Glass Soldier

Chapter 11

      Our breakfast was interrupted by shouting and blood. Quite a bit of blood. Watching from my stop on the ground, knowing it was best not to get in anyone's way I watched as many tried to help what seemed to be a scout, soldiers unmoving from their positions. My shoulders stilling when they beckoned me over, that was a body, a bleeding one, I couldn't do anything to help. But they were calling me.

        Clenching my jaw I went over, all the same, my breath catching in my throat, blood everywhere. Swallowing I paused in my step, someone next to me forcing me forward as words blurred together, his chest moving with sharp shallow breaths, his face pale and clammy.

      "Lilith! Focus! Get it out!" Focus. Get it out. Get what out? My gaze moved from his pained face to the broken arrow barely peaking out of his chest. Get it out. With a shaky breath, I placed my hand around it, digging my other in as he cried out, those around us forcing him still as my stomach found my throat.

       Pulling it out I tripped back and out of their way, falling on my bottom while they rushed to attend to him. Looking at the broken arrowhead in my hand, bile rising in the back of my throat at the sight of the blood covering my hands. Swallowing I let out a slow breath, stumbling to get to my feet I pushed into a run, going straight to the stream.

      Roughly crashing my hands into the frozen water I broke through the ice rubbing the blood free as my breathing picked up. It wasn't washing away. Scrubbing harder I ignored my teeth as they started to clatter. The numbness washing to a frozen heat that climbed my arms. Clenching my jaw I pulled my hands free of the frozen water and to my face as they trembled.

     Blowing on them, I tried to heat them up, the clattering of my teeth not helping. A rush of warm running through my veins as glowed a bright blue for all but a moment. The frozen numbness melting away as I regained the feeling in them. Taking deep breaths I slowly got to my feet, gently rubbing my hands together as I looked around.

     Stiffening as I met an unfamiliar gaze I took a slow step backward, a razor sharp grin pulling onto his face, nearly splitting it in half while I froze again. They followed them here. What do I do? What can I do?

       Run.

      Despite knowing how true that was I didn't move in the slightest. My breathing slipping to nothing as I didn't even blink. I need to tell them. I'll definitely die if I tried it. I'll die if I move. I'll die. I've already seen him. There's no way out. I could scream. Make it mean something. No, the moment I move to do that... 

       Distract him.

       The red circle glowing behind him at the thought, turning the moment it stood at its full height I sprinted back to camp, a cheer turning to a curse as I didn't bother to look over my shoulder. Every step I took had a bright red circle glowing beneath my feet.

        Capture them. All of them.

     Sliding into camp I looked over my shoulder, my chest heaving and blood pumping, a loud ringing in my ears as the puppets bolting every which way. "They followed you!" I cried putting my hands on my knees, with the wounded treated there was nothing more attention demanding than my shout.

       Weapons were grabbed and questions were asked as I did my very best to answer, the soldiers already collecting the other three. "Wait! Puppets! My puppets are out there, you'll know them when you see them and for the love of the gods, don't piss them off,"

        The warning getting nothing more than a glance as a handful ran off and I collapsed onto a log I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm the wild heart beneath my skin. "We're soldiers! Don't get in our way!"

      Glancing at the three that were being herded I just ran a hand through my hair. "You're students, with strict orders not to fight,"

      "We're supposed to do what we can! Do you really think a bunch of bandit wannabes can really do anything against real soldiers?!" She sneered, pulling against the one holding her arm while a hand was offered to me. Taking it, I got up as they continued to argue. Loudly.

     "Would you shut up?!" I snapped as I got offended looks from cocky students who don't understand the gravity of the situation. "You're students, they're 'real soldiers' no matter how high you rank, you'll still die, so listen to the professionals before you lure when in with your whining," I growled, a burning flare in Miss number one's eyes.

      "Right, all you did was run, you're nothing but a glass user, just because you made friends with the dogs doesn't mean anything. You're a disgrace of a noble running around with peasants just like a rat scurrying around in filth," She snarled, getting in my face as I glared at her, not in the mood to deal with a sniving snot nosed brat. 

      "Yeah, what of it? Do you really think you're better than them? Then me? What's a leader without those that follow? What's a noble without their commoners? You better respect them or you'll lose them and when you do, you'll be nothing but a fallen noble that doesn't know how the real world works,"