The late-night air whistled through, knocking leaves as it passed. Winter this year was worse than any other, causing crops to deteriorate, along with people starving.
"Celestria!" The sound of the guards' voices carried over the desolate field. The only colour amongst the snow was crimson, sticky blood making the land messy. The young woman's eyes tore from the scene of deceased soldiers on both parties. It was an obvious loss for both kingdoms.
Those who weren't dead by now had serious injuries and started bleeding out. Celestria nodded curtly before jumping onto her stallion, the black silhouette blending into the midnight sky.
"Onward, Feronia," she commanded, nudging the horse forwards. The guards rode behind her, the sound of horse hooves crunching against the snow being the sole sound.
With adrenaline pumping through her nerves, the guards and the lady rode on. The sleet beat down on them; the wind blowing dark blue hair into her face, obscuring her view. It seemed like everything was against them that midnight. Not long after, they arrived at the colossal stone castle, hundreds of people surrounding the entrance, fear imminent on their faces.
Children clung to parents as they wailed, crying the names of lost loved ones. Celestria hated the noise, a pit growing in her stomach. She hopped off her horse, gravel crunching beneath her boots. A path soon cleared for her, no one wanting to get in her way. Maybe it was because of the stony expression plastered on her face. Maybe it was the blood-soaked into her armor and skin. Or maybe it was the fact that they perceived her for her invincible army, now having half of her men and women slain.
Celestria's jaw grew taut as she strode to the front of the crowd, the guards not far behind her. Muscles ached and bones ground against each other, yelling at her to rest, to sleep and never wake.
But she didn't let it show, maintaining a poker face. Once she was standing before the people of Ardon, all eyes were on her.
Celestria always hated public speaking. Despised it. But when you're head of an army, you're expected to speak in front of large crowds.
She cleared her voice as everyone around her became silent. Their eyes looked at her, wishing her not to say what they already knew.
Hesitating a moment, she began speaking, her voice loud and crisp. "Hello. As many of you know, I'm Celestria Albimbert, commander of our army."
Her voice wavered. How the hell do you break the news to someone that their family has passed? She fiddled with the archer's bow in her hands, running her fingers over the carvings. Ryker, her father, had made it for her before he was thrown into work to pay off his debts. Which is part of the reason Celestria had joined the army.
She raised her chin, hoping to look more fearless than she felt. "I won't sugarcoat what happened to you. I feel that would be a disgrace to both you and them." She paused, trying to keep her voice steady. This was hard for her too. Maybe she wasn't related to any of those who have fallen but she cared deeply for each of them. She always told herself, never under her watch would anyone get hurt. She never wanted the people to experience grievance or pain.
"A little over half of my troops have... unfortunately, they didn't make it."
It became deathly silent. The people's faces dropped. It was as if they already knew the truth but desperately wanted to be wrong.
Sobs choked up into her throat, but she pushed them down. She couldn't help but think, 'If I break down now, they'd all see me as weak.'
"But I don't want us to think only of their death and what we could've done," Celestria continued. She watched as tears pricked at the eyes of those before her. "They would've wanted us to celebrate their lives. And for that reason, we'll hold a banquet in honour of the soldiers who we lost. I invite all the people of Arden.
"Again, I want to celebrate their lives and how amazing they are–were I mean."
One guard gestured to Celestria that they needed to check on the wounded.
She turned back to the people as parents kept kids from crying too loud. "I'm sorry for everyone's loss. But I want you to know, every soldier we lost was strong, and they fought for us for as long as they could. Evening and thank you for listening." She bowed her head in respect, the people mirroring her.
She walked away from the crowd and headed to the side of the stone castle. That is where the king had a hospital for soldiers built. He wanted there to be two separate hospitals. It was so that the soldiers had better funded doctors than most of the community. Celestria never liked the thought of being treated better than the people she fought for. But she didn't want to risk the king getting mad at her and making her dad work more, so she never complained.
Dismissing the guards to go to their own quarters, she opened the wooden door of the quant room. There were two doctors buzzing between soldiers, changing bandages and cleaning wounds. So far, no one else had died, but Celestria didn't let her hopes up. Many had horrible injuries.
One of the less hurt, Wilheim, came up to Celestria, a bandage covering his left eye. His red messy hair fell on the other and he constantly had to move it away. He gave a crooked smile as he spoke with a raspy Scottish accent.
"Good evenin' m'lady! I see they have not hurt ya too bad. That's a relief. I don't think the others will be, ya know, outta bed soon." He gestured wildly to everyone else in the room, soft groans of pain occasionally leaving them.
Celestria raised her chin to scan Wilheim before answering. "Yes, I understand. But even you won't be authorized out of this room for a few weeks. Unless you get that haircut, it'd be awfully hard to train."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he waved the comment off, tying his hair back in a small ponytail. "I'd be perfectly fine, ain't no one cuttin' my hair."
He flashed another of his crooked smiles, a strand of hair falling in his face.
Celestria cracked a small grin. "As long as you'll be capable of training." She lowered her head in a bow. "Now I must go back to my quarters. Good evening."
Wilheim bowed in return. "And a good evening to you too, m'lady."