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General Rococoa Rocks was afraid.
She never let on about it, especially not to her troops or her baby brother, but she was terrified. If Lazuli were here, she would babble on about prophecy and fate. If Citrina were here, she’d speak about the will of the Bulb as if she knew Him personally. If Sapphria were here, she’d chalk it up to plain old bad luck. But they weren’t here, and Rococoa didn’t believe in any of that.
When Amethar came to her seeking a shoulder to cry on, a sister to mourn with, she could not provide it. She was too afraid that he would ask questions that she simply didn’t have the answers to. So, she set her mind on the war effort, and led her troops into battle as if she hadn’t lost anything at all. If they won this war, it would all be worth it. Their deaths wouldn’t be in vain. For the time being, it would be enough.
The general paid special attention to the rumors that flitted about her troops. Rococoa didn’t care much about what they thought of her personally, unless they were outright disrespecting or disobeying her. What she did care about was anything related to the front, and anything that would bring her closer to finding a weak point in the Ceresian forces. When she heard about a few Ceresian soldiers crossing the border near Pangranos, she left her finest lieutenant general in charge. She didn’t tell Amethar that she was leaving that night on a reconnaissance mission best suited for the youngest Rocks sister. Rococoa didn’t want him to insist on coming along, or stop her from going altogether.
She abandoned her usual full plate armor and settled into a simple breast plate, which would make less noise. The general wasn’t looking for a fight this time. She just wanted to better understand what she was up against. Securing Flickerish into her holster, Rococoa left her camp on foot.
The walk was long and eerily still. There were none of the usual nocturnal creatures out and about. The sounds of the war had frightened everything off years ago. Rococoa didn’t mind it all that much, since that made it easier to know if she was being followed, or if she was nearing the Ceresians. Still, it was lonely and cold, a feeling she wasn’t entirely used to yet. Before the war, she was constantly surrounded by people. Amethar would be training in the yard with the Knights of North Gumbia. Lazuli was only ever a room away, nose buried in some ancient tome. Citrina would be reciting prayer in her bedroom, or tending to “the Bulb’s creation” in the royal garden. Sapphria was always sneaking through the castle’s forgotten passageways, playing pranks and scaring people.
Rococoa remembered a time when she was so annoyed with them all, and now she’d give all of Calorum to have them back.
The sound of chatter threw her from her thoughts and she instinctively crouched behind the brush. She saw the sparks of a campfire rising into the starless sky as well as the silhouettes of eight people. Seven of them appeared to be soldiers, crossbows saddled at their hips. The eighth man looked familiar, but she could not see his face. She’d have to get closer to see them any better, and she didn’t dare move.
A gruff Ceresian accent was the first to speak. “You have what is needed?”
The strangely familiar man nodded, and retrieved a crate from the shadows. The lock unclasped, and Rococoa bit down on her gauntlet to keep from gasping. These Ceresians weren’t just meandering too close to Candia’s territory, they were bartering with a Candian traitor. Licorice rapiers and white chocolate staffs, peppermint bows and rock candy arrows, lined the crate. She should have left then with the knowledge she had and figured out the rest later, but curiosity won out. Rococoa had to know who was doing this and how they’d managed to get their hands on so much .
Another Ceresian soldier asked, “Where is the rest?! Were we not promised more than this?”
“Relax,” the supplier said, and Rococoa knew that voice. “The rest will come. This is merely insurance, my friends.”
When the man stepped into the light, devilish shadows cast across his countenance, she couldn’t hold back her gasp of horror. Lord Calroy Cruller, her brother’s best friend and House Rock’s closest confidant, was a backstabbing traitor? She could hardly believe it. The conniving son of a—
“What was that?” Cruller asked, his head turned in her direction. She knew he couldn’t see her in the black of night, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they investigated her hiding place. “I heard something, in the bushes.”
“An animal will not share your treacherous secrets, Cruller,” a third Ceresian voice teased.
“The Rocks have too many tricks up their sleeves,” the traitor snarled. “Search the perimeter!”
Each soldier lit a breadstick torch and Rococoa tried to think of a way out of this. It would be impossible to fight all eight of them alone, especially when they all seemed to have a ranged weapon. She knew as soon as she moved, it would draw their attention to her. The soldiers were closing in, and the light would reveal her at any moment.
She didn’t think. She just ran .
Rococoa heard the faint shouts of Cruller shouting, “After her!” She heard the whistle of arrows moving past her head. In a desperate attempt to save herself, she cast Shield through Flickerish’s power. It wasn’t enough to save her from the arrow that lodged in her side. Determined, she grunted in pain and kept running.
The general knew this was an attack she wouldn’t survive. The odds were insurmountable, and a wound like that was sure to bleed out. There were no places to hide, nowhere to escape to. Rococoa’s plan was not to survive . If she could get back to the camp, if she could let someone know that Cruller had betrayed them all—or was never truly on their side to begin with—the word could get to Amethar. He would believe her. What choice would he have but to honor his eldest sister’s dying wish?
Another arrow found purchase in the back of her thigh, and she could see the tip of the crossbow bolt coming out the front. Hot tears blurred her vision, but she ran on. She thought she could almost see her camp in the distance. Another arrow landed in her right shoulder. Hot, fudge blood poured from her wounds. The general went to shout, to make some noise so that her soldiers could hear her coming, but she felt an arrow land in the center of her back, piercing through the armor. She screamed, and landed sprawling in the tall sugar grass field.
Every nerve, every fiber of her being, felt like it was being burned. Rococoa tried with all her might to rise to her feet, or even to her knees so she could face her killer with some semblance of dignity, but her limbs wouldn’t cooperate. In the distance, she heard low Ceresian muttering. She felt like she was hearing them through the rush of the Cola River, their voices muted and unintelligible. It wasn’t until she felt rough, calloused hands grabbing her from behind and flipping her over that the sharp pain brought everything into crystal clear focus.
“As I suspected,” Cruller purred, a wide grin on his lips. “Rococoa. How unfortunate for you to have been here. I might have let you live when all of this was over. At least for a little while.”
“M-May the Hungry One swallow y-you whole, tr-traitor,” she seethed, gasping for breath.
“Oh, but ladies first,” he replied, placing his foot on her chest. She felt the arrows sink further into her back, and she clenched her jaw. “I insist .”
Rococoa tried to move her arm to reach for her blade, but the muscles only twitched and ached. Throughout this all, she did not break from his gaze. If she was going to die tonight, she would do it with honor. In a rasp, she asked, “D-Did you kill th-them too?”
The traitor had the audacity to laugh. “Not on my own, no. Belizabeth gave me a hand with Citrina, and I had connections in the Meatlands for Sapphria. Lazuli saved me the trouble and decided to be Candia’s martyr.”
Tears built in her eyes, but she did not cry. How had she not seen this sooner? She was always so careful, borderline paranoid. Amethar was always telling her to get a life, to just relax , and yet here she was, blindsided by someone so close. It made her sick.
“Oh, and don’t worry,” Cruller crooned, leaning in close. “I have a surprise saved for your baby brother. I haven’t forgotten about him.”
Rococoa Rocks didn’t know what overcame her at that moment. Call it adrenaline, call it pure rage, but the strength to reach for her blade finally came. Flickerish lashed out and slashed against Cruller’s chest, a final attack before the end. She hoped Amethar would question it and connect the dots. Rococoa needed him to be better than her and cast this traitor out.
The traitor tumbled backwards, snarling and cursing, just as Flickerish clattered to her side. She blinked sluggishly. Rococoa had never felt so exhausted in all her life, but still she managed to growl out, “ St-Stay away from A-Amethar. ”
She heard clips of muttered Ceresian and the sound of a crossbow firing. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she was no longer in Candia. She was standing in an empty void, and she was without pain. A hand reached out to touch her shoulder from behind her and she instinctively reached for Flickerish and brandished it.
“It’s okay, Ro,” a familiar voice called. “You’re okay.”
When Rococoa’s eyes finally focused, she was staring into the lilac eyes of her youngest sister. Flickerish clattered to the floor, forgotten, as she rushed in to hug her sister. Softly, she mumbled, “Oh, Saph… Is it really you?”
“Of course,” she whispered. “You’re safe here.”
“Your favorite sister is here too, Rococoa,” another voice called. Lazuli.
“You know she doesn’t have favorites, Laz,” a softer voice teased. Citrina. “She loves us all equally.”
All the tears that Rococoa had never allowed herself to cry came flooding out at once as the Rocks sisters were reunited. They hugged each other tight, making up for all the lost time, for what felt like hours. When Rococoa finally came back to herself, she wiped her eyes and stepped back.
Quietly, she asked, “What is this place?”
Citrina frowned. “We’ve been trying to figure that out, actually. I argue the Bulb.”
“And I argue the Hungry One,” Lazuli interjected.
Sapphria shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s home for now.”
Rococoa shook her head. How could they all accept this so quickly, so easily ? The war for Candia, their true home, was still raging beyond this place. Amethar was still in danger. Cruller was still alive. “I have to go back.”
“Go back?” Sapphria asked. “We can’t, Ro. We’re dead, in case you haven’t noticed. Death is death.”
Rococoa huffed. “Amethar is going to die if I don’t go back to warn him! How can you just sit here and pretend that life isn’t moving on without us?”
“Because what will be cannot be undone, Rococoa,” Lazuli explained calmly, reaching out for her hands. “Besides, life must come to an end at one point or another. There is no preventing the inevitable.”
Rococoa snatched her hands away. “No, I have to go back! I have to—”
When she turned her back on her sisters, the void had changed. No longer was it inky blackness, but instead tendrils of red hot power swirled around her. She smelled cinnamon and smoke. She remembered a time when Lazuli would have warned her not to mess with powers beyond her control. Rococoa called out for her sisters, but they did not answer. Instead, a deep, hungry voice beckoned her closer.
“I believe I can be of service, General Rococoa.”
When she turned around to face the voice, she saw nothing. Every direction looked exactly the same. Still, Rococoa was not afraid. There was great power here which, whatever the source may be, meant great potential for her. All around her, she felt the weight of invisible eyes on her.
“What can you do for me?”
“That depends,” the voice growled, the sound low and rumbling. “What are you willing to give?”
“Everything.”
Rococoa didn’t think about her answer before blurting it out. She didn’t even know what everything would mean, but it was a price worth paying. Amethar was out there, alone in this world, and she would do anything to help him.
She was sure that if this thing had a mouth, it would be grinning. “Luckily for you, my service will cost you everything .”
✦✦✦✦
When Bitternight Darknibs awoke, it was under six feet of cookie crumb dirt. She clawed her way out, furious and desperate to climb out of the soil she’d been trapped in. After several long minutes, she made it to the top. Sugar grass swayed in a soft Highbright breeze. The bloodshed and warfare had left their impact on this land, she could feel it in her very bones, but the evidence was long gone.
Strange. She was here only a moment ago.
Well, not her . Not quite. Parts of her that were long-since dead, like her bold, sugary-sweet essence, had been here. Her courage, her confidence, her heart and soul had been laid to rest on this battlefield. Bitternight had left that behind, leaving only her ruthless vengeance in its wake. It was the price she’d been forced to pay, but it was worth it.
Now, she had unfinished business to attend to.