TRAITS.A BIRD EAGER FOR FREEDOMingenious, outgoing, independent, assertive, determined
GETTING EATEN BY A CAT
playful, flirtatious, devoted, daring, straight-forward
DON'T YOU WISH TO STAY IN THE CAGE AGAIN?
vindictive, manipulative, headstrong, cunning, spontaneous
PERSONALITY. GENERAL gwendolyn is one of the most trustworthy fire wielders out there. she never disappoints me even when she apologizes for not fulfilling her duty, i think she has done great enough. a hard-working and ambitious young woman who takes responsiblity for everything she does and will never give up. she's independent and takes care of herself, gwendolyn is never a burden and i don't have to worry about her, she's always doing good. don't even think about telling her to take a rest. she's an intelligent girl with a mind of a tactician, i think either her father or mother must have been a very smart person. sometimes, i would ask for her opinions and suggestions. as expected, gwendolyn knows what should she and we be doing. a fearless lioness, ready to complete whatever she was assigned to do. therefore, i believe that she was born to be on the battefield.
AGATHA gwendolyn is beautiful, definitely popular to the male soldiers but at the same time, many people dislike her or envy her. of course, i mean, she's just so talented and better than a lot of them men! i thought she would be an intimidating and aggressive person to scare the guys away but no, she is in fact friendly and approachable. she likes chatting and having fun more than you think. gwen smiles a lot. a confident smile, a friendly smile, a cocky smile but she definitely is a nice girl! she is more playful than one could imagine and loves to tease other people until they burst or blush but what i enjoy the most about her personality is that she's a very independent girl who keeps calm in every situation. she freaks out at first, always, just like us all but somhow, she manages to calm herself down at the end and it's amazing how she reminds herself to do so. the village is on fire? gwen wouldn't freak out even though she's scared and she will look for a way out on her own, to save herself and other people. she's especially caring, gwen values loyalty and friendship and she's very expressive and straight-forward so she would never hesitate to tell her friends how much she loves them. all the hugs and such, too. she would sacrifice herself for the people she loves, that's gwen darling for you!
SOLDIER man, she's so headstrong that i can never have a perfect teamwork with her. gwen doesn't fight with her best friends but to me, she will reason me with this and that, she will talk back and since she's really good at convincing people somehow, gwendolyn always manages to get people to listen to her. she's just so god damn good at persuading people but i would describe her as a manipulative and cunning soldier. yeah, i know she's respected by many and all but she will lie and do all the tricks to benefit herself, gwen's a smart girl after all. i think she's used to taking advantages of people's faith in her and those who trust her are too blind to see her motives. she's really great at all the sweet talks, if you get me? all that flirting and acting like the perfect girl living next door?
KALUM gwendolyn is something that even i can't use words to describe. she is a risk-taker and lives for the adventures. she is fearless and honest, might be a bit too carefree as well. i mean, she dares to speak to me as if i'm her younger brother or a best friend but she's just playful like that, gwendolyn isn't afraid of losing her head and she knows i wouldn't do so. a great person who knows how to keep a conversation interesting but she is driven by vengeance and hatred, i suppose. i heard the blues killed her family so she's always thinking about sending the queen of aequor to hell. she would have been perfect if gwen was more... forgiving. but nevertheless, she has a big heart and i can see that in her. she listens to her heart rather than her mind. an action-oriented young woman so she's rather unpredictable. it's a good thing, though.
BACKGROUND.
i. a tale of two sisters
"queen elianna, please, please save my child!" was what beatrice said as she kneeled down in front of the beloved queen of aequor, one arm hugging her her belly that was carrying the child of a man that shall never be named in front of the royal family.
elianna stared down at the small and poor figure on the ground from her throne, she found it hard to let the words escape when the queen was faced with her once-used-to-be naive and lovely little sister. the royal family had two little princesses back then, elianna and beatrice with the former being the elder girl and the latter being the younger. both of them were lovely and known for their beauty yet elianna excelled in a lot of arenas that beatrice couldn't be. in conclusion, elianna was born to be a ruler with her intelligence and kindness while the youngest princess of aequor was born to be a free soul.
so beatrice excused herself along with a line of guards and servants. she went on a journey to travel around the beautiful land and sea of aequor but wished to explore further than what she had already known through the books that their tutors taught the sisters.
"will you come back?" elianna questioned, she was still not ready to let go of her little sister but beatrice was ready to kiss her sister goodbye. "i will come back to celebrate every birthday of yours and our parents. i will come back when your first child is born. i will come back to you, always but eli? when i come back, i might be introduced to you and aequor as the queen of a new land."
beatrice was adventurous, always full of energy and hope. if she did discover a new land and became a queen, elianna would still congratulate them. she believed in beatrice and her dreams, the little sister would never disappoint her.
or so she thought.
beatrice first came back when their mother passed away and elianna wished she could stay a bit longer but her beloved sister left days after the funeral. the little bird came back the second time when their father passed away and elianna genuiely wanted her to stay yet the blue bird spread her wings and flew away once again. she came home the third time when it was elianna's coronation day yet never stayed even when the newly crowned queen of aequor begged her to. "i made a promise to a man and i love him." was what beatrice said before the blond with the tiny cute freckles across the bridge of her nose sailed her ship. beatrice never came back after that.
"your highness, are you still worrying about princess beatrice? i think you should forget about her, she has done nothing to help this country. all she cares about is the fun in her life, that is such a childish act—"
"thank you for being so thoughtful, thomas. but please remember, she's still your princess." the queen smiled gently at her advisor but even though that smile was meant to be sweet and comforting, it was bitterly gloomy, full of sadness.
beatrice had been gone for years. she didn't come back when her country was facing a dreadful problem. she didn't come back when her people could be in need of her appearance. she didn't come back when elianna gave birth to her first child, princess aveline adrianna hart. beatrice was elianna's best friend and she wasn't there when the queen needed her the most, it was the death of her beloved man.
but she was back and she wasn't alone. beatrice was pregnant with their rival—a red. but not an ordinary red, a powerful red—king demetrius' loyal advisor, raymond harper. shame on them for being unfaithful to their rulers and gods.
harper didn't want their child to be born because he wouldn't want his family and the king of hajnal to find out so he suggested an abortion shall be performed. however, beatrice refused to because she was frightened of getting hurt. furthermore, she wanted to give birth to the poor and innocent child that had done nothing wrong but it was more complicated than that. she couldn't just "want". raymond threatened to kill both of them if he found out that she gave birth to the baby so beatrice didn't have any other choice but to escape from hajnal and begged for help from her older sister, the queen with a kind heart who would listen to her for sure. no one could know about this, no one. absolutely no one.
elianna felt betrayed and disappointed but she didn't allow herself to have such negative thoughts about her family. she was always like that, saw the best in people and looked at the world through her kind eyes. "take care of princess beatrice in her room until the day her first child is born. do not let anyone know about this, especially the royal advisors."
"yes, your highness."
"after that, she'll be taken to the countryside and live the life of an outcast. send ten of guards and servants to come along and serve them both. protect them and don't let anything happen to them."
ii. the queen's visit
the first time dorothy evangeline harper learned that she wasn't just an ordinary little girl was when she was six and fell down from a horse. scratched knees and a bruised chin but she came home with no blood and only dirt on her face. mother was pissed because she ruined the dress once again. it wasn't the first time dorothy was scolded at by her dear mother, being called "filthy red" and such names when the woman was intoxicated with a glass of strong beer in her own dream worlds where she longed for the freedom and lands of the strangers. mother had always been a child at heart, wanting to conquer the world and go on endless adventures so when she was trapped inside an old cottage with a little naive girl who never couldn't satisfy her desire of listening to stories about the new lands because the girl herself had never even left the countryside, the woman could only force herself to be drunk.
dizziness, slurred speech, impaired judgment. the queen did not want her niece to grow up with a mother like that. elianna visited them once a year in secret without telling her daughter, princess aveline, about the trip. she wanted to check on her dear sister but every time, beatrice's behaviors got worse.
"why are you hiding me from the world?"
"to keep you safe, bea. what do you mean?"
"i don't want to be safe, i want to be free...!" cried the freckled one with blonde curls. "i miss raymond, i want to see him. i don't want to be trapped in this place without joyness to please me, i hate you, eli! i hate all of you!" there she was, acting like a complicated child again. wanting to hide but wanting to leave at the same time.
dorothy knew about the world of hatred through her mother's drunk words. the blues, the reds, the war, her father and her mother's desire of leaving the land one day. she learned that she was a mistake, she believed that she was a red and she came to the agreement that because of her, mother was living a miserable life. no matter how many men she had called to their home, mother would never feel satisfied. no one could be her father but beatrice probably never once had the intention to make those men dorothy's father. she was only playing around with them, using their warmth to make her forget about the man whom she loved so much and wished to meet him every night even though he treated her like horse's crap.
mother was foolish, she heard the servants talking like that all the time.
"queen elianna, how do i heal my mother's broken heart?"
elianna glanced down at the lovely girl with dirt on her face and knees, a soft smiled was formed on aequor's beloved queen's red lips. "dorothy, sweetheart, you can't heal—" but then she stopped midway, studying the dirt on the little girl's cheek before squinting her eyes. "can you?"
and dorothy nodded her head.
"of course, the royal blood." elianna wiped away the dirt on dorothy's face with her soft and slim fingers. she could be a rare case of those who possessed the healing power of the bluebird without being a pure royal but still, she had a blood of royalty running inside her pumping veins. "you are and will always be a blue bird."
"even when i'm a filthy red?"
queen elianna's heart ached at those words. dorothy was just a child and she was only younger than her daughter for one year. she looked into dorothy's eyes and she found aveline. they were all adorable little girls with a naive soul yet they had to live in a corrupted world. "you aren't filthy. there's nothing wrong about being both a red and a blue at the same time." that was a lie and queen elianna felt guilty for lying to her. "dorothy, promise me one thing. because your mother also means the world to me, if one day things get out of control, you will be there to protect her and our people. though you have never met princess aveline yet but promise me that one day if she becomes queen, you will take care of her for me, too."
with dorothy's kind heart and soul, queen elianna trusted that she would become a huge impact one day when she grew up.
"yes, your highness."
iii. learn to spread those wings
"do it, victor. i'm not afraid to die."
with his sword beside her neck, general victor leonardo carter let out a deep sigh before dropping it onto the green gress beneath dorothy's fragile body. "my lady, it is perhaps time we went back for dinner. princess beatrice wouldn't be too happy if she doesn't see you being punctual."
rolling her brown eyes, dorothy helped herself to stand up from the hard ground under her . princess beatrice this, princess beatrice that, all those people cared about was her mother. she cared about her mom, too, but dorothy just thought it wasn't that necessary to make sure she always showed up during dinner on time because whether she was presented or not, mother would act like a crazy woman. she ate but didn't really eat, beatrice held up a spoon full of soup near but her eyes were staring at something else outside the window. sometimes, she would talk as if she was using dinner with a royal man and that man was no one other than her father.
beatrice was sick.
"mother, i'm finished. i'll be in my room now so if you need me... but, you probably won't."
most of the time, beatrice wouldn't answer to that but there were times when the freckled blonde would stand up from her seat, startling everyone with the sudden change in her mood as she cried for love, freedom and raymond harper. "you filthy red, dirty red, evil red! you took the love of my life from me, you filthy !" and beatrice was never allowed to have a knife or a fork near her as she might hurt someone with those sharp objects while suffering from her own rage.
like her own daughter.
"how am i going to protect her if i'm this weak?" dorothy refused to come home early. "i know i can heal myself and others, victor, you don't have to repeat that one more time," and general carter sighed at her stubbornness, "but i still want to know how to fight using my own strength. how to use a sword and how to ride a horse probably."
"my job is to make sure you and princess beatrice are unharmed and safe."
"the queen personally requested me to look after princess beatrice and the people of aequor. as my bodyguard, tutor, advisor and a father figure, are you really going to raise me into a disappointment of our kingdom? or are you betraying the queen now, huh? is that so, general victor?"
"since when did i have so many roles, lady dorothy?"
dorothy pursed her lips together. since the first day of her life when she was born. since the day he took the queen's orders and left the battlefield just to take care of her mother and her. she respected the talented man, she saw him as a father she wished she could have had. "please, let me join the army."
"m'lady, what are you talking about? do you have any idea how crazy does that sound? you are a royalty and you are only ten."
"but no one knows who i am." just like how people believed that princess beatrice died overseas and never made it back home. "my mother won't notice my disappearance, victor. she doesn't remember or recognize who is who anymore and she would forget about your existence unless you're standing in front of her. she's a mad woman, i think it's best if she doesn't see me for a while."
however, enlisting the military wasn't a joke. constant sword and strength training, you wouldn't be able to tell whether it was blood, sweat or tears that were dripping down from your face, dropping onto the dirty and hard ground beneath your bare feet. in addition to all those crappy tough responsibilities, female soldiers and warriors although not atypical but most of them would be regarded as absurd or being too weak and unskilled to be able to raise a sword. for a girl who wasn't born to be a warrior like her, how would little dorothy survive on that battefield if it wasn't for her healing power? but she was determined, dorothy wasn't joking when she said she wanted to enter the military. it wasn't like the queen would come up and check on them anymore as her work got a lot busier, it had been two years since her last visit. plus, dorothy wanted to know how what would it feel like to leave that tiny part of countryside, meeting other people and probably those around her age.
"i will write her a letter so if anything happens, no one will take the blame for me. please, general, i don't want to be protected in this cottage for the rest of my life. i want to be... free. i want to be strong, i want to protect aequor, my mother, princess aveline and everyone. you, too. you can still check on me if you're worried because you are still their respected and beloved general!" a child's words always came from the bottom of their heart. children were honest with what they wanted and loved, unlike adults who pretended to fall in love with so many things just to fulfil their wild fantasies and greed.
"very well." victor nodded his head a few times. "i shall help you prepare for that day, then, lady dorothy." a cheeky grin formed on her face.
iv. lamb among the wolves
dorothy thought she would be fine but fourteen years of living inside the cage did her worse than just keeping her safe. she learned how to cook, she learned how to do her own laundry, she learned to become the heroine of those legends and the myths but she never learned to make friends. it was too much to handle when all those boys snorted at her and the other girls, she heard them laughing when she missed her arrow but stayed silent when dorothy defeated a boy older than her. no matter how great she was though, they would never respect her just because she was a female. soon, they would learn to.
theodore blanchard was his name, the boy who was esteemed by everyone and expected to become one of the brightest among the new recruits. a commander visited their camp once and said theodore would make a great general in the future. he was handsome, confident and full of passion. he was a great leader, a great brother, a great partner but to dorothy, he was nothing but a big boy who thought he could be better than everyone else.
"this weakling boy is favoured by our generals? i can't believe it, look at him!"
other squires laughed at him while theodore was in pain, lying on the ground with tears on his red face, hugging his broken leg. theodore didn't have enough strength to open his eyes and look at them, how unfortunate for the arrogant boy, dorothy thought to herself. all of his friends were standing together like little puzzled and petrified baby ducks who didn't know what to do when their mother was beaten to death by the wolves of the wild. "you tell them that because you are weak so you fell from a cliff, you hear me? you and your friends don't want another bone to be crushed."
when the older boys left, it was when theodore's friends rushed over him to check on his broken leg. theo swallowed his tears, he didn't want other people to see him in the worst possible state but there he was, couldn't even talk. then, dorothy kneeled next to him. "put your hands away." the blonde told the others even if they were scowling at her. since when had they been easy on her, anyways?
hovering her tiny hand above his leg, dorothy formed a glowing blue orb which was filled with water, something that looked like magic and it was indeed magic. all the four kids excluding her and the wounded boy dropped their jaws, they were witnessing an incredible scene. a healer. dorothy was a healder, hidden among these soldiers but what was a healer like her doing at such a place?
theodore could walk now though he was still struggling a bit. the brunette blinked at the blonde and his eyes were filled with guilt. "you are a healer, blessed by the queen. why are you even here as a soldier?"
"because i promised the queen that i would protect our people and my— our people." she hesitated for a moment back then. "and i want to become stronger as well so being trained as a soldier will give me everything i need. greater stamina, great strength, better archery, sword and horse riding skills..." and one day, dorothy hoped that she would be able to take mother to visit other kingdoms. to assure that nothing would happen to beatrice, dorothy must be strong and independent instead of always relying on victor and others. "but i have to hide from the queen. she wouldn't be too happy to see me so i will keep my profile low. the queen remembers those she have given her blood to, after all." no, that wasn't the reason.
queen elianna would never want to see dorothy leaving her mother's side.
"well then, we will help you."
we? dorothy blinked at the boy with his charming grin and his friends who were all displaying a broad smile on their dark faces that were covered in sand and dirt. she made her first friends and swore to protect them.
v. beautiful adrianna
queen elianna was assassinated and a new reign had begun. the whole kingdom mourned over their beloved queen's death, litting up thousands of candles for her and prayed that their queen's soul would be with the luminous and eternal stars in the beautiful night sky of aequor.
dorothy wasn't aware of the fact that not long after the queen's death, she would have to mourn over her mother's death as well. beatrice heard the news and immediately what felt like a thousand of needles pierced through her bleeding heart. she begged victor to let her go to the castle and meet her older sister's daughter, believing that the girl would bear resemblance to her mother but she was killed by no one else but her own niece.
it was the same royal advisor that didn't see the good things in the queen's younger sister. thomas. the man was definitely smart and he found out that beatrice had brought home a forbidden gift. being a man who absolutely despised and loathed the reds but knowing that his queen was too forgiving and benevolent, he couldn't do anything until a man shared his perspective murdered her and made queen elianna's young daughter the new ruler of aequor. she was nothing liker her mother and it pleased him. she seemed to hate the reds just as he did so when he told young queen aveline adrianna hart that beatrice was a servant who had betrayed her own country, broke numerous rules and slept with hundreds of hajnal men, aveline with a cold face, announced an execution for her family member. she never knew about beatrice's existence. therefore, she didn't listen to anyone the freckled blonde said when beatrice complimented her for how beautiful she looked as if she was looking at a queen elianna's portrait from her younger days, she rolled her eyes when beatrice claimed that they had the same blood running through their veins yet she believed the man who was there to guide her through the journey of changing aequor's future. all he did was spreading lies but beatrice had been forgotten for a long time, her words wouldn't matter anymore.
victor came back as a general working for the military, thomas decided to spare him since he served the kingdom for a long good period of time and hoped that he wouldn't betray aequor and their queen for another time. "my people can't find that little brat but i hope you kill her before queen aveline does." was what thomas said when he gave victor a ghost smile.
that little brat was no one else other than dorothy evangeline harper, who was currently embracing her friend's trembling body when they received the news that their entire family would be executed due to a crime his father committed. if queen elianna was still alive, the least she would do is putting this poor boy's father in prison and wouldn't make his entire family go through what that only the man deserved. unfortunately and sadly, her body was burried underneath their feet. "this is not how things are supposed to turn out." theodore balled his fists together, frowning hard as he tried to control the rage. "aequor was once a kingdom of joyness and serenity. what have the rulers turned into? a bunch of bastards."
"you don't want to lose your tongue, theo."
"am i supposed to watch your head being taken by that stupid sixteen years old girl, then?"
"what are we going to do? i don't want leonard to die! we have to save him!" their group of friends sat around in circle, giving theo, their leader, a protective and determining look but even theo wasn't sure what to do. there was nothing else they could think of to save leonard. it happened too quick, death had never occured faster all thanks to the new queen's reign.
dorothy saw the light before her brown eyes. "what if we run away together?" and apparently, her option wasn't supported by many of them as they all told her that she had lost her mind. if they got caught not fulfilling their duty as a soldier serving aequor, it was nothing different from betraying their own country. death was what they were talking about, not to mention their families would be involved but dorothy wasn't worried about that. "then i will run away with him." she stated with a firm look.
dorothy wasn't afraid. she enlisted the military as an orphan who had no shelter. to the world, her family was dead or that they were never a part of her life so if one day she vanished, no one would shed their tears for her besides her friends, of course. poor kid, people whispered. "what matters now is that we get leo out of this hell hole. the execution will take place in five days and they're going to get him tomorrow but tonight, leo and i will make a run for it. tomorrow morning, you guys have to make a big scene —— report our missing and act like you know nothing about our plan." he was her friend and she would never let him die.
that night, dorothy tied her hair into a high ponytail and glanced over her male friend leonard, who was gripping onto his bags while staring down at the ground with tears streaming down like a flow of river. he wasn't prepared for all of this to happen. he didn't even get a chance to say farewell to his family because they were captured in the dungeon, how unfortunate. as for dorothy, she knew she was out of her mind. beatrice might or might not freak out but victor would never forgive himself though she knew that he would understand why she decided to run away. he out of everyone should know that dorothy valued companionship among all. she reached out to pat on his shoulder lightly and comforted the boy. "you will be fine. i promise."
they left the base, as silent as the grave. they intended to travel to a nearby kingdom and hide for a while but as the two travelled through the deep forest, dorothy noticed how quiet leonard had been. he was usually a talkative and cheeky boy, loved chatting and smiling but she guessed with everything that had been happening, he couldn't lift the corners of his lips. it was so quiet that she could hear the sound of leaves rustling in the strong and cold wind of the night and the sound of their boots stepping on the branches beneath. bats, too and oh, it was kind of creepy. soon, she only heard her footsteps —— why did leo stop walking so suddenly? she whipped her head to look at him. "what's wrong?" her voice was gentle and so was his when he told her he was sorry.
dorothy thought he apologized for making her come along but what he meant was how he lied to her because in an instant, they were blocked by two men wearing dark clothes with a sword on their hands. "lovely to meet princess beatrice's daughter. oh, how beautiful! i wonder who does she resemble more, her mother or her father?" one of them said with a hoarse voice.
"i don't know why does he hate princess beatrice that much but what has to be done has to be done." the other replied in a cold tone. "what's the plan again?"
"right, we kill her and leave her body here then we take the boy back to the queen, tell her that we are hunting for wolves when we encounter two soldiers trying to run away. old man thomas promised that he would give us a fortune and the queen would reward us."
"gotta say he's smart, sending us to stalk general victor. that man keeps looking for her but sadly, we find her before he does. hey, i also have an idea. why don't we tell the queen that we forced these kids to speak and they admitted that their little group also knows about the plan? you know that boy blanchard, he's such a loyal dog, keeps getting praised and i'm sick of it. he should be killed off so that i will become the general's most trusted soldier."
"the queen doesn't even know them personally. what if she investigates?"
"she's brutal. barbarous. and merciless. if she sees an opportunity to punish those who dare to betray her? she will not hesitate. have you heard about princess beatrice's death? oh, queen aveline did not show forgiveness at all. plus, this boy is going to be executed so how do you think she would react? boy trying to run away from his punishment and his friends cover it for him? they are all going to be dead."
and they laughed, sending a shiver down dorothy's spine. her mind was blank and she couldn't comprehend with every single world they were saying.
"b-but lord sandrick promised to save my family if i lured dorothy out!" leonard's voice was shaking, his legs melted like noodles and collapsed upon hearing the two soldiers' sudden change of plan. dorothy froze in her place so she didn't know what kind of face he was making but she hoped that he was crying.
he should be, for what he had done. her heart was throbbing, she hoped that he would mourn over her death, too.
dorothy felt a sword pierced through her stomach and she collpased onto the cold ground, she felt her own blood oozing out and it would never stop bleeding. pain, so much pain.
"you should know that freaky old man, he's cunning and will never keep his promises."
"please, let me go! please, please save my family and my friends, they are innocent, they have done nothing wrong! dorothy, dorothy!"
he kept calling her name over and over but the more he yelled, the more distant his voice became. sweating and panting, dorothy waited until everything was silent then she weakly moved her arm, hovering her hand above the bleeding wound and in the middle of a pitch black night, the magical and faint blue light could be seen. the light was beautiful, even more enchanting than the moonlight. dorothy was breathing hard when she no longer felt the pain in her stomach but the pain in her heart became worse and worse as seconds passed by.
her mother died. leonard didn't make it. her friends were going to die. victor would never know the truth. the blonde cried, she kept groaning and sobbing as the night got darker, until she no longer had the strength to cry and fell asleep. when dorothy felt the warm sunshine heating up her freezing body, it was also when she made up her mind. no, she wouldn't blame leonard for what he did. after all, he just wanted to save his family and he knew she could heal herself.
she blamed the two soldiers for being such nasty creatures. she blamed the new queen for being so unjust and ferocious.
she blamed aveline adrianna hart for her dead heart of a demon.
vi. a gift from the phoenix
"gwen, how does it feel to inherit the great power of our god?"
"feels just right, agatha."
"gosh, i hate how you are so chill about this meanwhile it's considered a big issue to all of us! seriously, all those men out there thinking that the king was going to choose them but then only your name was heard. how embarrassing for them! now they will understand that us women are just as powerful as any of them."
agatha lahey, also known as her best friend, was always loud like that but gwendolyn learned to love her presence. most of the time she ignored agatha's opinions because they never shared the same perspective and she would be too tired and lazy to trying to prove a point, agatha was incredibly stubborn after all though gwendolyn wasn't any less of a headstrong. this time, she was wrong again. gwendolyn did not feel chill about being blessed with the power to be able to wield fire. she felt joyful, extremely glad that she had achieved a goal.
the moment she crossed the border and blended in with the people of hajnal, she was dreaming of victory. it was tough at first when she merely knew anything about the kingdom, living in fear that she would be killed off by these strangers who were laballed as "cold-hearted animals" by the blues anytime and the blonde was afraid of getting rejected when she enlisted the military.
"daughter of?"
"please, sir, my parents were killed by the blues when i was born. i don't have a family and have been living on the streets, stealing bread to live day by day but i learned to defend myself and fight on my own and i dare to guanrantee that i will not disappoint you. i dare to say that i'm skilled in archery. i dare to prove that i'm just not an ordinary girl and i'm just as strong as you are. please, i want to take vengeance and i'm sure you understand how much worse the blues deserve."
she was fiercy but maybe too aggressive but she was determined. the man stared at her with his grey eyes and a dark expression before finally giving out an amused smirk. "name."
".... gwendolyn. gwendolyn evangeline har— darling."
"welcome to king demetrius' mighty army, darling. some people might like you but be careful, not all of them will go easy on women."
"sir, i ask no one to go easy on me."
the day she became a soldier of hajnal, serving her enemy under a different name —— dorothy evangeline harper transformed into another person after that. she was injured but with her healing power, she could still stand up and join the combat training the day after and people were amazed at how strong and ambitious she was. she wasn't the best when it came to swordsmanship but she topped everyone in archery. she became better and better, outshone everyone and it wasn't a strange scene at all if one caught dorothy practicing to use the sword on her own at dusk and dawn.
"general, you trained some great soldiers, especially that one."
"thank you, your majesty. that's gwendolyn evangeline darling, one of our most skilled female soldiers. she recovers fast from injuries and is a smart girl, probably smarter than me." and the two men laughed together.
"remember her name for me, kalum. she killed more blues than you did and one day, that girl is going to become a fire wielder."
the prince met her eyes but gwendolyn didn't say anything and silently avoided his gaze. she killed more blues than him and she should feel ashamed of that but she had to do this, to gain their trust and to prove herself to the king but not like this —— how would she convince king demetrius to stop slaughtering the blues and that he should just kill their queen once for all and stole aveline's kingdom instead of murdering all of aequor's civillians?
vii. delusional antagonist
king demetrius was dead and his son, prince kalumn became hajnal's new king. it was entertaining to be able to witness both the rulers of aequor and hajnal died then witnessed their children become a king and queen themselves.
"is it training time yet?"
"your majesty, they are waiting for you."
"good."
king kalum smiled to himself when he was greeted with the familiar faces, one of them being gwendolyn evangeline darling's. "you're late." the pretty blonde dared to complain while the king's tutors remained silent, afraid that they would lose their heads if they acted the same as she did.
"how may i apologize to you, sweet darling?" funny how her surname happened to be darling because to him, she was really a darling. the corner of gwen's lips curled up into a graceful smile as she opened her palm with fire dancing across it. "i have to go back to the military soon so why don't we finish this practice early?"
"would be a shame to see you leave so early."
touching, but she would never fall for that. gwendolyn knew what her king was like —— a flirtatious yet intelligent brat. "your majesty, you know how much i would love to stay by your side and train with you but my level is much lower than yours. as a soldier, i wouldn't dare to piss my superiors off as well."
yet she was picking her generals over the king, kalum laughed in his head. "i know you would love to stay by my side until the day i kill aequor's queen." he knew she wanted that to happen.
kalum listened to his father and remembered the unique female soldier's name. gwendolyn evangeline darling — beautiful, strong, smart. he was there when the blessing ceremony was performed and kalum hoped to see her the most. he thought she wasn't like most girls though it definitely was not uncommon to find a female warrior. there was just something attractive about her, those light shade of brown eyes and the beautiful long blonde hair and for how bold she was when gwendolyn agreed to let him teach her how to master the flames yet refused to fall in love with him but at the same time, he was interested in how passionate she was about murdering the queen of aequor.
unlike his father, she didn't really have the intention of killing all of the blues though she wanted the death of aveline adrianna hart to happen more than anyone else he had ever met. "she's a monster, prince kalum." gwendolyn stared at the flickering fire on both of her palms. "you have heard stories of the cruel ruler. you will have to defeat her if you want to win the war even if it means taking down the entire army of aequor, even if it means that you will have to harm innocent lives." she balled her fists together, eyes still reflecting the burning flames. "and if you hesitate, you can take over her kingdom." and she hoped that kalum was different from his father. that he would hesitate when it came to killing the blues.
no, she would try her best to convince him not to kill them if he decided to.
king demetrius overheard them talking and he couldn't be any prouder. even when the man passed away, gwendolyn was still there by his side and though he loved to spend time with her, he didn't really know how to reply every time she remained him that it was his duty to win the war.
after all, gwendolyn had worked herself from the bottom to the top, from nothing to becoming the king's favorite soldier, as well as a secret advisor that no one knew. the girl who possessed two greatly and deadly powers but she hid her blue feathers, borrowing the phoenix's soul to to kill aveline adrianna hart, to revenge for her dead mother and friends, to protect aequor from the hands of the witch.
"queen elianna, i'm sorry i failed you. i couldn't protect my mother, i couldn't protect our people and i couldn't protect aveline from the monster inside of her." the blonde whispered. "but i promise you, this is not the end, my duty's not done yet. i couldn't protect my mother but i can, still, and i will protect our people from your daughter, and i will protect her from that monster, too."
by killing her, queen elianna. by killing your daughter, i would be able to keep our promise.
gwendolyn evangeline darling —— god damn headstrong and ambitious —— is this the right path to walk on, is this what you are fighting for?
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