The One True Commander [BOOK 1]

Chapter 26: Goodnight

"Welcome young Nightbloods," I greeted the children sitting on the floor in front of me. "In today's teaching, we will go over the three pillars of being a commander as you have been studying them and their meaning," I looked over to Willow, "what is the first pillar Willow?" I asked the eldest.

The girl held a confident face, "Wisdom."

I nodded my head, "yes, and what does wisdom mean?"

"Wisdom is having knowledge and good judgement," Willow answered, confident with her answer.

"Why does a commander need wisdom?" I tested the girl's memory.

"A commander needs wisdom so they can make good decisions and judge people fairly. They must always think before they act and they must know what is right from wrong," Willow presented her studies well.

I nodded, "yes, well done Willow. A commander must always think, lead with your head, but also lead with your heart protect the things you care about." I sat up in my throne, "now, what is the second pillar, Luca?"

Luca smiled proudly, "compassion, and it means to show concern for others sufferings and to show mercy."

I smiled at the Floukru boy, "yes, well done Luca. And why does a commander need to show compassion?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Because they need to show that they care about their people's welfare and punish fit to their crimes," Luca answered me perfectly.

"Prefect Lucas, I see you have been studying hard?"

"Yes, Heda," the boy nodded, smiling.

"The third and final pillar, Lexa?" I looked over to the youngest of the bunch.

Lexa's green eyes met mine, "strength." She answered enthusiastically.

"And why does a commander need strength?"

Lexa furrowed her eyebrows in deep thought, "they have to be strong fighters," she answered, a little unsure.

I smirked, I wasn't exactly expecting a perfect answer from a three year old, "yes that, but you must also be able to make tough decisions that may or may not involve sacrifice. Being a commander is not a walk in the park, it takes strength and courage to not falter and sometimes it may be hard but keep your heart strong and brave, like a true commander," Lexa and the others listened eagerly to my words.

Then Arrow piped up, "what about love is weakness? And to be commander is to be alone? Master Titus always tells us this, but I want to know what you think? Because we all love our family and it feels strange to be told otherwise." The others all nodded to his questions and looked to me for an answer.

I thought about these questions before I answered, so I could tell them in a way they would understand. I looked at the children all sat in front of me like I did before I took the throne, "the reason why people say love is weakness is so we can make decisions easier without feeling sad or sorry for them, which is ideal with being a commander. But, having love makes you stronger and although Titus and past commanders would disagree with this, love makes you fight for the things you care about more than just blind duty." All eyes were on me, listening. "And yes, it does hurt when you lose someone you love but instead of grieving, you fight in their name and pass on their legacy, it's good to have friends as a commander, people you can trust with your life. Make sense?"

The Natblidas all smiled and nodded.

"Just don't tell Titus I said that, I would never hear the end of it," I gave a small laugh.

The others erupted into laughter too.

"Yeah, does he ever smile?" Lev asked through fits of giggles.