SCARLET’S POV
“You are leaving today,” Dawn said as she stepped into my room.
I was startled, I had almost forgotten that I granted her request to see me this morning before I headed off to war against Diamond Cut, our… no, her Pack.
“Yes. And it is long-distance and no, I am not going to allow you to come with me” I replied. I believed that might be the reason for wanting to speak with me.
I got up from the chair and went to go over the weapons in my room.
“I don’t intend to go with you, sister” she replied and came to sit on the bed.
“Better” I answered.
“Are you leaving so early?” she asked as she took a look at the bags on the floor.
“Yes. Once I am done with you, I will leave. Everyone is waiting” I replied.
“Okay,” she murmured.
I could see that she was hesitant to go on with her reason for wanting to see me.
“You can ahead, Dawn” I urged her.
She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. I looked at her and urged her to go on. After a while, she mustered enough courage. “The war…” was all she could say.
“What about the war, Dawn?” I asked and tried to keep my patience.
She moved her gaze away. “Must it go on…? Do some… can’t you stop it?” she asked and the rate of her heartbeat increased tremendously.
I went to sit beside her and placed my hand on her shoulder before saying calmly. “No, Dawn, the war cannot be stopped”
“I know but… my family…” she stuttered. “I know, but Father does not think properly when doing things”
At the mention of family, I got infuriated but tried not to show it, at least not in front of her. I pulled my hands from her shoulders and replied. “I’ve got no family, Dawn. You are my younger sister and I feel that I owe you this much. To protect you when I can” I paused a while and continued. “Pixolands also needs to be protected. I owe them that much” I murmured.
“We were never fair to you, sister, we should have known better” she mumbled.
I smiled. Fairness is far from what I desire now. What I need is justice and I don’t care about their fairness.
“But now you know better, Dawn” I stood up. Diamond Cut brought war to our doorsteps without being triggered. I know they are a great force to be reckoned with, but we will pull our might for this”.
“But… whose side should I be on?” she stammered.
“Fairness. You talked about fairness only a moment ago, so be on the side of fairness” I replied with a smirk.
“If I should go by fairness, then Diamond Cut was never fair. Not to you and not even in this war. I wish there could be no war” she lamented, disheartened.
“Life is not fair, Dawn, it has never been, always remember that. Diamond Cut charged at us for refusing to submit to their selfishness, knowing that ours is a small Pack and would be unable to meet their resilience. They came bearing hate, with songs of war flowing from their nostrils…”
She interrupted me by saying. “But you are a strong queen, I have seen you in action and none can compare to you”
“So you say, Dawn. But which army has ever defeated the three brother Packs? In battles, when you count strength, you should never forget numbers and Diamond Cut has them both” I said.
“But then, your powers, no other can equate what you’ve got. The fear in war is casualties, but you will get none of those” she replied.
I giggled at her words. They are easy to speak, but not always as easy as they sound.
I have the power to keep my soldiers from dying, but do I have that to keep their bodies whole? The soldiers must be careful, that they already know but what will happen when a sword detachs their heads from its whole or an arm is dismantled from its socket?
This is a war that I have to undertake to preserve the sovereignty and integrity of my people and I hope to fight till the last drop of my blood.
I turned to Dawn. “As for your family…” I began while she looked at me expectantly. “Depending on how the war goes, none of them will lose their lives”
She stood up with a little excitement and moved closer to me. “I wish father would just stop this madness and end all of this. What will he say when he finds out that he is fighting against his daughter?” she lamented.
I giggled. This is definitely not a time for a joke, but she sounded so hilarious. She was surprised at my reaction, and she was wondering if everything was okay.
“It is fine, Dawn. But we both know that beta Tim has one daughter. It has always been that way” I smiled at her.
“We are sorry, Scarlet” she apologized.
I placed a finger across her lips. “We are alone now, Dawn, but it is Queen” I shrugged and continued. “I will take sister though, you will always be that my little and innocent sister”
She drew back in fear and started to stammer. “I… pardon me… I didn’t realize…”
I stopped her. “It is nothing, Dawn” I chuckled. “I will never bring you to any harm, not for any reason in the world. You are a good girl, Dawn. It was the world that almost turned this naive and sweet girl into a beast”
“But I never did anything back then, I looked on…” She wanted to protest but I stopped her.
“There might be so much that I would like to forget, and many more that I would not want to admit, but the fact that I secretly watched you and then been punished for trying to speak for me will never be erased,” I said with a smile.
“Y… you… you did?” she stammered.
“Every single time, Dawn, I was there every single time” I replied.
“You have a good heart, sister, and you are the best queen that any kingdom would ever have” she expressed.
“Thanks, sister” I smiled. It was one thing to know that I am great, but it is another thing to hear it from a person like Dawn, from a little sister.
“Thank you so much, my queen” she cried.
Before I knew what was happening, she rushed at me and circled me in a hug. It was the first time I would be getting a hug from a member of my family. My hands remained by my side as I was lost on how to reciprocate but a tear dropped happily from my eyes.
She pulled off and looked at me. “Maybe I should never have done that” she mumbled.
“Are you kidding me, just come right here” I laughed and took her in my embrace, holding her tightly onto me.
Just then, we heard a very loud noise coming from outside. Horses and sounds of weapons, with cries of war. It was not from my armies, they know not to act if I had not asked them to.
“What is that, sister?” Dawn pulled away from me in fear.
“We might have to go find out by ourselves” I snorted.
My inside boiled and Stake was already fighting to take over.