Forged in Frost and Fire (Book 1 in the Chronicles of Kings trilogy)

Chapter Two

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

"You have everything?" I asked, watching as Tellie shoved three pairs of pants into her already overstuffed bag. Anymore clothing and I was sure it was going to pop. Normally, if she was a soldier as she had been before, she would have been supplied a uniform. But now she was of higher rank in the army and was given more leniency. They'd allow her to wear her own clothing as long as it didn't break dress code.

"I think so," Tellie muttered, limping over to her dresser and swinging open the doors. The thing creaked and groaned loudly, the thing was passed down from generations on our mothers side.

"Boots?"

"Check."

"Coat?"

"Check."

"The fact that you're dating the Lieutenant's daughter?" I asked, propping my chin onto my knees, blinking up at her through my lashes. She stopped folding a light blue overcoat and glared down at me. Her hands fisted around the fabric and she craned her head back, letting out a heavy sigh.

"No," she said with a groan. "He doesn't and Heather said he's....fine with the whole girl dating girl thing, but I don't know."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shifting over on her bed so that she could sit down next to me. She crawled onto the blanket, leaning her back against the wall like I was. She had her bad leg outstretched in front of her, the other curled up before her. The hem of her skirt had dropped, her bare thigh showing. Tellie was never one for modesty, that was one of my favorite things about her.

"I mean...I feel like everyone says they're okay with me being gay and then when they actually see me with my girlfriend they get all...awkward and uncomfortable." She sighed sharply and thunked her head against the wall.

"I'm sure he'll love you," I said, playing with a frayed piece of yarn on my dress. I was actually wearing short sleeves today. The weather was much warmer than it had been for months. Almost everyone was outside soaking up the sun. But I wasn't. No, instead I was watching my sister and one of my closest friends pack up their things to leave me for gods know how long.

"I hope so," she muttered. "I'm not exactly the most agreeable person at times." That was definitely true. But I couldn't say much better in regards to myself. Both Gellert sisters were very opinionated, we spoke of politics passionately, standing firm in what we believed in. The same could be said of womens rights and gay rights. We stood for equality, everyone who believed otherwise could go to hell.

"True, but you fight for the same cause," I said. "That will give you something to agree on."

"The fight against Lacuna," Tellie muttered, throwing her hand in the air and swirling one measly finger in the air in tiny, celebratory circles. Lacuna was the country currently at war with Rame. No one even really knew why the two were at war, just that they disagreed upon everything. Trade, treaties, taxes, anything that could be disagreed upon was disagreed upon.

"Right, the war worth fighting," I said, letting out a giggle. She snorted at the motto that the king gave our war before leaning her head against my shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered. Her smell of almonds and honey filled my noise and I sighed, letting my eyes drift closed as tears sprung to my eyes. It was better if she didn't see them. I was trying to keep myself together as much as I could today. The moment she walked out the door I'd let myself fall apart. Once she was gone I'd let the tears fall.

"I'll miss you too," I said, the fabric of her shirt was soft against my cheek. "But we can write letters, and you'll be able to visit whenever you can." When she went into the army before she hadn't been able to write more than one letter every six months, her schedule was too tricky. She had never once been permitted to visit, even during that rare occasion she had only been a mere ten miles away. But now that she had more leniency, she'd be able to get away more. The idea of a letter from Tellie or Heather was a luxury in itself.