Episode Five, Part 1:
The Girl from the Ground 

Sol walked forwards - every step taken with a considerable amount of caution. She held her arm out to slow Wynn and Kodiak's pace, keeping them behind her as the notable landmarks around them revealed that they were close to Exile Allegiance's camp.

"Keep your weapons close," she said, coming to a stop and turning around to face them both. "But don't have them out when we get there. We don't want them to think we're here with bad intentions-"

"Sol, just relax," Wynn stifled a laugh. "We've been here a hundred times before. They know we're not going to attack without warning."

"Yeah, and by the looks of it their gates are wide open," Kodiak contributed, squinting as he tried to clarify what he was seeing past the thin layer of bushes that kept them hidden from sight. "If they had any suspicions of us, they would be more guarded."

Sol glanced over her shoulder, trying to see if Kodiak was right. She sighed - almost defeated when she noticed the open gates, and looked back at them. "Guess it's safe to assume they don't know about Tobias, yet."

"...You're making it sound like that's a bad thing," Wynn said. "I thought that's what you were worried about: them already knowing and trying to kill us at first glance."

"No, you're right, that was definitely one of the things I was afraid of."

"One of the things?" Kodiak searched.

"Yeah," she let out a heavy breath. "The other is being the ones to tell them that he's dead."

"What's the risk in waiting until we know that they know about him?" Wynn asked.

"Because if we wait, it will look like we did it. Whereas if we tell them, it'll make us look..."

"Better?"

Sol chewed on her lip. "That might be a little too generous," she answered Wynn. "But at least it might not make us look like cold-blooded killers who stabbed their leader in the back as soon as they got what they wanted."

"No, that was just Tobias," Kodiak muttered under his breath, trying to bury his bitter feelings, but it was clear they kept resurfacing.

Wynn set his hand on his shoulder, squeezing tightly to reassure him that the worst was through, but he knew just as well as anyone that even when things had ended, it didn't necessarily mean they were over.

"Let's just get this finished," Kodiak said. "After this, we'll be one step closer to going home."

"Good idea," Sol said, mustering up an emphatic smile for him. "Follow me."

The two Sovereigns followed their Nobel, hands already hovering over their weapons instinctively, but they refrained from arming themselves too early. Like they had already established, the gates to Exile Allegiance's camp were already wide open, allowing for them to easily walk straight inside their grounds, lingering nearby in case they needed a quick escape.

Within moments, several people had already stopped in their tracks and began looking, unable to figure out why the Sovereigns of their alliance had shown up at their camp and why they look on such high alert.

"You're the Sovereigns of Basilisk, correct?" Someone asked - the only person who seemed bold enough to approach them.

Sol nodded, not even able to get a word out before another question came her way.

"Are you here to see Tobias?"

They definitely didn't know, Sol thought to herself. She held her breath momentarily, looking over her shoulder at Wynn and Kodiak to ensure they were on the same page, before turning back to the woman speaking to them.

"I was told he had a Second?" She searched. "Reegan, I think he mentioned her name is."

"Reegan Parker," she confirmed. "I'll go find her now."

Sol nodded and began to wait as the woman wandered off, growing increasingly uncomfortable by the amount of people who had gathered around to see what was happening and determine the cause of the Sovereigns' arrival.

"This is intimidating," Wynn mumbled just loud enough for them both to hear.

"Try and increase our space," Sol ordered, looking at the ground to try and conceal the fact that she was talking to them. "Move around a little; stretch, or something. Just make sure that there's no one between us and those open gates in case things take a turn for the worse."

Kodiak and Wynn didn't need to reply for Sol to know they were listening; the sudden breeze that grazed upon the back of her neck was enough to let her know that they had spaced themselves out, trying everything possible to make their actions look natural and not calculated. Kodiak bent down to adjust his laces and in the process of standing back up, managed to drift closer towards the left side of the gate so everyone was now in front of him. Meanwhile, Wynn had a less subtle approach by crossing straight over to the gate and leaning against the framework, although he would have surely bragged to Sol if he had the chance over how casual and thoughtless he made his choice of a resting spot look.

Sol kept her focus and discreetly tried to make a note of how many weapons she could see amongst the people of Exile Allegiance. Thankfully, there weren't many - if any at all - but she knew that there was bound to be a stash of them ready for use nearby.

Moments passed and the woman pushed her way to the front of the small crowd, leading forward a timid-looking girl who seemed noticeably younger than Sol.

They expected her to say something but she remained silent, completely unprepared for anything the Sovereigns wanted to say to her, let alone being the one they has asked to speak to.

"...You're Reegan, right?" Sol asked, sensing that she needed to make the first move.

The young girl nodded, still none the wiser to what she was doing. Her eyes gave away her desperate desire to flee the conversation - terrified at the sudden responsibility being places on her shoulders a if she believed she was the last person who should be answering the Nobel.

"I was told you wanted to speak to me," she said. "Why? Is this about an update on Terra Firma Tribe? Because the last I heard, they were all killed."

"No, we're aware they're dead," Sol said. "There's something else we need to discuss-"

"It's going to have to wait. Besides, I don't think I can help you; Tobias is expecting me to meet him soon. You guys should come back later this evening when he's here. He'll know how to help with whatever it is you need."

Sol gulped down a nervous breath. "This can't wait," she said, surprised at the sudden lack of power to her voice; a hesitancy that didn't usually belong to her. "You have to listen to what we have to say. We should go somewhere private-"

"Whatever you need to tell me so badly, you're going to have to do it here," Reegan gave her terms. "I don't know you guys. I don't know what you're trying to do."

"We're not here to hurt you. If you'd prefer, you and I can go somewhere alone, that way you won't be alone-"

"Sol..." Wynn interjected, not happy with the idea of her being without their protection when Exile Allegiance learnt of Tobias' death.

"It's okay," she dismissed him. "No one's going to get hurt. I just need to talk to Reegan-"

"Then talk," the young girl stood her ground. "But I'm not going anywhere except to find Tobias, and you're not following me because he gave me strict instructions to go alone with a guard. You can either tell me now, in front of everyone where I know I'm safe, or you can wait until I come back with Tobias."

At the revelation of her distrust for them, several more people from Exile Allegiance began to crowd around - most noticeably, guards who were no doubt there to showcase their protection for Reegan.

For a moment, Sol almost considered backing out of her plan knowing all too well how dangerous it could be for her, Wynn, and Kodiak if Reegan didn't believe their version of events, but she also thought about how sketchy it would look if they were to suddenly back out of the conversation now, and she didn't know what was worse.

"I have to go," Reegan shook her head, beginning to walk forwards and head towards the gates - a lone guard following behind - but Sol stopped her.

"Wait!" She said, hating how desperate she came across. She had almost lost all claims for the upper-ground as her weakness started to slip through the cracks.

"...What is it?" Reegan pushed, the pent up frustration beginning to break her out of her shell.

Sol knew she had to say something - if not for the rows of people now facing her, then for Wynn and Kodiak who were more at risk with every mistake she made.

"N-nothing..." She said, noticing the shift in the boys out of the corner of her eyes. "Nothing, I'm sorry. We'll find you later."

Reegan frowned and tried to understand out Sol's intentions, but she couldn't figure her out. She huffed, trying to keep her annoyance to herself, and moved past all three Sovereigns - a guard close behind - and strolled out of sight.

Sol kept her gaze down, turning away from Exile Allegiance and began her own walk out of camp, already feeling the concerned stares from Wynn and Kodiak as they followed her lead, trying to come up with an answer to why she had suddenly backed out of their plan. It was only when they were completely out of sight of the campgrounds and knew Reegan was nowhere nearby that one of them felt the courage to ask her about what had happened.

"Sol-"

"I don't know," she cut him off, coming to an abrupt stop in her path. "I was going to say something, but then I didn't. I don't know why. I thought I'd get you two hurt."

"I'm with you. I think it was the right decision," Kodiak encouraged, knowing the choice hadn't come easy to her. "We just need to reconfigure out plan."

"Already on it," Sol nodded, grateful for his support, but not having a second to show for it. "We need to follow Reegan-"

"She just warned us not to follow her," Wynn pointed out. "And we don't know her at all; we don't know what she's going to do with that frustration we just dealt her."

"At least it will give us a chance to tell her what happened without the rest of their freakin' clan around. Hell, if we hurry, we'll probably even beat them to his body," she huffed. "Point is, you're right: we don't know her. Her instincts when she realises Tobias is dead might be our greatest downfall yet if we don't do something about it. So I'm going to go - we can surround her if we need to, but the most important thing is that she hears the truth and that above all else, she believes us: we did not kill Tobias." 

Five // Part One
Even when things had ended, it didn't necessarily mean they were over. 

I really liked showing Sol's skills in this chapter and how smart and logical she is when leading her people. I think her instructing Wynn and Kodiak to gain more room so they didn't become encircled and lose their opportunity for an escape was a really smart move and I LOVE how badass she is. I will forever be writing strong female characters and I'll never get tired of it.

I got my parents into watching Cruel Summer (the show Froy is in)!!! My mum is getting super into it and honestly, I'm just loving any excuse to watch Froy again (Froy = one of my favourite humans ever). Go check it out if you haven't already! It's just released on Amazon Prime!

Also, in big news, I have published 'Isobel Zora: The Chronicles of a Great Sovereign' on my page so go add the story to your library so you can receive notifications for when I publish the first chapters and officially start the book! It features Izzy as the main character along with Harlow Blackwood and several new additions you'll meet soon!!! I'll give a spoiler by naming one of the characters who I'm SUPER excited to introduce you guys to: Atlas.

Hope you enjoyed this one and are excited to see what Reegan brings to their journey! I'll try and get another chapter up tomorrow (don't hold me to that)!

16/08/21.