Chapter 52

"Wow, that's awful," Arriana whispered.

"It truly was. Let's go find everyone so we can get finished up," he said.

They walked around and gathered those that they needed. Arriana sent Deacon and Marc to get a table while Zoe and Barwick looked for a map of Coresova.

"Alright. We managed to find one in the back of a book but it's small," Barwick said, putting the book on the table.

"You know what, hold on. I'll be right back." Arriana jogged off in the direction of the small library.

When she emerged, she was carrying a few large pieces of paper and had a wide grin on her face.

"What is that?" Drake asked, eyeing the scrolls tucked under Arriana's arms.

"Well, that little map is great and all but how about we use one that is slightly large," she replied.

Arriana put one of the large pieces of paper on the table and unrolled it. Grabbing a few stones she put them on the corners to hold it down. The paper was old and faded but the names written sporadically and apparent land masses were still visible. Scanning the map quickly Arriana walked away from the table again. She returned after a few minutes with a bunch of different colored rocks. She set them off to the side and continued looking, deep in thought. Barwick began placing the stones on opposite ends of the map and arranging them.

"Alright, black stones are Lucas, white stones are us. We will break off into six flanks. The archers will be split up into two, witches and wizards will be two separate flanks as will the non-magical. I want one of the archer flanks at the top of these rocks here, and the other split on either side of the field here. I want both flanks of witches and wizards in the center when we head out to the middle of the battle field. Once we're head on head with Lucas and his army I want them to fall back with the second group. We will advance, use our powers and do as much damage as possible. As soon as they see us lower our hands I want all the archers to fire followed by the rest of us charging. When we charge I want Cartra, Rotet, Edgar and the dragons to go in." As she spoke, Arriana positioned all the different stones and moved them in the way she was envisioning the battle happening.

"That all sounds good Arriana," Barwick said, still contemplating the plan she had just devised.

"I was thinking my clan would have a bit of a sneak advantage since Lucas doesn't know we're here yet," Drake spoke up.

"What do you have in mind?" Arriana asked him.

"Well, instead of us being with you we can sneak in from the northern mountains. It won't take us long to get to the battle field. If we keep enough distance between us and Lucas' army they will never see us coming."

"Hmm, you're right. We would have a greater advantage that way. Okay, you guys do that. We'll push from the south and you push from the north," She pondered as she rearranged the stones.

"Are you going to be able to kill Lucas?" Henry asked suddenly.

"What?" She eyed him curiously.

"Are you going to be able to take a human life?" Concern flooded his face.

"Yes. I'm hoping it won't come to that but I'm slowly mentally preparing myself for it."

"You know it will. You know you're going to have to kill more than just Lucas," Deacon snapped at her.

"I understand this, Deacon. Because I have to do something does not mean I have to like it." she snapped back.

"I'm sure the queen knows what she is doing and is prepared to do it." Henry tried to calm the two down.

"Stay out of this. This has nothing to do with you, Henry." Deacon shot an icy glare at the man.

"This has everything to do with me as much as anyone else. My family and friends are being just as affected by Lucas as yours. So do not tell me I have nothing to do with this." Henry glared at Deacon.

Arriana's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. She couldn't believe the way Deacon was acting. He was being so hostile towards everyone. She shook her head, sighing heavily trying to focus her attention back to the map and the battle plans.

"Does anyone have any more suggestions then?" Arriana asked, refusing to look up.

The tension in the room was immense. They all poured over details and discussed the plans well into the night. They changed plans and ideas a hundred times before they called it a night. Drake and his clan left for their trek home to the Miashuri peaks while the rest headed to their beds. Nobody was thinking about dinner. Arriana knew that the next eight weeks would go by quickly and a lot of lives were about to change. Walking back to the house she looked from window to window knowing that not everyone would still be alive in two months.

Can I handle this? How can I go about leading these people knowing some of them are going to die? Why does it have to happen like this? Why does he have to be such a murdering bastard?

Arriana sat on the steps of the front porch watching the people of the village head toward their own homes. She saw Deacon surrounded by a group of girls. Her heart was breaking. He leaned in and whispered into a pretty red head's ear causing her to giggle and blush. He traced his hand down her arm while smiling at the blonde behind her.

Unbelievable. What a creep.

"Tell me what you see over there," Henry whispered into Arriana's ear.

"Huh?" she asked startled.

"By the house in front of you, what do you see?"

"Steps, a tree and kids."

"What is by the steps?"

"Flowers?"

"Mm hmm. The purple and pink ones are petunias."

"They're really pretty," she mused.

"When there are a bunch of them yes they seem to be. But if you get up close to them and see them individually, they aren't that great."

"I suppose," she sighed.

"Do you see what is among all those petunias?"

"A rose."

"Yes. One single, beautiful, wild rose. That one wild rose stands out amongst all those bland, ordinary petunias. Any sensible man would wade through all of them to reach that one special flower. If a man doesn't, he has no business even glancing at the rose. He has no right to bask in the beauty of the rose. That one rose is the most remarkable, extraordinary flower in all the garden. Personally, I prefer the rose to even the lilly." He winked at her as he walked away.

Blushing, Arriana watched as Henry walked to the patch of flowers, waded through the petunias and picked the rose along with one petunia. Once he reached Deacon he paused and handed him a petunia while turning to look at Arriana, smelling the rose, winking again and continuing on his walk. Deacon just looked at Henry confused then at Arriana. He had no idea what it was about. The gaggle of girls around him didn't seem to care. They began to disperse and chase after Henry. The anger showed on Deacon's face. Henry though, didn't pay them any attention. He waved them off as he continued smelling the rose.

"What the hell was that all about?" Deacon growled at Arriana.

"No idea, Deacon. Perhaps Henry thought you would like a petunia." She smiled to herself as she stood up and walked into the house.

Arriana went into the house and lay on the couch. Beau hopped up and snuggled next to her. She rolled over and wrapped her arms around him, stroking his fur.

"Hi pudgy budge."

"Hi, Arriana," he mumbled.

"You tired?" she asked him.

"Yeah, a little bit," he mumbled again.

"Me too."

"It'll be alright, Arriana. I know how you feel about this battle. War is not a pretty thing; however, sometimes it is necessary. Your army knows what they are risking. They all know that there is that possibility they will not be returning home. It is something that they are willing to risk in order to gain freedom and safety for their family and friends. You must understand this Arriana. Despite the risks that follow going to war you must keep your head up. You are the backbone for us. If you give up, everything will fall apart. Never doubt yourself. Not for a minute because the moment you do is the moment you fail."

Arriana looked at Beau and smiled. "Thank you."

Beau nodded his head and they both settled down to sleep again.