I'm sorry.



War.

Who knew three letters could cause so much dread? Three letters that commence the destruction of empires.

No amount of training could ever prepare you for the chaos that war brings. Nothing could mentally prepare you for what comes with war.

Loss.

Four letters that leave a hole in your heart. 

Sometimes you gain something from war, like overtaking a land or overthrowing a cruel ruler. But you will always lose with war; so many souls are reaped with blades of steel. Families get torn apart. Sanities are thrown into the wind from all the horrific scenes that war brings.

Death.

Five inevitable letters. No one escapes it. But with war those five dreadful letters come too soon and to those who don't deserve it. War has casualties; children die, their mothers cry. Killing innocents, just for their personal growth; where's their humanity?

How could he be a king if he orders his men to sacrifice their lives for his own greed? How are soldiers expected to fight, to kill and tear all that they once held dear too? Why should their hands be the ones that draw blood from the opposing army? Why should they shoulder the weight of killing fathers and sons for something that wouldn't change their lives other than pouring so much guilt into their open wounds? 

But alas, the world was cruel because it had cruel people in power.

And so they fought.

Their swords clashes but the ringing of the metal was drowned out by the canons that sent out fiery projectiles.

Clara's hand felt heavier with every slash at the son of a mother. She felt internal wounds opening with every fatal blow she sent to the opposing side.

They're just following orders, they don't deserve death.

That was all Clara could think of as she fought with every fiber in her body. She hated it. She hated how gruesome it was. It was so wrong but she had to fight.

She had to fight to protect her sister.

She had to fight to protect her best friend.

She had to fight to honor her father.

She had to fight to help Edwin and Julian get home faster.

She had to fight to stop another child from reaching the same fate as her.

She had to fight.

And she did so skillfully, easily maneuvering her sword in ways her opponents couldn't block or guess. She landed harsh blows with her engraved sword, the steel no longer glinting in the sunlight. 

The earth that once was green was now red.

War is loud.

Clara's senses were on overdrive, allowing her to block the attacks from the warriors that had sneaked up on her in time, despite the noise being drowned in the tumultuous surroundings.

Julian stayed by her side the entire time, to ease his nerves by making sure that she's alive. They fought side by side and helped each other to overcome the overwhelming number of attackers coming their way.

Arrows flew in the air before making a home into the enemy's bodies, sending them limp to the ground.

Time seemed to freeze during the war; days went by agonizingly slow and they felt like years from all the emotional drain they faced in the battlefield.

The knights switched so that they could rest and tend to their wounds while the new batch continued to fight the armies of Crounia and Cupia. 

Edwin was tending to a wound on Clara's abdomen as she squeezed her eyes shut from the pain of the disinfectant chasing away the dirt clogged around it. The wounds weren't as bad as they would have had she not been wearing the armor made for her smaller size.

"We're getting there, sweetheart." he reassured her while wrapping a bandage around her arm that she used to block a sword. "We're winning; we'll be going home soon."

"I miss Lila so much." she sighed, flinching as she moved a particularly bruised muscle. "I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she is." he chuckled. "She's a tough one; can't say I'm surprised."

"I wonder if she's annoying Victor in my place."

"You can bet on it."

Their laughter died down as they stared off into the distance, replaying the day in their minds. Edwin had been through this before, but he was still as broken as the first time. He knew Clara was going through it too, and it pained him so much to see her so afraid to close her eyes. He then went to sit behind her after he bandaged a small cut on his wrist and started to untangle her hair from the messy braid it had been.

Clara leaned back into his touch, embracing the comfort his touch brought to her. She sighed tiredly as he continued to thread his fingers into her matted hair. 

"Go to sleep, I'll be right here."

Five days of war had passed, now going into the sixth.

Edwin made sure to be with Clara in every shift, wanting more than anything to protect her while knowing more than anyone that she is more than capable of protecting herself. But he was as good as her father, and he assigned himself the job of protecting her not only from weapons but her inner demons too.

She was all he thought of.

He had to fight for her.

He had to fight for her to go back home to Lila.

He had to fight for Lila to still have a family.

He had to fight for his daughters.

"Let's end this war, shall we?" he cupped her cheek, memorizing every detail of her face before they put their helmets on.

"Together." she gave him a smile.

Edwin smiled back, leaning her head down to kiss the crown of her head. Her hair was up in another braid to fit into the helmet.

"Together."

Father and daughter fought together against everyone who dares to cross them, attempting to harm them. Their swords clashed against so many blades, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not be defeated.

Not until they got separated.

Clara had walked too far into the enemy's territory and immediately a group of men were on her, slashing their swords and daggers at her. She managed to block them, kicking them away to give herself enough space to take on another soldier coming her way. 

She was grateful for Edwin's ways of training that prepared her for a moment like this.

Soon she was able to defeat them all and her heart was beating in her ears, her vision getting foggy from a blow she received to her head. She tried to focus once more, but the world kept spinning and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Clara!"

Edwin roared, rushing towards her, blocking a heavy sword from hitting her. He continued to fight the man who wore similar attire to him, only in green.

The general of Crounia's army.

Clara stumbled back, black dots forming in the corner of her eyes. She watched the blur of the two men fighting, trying her best to dodge more attacks coming her way.

Edwin, now overwhelmed with the best warriors of Crounia, kept shifting his focus to Clara, noticing her weakened state and sloppier attacks. A few minutes later, he saw her form improve and his shoulders relaxed slightly in relief. 

She was fighting by his side again.

Avelyn's knights began to advance more and more into the enemy territory, so close to victory...

But every victory in war had its losses.

Clara lost everything.

Distracted by a loud scream from Clara as she got thrown, landing on her shoulder and dislocating it; the general took the chance and plunged his sword into Edwin's abdomen, and he let out a cry of pain, resulting in Clara instantly pushing back whoever was fighting her and running over to her father figure.

The sight made her pale.

She watched as the green clad general pulled out his sword and retreated, his men following
him as the knights of Avelyn increased in numbers and power, making them forfeit.

With a yell, she tackled another knight down with her dislocated shoulder, making sure to angle herself correctly so that her shoulder got back into its rightful place with a sickening pop. She then rushed to Edwin as he fell, his breathing shallow as he applied pressure to his wound.

"No, no no no..." she landed on the ground and took off her helmet, the sound of clashing metal being drowned out. "You're okay, Dad...You're okay."

"Clara..." he coughed.

"Shh, save your energy." her breathing was frantic as she helped him apply pressure. "I'll take you back to base, and the medics will help you, you're fine."

Edwin raised a weak hand up to her cheek, staining it with his blood.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." his voice was soft and sincere, and he looked at her like she was his world. "You and Lila are the best thing that happened to me. I love you."

He could feel his soul slipping away from him, and he was afraid; not because he was dying, but because he wanted more time with his daughters.

But he was relieved to know that they had won the war.

Avelyn would be safe and Clara would go back to her sister.

"I love you too, dad." she cried. "Stay with me, please. I'll take care of you, you'll be okay."

He tried so hard to keep a grip on his consciousness, but his eyelids got heavier with each second and it became harder to breathe. He tried so hard to live for her.

But time went by too quickly, and he felt nothing. He focused his blurring vision on his daughters face, thanking whatever god that was listening that she was safe.

"I'm sorry."

He took his last breath.

Clara's world crashed down onto her as she let out an ear-piercing scream, letting out all the pain she felt. An all too familiar feeling overtook her.

He was gone.

She snapped her head up, her eyes instantly finding the man who killed him. The world around her darkened and she saw nothing but him. Her heart hammered as she picked up her sword and she ran towards him.

Her eyes were wild and red, her pupils contracted. Her iris darkened a few shades, and she only had one thing on her mind.

Revenge.

As she got closer, she could see every vulnerable spot in which she could hit him. Her mind was too lost for her to lighten her footsteps, which made him turn around.

But he was too late.

Clara slashed her sword across his head, dropping his helmet as he tumbled backwards, reaching for his own sword. She raised her leg and kicked him harshly, sending him to the ground before she kicked the sword out of his hand.

His eyes widened in shock as soon as his eyes met his attacker.

The fighter who had taken the lives of so many of his men was a woman; he recognized her as Edwin's daughter.

Clara stepped closer to him, her eyes planting terror deep into him, her steely eyes sharper than the blade she held and used to fight away the knights that had come to defend their general.

By the time she had fought off everyone around her, the general had gotten up and taken a sword from one of the limp bodies of his men. She marched straight to him and let out a battle cry, swinging down her sword at him.

He fought back well, but his skill was nothing in comparison to hers when it was fueled with rage and years of grief.

"Mad about daddy, are you?" he taunted in hopes of masking his fear.

Her only response was rapid attacks from her sword. She kicked, punched and did everything she could think of when seeing him, wanting nothing more than to hurt him.

She slashed her sword across his face, cutting from his cheekbone to his eyebrow and he let out a hiss of pain, backing away. Clara sent another kick to his chest then swept her legs under his, making him fall to the ground with a loud thud, his armor, now unraveled, pierced his skin.

She kicked him again, making sure he stayed down before she landed her knees on his biceps, restraining his movements.

She had the upper hand now, she could kill him easily; but that wasn't enough.

She wanted him to suffer.

She landed punch after punch to his face. A sickening crunch was heard after her third hit, and blood began to pour out of his nose and mouth, but she kept hitting, the adrenaline preventing her from feeling any pain.

For my father.

Punch.

For my sister.

Punch.

For Edwin.

Punch.

For Avelyn.

Punch.

And for me.

Punch.

The man under her had gone limp long ago, and more knights had seen her and were making their way towards her when Julian picked her up and handed her sword to her. Her senses came back to her and she saw the amount of bodies laying around her. She didn't have time to think about a certain one as they fought off the remaining knights who had come to take away their general.

Clara was about to follow but Julian stopped her.

"It's done, Clara." he yelled, his grips on her shoulders firm. "We've won."

"I have to kill him!" she yelled back, struggling against him when he pulled her into his chest. "I have to!"

The adrenaline faded, and every last fiber of her body began to ache as a stream of tears fell down her red cheeks and she choked on her own violent sobs. Her nose was runny and she had blood all over her face and armor. She was shattered beyond repair.

"We're going home now." Julian muttered into her hair, his voice cracking. He had seen Edwin's body, along with the remaining knights. "We're taking him home with us."

She wasn't going home.

She watched as her world shattered and took his last breath.

Her home had died.

I really hope I did this chapter justice.