The Wilting Rose

Chapter 6- Forbidden Love

Solie came running back out with him, as did my unit. “Hello, General Rose.” They greeted me. I looked at Solie for an explanation I knew I would not receive until Jatt was well and gone. As I suspected, she looked away, unwilling to share. I rolled my eyes, and looked at Jatt. I was shocked to realize that he stepped forward and opened his mouth to explain. “You are a Kolhask.” He informed me, while my classmates stared on. “A Kolhask is a very powerful, very noble magical being.” I felt bad seeing how Solie was reacting when I knew they were mistaken. I was definitely not magical. Otherwise, when James was bugging me I could zap him into a toad or something.

Jatt’s voice cut through my thoughts, “We can tell, Rosslyn of Unit 7, because when I had no weapon, you would not attack me. Only when you were under threat would you let yourself strike.” I shook my head, but when he held up his hand, I stopped. “Rosslyn, this is very important. You are coming with me, for just a couple days. Then, you will return here and help this town prepare for war.” I blinked at him. He looked dead serious. I looked at Solie, and motioned toward the school house. She gave Jatt a stare that said, do not follow, and then strode into the crumbling shed.

“I don’t want to go with him! He’s freaky!” I blurted out once we were alone. Solie gave me a shake, not hard, but evidently meant to snap me out of something. “Rose, this is not a choice! He is a great general, and he wants to help!” I shook my head, disgusted by her blindness. “He’s a creep, and I want nothing to do with him!” She rolled her eyes, a gesture I was getting a little too familiar with.

“Pull yourself together! You are here to train as a warrior, not to level up belts in a stupid class like the ones you had back home! I want you to go back out there, and tell the man who is offering you a once in a lifetime opportunity you will take it! It’s only for a couple days, and then you will be qualified to lead this district like your father would have wanted.” Solie snarled, essentially telling me I could not say no. I was going to fight her for my rights, though.

“I will tell him no! If my father wanted this so badly, why on earth did he hide it from me for 15 years? Why?” I demanded, sure my face was growing redder by the second. Solie was livid now, and making no effort to conceal it like she normally did. “You should not be here! I do not want you here; nobody values your help around here! Your fighting skills are terrible, and your cooking is abysmal! ” She informed me. “The reason I keep you here is because I made a vow to your father, and, like I said when we first met, I never break a vow, or go without paying a debt!”

Ouch. That stung, but I still wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. I had two questions that needed to be answered, and if she could answer them honestly, I would go with the creepy Jatt. “How long does my father have?” I inquired, knowing full well I wouldn’t like the answer.

“Couple more years. Tops.” She told me, making no effort to sugar coat the painful truth. I still had another question, two actually, but one I was too scared to ask. “Solie, what will I do after training with Jatt? And answer honestly, please.” Solie turned away from me, and when she spoke her voice was cold, and harsher than it should have been. “We will attack the government after gathering a large army of goblins, Tias and sorcerers. There will be no prisoners taken, and once we over throw them, our rights shall be reinstated, and men will no longer bother us.”

The one question that I had been too scared to ask came tumbling out, “Solie, before I leave, I must know- if you met my father at the government now, would you kill him?”  Solie spoke quickly, and her voice was chocked with tears. “I wonder the same thing every night.” Then, she spun around, and swept out the door, but not before I saw tears shining in her eyes.

  I took my time walking outside, and when I did, everybody was waiting for me. Jatt was gazing at Solie, and, wait, was that longing I saw in his eyes? I interrupted his evidently personal thoughts with a loud cough. He spun around and walked up to me, close, but not too close. With great effort I brought my head up, then let it drop back down to my chest. Suddenly, I was very tired. Jatt smiled, and started to walk at a brisk pace away from me. I called after him, but he just beckoned me forward.