Luther gathered all the green-eyed servants together. Travel supply bags, laden with food, a few bare necessities, and a bit of money, slung over their shoulder.
“Are you sure you do not want me to come with you, my lady?” Luther asked.
“Yes. Take care of them. Get them settled in Ortus.” I replied. “Once your injuries are fully healed, I will be counting on you to gather support here. You can use the Empress’s Cult if you want, but not anyone involved in the kidnappings.”
“I understand. When you return, the Order will be an organization you will be proud to call your own.” Replied Luther. “However, there is something I must know first...”
“Your father, right?” I said with a sigh. I sat down on one of the church pews and clasped my hands together as stared down at the ground. “General Coleman was truly a great man. Braver than me, that is for sure.”
“Ever since I was a child, all I have ever wanted was to know what happened to him.”
“This… is not the first time Envy has threatened this realm. Stories will tell you that a great sorceress taught King Sebastion. That her sacrifice somehow dealt with my armies. That is a preposterous lie,” I said with a little chuckle, “It’s somewhat insulting really. Five million corpses and over three hundred thousand living soldiers, dealt with by some random sorceress? No, when my final battle with Sebastien came, the entirety of my forces had already been sacrificed keeping Envy at bay.”
I grew quiet for a long moment, as I looked up at the ceiling of the church. The glittering stars reflected in my eyes. “Three hundred fourteen thousand two hundred and one men and women gave their lives that day. The time they bought allowed me to close the doors to this realm. Every single person living here today is only alive because of their sacrifice.”
Tears streamed freely down the grown man’s face. Luther did not even try to wipe them away, as he smiled with pride. “They told me my father was a coward. That he and the army fled before the final battle, too scared of the King to return. I knew it had to be a lie. I knew it.”
“General Coleman was one of the greatest men I ever knew. He was no coward. He volunteered. In his final moment, he stood face to face with Envy. Even then, he never took a single step back. He was a hero.”
Luther stood, arm covering his face, as he cried. “Father, I promise I will make you proud.”
I left Luther alone. He needed time to collect himself. My mother and father were busy with the priest, gathering supplies for our journey. The only other person not busy was… Charly
He had not spoken a single word to me since learning who I am. He would not even look me in the eye.
I remembered when I was sick. He was always sitting by my bedside, reading books to me. I never listened, of course. His books always made me fall asleep. He would speak softly when tucking me in, and when I woke up, he would still be there. Always reading his books.
For all the years I was sick, my parents could not always be there, but he was. He was the one who comforted me when the pain flared up. Told me fantastical stories about the world when I was awake. Sang to me when I was scared.
He was my only friend.
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I saw him now, standing at the front of the church. He was staring at the thirteenth painting quietly. There was no longer any book in his hands.
I walked up behind him. My throat felt like it had swallowed a ball as I tried to speak. My tongue was wooden and unresponsive.
“Charly…”
'Please just look at me.'
“Our church back home has these same paintings,” He spoke, “This painting always stood out to me. The other painting shows the leaders of the thirteen divisions painted in a heroic light, but not this one. The mountain of corpses… only half of them are Demonkin,” Charly paused, then spoke softly, “When I ran out of books to read back home, I came to the church. Every victory and defeat of the Endless War is recorded in great detail in every church. I have read about you as well. The things you did. What you were willing to sacrifice for victory.”
Charly turned around, looking me in the eye for the first time. His voice echoed through the church. “How many people have you killed?”
“I… I don’t know,” I whispered.
“No, someone like you would not count that. Answer this then, how many people have you killed since you invaded my sisters’ body?”
“Two,” I said simply, taking a deep breath, “Doctor Fraus who kidnapped me and my former Minister Crassus both died at my hands.”
“Two… you have already killed two people in less than a week. My sister would never do something like that.”
“Maybe not. If it was just me alone in those situations I would have been crying, unable to do anything.” I looked down to the floor and closed my eyes. “I tried counting once you know. A long time ago, I went through every single memory. Looked at each of their faces…” I looked up, staring Charly in the eye with a firm gaze. “I realized then, if I was given another chance to go back, I would do it all again. I have no regrets.”
I turned away from Charly, looking at the Other twelve paintings on the wall. “It is true. We are the Five Calamities. This is a title we earned through blood. They painted us as monsters of death and carnage. However, the number of people we have saved through those monstrous deeds dwarfs what you can imagine.”
“Four hundred years of war. The only regret I have is that I could not kill more. If I had… more of my friends would still be standing today.”
A firm hand was placed on Charly’s shoulder. My father spoke, “She is right you know. I spent years on the battlefield and the one thing I learned was, war makes a monster out of us all. The brave men and women on the battlefield march forward, not because they want to, but because they have to. Protecting their families back home, protecting their friends, protecting their brothers and sisters beside them on the battlefield, requires you to kill the enemy across from you. The enemy soldiers have their own loved ones, their own homes, and their own friends to protect. Even still, you have to cut them down to protect what is important to you.”
“There has to be another way,” Charly said, looking down uncomfortably.
“Of course, there is,” I replied, “However, you don’t call on a group named the Five Calamities to negotiate. We are the mad dog you let loose when all other options fail.” I clasped Charly’s hand in my own, staring up at him. “I may not be the wren you remember, but I am still your sister. The memories of Aurielle may skew my actions, but that will never change. I can’t force you to accept what I have become, but I hope that you can see me here. you will always be my nerdy bookworm of a brother, and I will always be your little sister, who can’t listen all the way through a single story. I love you and that will never change.”
“I…” Charly opened his mouth closed it again. he looked down to the ground silently for a moment. His hands clenched tightly, then slowly relaxed. He looked at me, and in one swift motion hugged me tightly. “Wren, I choose to believe you are in there. I am sorry. I promised you a long time ago, I would never leave your side. I almost broke that promise, but I will say it again. so long as you are really Wren, I will always be there for you.”