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Audentis Fortuna Iuvat

Volunteer

We heard it before we reached the pavilion; heartbroken sobbing and angry shouts. The sobbing was female, I could tell that, but the shouting was loud and male, the voice was painfully familiar.

"You let her fight?" Mark shouted incredulously and we pushed the tent flap aside to see him shouting down Reyna, a body lay at the far end of the table, covered in a white sheet that was already bloodstained.

"I had no choice!" She shouted back, tears were running down her cheeks. The sobbing was hers.

"How could you? You knew this would happen! You knew she would get herself k-" His voice trailed off. His cheeks were also wet.

"It was her decision! Her own decision! She died doing what she loved. Can't you respect that?"

Mark didn't answer, he walked to the sheet and pulled it back to reveal Catie's pale and sickly face, the bloodstains were spreading from her stomach so my best guess was that she had been speared during the retreat. A sob pulled it's way from my lungs. This was the girl who had shown me kindness when I was new and afraid. This was the girl who hadn't judged me for my past. This was the girl who I looked up to. But now she was simply a girl that was.

Mark choked and cried at the end of the pavilion. Reyna sobbed at the other end. And Becca and I stood staring in shock with tears running in streams from our eyes.

More Centurions filed in from the other tent flap and they all fell to pieces when they saw Catie.

"Ave atque vale, Catherine." Someone said loudly and we repeated the blessing.

Reyna turned to us, scrubbing angrily at her eyes. "Please, take a seat, all of you." She managed, gesturing to the chairs around the table. Everyone skirted the chairs around the far end, I don't think anyone was able to manage seeing her face and not seeing it full of life and colour. "Unfortunately Catie has been killed during the recent attack and we are now short a Praetor. Mark - our old Praetor - has offered to lead in this position temporarily until we find a suitable replacement. Are there any objections to this?"

No one objected.

"The passing of Catie is a tragedy, but she is not the only one who has passed. Our legion is weak from grief but we do not have the choice to be weak. You must do everything you can to boost the morale of your troops." Reyna sighed shakily before continuing. "Our next move will be to charge Mt Othrys itself though I am afraid that as a legion we may not be able to penetrate the enemy defences so I propose that we send in a stealth team, two selected members from each cohort to try and make it into the fortress while our legion engages the defences. I ask that you each appoint two members from your cohort; one Centurion and one soldier, and send them to this pavilion once decided to be briefed. Any arguments?"

There were no arguments.

"You are dismissed." She said and we turned from the depressing scene back to our expectant and broken cohorts.



We explained Reyna's plan to them and their expressions of grief turned to grim determination.

"We need a volunteer!" Becca announced. "Any that are willing, please make your way to the front."

For a dreadful second, no one moved. Then suddenly two helmed heads began to make their way through the ranks. When they emerged, I shook my head. Cindy smiled at me from under one of the helmets and under the other was a face I never wanted to see again; Octavian.

"Octavian, you are the augur and needed among our legion, thus you are not eligible for this quest." Becca said to my relief and Octavian scowled before returning back to his place in the legion.

"I can do it." Cindy said. I looked at Becca and she nodded.

"You may go with Kerri to the pavilion now." She said.

I started. "Me? I thought that you would go."

Becca smiled sadly. "You know the way in, you'll be more useful there than you could be here."

She looked surprised when I hugged her. Under different circumstances it almost would have been amusing.

"Stay alive." I told her and she nodded.

"You too."

And with that I set out with Cindy on a mission that would probably get us both killed.

Notes

I'm sorry that I kill people but it's a battle and every death has/will have a purposeful place in the plot, I promise!

Have a great day guys!


-Phoebe :)

Comments

@Phoebe

I will!

@ThatRandomPJOFangirl
Haha I'm already working on my first novel so don't you worry! :) Look out for PEM Moir (which is the pen name I use for comps and such)

Phoebe Phoebe
1/25/15

And who knows... with those good grades you may become a writer with books published somewhere else other than this site! Remember the name Phoebe!!!!

@Phoebe

I know.... but I'm still sad!!!

@ThatRandomPJOFangirl
I'm so sorry but it was time to wrap it up! I had to finish writing on this site by the time my school starts (on this Thursday) so I can work on getting the grades I desire. And mostly it was just time for this to end, I loved writing it but I had to stick to a timeline for some accuracy and that timeline just ran out quicker than I'd like. I love you guys and thank you for loving this story as much as I do!

Phoebe Phoebe
1/24/15