"It's a magma titan Gren, it will be huge you need to prepare this will be the hardest battle you have ever fought"

"A- Amaya...I- I don't think I can do it"

"Gren, stay here, I won't walk you to your death, stay safe"

Gren stood waiting for them to come back. They had seemed confident enough, they had brought so many troops, but he hadn't come. He wished he had, but Amaya had told him to stay, he had been too scared. He felt horrible, he shouldn't have chickened out.

"You are like family Gren" she had told him before hugging him and riding off to join the king and queen and head to Xadia. Now the army returned, beaten and battered. He searched for Amaya's iconic armor and shield. Soon he spotted them, Amaya rode with her head down, her helmet covering her face. Every time the horse took a step she winced like she was in pain. Gren ran to her immediately.

"Amaya!" he called, but she couldn't hear him. She didn't look round to see his face "Amaya!" he called again. Harrow rode up beside him and stopped,

"Don't" he said.

"Why not? What happened!?" Harrow wiped a tear from his eye,

"I'd rather not talk about it" he rode on past him. Amaya stopped at the stables and got off her horse, as she put her feet on the ground she swayed a little and reached for something to lean on. Gren ran to her side putting his arm around her. She looked up and Gren saw her face for the first time since she had left, it was tear stained and more tears ran down it, but what scared him most was on the side of her cheek. A huge open wound.

"Amaya," he signed "what happened!? Are you ok!?" She flung her arms around him and squeezed him tight, so tight he could hardly breathe. Something was definitely wrong. Then he noticed there were three very important people missing, the three queens. One of those queens was Sarai, his friend, but more than that she was Amayas sister. Eather Sarai was still in Xadia, or she was dead. Guessing by how upset Amaya was he assumed dead. He stood there hugging his friend, until she felt ready to pull away, "Amaya" he signed.

"Gren I don't want to talk!" she sighed back, he nodded,

"Can we at least get that seen too?" he pointed at her face. She shook her head, then turned and began to walk off. Gren didn't dare leave her, he followed her all the way to her house, "Amaya may I come in?" he asked. She nodded. "I won't make you talk about anything until you're ready" he said. She hugged him again. Gren was scared by the number of tears she was crying, she was hurt physically, but it was clear the pain was nothing compared to the loss of her sister. Amaya had a hard enough life already! She couldn't hear, couldn't speak, both her parents were gone and now her sister was gone too! Her sister who had been her best friend. Her sister who she had told everything. Her sister who she had loved more than anything. Her sister who had always been there for her. Amaya stopped hugging him and signed,

"You're all I've got left Gren" the words broke his heart. She was broken, a general fallen in battle, not by a sword, but by the undying love of her sister.

"I will always be here fo-" she grabbed his hands stopping him from finishing the sentence.

"Don't say that. Or you'll be taken from me too, just like she was"

"Amaya" all he could manage to say was her name, he couldn't bring his hands to sign to her, he could not make his mouth speak. She was broken, she was a mess, and he had to fix her.

Gren remained at Amaya's house for the next week, too scared to leave her in her broken state. She didn't leave the building once, and almost every time he saw her she was crying. No matter how many times he put his arms around her and tried to comfort her, no matter how many times she had soaked his clothes with her tears and promised to never do it again, she didn't seem to get any better. However when he woke up one morning, Amaya was gone. For a moment he panicked, but then he realized he knew where she was. King Harrow had ordered the creation of a statue of the late Queen Sarai, that was where Amaya would be. He made sure to take his time riding down there, knowing Amaya needed time alone. When he finally got there he found Amaya kneeling at the foot of the statue, singing something to it. He got off his horse and stood behind her, watching her, not wanting to interrupt. He noticed something was different about the general, she had cut her hair. It was as short as his now, but it hung down slightly longer on one side. She stood up and turned around.

"Gren" she sighed "I thought you would find me here"

"I miss her too Amaya"

"Gren, can I ask you something?"

"O-oh of course"

"Can you stay with me? In war, in everything? Having a friend like you...it makes it easier to cope" Gren was reminded of when he was young and had a crush on Amaya, how whenever she said something like that to him his heart would jump, but instead of feeling all excited and lovey, this time Gren felt like he had a job to do. It felt like he had been tasked with the most important job knowen. "can you act as my translator, help me speak and hear......and help me deal with loss...of course if you don't want to do it-"

"I'd love to do it Amaya" she hugged him, and he whispered "I love you Amaya" she would never know he said that, but maybe one day he would tell her. He was just too scared to admit it after what had happened when they were kids.