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2:
It had been hard for Heather to accept that a fragment of her life as before the war began would not be the same as it was in the past. She couldn’t understand Samina’s position though; after all, Samina was no longer Samina—she was “Silver”, an agent of the rebel army.
Harnz may have referred to Silver as Moon’s “pet” but it seemed nothing of the sort. After Moon had invited Heather to stay, almost wanting Silver to have some sort of contact with a Human, Heather began to want to know more about what why Silver had basically abandoned her previous existence instead of relishing it. When invited to dinner one night, Heather observed the pair. There was an affinity between the two of them—Moon and Silver—and Heather was certain that the life-bond created between Risen and their creator had nothing to do with. Silver had her “self”, after all. Moon had made sure of it; it was Silver’s “self” that had brought down the King and left the Princes to Keep. It was probably never intended for the relationship to have ended with them being even more connected than just a master and servant.
Heather was only left to imagine how it was in the first days of Silver being a Risen. She was curious, in a way, how they Dealk rebels had seen her. After all, Heather was aware that both Harnz and Zei avoided Heather, herself; both also seemed to enjoy teasing Silver but sometimes in a way that had some avoidance. Yet, she also saw that they would hardly speak to the other Risen in the rebel ranks.
Maybe it was the view on the ethics of the Risen—Humans that were no longer Humans, slaves to the ones who gave them life after death… The view on the population of Risen was tarnished by the mass majority of the kind that was used as pawns of the Four Princes who used them for tools of war.
Risen were practically immortal, after all. The willful ones who could only die if their creator was weakened or close to death; and the soulless ones less so immortal had to be targeted directly at the heart with a sharp object such as a knife or sword, thus why guns weren’t widely used in the war…
Heather would continue to learn knowledge about the Risen as she continued to live at the base where Silver lived. She learned more about the Dealk in a few days then she had learned over the entire time that the war had been going on.
Occasionally, Heather was invited by Moon to come on patrol with himself and Silver. It seemed that Moon wanted Silver to have some kind of contact with the Human part of her existence, as much to Silver’s own displeasure. They were friends though—Silver and Heather. There were times when Silver would act just like how Heather had known her before all of it had begun; other times Silver was distant and cold. It really depended on who was around when they talked. Perhaps it was a front for the Dealk: that cold attitude.
At least when they would go out on patrol it would just be three of them—Moon, Silver, and Heather—and it was in occasions such as that that Silver seemed to truly be herself and not the cold individual. Sometimes they would talk about mundane things; other times, more serious stuff—like the war. Heather learned to realize, after many patrols, that it wasn’t a game. She originally accepted the patrols as an excuse to get Silver and Heather to talk; but Heather learned that the patrol was serious business.
Silver was indeed part of the war; and being with her had made Heather a part of it, too. Danger was eminent and evident; an attack could come at any moment. It was something that was learned and dealt with. The past would never come back, Heather had learned to accept it; the present was dangerous, and was true; and the future was unknown.
Heather didn’t realize just how much danger she had put herself in trying to be stuck in the past. Yet one day, she would learn that danger lurked in shadows.
It was quick, and unexpected. A man had come from the side during one of the random patrols. Heather felt a blade pierce her abdomen. A gasp was all that escaped her lips.
Behind Heather stood the attacker, who looked up from his hands and towards where Silver and Moon stood.
Silver met the man’s gaze directly. It was one of them—it was one of the four Princes; she would never forget their faces.
The red haired attacker withdrew the sword and Heather fell forward.
Silver was standing in shock yet Moon went in the defense, pushing Silver slightly behind him, out of reflex.
"Target was obscured so the easiest was taken," the red haired man stated. And as quick as he had come, the man left.
Moon, leaving Silver to directly tend to the injured woman went to get help. It was part of war, after all, that people got hurt. Heather had just never experienced it for herself…
Doctors had taken Heather away inside the base leaving Silver with Moon. Silver had been left in a daze as they lingered in one of the smaller lounges reserved just for Moon and his direct comrades.
Moon had already spoken with Harnz about how the attack had been meant for him; curious of how one of the Princes had made it so close without being noticed. It set everyone on high alert, for the Princes were the most dangerous enemies to face.
A few hours later, Zei had joined them. He, being more medically affiliated than the other higher officers, came with news.
“That woman will live, but she’ll be out of it for a while.” Zei stated.
Harnz eyed the silent Silver and then looked up towards Moon.
“You don’t have to hide that you care about her welfare,” Moon stated, calling Silver’s attention towards him. “She’s your friend, whether you want to believe it or not. You being a Risen has nothing to do with relationships…”
Silver cast her eyes to the ground, “…I know that.”
“Are you just upset that she was hurt? …or is it something else?” Moon inquired.
Silver stood up and met Moon’s gaze, “Why?”
Moon quirked his head to the side.
“Why must people die?” she asked.
Moon sighed, “We don’t want them to die, Silver. We don’t want to fight, either; you know this.”
“I know…!” Silver shouted, “When will it just stop!”
Zei looked towards Harnz, who cleared his throat, “Zei and I will go and take care of a few things; we’ll leave you two to…discuss things.”
Moon looked towards the pair and nodded.
After the pair left and a few moments of silence passed, Moon approached Silver, “Look, I know…that seeing that man…upset you….but you have to realize that, in that moment, none of us were prepared for an attack.”
“I just want it to end already…” Silver stated. “I don’t want people to die just because they want to play their little games with us. They wanted to conquer this world by destroying all of its inhabitants; I died to stop that and I accepted that… but Heather, she…she’s not even directly involved in the war so why? Why do innocent people have to be pulled in and used like their play-things?”
Moon placed a hand upon Silver’s shoulder.
Silver looked up, meeting his gaze directly, “They don’t even recognize who I am; they’re oblivious to everything aside from themselves… They know who you are and they know that I am a Risen created by you, but they don’t know where I came from. They don’t even realize that I was the one that they collectively killed that day…!” she was on the verge of tears in that moment, “We’re nothing to them…! Humans, Risen, and even people like you…! We mean nothing to them! We’re just things.”
Moon shook his head and pulled Silver into an embrace, “You’re not that girl anymore; you’re not the girl they killed. You’re so much more than that now. You’re not just a thing; you know it, I know it… That’s why we’re fighting. It’s unfortunate that we can’t just end it but we’re trying. We fight so less people have to die, so people won’t have to cry over not knowing what the next day will bring, and so people won’t be afraid to tell the people they love that they love them, no matter who or what they are…”
“Humans
and Dealk aren’t so different…” Moon stated, embracing Silver more tightly, her gaze on the floor, “They all want to be happy and to see their loved ones happy… That’s why those that fight do as they do: to fight for the ones they care about…just as I do…”
Silver glanced up, meeting his gaze.
“Silver, I know not if you fight for vengeance right now, but…I know that, though I fight for freedom from the Princes, I’m also fighting for you.” Moon stated. “I want to say all that I want to say, but it isn’t fair for me to say it as long as this war is raging. I am a leader to this organization and my responsibility to that comes first…”
“My mission…” Silver began, “As long as this war rages my purpose in life is to defeat those four. I understand what you’re saying, and, just as you, I have something to do before my life can mean anything more…”
“Then it’s settled then, isn’t it?” Moon stated.
Silver nodded, “Yes, it is. It’s time to stop the fighting.”
“Then let’s end this war.” Moon stated.