Stars of Autumn

Chapter Six

It was close to 2300 and Osprey was faced with a soldier pointing a gun at her head. This soldier just so happened to be the same guy she was attracted to, Apollo. She had to get Cypress out of here. She tensed, taking a deep breath before grabbing the gun and twisting it out of his hold, attempting to kick him away before being flipped to the ground, Apollo had a firm grip on her ankle, yet again a gun pointed at her head,

"You should have remembered higher ranking officers carry 2 pistols. Your lack of observation has cost you and your friend-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Cyprus and Delta were already at the surface of the water, far out of reach. He slammed her to the ground, a bit astonished,

"You sacrificed your only chance of escaping for them... it's almost admirable," he mused. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to report you to the king." He cuffed her, walking her back to Caiman.

She cursed under her breath, sighing. She knew this couldn't end in any good way. As they neared the gates, she felt the cuffs fall off. Apollo whispered, "Go meet up with your friends," and walked away.

She ran and hugged him tightly, kissing him before joining up with Cyprus and Delta, "I always wanted to do that..."

Cyprus sighed, "You literally chose the worst time to do that, you know we're not allowed to go back right?"

She shrugged, "I have a feeling we'll be seeing him soon enough, you don't just betray the king like that without intention."

Delta smirked at her. "Probably because he likes you~," she said in a sing-song voice.

Osprey huffed, her cheeks turning a rosy pink, "I-I doubt that would be the reason he comes back."

Delta let out a hearty laugh, ruffling Osprey's hair, "Aww, is the princess flustered~?"

Osprey pushed her hand away, her cheeks growing even more pink. "Shouldn't we be going?"

Cyprus nodded. "This way."

Soon they arrived at a small camp, Osprey kept her head up despite all the stares she was getting, Delta handed her some supplies, "Put up your tent and come to me when you finish so I can inspect it"

Osprey shrugged, putting up a tent could only be but so hard to pass inspection, after a while her tent was set up, Delta came by for inspection.

"Tell, is that any good way to put up a tent?" she raised an eyebrow.

Osprey shrugged, "I think it's alright, it's the methods we used whenever camping out in the fields."

Delta laughed, "Oh please, that's pathetic. Do it again and look around, try to mimic the other tents this time," she turned on her heel and left.

Osprey was about to say something snarky before taking the tent down and doing as she was told, doing her best to replicate the other tents. Yet again Delta came by for inspection, immediately giving her the same instructions. The other soldiers watched and shook their heads, whispering amongst themselves. Osprey started to get frustrated. This cycle repeated time and time again and soon it was sundown.

Delta walked up and sighed, "You've always been so stubborn, have you not realized it yet?"

Osprey was beyond confused, she shook her head.

Delta sighed, "I never said you couldn't ask for help, you need to swallow your pride and ask for help when you need it. Now go on, ask someone, we don't have all night."

She nodded and went to ask one of the soldiers for help, soon her tent passed inspection and she sighed in relief. It was now meal time, all the soldiers gathered around the fire and started telling stories about before they left, about their family. Osprey didn't join in, just ate quietly and sat far from the group. There was still one thing on their mind.

Why did Apollo help her?