The Crow and The Rabbit

They waited at the top of the ridge, crouching down, weapons in hand. Fulk was at Taradira's side, Thoms keeping watch on the enemy camp with instructions to sound the alarm only when the enemy showed a hand on that side. Taradira's mistake left the Ettsgras army outnumbered and out-positioned, but they retained an element of surprise.

"They're getting closer." Fulk whispered unnecessarily. Taradira could seem. A mixture of light cavalry and infantry, getting close to the bottom of the rise, not yet in the light of the large torches.

"We will see if they have the coordination to attack our front first. Hitting us where we expect would draw our attention there, making this attack more effective, but any signal would be visible to us as well."

The force below suddenly rushed forward. Taradira held her sword out to her side, blocking the men next to her from moving. "Let them come all the way to us." She said, just loud enough for them to hear. The word was passed along the line. Taking a guess, she placed one third of her army at the rear of the ridge to meet this charge, checking with Thoms and Fulk for their opinions first.

A single spearman crested the rise first, shock on his face as he saw the line of troops waiting for him. An arrow pierced his face before he could yell, sending the man falling back.

Taradira charged forward, yelling, swinging her sword at a horseman. The enemy's ambush fell into chaos, shouts of alarm and screams of pain mingling. Three more enemies fell before her blade before they properly formed a defensive line.

Then a horn sounded behind her. Fighting on the front line - Taradira's army was surrounded.

She laughed before rushing forward, swinging. Blades slid off her armor, metal uselessly scratching metal. She paused only to grab a shield off a body, protecting her left side as she continued to push forward. A moment later, the wood shattered, bashed by a hammer.

General Camus swung her weapon again, but this time Taradira stepped back, avoiding the blow. Her imperial counterpart held a double-sided axe, the back end blunted, perfect for ruining heavy armor. A smile spread across her face as she came to her full height, staring down the smaller woman.

Camus frowned up at her, then took two steps back, watching warily. Taradira waited, glancing around quickly. The battle raged, their armies clashing, yet none of the men moved to interrupt the two generals.

Camus spun, her hands on the very end of her weapon, swinging the head in a large arc before letting go, launching the weapon at Taradira. The speed of the attack caught her off guard, barely bringing up an arm to intercept. The large weapon bounced off, but the impact snapped her hand back, twisting her arm painfully.

In that moment of distraction, Camus vanished. Her troops started pulling back, disengaging from battle. Growling in frustration, Taradira stopped herself from giving the order to pursue. The earlier mistake put them in this situation, and making another could be costly. Staying put was safe, but moving forward could lead her troops into a trap.

"Hold!" She called out, turning and picking up Camus' weapon, feeling the weight of it. She'd have to return it to its rightful owner.

Ferene stood at the landing of the tower, between the two doors, each with their guards. Each barred.

The emperor claimed the two could leave whenever they wanted, yet they were still imprisoned like this. She stepped towards the door to the male's room. "Let me see him." She said to the guard, who bowed wordlessly and lifted the bar, allowing Ferene inside.

The room's inhabitant glanced at her, then back at the book in his hand. "You again. What do you want?"

Elhaten's words were still in her mind, but there were more questions there. "My name is Ferene. What's yours?" She started with.

"Sahlaren." He did not look up.

Ferene stood still, not stepping further into the room, not invading his territory. "The emperor tells me you can leave whenever you want."

"I'm not going to."

"Why are you locked in here, with an armed guard at your door?"

Finally lowering his book, Sahlaren glared at her in annoyance. "Because one of the previous emperors wrote down that we must be guarded, and there are rules about how long a law has to stand before a new emperor can remove it. So, I am locked in here, but if I simply ask, I will be let out. I won't ask. Now go away."

That only raised more questions, but Ferene pushed forward with the one she came here with. "The human women. Tell me what happened."

Sahlaren stood up, walking over to Ferene, eyes filled with rage. Nearly as tall as Sathar, he towered over her. "Do not make me relive that time."

Ferene didn't move, didn't show him any reaction. "I need to know."

"Why?"

"Justice."

He laughed in her face. "There is no justice in this world. You want to know? Truly want to know? They brought Lisha to me. I did not know why, but I was hopeful. They would let us be together. The way she looked at me told me what was happening to her. I moved to her, and we held each other, kissed each other. They barely gave us five minutes before they pulled us apart. They took her away, and brought in the girls."

"The girls did not want to be there." Ferene said.

"Of course they didn't. They were servants. Men with swords stood behind them, and the first one was pushed forward, towards me. She was trembling in fear as she stripped."

Ferene fought to keep her expression neutral. "What did you do?"

"What do you think I did? I refused. I told them I wouldn't do it. The urge, the desire was there, but it wasn't going to make me do something like that."

"What happened next?"

"They threatened the girls again. The same threat, even. They could not harm me, but they told me that if I didn't do what they wanted, they would kill the girl."

"And?" Ferene kept her eyes on him, even as he looked away from her.

"I asked her what she wanted. She told me she wanted to live. So we both did what they wanted. I did it again and again. To save them. I hated it, they hated it. You want justice? The guards who stood there, ready to kill the girls, they are all long dead. The man who gave the order is long dead. Even the girls are long dead. Are you here to pass judgment on me?"

Ferene stared at him, considering. "Did Elhaten lie to me, or was he lied to?"

"The only thing I know is that he hates me."

Ferene nodded and moved on. "Why won't you leave?"

Taking a deep breath, Sahlaren sat down in his chair. "Lisha will not leave her room. If she is not leaving her room, I will not leave mine. Whatever her fate is, mine shall be the same."

Ferene turned and walked out.

As Taradira's army marched back to Barakin, they encountered an advancing force - the reinforcements from Naymoor. There was someone else in their number - a hatharen, standing tall, his bare yellow hair easily visible in the sea of helmets.

She gave directions to the lieutenant in charge of Arnov's men - dividing the squads into the other divisions, under Fulk, Thoms, and her own commands. Then she moved forward, her eyes meeting with the Hatharen's.

"Why did you demand I come all the way out here? I was in the middle of-"

"Shut up." She snapped. "You've been in the middle of your work for years. You're going to do some work for me, so I can win this war."

Selveren sighed. "Why?" He asked, looking at her blankly. It was not that he was unintimidated, it was that he didn't understand she was intimidating to begin with. Fully armored, towering over even him, he just watched her.

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"After this, I'm going north. I know what to do."

She heard Thoms shift at her side. He didn't know what she was talking about, but would assume she meant Olentor and Wellent. He'd learn her true intentions eventually.

"Too risky now. Let me-"

"Bring this war to a close, and I'll let you do whatever you want with my body for a week."

He stopped, his eye going wide. Taradira heard Thoms cough, loudly. "A month." Selveren proposed.

"Two weeks."

"Three."

"Two, Selveren. I have plans."

"I'll need some things."

She dismissed his complaint with a wave of her hand. "Send for them. We get supplies regularly. Ask for whatever you need now."

He nodded. "Show me where your medics are, and I'll get to work."

As he walked off, Taradira turned, seeing Thoms looking up at her, concern on his face. "Who was that?"

"The best doctor there is. The third of the three I sent for, and the most useful."

"You offered him-"

"My body. He wants to experiment on me."

His frown deepened. "If he wants a body, he can have mine. You shouldn't have to risk-"

She interrupted him again, sharply. "Thoms. This is a hatharen matter. He wants me, a female. There are very few substitutes in the human lands, even less of which would subject themselves to his eccentricities. I know what I am doing, as much as I do not look forward to it. I will be fine."

With a stiff nod, he ended his objections.

Lisha sat upright on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall. Only a minor difference from last time. Getting no reaction from entering the room, Ferene walked around to stand in front of her, crouching down to put her eyes level with Lisha's.

"You can leave whenever you want." Her words didn't provoke a response, the woman staring past Ferene. "Sahlaren will go with you." Still nothing. "I can't understand what you feel after what happened, but do you really want to stay here? Why not go back to your stronghold?"

Something she said got a response, but only a small one. Lisha averted her eyes, looking away from Ferene.

Of course, it might be better to be here than to be in the north. Ferene considered, before the realization came to her.

"There is somewhere else. Away from the strongholds, a secret place for Hatharen to live without fighting. They could take you in, protect you. You wouldn't have to fight."

"Stop it." The absent, far-away look vanished, and Lisha met Ferene's gaze, her expression angry. "Just stop. I don't want your pity."

The transformation was so drastic Ferene found herself standing up, Lisha's eyes following her. The woman in front of her was not a victim. "What happened to you, back then?"

"They brought a man to my room. Young, handsome, finely dressed. A noble, or someone important. Someone who wanted to have me. I told him no. I wanted Sahlaren. I demanded to be put back with him, and that no human could take his place. There were armed guards, but I was not afraid of them."

Ferene nodded. "They threatened you."

"The guard in charge pulled a young girl out of a line. Sahlaren's offerings, I can assume. He told me he would kill her if I didn't mate with the man. Do you know what I did?"

Things were starting to come together. What Ferene didn't understand was why. "You refused."

"I told him he wasn't going to kill one of his own people. I said it was an empty threat. So he slit the girl's throat, and grabbed the next one in line. Told me to take off my clothes or he'd kill her as well."

"Why pretend?"

Lisha leaned back, falling onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I stripped and threw myself at the man. My body wanted it. I was angry, and I put all the anger into that. Satisfying the desire, after I killed a girl. Sahlaren is a gentle man. When we fought in the north, he took a long time to get over it. We'd return after a patrol or a skirmish and he'd isolate himself. He hated it. He couldn't even kill monsters without feeling guilt. I can't tell him that the girl died because of me. I can't do that to him." She rose, all the way to her feet, meeting Ferene's eyes again. "I put on a mask and let him believe what he wanted. It might hurt him to stay here, but if he knows what really happened, it would be worse. For both of us. He can't know the truth."

"You can both leave."

"I have to stay here. I have to pay for what I did."

Ferene shook her head. "The guard who killed her is at fault. The emperor is at fault. The world is at fault for making your body the way it is."

"I made a mistake!" Lisha hissed, anger seeping into her voice even as she struggled to stay silent. "If I had just believed the threat was real, just done what I was asked the first time, ignored my pride and just given in to what my body wanted, it wouldn't be this way."

"You are both making yourselves suffer for the other." Ferene told her, her own frustration leaking. "You each want to punish yourselves. You can both just leave. You are prisoners of your own makings. The people who wronged you, who imprisoned you, are long dead."

Letting out a long sigh, Lisha sat down on the bed. "I know."

"This palace is filled with lies." Ferene turned and walked out of the room.

Elhaten told her a lie. Did he do so on purpose, or was he simply repeating what someone told him? Where did the lie start?

Keeping her army on the hill, Taradira sent scouts to confirm that all of the imperials gathered and retreated westward, leaving no more surprises.

"Shouldn't we head back to Barakin, or move to Galbr?" Fulk asked at the next strategy meeting. The three of them stood in the open air around an improvised table made of a large board from a wagon balanced on several rocks.

"We stay here, in a position to move towards either location. I have full faith in Coryan and Frennich's ability to secure Galbr, as long as we are close enough to respond to any moves by the enemy. On top of that, I think I've gotten a grasp on her strategy."

Thoms looked from Taradira, to the map, and then back at her. "What is your plan?"

Baring her teeth, she met his eyes. "We push forward and take more."

"We will be vastly overshooting the king's objective."

"The king wants negotiations and concessions. He wants a gain of territory and the people that come with. To get that we need to have a position where the empire will give him the land he wants during the negotiations. They refuse to negotiate, and move to weaken our position. She knows that we don't want to push further, that we want to end this with minimal fighting. We want it quick, so she slows down the pace. We can't let her have control. We push further, take more ground, gain a stronger position to press for negotiation. Leave them no choice but to surrender. I'm not interested in playing her game any longer." Taradira jabbed her hand at the map, pointing at a position closer to the imperial capital; a smaller city called Cluhend.

Fulk frowned, tilting his head. "They outnumber us, and the more we push, the easier they will be able to bring reserves forward, and the longer there is a delay in our own supply and communication chain. Can we afford to advance further?"

"In addition to the forces I've moved forward from Naymoor, we are waiting on our engineering division. If General Camus continues to stall and stand off, we can make use of the artillery to negate the numbers advantage. The empire only employs them as city defense, while we will be putting them to use in an open battle."

"You lied."

Elhaten looked at her, his face still for a moment before he broke into a mocking smile. "Ah, so you did not kill my dear father. I was hoping you'd dispense justice upon him. Unfortunate that you did not."

"He didn't do anything." Ferene's hand itched. She wanted to kill Elhaten, but knew she couldn't, not now, not here. The more she talked with him, the more she knew she would eventually find an opportunity to.

"Of course he didn't. He's spineless and a coward. He should have, though. He should have demanded what he really wanted."

Ferene felt her jaw tighten, and she took a deep breath before continuing. "They were killing innocent girls."

"Human girls, Ferene. Rats. Vermin."

"Ines is a human girl."

Immediately, he clicked his tongue, raising a hand to waggle a finger at her. "Ah, you think you have caught me in a contradiction, but no! Ines is an exception. A special human. I love her because she excels, stands out above all the other humans. She is so much more than the circumstances of her birth. She loves me. Did you know that she forbade me from accompanying her on her current campaign? She was worried about my safety, and used her new authority to deny me! What a wonderful woman. Of course, I could have overruled her, given that I speak with the emperor's authority, but I was so touched I did not."

Speechless, Ferene turned, but before she could take a step, Elhaten revealed he had more to say. "Speaking of Ines, she'll be returning soon to make a report on the progress of the war. I so look forward to hearing it! Her first report as the general of the imperial army. Not only that, but I get to see her again, feel her touch once more. How exciting!"

Kindly looking down at Ferene as she knelt before him, the emperor pointed at a chair. "Take a seat."

A messenger informed her of his summons shortly after her talk with Elhaten. She found him in his study, calmly waiting for her.

Sitting down, she watched him as he stayed standing, his brow furrowing. For the first time, he looked uncertain, worried. "You will live a long time." He told her, to which she could only nod. "Longer than me or any of the people of the empire. What does that mean to you?"

Caught off guard, Ferene blinked. "I never thought about it, your majesty."

"Will you remember me?"

"Yes."

"Fondly?"

"I don't know."

His eyes didn't leave hers. He didn't speak, simply waiting for her to elaborate. Ferene swallowed, thinking on her next words.

"I've experienced new things. You gave me authority. You showed me music. You told me the history of this place. A cruel history, yet you don't hate it. I don't know who you are, your majesty."

With a sigh, the emperor nodded. "To me, those are the evils of the past. It is not my responsibility to right them. Yet for you, they are different. The time frame is different. From where you stand, I live - I rule - in the shadow of those crimes. The history books record those crimes for us to remember. I want to be remembered for something good. I fear that at my current rate, I will be remembered for a useless war. I wanted my people to prosper, and for the empire to grow, but the methods suggested to me were wrong. I looked to exploit Ettsgras, and now they have invaded in response."

Linara might have a response, but Ferene did not. Despite all her talks with the emperor, she didn't have insight into how to run a country, so she remained silent, waiting for him.

"I show the imperial citizens in the capital peace, as best I can. Refugees from the front lines disrupt that. The Week of Song only distracts the people for so long. I cannot hide that there is a war. I need to do something."