chest between them. All those crowns wasted on a greedy queen who will use them to gain even more power. Well, they won't be wasted.I check the trees, hoping to find a soldier, something for proof of Rise. The trees stay still and the birds don't sing, it seems like this whole area is dead. "One million crowns, as promised." Fin speaks plainly, scanning Kira before blinking slowly. He has something on his mind, thoughts blocking his ability to think clearly. He looks like a mindless zombie."The deeds, Athena" Evelyn states, completely ignoring my brother. He huffs, clenching his jaw as his eye flash hot anger. His hatred for the fire queen isn't subtle and I don't think it will ever be. I can feel kira eyeing me, trying to find a crack in my perfect princess mask, but I won't let her. I stare forward, my mind focused and my body calm. I won't let myself slip, I can't. "Of course" My mother replies, turning to the colonel who now holds to rolled up pieces of paper tightly in his hand. Reluctantly, he hands them over to Sirona. She turns her back to us and with a nod of her head two guards shuffle their way over to us, taking the chest."Fin, are you coming?" Kira holds out her right hand for him, and I faintly hear a low growl from the fire prince. Jealousy is a fickle thing. My brother stares at the Curae girl, a million things going through his head. He opens his mouth to speak but never gets the chance.A blast of fire, almost looking like a comet, streaks across the sky, landing on the Undan side of the border. "It's a trap!" "Run for cover!" The guards on both sides scream before dropping where they stand. First, the ones that shield us, then the ones farther back. The ones who don't drop are attacked from the ground, using their abilities and their weapons, shooting into the trees. We all watch in silence, cowed by the sight. Finally, my brother moves, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me to the transport. "Fin let's just go with the" I manage to force other, my feet slipping from under me. He holds onto me tight, tripping over his own feet but managing to stay upright. "Just keep running Mel, that isn't the mission. They won't hurt us just make your fear real." I don't have to pretend, my heart moving a million times a minute. Though fin isn't completely for the cause, he is a soldier, following orders is second nature to him. When my brother stops, I trip, falling to the ground. I look up at him, ready to yell at him, then I let my eyes trail his gaze.On the other side of the field, behind our convoys, more Rise soldiers barrel toward us. Weavers, nymphs and greenies all alike come at us in full speed. My brother blinks slowly, shaking his head quickly before snapping into action. He turns toward the Aition, moving the water into some sort of dome around us. Most run past us, but some weavers stay behind, circling the dome-like vultures. A small smile plays on my brother's lips and I understand why. Weavers are easy to beat, some are dangerous, yes but overall they drop like flies. They know it too, that's why they're here. Then fin drops, just like the guards who watched over us, he chokes, gasping for air, I turn to the weaver. Idris most likely, weavers who can manipulate the air inside the body. I scream before being choked myself, my brothers seize before my vision going dark.