“Can I ask you something, Blaine?”


Blaine didn’t face Alina, but he was listening regardless. He responded with a faint growl, and stopped the whetstone.


“How do you keep going like this? It’s like you’re a machine. I mean-- I don’t mean to be mean but, what more is there left for you to fight for? Since Prud--”


“I’m going to stop you right there.”


Alina put her hands over her mouth and realised the mistake she made. Ever since Prudence fell, Blaine underwent a major psychological change; the mention of Prudence’s name caused him to become hostile and irrational. No one blamed him because everyone was upset the day she died, but it was different for him. Blaine lost the one thing that ever made him smile: he lost himself that day.

Blaine stood up, his head nearly reaching the ceiling of the tent.


“You want to know why I still fight after I’ve lost everything? Why I still go on without a drive?” he asked as he turned his rugged and scarred face to look down at her. Alina nodded slowly. “I fight because I don’t want what I’ve fought for in the past to be for nothing. I fight because of what I’ve lost, because I have nothing left. I fight because I believe that what makes heroes is not the ability to throw a punch, It’s how much they can take and still keep fighting. I fight because I must.”

Three Days Later


“Men, women, today is the day we liberate the capital.” Blaine spoke proudly, his voice carrying well over the entire faction. “We’ve fought valiantly for years against our tyrant king. But today is the day that we take our country back, in the name of an honest and fair government! For the rebellion!”


Alina stood in the second row of the semi-organized crowd, listening to Blaine’s speech with a small grin on her proud face.


“However, know that today we still face a powerful enemy. It may be so that many of us will not live to see freedom in the capital. Anyone afraid of an honorable death should flee now, but those who wish to stand and fight with their brothers, stomp and shout ‘aye!’”

Alina was not surprised but still amazed that no one backed down; everyone including herself, stomped in unison to declare their brotherhood.


“Aye!” The army shouted collectively.


“Then onward, brothers! Today we march on capital land!” Blaine ordered. The army came clashing through, along with Alina who was stopped suddenly by Blaine. “Where are you going?” he asked, with his hand holding her back from marching with their comrades.



“Where do you think? I’m going to fight.”


“No, not today. You need to stay here.”


“You can--”


“I said stay put!” Blaine shouted, his eyes were beyond the point of serious. It was then that Alina realised why he didn’t want her to march on the capital. Blaine was afraid that she would meet the same fate as Prudence did. Blaine took his gloved hand off of her shoulder and turned back towards the capital.

“I’ll see you when the capital has fallen.” Blaine growled, then unsheathed his blade and mounted his horse to lead his brothers.


Alina sat there for a while in the fields outside of capital land, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her head. Since the day she fled the capital, everything she had done was to aid the rebellion however she could. Now here she was, forced to just sit there while the others fought and risked their lives for her freedom.



“No.” Alina told herself. “Everything you’ve ever done was out of rebellion, and now you’re going to sit here and take orders while the rest die? I won’t allow it!”