Twisted Returns

The room is full of broken glass.

"Three... two... one..." The sound of more glass breaking.

"Ugh! I just can't get it right!" Elise yells in frustration. She tugs at her blood stained sleeve, revealing another long cut.

"Elise, you don't have to keep doing this," I tell her. I stare down at the floor, drops of her blood speckling the white.

"I have to," she says, dabbing medicine on her cut. She winces as it stings, but the wound slowly heals itself and fades to a scar.

"No, you don't," I say. "It's not your job."

"I need this," she says. "Don't you understand?"

"I do understand." But that doesn't mean I still think she should do it.

Elise had opted out of fighting. She wanted a job handling supplies, but the news last night in the training room has completely changed her mind. Instead, she wants to go into the heart of the battle.

"Then you'll see why I have to do this. It's a must.

"Why?"

She finishes tending to her wound and then turns to fully face me. "There was no one to save my sisters. I'm not going to let that happen to anyone else."

"But what if they can't be saved? Sometimes things like that just happen."

"I know someone can be saved. Even if it's just one person that I save."

"What if it's all for nothing? What if you risk your life for something that isn't worth it?"

"I know it's worth it, though. Why would I go through all this training, all this glass cutting me, if it wasn't worth it?"

"I know but-"

"Listen, we all know who Steven reminded us of. I didn't want to think about Aaron, but... It's time I do something. I've lost Aaron, my sisters. I don't have much left going for me."

"Your parents. Your friends."

She laughs, though the sound contains no joy. "My parents never cared about me. Sure, they came to visit me. But that just caused me to remember how they ignored me and my sisters."

"Your friends, then."

"If you haven't noticed, I haven't been very popular with everyone. I don't really have friends."

"I'm your friend."

She laughs again. "You can say that, but we both know it's not true. Sure, we don't hate each other, and I guess we can be called acquaintances. But we're not exactly the best of friends."

I have nothing to say to that, because she's right. But I admire her ability to tell it like it is. Maybe we should have been better friends. It's too late now. War isn't the best setting for building friendship. Not when you don't know who you'll see the next day.

"Thanks for being here though," she says. "I mean, I only needed someone to make sure I didn't pass out or anything. And everyone else was busy... but still. Thanks."

"Yeah. You're welcome."

----

"Terran network," I say, tapping my necklace three times. Terran is the new name of our group, meaning "of Earth". We all agreed that it fit well.

"How are you guys doing?" I say out loud. But my voice will be sent to them in the same way Marigold's had - a voice in your head.

Boring, Cody says. There are no attacks on the castle, so we have nothing to do.

That's a lie, Sarah says. I got one of those weird flammable monsters.

Yeah, but you burned down a tree.

At least I did something.

There's nothing for-

"Okay, okay," I say, cutting them off. "I get it, there's nothing to do. Why don't you guys just come in and be safe?"

You know we can't do that, Cody says. Something could happen at any minute and we have to be here.

There's a ping as Lorraine connects to the network.

Everything okay? she asks.

Yes, we're fine, Sarah says. You don't have to ask every ten minutes.

Well, it's not her fault she's worried. At least she has feelings... unlike someone.

"Close communication," I say, not wanting to listen to Cody and Sarah argue again.

I sit there on my bed, my head in my hands. Even with a war going on, I'm still so bored. Even with a huge castle filled with everything I could ever want.

It just doesn't feet right to have fun when all these people are suffering. And it doesn't feel right to even be bored. I should feel bad.

And I do. But there's nothing I can do. I don't want to fight, and I wouldn't be allowed to anyways. I'm not even allowed to leave the palace.

The emergency bell screeches. "Attacks have stopped on Cherymin Village. If anyone in the palace has friends or family there, please report to the Great Hall now." Marigold clears her throat. "Princess Diana, please report to my study immediately."

I wonder why she needs me. And why she doesn't have someone to make the announcements for her. But I brush off that irrelevant thought and get up off the bed.

I follow the familiar route to Marigold's study, murmuring a simple "hello" to the people rushing down to the Hall. I climb the stairs and head right in without knocking. She said "immediately", anyways.

"Dana," Marigold says, and I sit down in a cushioned chair. "The attacks have stopped."

"Yeah, I heard."

"The council has suggested that you go out into the village. You know, show the villagers your face, give them hope."

"That would help."

"Yes, but while they all agree, your father and I don't," she says. "It could be a trap. They could be waiting for you to show up, and attack again."

"Yeah," I say. "It does sound a bit risky."

"The head of the council, Isabel, has the whole council convinced that this is the right way to go. But I said that I should speak to you first."

"I don't know..."

"Think about it tonight. If you agree, we'll send you in the morning."