NOVEL WEB 2) Prep Talk
When morning came, the golden yellow of the clouded sky enframing the verdant green landscape, the three of them made their final preparations for the day ahead.
As Soleiman took to tallying their supplies, weighing the cash and coinage they had on hand with how far their rations would last them, Rei watched as Pallas sat on a fallen log and practised donning and doffing her armour.
This was the disguise Pallas, Soleiman and the fighting companion they would meet in the city were to use to separate their actual appearances from the characters they’d play in battle. That way, Pallas could exercise her powers to a limited extent whilst still maintaining anonymity and protecting her identity, preventing her from being immediately recognised as the holder of the title of Soteira. All so she could have some leeway in using force if the situation called for it.
The ceramic and wooden armour, resembling those from their mother’s homeland in the east, was lighter than most others employed in modern warfare. Though more akin to several plates stitched together by string and buckles than an actual suit of armour, when combined with a face shield and a fabric-leather under-armour, it served its purpose in maintaining ambiguity well enough. Moreover, Pallas had managed to garner several hours of training experience with this particular armour design, making her more adept at moving with, donning and removing it than any other.
She waited for Pallas to click apart the last few buckles that freed her of the suit before speaking.
“You’ve gotten pretty good at putting on and taking that thing off, haven’t you?”
Pallas looked up as Rei sat next to her.
“It’s the least I can do,” she said whilst turning back to her pile of armour. Bending over to pick it up, she held it up by its shoulders and began refolding it more neatly. “A bare minimum, no?”
They paused for a moment, Rei looking off into the city in the distance, before Pallas continued.
“Did you want to say something, Mom?”
Rei shifted slightly, fixing her skirt as she did so, her gaze distant and focused on the city ahead.
“Try not to worry too much, okay?” she said, turning to face Pallas.
“I… I just don’t want things to end,” Pallas replied, looking off into the distance. “How am I supposed to believe this is the last time we’re going to be able to do this,” she said, gesturing to their campsite.
“You don’t have to, Pallas,” Rei said, setting a hand on her far shoulder and pulling her in for a hug.
“...What?”
“You just need to keep going, and we’ll be together again before you even realise it.”
Pallas held her words for a moment. She breathed slowly in her mother’s warm embrace, unwilling to come to terms with the fact that she’d have to part with it for a long time. Something she wasn’t even sure she was capable of, given that it was the only source of comfort that towed her through the past decade of travelling.
But it mattered not if she was ready. For the ever-tightening grip of Lord Gravitas had snuffled out almost every pocket of power Rei and her resistance held in Archipelagic Minerva, solidifying his vice grip over his half of the country.
And now, all that really remained of the resistance and its influence was this one city along the Kardic Strait; Thosmodene Porthopolis.
This singular city they looked upon was all that remained of Rei’s two decades of efforts, all her allies long since deceased, detained or defected.
“What if something goes wrong?”
They could hear rope sizzling against rope in the background, the sound of Soleiman tying shut their bags and finishing up on his accounting.
“Not if,” Rei replied. “But when.”
Pallas looked like she died slightly on the inside.
“Failure is an inevitability, Pallas. That much is certain,” she said. “What matters most is how you recover from failure. That you can grit your teeth and push on, in spite of all that stands before you.”
Rei put a hand on her head, patting her.
“Not just because you are a Soteira, Pallas,” she said. “But because you are the strongest, bravest girl I’ve ever known. And just like the Soteiras of Brain and Bone, you will give Minerva and all her people the freedom they deserve.”
Pallas let her mother’s words stir for a moment before she pulled out of her embrace. Getting back to folding her armour, she felt words rise up to her tongue. But she held them back. Deep down, she knew no amount of talking or persuasion could shake the trepidation off of her. She just had to remain steadfast and stoic, trusting in her mother and her ancient intuition. After all, she was a Soteira. And she was Pallas.
“Alright, dear? I’ll be back with you, I promise.”
“Alright,” Pallas said as she shifted, giving Rei a full-on embrace as they cherished each other’s presences for the last time.
“Everything’s in order Mom!”
“Okay,” Rei whispered to Pallas. “It’s about time we got going.”
And as Rei made her way over to Soleiman, Pallas got up too, even if a tad bit reluctant.
“I’ve put all your tools and coins into this bag, and I’ve written down on this note here,” he said, producing a piece of parchment scrawled with numbers, “How many and what kind of rations you have left.”
“Thank you, Soleiman,” Rei said, reaching a hand out to caress the top of his head as well. “What ever would I do without you.”
Soleiman chuckled softly, enjoying as she ran her fingers through his hair.
“Right, Pallas, here,” he said to his sister, hoisting the visibly larger of the two remaining bags up. “This is your bag.”
Pallas raised her eyebrow at him, staring unimpressed as he heaved his own bag onto his shoulders.
“They’re the same weight! I promise, I just couldn’t pack down the pails and towels very well.”
Pallas continued burning a hole through him with her eyes.
“Serious!”
“Prove it.”
He moved forwards, turning his back towards her and sticking it out so that she could weigh it with her own hands. “Weigh it yourself.”
And it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck the clearing.
The sound thundered across the clearing, birds flying from their nests amongst the canopies as the crack pierced the air.
In the wake of the destruction, Soleiman was left clutching at his left bum cheek in pain as Pallas shook off her left hand.
Rei giggled slightly, politely concealing her smile with a wave of her hand.
“Alright, Mom, see you!” Pallas said, her grin poking through her words as she began walking backwards down the path to the city.
“Take care!” Rei waved back at Pallas.
Soleiman breathed in through his teeth, gritting them in indescribable pain.
“Ugh…bye, Mom! Great Minerva that hurt!” Soleiman said as he walk-ran to catch up with Pallas, who by this point had managed to cross the entire clearing to begin down the city’s road. “Bye bye!”
Rei waved at the two of them, now both hurrying down the road like children playing a game of tag. A sight she was all too familiar with. Soon, they both disappeared down the curve, and in time Rei too turned to make her way back into the forest.