The Foolhardies 181 The Fault in Our Stars

Idunn had been nice enough to be in her new moon phase tonight, which meant the stars above were out in full and brighter than usual. It might have been because the Fayne was devoid of smog and light pollution, but the canvas of its starry night sky was always pretty to look at.

"Nope," Luca answered. "Never really found a reason to."

He was sitting on the lounge chair to the right of me. His back reclined in a relaxed manner which to me was very unlike him. Luca tended to be uptight and tense.

"We do now," Aura said.

She was sitting by the edge of the wooden deck with her feet dangling over the water below us.

"It's beautiful here," she said.

"Peace," I added.

"Quiet," Luca added.

"And above all," Aura smiled at us over her shoulder.

"No Qwipps," the three of us said in unison.

It was a harsh thing to say but Qwipps had a talent for souring up the atmosphere with his sour-graping. The dude was always thinking about the worst-case scenario. Otherwise, he was a fairly respectable squad leader I could rely on most of the time.

The three of us sat there in silence, each lost to our own thoughts, and it wasn't until Aura's feet splashed against the water that I stirred from my musings.

"Didn't think I'd make one-thousand-man commander so soon," I said out loud, voicing the unease I'd been feeling since my meeting with Darah.  

"You and me both," Luca commented.

He turned his head to look at me.

"But… congrats, Dean," he said, in a voice that almost sounded grateful.

Well, his tone was understandable considering what rising up the ranks meant for us. It was a fact Aura was excited enough to voice out loud.

"We're one step closer to our goal," she said thoughtfully.

"What ranks come after one-thousand-man commander, anyway?" Luca asked.

"Two-thousand-man commander, then three-thousand-man commander, then four-thousand-man commander, then five-thousand-man commander, and then general," I enumerated using the five fingers on my right hand.

"After general is great general which places you among the top military officials in any fairy clan," Aura pointed out.

"But not in the Trickster Pavilion," Luca guessed.

"No," Aura agreed. "Not in the Trickster Pavilion."

"Marshal…" I reached a hand to the sky and pretended to catch a star in my fist. "It's the title given to one of the four military pillars of the clan."

"Like Darah," Luca whispered the name of our boss in what almost sounded like reverence. "The Marshal of the East…"

Luca turned his head toward me again as his eyes searched my face for clues.

"Is that the goal?" he asked. "To become Darah's successor?"

"If we're talking about Darah's successor, I think she already has one, little brother," I reasoned.

"General Thors," Aura agreed. "The first visere in the Pavilion's history to make general… he's definitely a top candidate for my aunt's seat if she ever decides to retire."

Aura faced away from us, and as I stared at her back, I could almost feel the weight of the burden she carried over her shoulders. Much was expected of the princess because no one really thought Auranos would live to a ripe old age.

It was one reason why he allowed her to fight alongside us. Auranos was a practical guy who in his youth had his fair share of battles. His sister and his heir would be no less.

I got up from my seat and walked over to the edge of the deck.

"Scoot over," I told Aura.

She shuffled to the left so I could sit beside her and dip my toes into the crystal clear water of the lake below me.

"Damn… that's cold," I said as the chill rose from my toes up to the rest of my legs.

"Don't be a wimp, Dean," Aura said playfully.

We sat there for another two or three minutes in relative silence while our shoulders brushed against each other. It was nice. Of course, Luca had to ruin it by asking another question.

"But don't you elves have a really long lifespan?" Luca mused out loud. "Darah doesn't even look old enough to be an aunt… I don't think she's quitting anytime soon…"

"We know," I said as I rolled my eyes at my brother's expense.

Aura, ever Luca's self-styled big sister, smacked me on the arm before looking over her shoulder to address him.

"Luca, why do you think we were sent to the west?" Aura asked.

Luca sat up. "Um, because Darah wants us to spy on Garm, right?"

"That's part of it," Aura agreed. "But there's another reason, too."

"Do you mean the war? So we can rack up more accomplishments?" Luca guessed.

"We could just as easily earn our stripes in the south where Great General Lavinia guards the borders against the southern clans or stay where we were in the east. The Scarlet Moon already have a foothold there after all," Aura pointed these things out to Luca. "As for spying on Garm, a more experienced unit would have been a better choice, don't you think?"

"But then why go through all the trouble of coming here?" Luca asked.

I sighed. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Because of Garm, dude…" I looked over my shoulder so that Luca could see me roll my eyes at him. "Garm's on the way out… he just doesn't know it yet."

"My uncle has lost favor with the council for his many insubordinations… and his open disrespect for my brother can't be tolerated much longer," Aura explained in detail. "If any of the four marshals is in danger of losing their seat, it would certainly be Great General Garm."

"Do you get it now, Luca?" I asked.

"I get it… no need to be all high-and-mighty, Dean," Luca complained.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Then tell me."

I wasn't trying to make my brother look bad. But I needed to get the point across to him as there may come a time where I won't be around to help him. I was good, and I was only getting better, but there was always a chance that I might meet my end before our dream was fulfilled.

Luca actually looked like he was thinking deeply about it, and I was happy enough with his response when he said, "If Garm's in danger of losing his seat then his spot will be vacant sooner than the others… and the obvious choice for a replacement would be someone from the western army who knows the state of the region…"

I raised a thumbs up at Luca.

"Exactly," I said. "It won't be for a while… but certainly in the next five years or so."

"Wait… why five years?" Luca asked.

I glanced over at Aurana. This was her story to tell.

Her eyes were downcast when she told Luca a secret only very few people were privileged to know.

"My brother will be dead in five years…" she admitted. "The healers have done all they can but his body continues to waste away…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed in the same way she always did for me whenever I felt depressed.

"Aura… I'm," Luca couldn't finish his sentence.

He didn't need to. He was a good kid and Aura knew what he was trying to say. She smiled at him.

A moment of quiet contemplation between us before I decided to continue our conversation, "In that time, we have to rack accomplishment after accomplishment while serving in the western army just like Darah planned."

"If the Foolhardies can increase our value in that time then there's a chance for Dean to become a candidate for the seat of Marshal of the West," Aura said right before she stretched her hand to the sky and grabbed at the stars. "That's when we begin to chase our goals in earnest."

"If we can get rid of Garm before then and if I make Great General in five years' time," I said, and as I heard myself say it, I almost felt like I was telling a big fat joke.

"But… that's nearly impossible… right?" Luca asked, voicing the thought that was nagging me too.

"Haven't you noticed yet, little brother? Everything we've done since we got here is to defy the odds," I said shrugging. Then I trained a steely-eyed glare toward him. "That's why I need you to step up in the upcoming war, bro… it can't just be me. Your name has to be spoken by all under the heavens too."

"Um, I'm not a showboat like you, Dean," Luca argued.

Before I could give him my sharp-witted reply, Aura got between us and said, "What Dean means is that you have to get promoted too, Luca… the Dapper brothers showing the world what they can do together, that's how we achieve our dream of unification."

Technically, that wasn't true. The original dream Aura shared with me when we'd agreed on partnering up was to see her brother sit upon the empty throne. But that wasn't likely to happen within the next five years, and Aura knew this. Auranos would not live to see unification. Aura would have to take his place at that time.

I decided not to mention this to Luca. His brain was in danger of info overload, I think. Instead, I gave him a challenge. "Darah wants me to claim two general heads, right?"

My eyes were trained on Luca's and I held his gaze when I dropped the quest I wanted him to take on.

"I want you to take a general's head on your own, too," I said in all seriousness.

Chapter end