Kismet’s Tale

    Natalya removed one of the gray gloves that went up to her sleeves to write her signature on the document. She adjusted her military cap, sweeping her hair that had grown long after two years out of the field. As she wrote the document she attracted the attention of the female officers that we're taking a peek at her.

“That’s Lady Bellatrix, isn’t she? Good lord, look at that scar on hers.”

“Goodness, it is good that it does not run across her face.”

The scar ran from the side of her right eye to the tragus of her ear. Though they call it luck because it did not affect her face. She still felt her temper rose at the thought of how these pencil-pushers could ever understand what went through her head as that bullet almost killed her. Was the appearance of her face the only thing they can think about?

“Is it done, milady?”

The lanky officer said as he slid the document to his hands. He took the document and read the front page. He took another piece of document that contained her folder. Seeing the portrait on the side of the documents. The officer coupled the two documents and stood up. Giving a palm-out salute that she then returned.

Tugging on her gray service cape that reached up to her waist. She walked out of the processing office and to the hall where she gathered the gazes of every officer that was in their booths. After all, who wouldn’t want to meet Lady Bellatrix? Natalya snorted inwardly as she got out of the office and to the open grounds. It was a medium-sized plaza paved with brick and stones, an archway made of cement surrounded the grounds with automobiles lined around the sideway.

“I should have worn my ankle boots,” Natalya lamented at her footwear.

Her service dress had become a bother. For five years she wore tight-fitted trousers that didn’t make a sound. Not that she hated the service dress. She just hoped that she could have worn something other than a skirt that reached up to her ankle. It was indeed strange. She used to like such long-skirted attires and yet she seems to have become fond of such lower garments lately. Then again, crawling like a worm throughout the fields had made her reluctant to part against such comfortable articles of clothing.

An automobile with big round headlights parked in front of her. She took the backseat and rested her back on the seat while the automobile started to move forward. The driver twisted a switch on the driving compartment. What came out of this strange box was music. Unable to suppress her curiosity, she turned to the driver who caught her eye on the mirror.

“What is that?”

“A radio, madam.”

“Is it installed in that compartment?”

“Yes, it has been installed in some of these automobiles. Though I believe that not most can afford automobiles with a radio.”

“It seems that our military has a lot of fortune left. Hmm, oh, you have those compact cameras as well?”

“Ah, other than caring for our soldiers, milady. I was also asked to take a photograph of the city and among other things.”

The pocket camera was popular among the middle-classed soldiers who wanted to film their experiences. She had used such apparatus and she even had one stored in her belt pocket. The lens panel pulls out on a pair of lazy-tongs struts, fitted with speedball-bearing shutters, and a meniscus lens. It was the perfect tool for someone like her who had done reconnaissance missions.

  Most of the time she had taken photographs of maps and documents. The same thing had happened when she was in the city of Licea that was occupied by the Athesian Forces when they had decided to do a thunderous assault that led to the capture of Licea. She had managed to sneak in by dressing in middle-class clothes, strutting around like a bratty lass before claiming a nurse’s outfit. No one had stopped her from roaming around the military camps with her uniform and it wasn’t so unusual for someone to take a picture, especially coming from a nurse.

With her interest fulfilled, she adjusted the eyepatch that was covering her right eye. Though she was not exactly blind in the right eye. The gunshot wound had made her right eye see sharper shapes. She had it checked, but unfortunately, the doctors had not been able to figure out why her right vision had become sharper and the lines much clearer. Though it becomes quite a blessing when looking through a magnified scope. While she was in civilian clothes it was a bother. To soothe this problem she had decided on wearing a leather eyepatch with a strap that slightly covers her scar.

As much as she liked shooting a rifle as a hobby. Natalya was not fond of the scar. What kind of woman would like a clear scar on her head? Though it was not bothersome to ruin her beauty. It troubled her to the point of wanting to use makeup to cover her scar when she’s in a formal party. Despite being a daughter heiress of the Grand Duchy of Wilde, the first daughter. She had rushed to the field and created death. Her father had called foolish and a buffoon. But hearing the news of her daughter being called the ‘Lady Bellatrix’ had changed his father’s tone.

With the war coming to an impasse, and the two years of negotiation stalled. Most of the small countries in the East had stayed away from the politics of the West. The Mid-Eastern Continent, watching from the sidelines, while the Far-Eastern was too busy industrializing to send their infantry. Those who joined the war to help the Alliance, halfway through the war, had backed off after witnessing the Athesian Empire send enough troops to defend the borders in the land bridge of the continent. They acted like they didn’t join the war in the first place.

Despite all the death that had happened. They only got out of the war once they realized the death toll was enough to make them realize that it was enough. Not because any of the countries capitulated, but because the butchery had forced everyone to stand down, lest they want all of the young men of the Empire and the Allied nations to be emptied of good young men.

Her service automobile arrived at the Station of Morna. She had not returned home to her family after she had realized that in the letters they had developed a tendency to lick her boot. They had expected the daughter to cry home within three days. But with achievements and a copy of her dossier sent to her family, they should understand what her role was in the war and how she contributed. Natalya found herself smiling at the thought of her good father reading that dossier of hers.

Natalya didn’t stand for a long time in front of the station. Walking into the station and presenting her ticket. She boarded the first-class carriage that would soon take her to the City-state of Flost where she would attend the treaty along with the soldiers from the tripartite alliance. The alliance of the Kingdom of Norad, the Republic of Frans, and the Federation of Helion have been trying to provoke the Old Empire into a fall.

Her family had been part of the 108th nobles of the Athesian Empire once, but after the split with the old Empire. They had become allies with the Frans who had allowed them to keep the name of the Grand Duchy of Wilde and its power and have become steadfast friends of the Republic of Frans. But there was a reason that the Empire of Athesia remained standing. Despite the overbearing 108 nobles that have become the limbs and organs of the Athesian Empire. Under the rule of Emperor Zander of Athesia, they were able to endure the alliance and withstood the soldiers pouring in from all sides.

Five years of battle with a little help from foreign nations. They couldn’t even penetrate the Impassable Terrains of Lazon who were guarded with artillery emplacements and vantage points filled with machineguns and snipers who are always on standby. Not to mention that deep within Lazon was the industrial state of Omevia, the land owned by Count Derrick and Elma Tomas who have been protecting the lands. With the leadership of those two, and the borders being guarded by Logain Strom. Lazon remained defended for five years from the enemy force. The borders facing the three alliances were defended by the Grand Marshall of the Empire, Lorenz of House Anastasia, and Grand Duke Sevor of House Shina.

Instead of being placed in a defensive state. The Emperor of Athesia opted for General Harlow Rollo to lead the Noble Houses into a thunder strike war that led to the 108th Noble Legions to capture enemy territories. But even though the Empire had been defending and attacking well. The casualties that started to pile up as the war continued became a staggering amount that not even they could stomach. The old ways of fighting were dead, however, it didn’t mean that the nobles of the Empire have become dull. Arrogant they may be, they were still able to realize that the ways of the old world would not work, leading them to innovate their defenses and procure deadly weapons, securing the borders of the Empire and their fiefs.

But not even the nobles could keep up with the demand of war. Both natural and human resources became too precious after pouring the economy of the Empire into developing weapons and the creation of weapons. Though the breadbaskets of the Empire allowed the Empire a continued supply. They had determined that after five years it was time to stop.

Then again, they waited for two years for the 108th nobles of the Empire who argued and demanded about the lands that they have conquered. With both sides unable to decide, it took so long for them to finally come to a slight agreement.

She had little interest in the geopolitics of Magnar-Azia. She was coming to Flost for the reason that the Republic had wanted their ‘Lady Bellatrix’ to be part of the retinue of sharpshooters who would be present while the treaty is signed. Though she does admit that she hopes that in the treaty they would ‘desire’ to know who shot Alfred Silheid, the Field Marshal of the Republic of Frans, and the sworn friend of the King of Norad.

Alfred Silheid was an old but brilliant man who had led the alliances to victory. However, his life ended with a single shot of a bullet on the chest. No one knew anything other than the bullet that shot and killed Field Marshall came from a Kaiser 98 rifle that was heavily used by the common infantryman of the Empire. The five-round stripper clip rifle with a small-bore has killed the Field Marshall with an 8mm bullet that lodged in the heart of the Field Marshall.

The autopsy had revealed that it was fired from the maximum range of the rifle, which was 2000 yards which meant that it was not a stray bullet. It came from a sharpshooter who had the Field Marshall on the scope. Some believed that it was the Ghost of Dinia who had done it.

In the field, he was simply called the Ghost. He first appeared in Dinia, where the field marshal was. If she was right then the Ghost of Dinia that had been active in the war fought until the fifth year.

Natalya had been crawling through thick mud, hiding in grasses, and picked off any soldiers who had come here. She was also deployed by her superior officers for reconnaissance and as a counter-sniper for the Ghost who had been sniping her fellow soldiers from a distance. In the war, she had lost clubmates who had been part of the shooting club in the Duchy. She could not call them her close friends, but it infuriated her that they were simply killed while she lived. Throughout the war, she had been proud of her achievements, and her rise in the ranks because of her aptitude in shooting down enemy soldiers from a distance. Nevertheless, come face to face with the Ghost who had been hunting down enemy soldiers without being seen. She felt like she had found someone who could outshoot her. Though they had tried to kill one another while hiding behind cover, it was only in the last year of the war, in the cold mountains of Matay that the Ghost had almost shot her in the eye if she hadn’t leaned her head when her scope burst.

The Ghost had bruised and humbled her ego. That inflated pride of hers was wounded and because of that, she believed that only the Ghost could kill Alfred Silheid in such distance. Natalya wholeheartedly has confidence that there was only one person responsible for the scar on the right side of her face. If the Ghost of Dinia would come to the treaty of Flost, then she would like to meet the man who had scarred her.

 

---

 

In her cabin, she removed her gray gloves. She took off her service dress and cape and sat comfortably while leaning her back near the window panel. It was neither cold nor hot, but she had decided to take off her brassiere for comfort. Alone in her sleeping cabin, she didn’t have to look like the cold-hearted woman that they asked for. She had lived long enough crawling through mud, dirt, and stabbing enemies with her saber-bayonet to care about how she was seen. Nevertheless, she had to ‘worry’ about the social life that she still had. Lately, she found it hard to think of anyone who might understand her other than Rosa, who she recalled served in a rather peaceful idyllic town. Though it was ‘peaceful’ it didn’t mean that Rosa hadn’t seen her fair share of battle.

Rosa Dolina was part of her shooting club and one of the few friends who she had left after the war. Rosa, like her, had earned her badge and marksman certificate even before the war. Though she had the heart of a saint and worked as a nurse for her homeland. She did not shy away from shooting enemy soldiers who came rushing at them.

Unlike her who spent her days in the front of the battle. Rosa was an angel armed with a scoped rifle who guarded the medical stations when there was no one around. Lady Bellatrix and Lady Angelus. Both of them had few expectations when they came to this war. The war was meant for men. That’s what everyone thought. Nevertheless, it only meant for them that they must work as hard as the men.

She did not understand why those other men felt ‘degraded’ that they were treated this way when in war good men die by the dozens, while those same women associations and circles back home could only do nothing but cry for their men to go back home. 

Even those women who had labored in those dingy workshops had more respect than those who protested in their clean dresses in front of the government offices, still lavishly showing their wealth, thinking that they had a right to say anything while most of them were fighting in their ways.

Natalya took out a necklace with a bullet casing attached to it. On the side of the casing the words ‘May your aim be swift, soldier!

’ were written around the casing. A smile naturally appeared on her lips at the sight of those words. She had not noticed these words until she fired the shot that saved her life from a rifleman trying to stab a bayonet on her chest. If it was not for this single cartridge, she would have not made it out of that situation. She had kept this cartridge as her lucky charm since then. It probably came from one of those workshops tended to by hardworking women to support the war effort by manufacturing them by a dozen.

It was obvious which side she was on when it comes to who she favors the most. She had even dared to call her ‘dear father’ in hopes that he could spend a fortune on aiding these workshops and factories for saving his dear daughter’s life. She had not heard his reply, but she was confident that her ‘dear father’ would send out a fortune or two to aid those workshops.

Not to mention that despite the two years that had passed. Natalya, like every soldier who had gone to war, was not confident that the treaty of Flost would go smoothly. So she thought that it was good that they would spend resources on those workshops.

The Treaty that would be done in Flost is going to be composed of the most stubborn military men of the Magnar-Azia Continent.

Even the Crown Prince of the Athesian Empire, Arno of Athesia, had come to this treaty in good faith, hoping to settle this and let wounds heal. 

This means that in the city-state of the Flost, outside of their Capital there should be armies ready to stir up trouble if the situation demands it.

It was a boiling pot. A pot that required only one ingredient called chaos to combust. The treaty itself was fragile from the start. Even during this ‘treaty’ the casus belli that three nations had against the Empire was made from a self-righteous argument that ‘people of the old world’ should be free from the old ways of the world and be enlightened. In the eyes of the Empire, it was an insult to their way of life and had pointed out their greed for land motivated by revenge. They were not wrong in this regard. After all, who would want to believe in such a flimsy excuse when one of their allies is a Kingdom?

Now that the Empire had repulsed their enemies. What right do they have to stay seated at the same table? Natalya had traveled back and forth from her home to the Empire to attend formal parties and balls before. The Empire had always been proud of their home and their culture. The 108th nobles of the Empire had always believed that it was their God-given right to rule the lands blessed by the Athesian Sun. Even without the war, it would be hard for them to sit on the same seat as the traitors who had seceded from the Empire. They held the belief that the lands of the Empire should be returned to their rightful owners.

If the Empire hadn't lost a lot of young men in the fight against the allied nations. They would surely have decided to be bull-headed against the signing of this treaty. She believed that they wouldn’t even entertain it. How dare they think they could stand as equal as the Empire?

The horn of the train sounded as it slowly came to a halt. Natalya released the curtain to cover her sleeping cabin. She waited until the train started to move to uncover the window again. Finding herself unable to sleep. She got out of her bed and sat in front of the table attached to the side facing the window. She pulled her luggage and took out her 22cm pistol. It was a toggle-locked & recoil-operated semi-auto pistol with an 8-round detachable magazine. She had wanted the custom rifle she lovingly named ‘Ziba’ to be with her. Unfortunately, she had it shipped to a customs office in Flost instead. She didn’t have much to do until Flost so she might as well check on her equipment. She only had six box magazines to go with her pistol. It didn’t need much other than a few cleaning. She had learned the hard way to never miss on her weapon maintenance. And to never own a broom handle pistol ever again.

 

---

 

A silver glint entered the room. She found herself staring at the landscape that the train passes by. A foreign land that she had never stepped on. Most of them went to war with this glorious dream of being honored by everyone by the end of it. Those who thought so had been buried six feet in the dirt. In their heads, they wanted to go out into this vast world that they barely know.

The Magnar-Azia continent was a large place with many nations sitting on land of prairies and plains. The Athesian Empire sits in the middle of the three nations. It was a nation that owns about a total of 4000 miles of land. Its Capital was the City-state of Arkadia, the place where the Imperial Palace resides alongside the Academy of Arkadia, the Academy that had produced many talents in the field. With the Athesian Empire sitting on fertile plains, it is also the most populous place on the continent.

 Northwest of the Athesian Empire, north of the Lazon Regions (which is west of the Empire), was the Republic of Frans, having over 1500 miles of land. Pydontiria, the Capital of the Republic was home to the Octagon Halls, the seat of the Republic. Most of its lands are composed of savannas, grasslands, and low-lying wetlands.

Northeast of the Empire, touching the borders, was the Hellion Federation. Their Capital was Dovioum, the heart of the Federation, where the Florum Lake could be found. The City-state of Flost is located north of the Empire which had become the location that three nations would meet. Occupying 1285 miles of land, which is made out of plains, tundra, and dales.

Further northeast of the Capital of the Hellion Federation, was the Kingdom of Norad, the home of the long-standing Kingdom that had resisted the influence of the Empire ever since the Empire was founded. Inhabiting more than 2000 miles of land composed of foothills, valleys, and plateaus. The Kingdom of Norad is where you could find the Camrid Volcano, an active volcano located in the Camrid Region. 9538 feet tall, it was the natural weapon of the Noradians.

Other than the Camrid Volcano. In the Capital City of Klas where the King of the Noradians rules, east of the city was the natural land bridge of Shantel that connects the Magnar-Azia Archipelago to the Turian Continent. That ‘land bridge’ was one of the reasons that they were able to connect to the bigger world outside of the Magnar-Azia Archipelago and got the help of foreign nations who were willing to aid their ‘righteous’ cause.

Further East of the World was the Free Nations of Champier and the Far-Eastern Islands of Egnia.

The world was vast and seemingly endless, that the moment Natalya knew of this vast world. She could not help but feel so small. Her home, the Grand Duchy of Wilde, was merely on the corner of the world, where you would witness rows of high mountains separating the Grand Duchy to the northern ices.

That fascination that she had lost because of the maps she saw that day hurt her more than she thought it would. It was like a dream of a child being ruthlessly crushed and demeaned by the truths of reality. Of course, just because she saw the view that was mapped by cartographers using those monoplanes that have been flying about ever since their invention, doesn’t mean she knew everything there is to see in the world.

Not to mention that she didn’t know what the other three continents looked like. She had not left the Magnar-Azia Continent. And if there comes a day where the continent no longer needs to kill one another. Natalya wondered if she could be one of the first people who would travel to the Turian Continent, watch the arid deserts, the oasis, and see a whole new world.

She barely met their foreign allies and her fascination with them had tempted her more than enough while in the field. How could she not be curious about the world outside of her home?

 Resting her head on the table, pressing her left ear on the flat of it. She played with the bullet casing that was resting on her neck. The smell of smokeless powder was still on the casing. On nights like this, most would go for a cigarette and appreciate the dots of light that formed a milky glow in the sky.

But she was not the type to religiously smoke. Especially when she relied on her stamina and breathing to compete with others. If this was the old world of before, then she would have probably not had the guts to step on the battlefield. With a gun, she felt that all were equal, and with a gun even women like her were able to fight as well.

It was the greatest equalizer known to mankind. Even young boys could kill the giant animals of Lazon with a good rifle aimed at the right spot. Nevertheless, all were equal in front of a gun’s barrel. She had seen brave women die without even being able to boast about their shooting skills. She saw farmer’s wives pointing their rifles in front of the door, hoping that her children would be spared. Angry women who gathered, with arms linked, to protect their village while the young men of their homes went to war.

Not even a cigarette could take away what she had seen in the field. At this moment she wished that she had stopped to buy some booze before coming to the train.

“The recoil,” she muttered while playing with the bullet casing. “All I felt was the recoil of my rifle, mum.”

Natalya felt the need to vocalize herself for some.

 She stared at the sky while the scenery passed by and stared with one eye.

 

---

 

The train she boarded traveled the first 200 miles within five hours. By the time the first light of dawn peeked through the mountains of Matanz, the train had traveled another 232 miles to reach the Capital of Sudugar. Almost ten hours on the train made her wobbly and unsteady. What she hated the most was the sudden whistles of a steam locomotive train. She could never get used to the whistle no matter what.

The train stopped early in the morning in the station of Sudugar. With the steam locomotive train stopping in the water station to replenish the coal-cars of the train.

She found out that other than the soldiers from the republic, there were several officers from the Empire boarding the train. With most of the Republic of Frans soldiers occupying the front of the train. There were only a few who could afford the first-class cabins located in the front. Who would want to go in the front and be bothered?

Not daring to be seen unguarded and ill-dressed. She wore her service dress, wrapped the ammunition belt and holster around her waist. Inserting the six magazines on the pouches, she checked her 22cm pistol and holstered it. Wearing her waist-length service cape to cover her pistol. She got out of her cabin and headed to the dining car for a meal. The dining car was utterly empty. She sat in the first booth and found herself ordering a plate of hot dishes.

As she ate her plate of ham and eggs. She spotted someone entering the dining car with a fellow soldier of his. Judging by the field gray service dress that they wore, she had assumed by the Symbol of the Aquila surrounded by the Sun’s Corona that they were from Athesia. The other soldier was using a prosthetic leg. The one assisting the soldier seemed to be an officer of the Empire.

“To think that they have cars like this,” said the disabled soldier, his eyes wandering until it landed on Natalya. First, it was a blush, then a hint of scorn at the sight of her service dress.

“These seem to be occupied by the Frans, brother.”

The other man turned his attention to Natalya. Blue-gray eyes, dark hair with a reddish tinge, the man stopped for a second. Scrutinizing her face as if trying to figure where he had seen her. Eventually, his eyes pointed to the scar on the right side of her face. Shaking his head, he smiled amiably and thumped the shoulder of his fellow soldier.

“Come on, brother. Are you going to abandon your need for food just because someone is here other than us?” he said to him, then turned to Natalya again. “Forgive us, ma’am, my friend here must have been hungry. You know how it is, soldiers can get grumpy when they can’t eat. Come on now, just sit down and wait for your food.”

The soldier took a seat as if he could not resist the nagging of the man. The soldier walked to the attendant of the dining car to order food. As the attendant went inside the galley of the train. The man turned his attention to Natalya with a rather apologetic face.

“Forgive him, he’s just grumpy with how things are. He didn’t mean any offense.”

“I am used to it,” Natalya said, stabbing her fork in one of the hams. “Most of you Imperial dog-, I mean soldiers, have quite a dislike for the Allied Nations.”

He chuckled. “True, I can’t deny that, Ma’am. But what do you expect after the bloody war? Nonetheless, I implore you to forget about this behavior. I think one look is good enough to understand what state he is in.”

Natalya glared at him. “You don’t seem to mind me.”

“Why should I?” he cupped his chin.

“Do I look like a man to you?”

“And?”

Natalya felt her brow raised.

“Pardon me, ma’am. But it’s not that hard to see that you are quite a soldier yourself. No one can have a scar like that and say she hasn’t gone to war. Besides, the war’s been over, no reason to hurt one another at this time.”

“Oh,” Natalya chewed on her ham and swallowed. She didn’t know what to say.

The man smiled and left her alone. The soldier that he was with began to ask what they were talking about. Though the other soldier looked perpetually annoyed, the officer didn’t mind. He was like a warm hearth while the other was a wind of negativity barely being able to muster the strength to faze him. She could not but eavesdrop on them.

“Goodness, mate, you still have two arms. Tell me, does being Amanuensis need to have two legs to work?”

“No.”

“There you have it, sometimes you have to look at it brightly, mate. Besides, it’s not like you’d be lacking a job if you need one. With skills like yours, you could probably get accepted to any business. At best, you could enjoy becoming a pencil-pushing bastard.”

The man scratched his head as if he didn’t know what to say at that. He ate his food and leaned back on his seat. “Man, you must be the noisiest bastard that I have ever met.”’

“I take that as a compliment.”

Natalya noticed that she had no food left on her plate. Looking away, she looked at the scenery and had the attendant take her plates. She stayed in the dining car for a few minutes before returning to her cabin.

---

 

She waited for six hours for the train to cover another 200-mile trip. It would have been faster if the train didn’t take time to stop in a water station. By the time the train arrived at its destination, it was afternoon.

Taking her luggage with her, she took a step out of the station and found herself standing on a stone-floored station. With the soldiers pouring out of the train, as well as passengers. She didn’t dally and found the lobby of the station where she kindly waited for the person who she had been waiting for. Among the crowd, she spotted a woman with red hair and emerald-colored eyes. She was tall and she wore the same service dress with the exception that her mantle had the sign of a cross wrapped with rose thorns printed on it.

“Well I’ll be if it isn’t Lady Bellatrix,” she said with a rather smoky voice. “I’ve not seen you since, when was it? Three Years? Ah, so it looks like the rumors are true, that the Flower of Wilde had been scarred.”

“Rosa Dolina,” she entered Rosa’s circle and wrapped her arms around her waist. “My friend, I have missed you. As usual, you still have a wonderful voice.”

Rosa returned her embrace. “It is a shame that there are a few of us who have returned,” she got teary. “Nevertheless, it is good to see that the club remains. How was the trip?”

Natalya looked back, scanning the crowd of soldiers and civilians. “It was surprisingly pleasant.”

“Do I spy a smile on the face of lady death itself?”

“Perish the thought, Rosa. How can I not be happy? Importantly, where is my Ziba?”

Rosa threw her hands helplessly. “Of course,” she shook her head. “Don’t worry, you can rest easy, your Ziba has safely arrived. I had also procured some parts of it.”

Natalya folded her arms. “Did you change any parts of my rifle by chance?”

“Of course not, I brought the parts, but I didn’t change it. Hmph, look at you, it’s not like I am trying to steal yours.”

Natalya firmly shook her head, wagging her finger.

“There are many rifles in the world, my best friend. But that rifle is mine alone. I have been with that rifle for ten whole years, and you think that I am just going to abandon my Ziba for any lesser one?”

Rosa rolled her eyes twice over. “I have almost forgotten why you were part of the shooting club, Taly,” she said, then she lifted her lips again. “It’s really good to see you, friend. I still remember the day I heard you got shot. I thought that I would have lost another friend.”

Natalya patted her shoulder. “You’re not going to be sad about them, right?”

“Of course not,” she shook her head. “The moment the club decided to go to war. We were determined to fight for the Duchy and show our abilities. Though only 85 of us had returned home out of the two hundred that volunteered to go to war. I still believe that no matter what they say. Our brothers and sisters of the shooting club did their duty for the Grand Duchy with steadfast resolve. Still, there are days where I think of what would have happened if we didn’t.”

“Enough about that,” Natalya chose to change the topic. “If we keep on clinging to the what-ifs, then it would dishonor the hearts they gave for the cause. They came to the war knowing full well that some of them would never return. Do you know what it’s like right now in the Duchy? Our shooting club has become popular and many of the people would come to our lodge in Monte to honor the fallen.”

“Do you not feel sad?”

Natalya started. “I am not made of stone, Rosa. I was one of the many who said that we should go. Right now other than you and me. Only Mila and Rene are the ones who are handling the business of the lodge. They said on the telephone that we’re getting many applicants, mostly soldiers, but it does feel odd that our numbers would instead increase after the war had ended. It was one of our dreams for our club in Monte to become one of the best. With my name and yours in the paper perpetually, how could our club not become popular?” Natalya gave a sullen stare. “But that popularity came with a bloody price that I would have rather not paid.”

They were foolish and young dreamers who dreamt of honor in war. What they found instead was the cruel reality that those dreams of a glorious victory were nothing more than just dreams in front of artillery and gunfire. If she was asked to pay that price again, she would certainly and undoubtedly only answer ‘no’.

“I hope the treaty goes well,” Rosa said, tugging on her service cape.

“I’ll make sure that it will. That reminds me, is it true that a Holmian Ambassador is going to act as the neutral party?”

“Yes, there was a long-range monoplane that landed on Raugar two days ago. I believe it was one of those flying boats that carried them.”

“Holmia, that’s quite the distance.”

“Well, they were the only ones who were willing to cooperate with the three nations after the war. Most of the nations in Turia are hesitant to cooperate with us.”

“I see. Any other trouble?”

“Royalist's dogs,” Rosa snorted. “They’ve been spotted skulking around the city.”

“Do you think the Empire is helping them?”

“Who knows? Outside of the city, three armies are raring to fight it out if any of their ambassadors are sent. Why do you think that they needed every marksman in the republic to come here? If anything does happen then it’s going to be another headache for us.”

 “Are you carrying anything?”

“Other than my 9mm? I left my rifle in my temporary office in Upper Town. Your ‘Ziba’ is in my office so don’t worry, you’ll have it in your hands before long.”

“Good, I can’t wait to get out of this dress as well.”

Rosa stopped. “I hope that you would have no reason to shoot that rifle of yours, Taly.”

“I hope so too,” Natalya nodded.

She felt her scar itch as she exited the train station with Rosa and boarded their automobile service. Natalya had not felt this feeling ever since she took a first step in the field. Two years may have passed since the war ended, but she was still as ready as the day she started her fight. But right now, the only thing inside her mind was to get her beloved rifle back on her hands. After that, she'll have to think of what to do when the times come for the assembly to start.