Fire, screams, tears was what kept on playing in Missi's mind. She squinted her eyes as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Unannounced tears rolled down her cheeks as her mouth slightly wobbled.
Her heart felt so bitter as the playback of the past kept rushing back to her.
She has never had a peaceful sleep without her nightmares reminding her of what happened in the past. This always fuels her quest for revenge.
"Mile's, Mile's" she vaguely heard someone calling out" wake up Mile's"she opened her heavy eyes and looked down from the top of the tree on which sat to see who was calling her.
"Madam Margret seeks your attention" she heard Rocky say, before exiting. Missi gradual opened her heavy eyes and looked around her surroundings, only then did she remember that she is no longer the little princess who her family adored, she is now disguised as a man and now in the military camp working hard to get accepted by the almighty captain Azure.
Just as she sat up to stretch her sour shoulders she remembered what rocky said
"madam Margret" she shouted as she gasped with a widened eyes, and with that she lost her balance and fell from the tree
"ouch" she said as she frowned. She gently got up and rubbed her rear which was now hurting so bad as a result of her fall, she tried to maintain her composure as a strong soldier and endure the pain.
While working back she saluted a lot of people who were her seniors. She was only a trainee whose fate of being accepted lies in the hand of the captain.
Getting to madam Margret quarters she let go of her endurance and cried out in front of the middle aged woman
"what's wrong dear, what happened " madam Margret asked concerned, as she pulls Missi to sit on her bed
"no, no, no madam Margret, I can't sit" Missi protested as she cries
"why can't you" madam Margret asked this time a little confused
"I fell from a tree" Missi replied with a pout, slightly pointing towards her rear. The next she knew she received a light knock on her head.
"ahh madam Margret my head is about to split into two due to the force of your knock" Missi cried out exaggerating pain.
"I hope it does, so that I will insert my warnings in your brain through your split head. You brat never heed my warning" madam Margret scolded the pouting Mile's.
"lie down rear up on the bed" madam Margret commanded perturb as she went to fetch an ointment.
Before madam Margret returned Missi had already taken off her pants and laid on the bed just like madam Margret commanded, covering her rear with a quilt.
While applying the ointment, madam Margret inadvertently stopped lost in thought.
She remembered the first day she met Missi. her body was covered with smoke, and her face smeared with charcoal. Her eyes seemed soulless and her mouth wobbled uncontrollably. She wanted to cry out loud, but she never dared, instead she bit her lips so hard that it started bleeding. Missi's body kept on vibrating out of fear, it was indeed too much for a girl her age then to witness such a tragic incident. But she was able to overcome the pain and set a new goal, which is to take revenge for her family's brutal massacre. She knew she could not go against her enemy with her strength, so she took The gamble of joining the military in disguise.
"Madam Margaret, madam Margaret" Mile's called out, which snapped madam Margret out of her thoughts
"yes" madam Margret answers
"where did you travel to, I have been calling you for decades now" Mile's asked as she half joked with a booming smile.
"I was just thinking of how skinny you have become this past few years, I remember how chubby you looked back then " madam Margret said, remembering the chubby Missi of the past as she chuckled a little. Miles smiled with a sigh blinking heavily as she tried to surprise a surge of tears that was threatening to bust out any moment.
After applying the ointment, Missi showed her gratitude to madam Margret for helping her apply the ointment. she got up and wore her trousers readying herself ready to leave, until she seemed to remember something.
"that reminds me Madam Margret . you asked to see me and i sure it's not just for applying ointment on my rear" Missi said playing sending a wink towards Madam Margret.
"Oh right, I almost forgot, I asked to see because I have a very important piece of news for you," Madam Margret said with a very serious expression, which got Missi a little worried.
"words just can't in today, commander AZURE will be returning three days from now" madam Margret said and time seem to stop for a while, Mile's widened his eyes at the mention of his name. her chest started beating faster than usual, her mouth slightly trembled as her legs almost gave up on her. She tried everything thing in her power to compote herself, and remain vigilant.
You know what that means, and you know what to do" Madam Margret said with a bow, Missi exited her quarters with a worried expression .
Of course she knows what it means.It means that her time in his barrack may be limited or extended depending on whether she can pass the last phase of her training, which will be supervised and judged by him. Commander Azure himself . And all she had to do is train mindlessly, as she can't afford to leave the barrack not when her revenge plan was just setting in motion.
The gossip of the maids who were scrubbing the floor brought her out of her thoughts.
"have you heard?" the first maid asked
"heard what?" the second maid asked back curiously and with anticipation.
The first maid first looked around the surrounding to make sure no other person was in sight. After confirming she gestured for the maids to come closer.
" Commander Azure is returning back" the first maid says, earning a gasp and shocked expression from the rest of the maids. The first maid Whispered, but her words were still audible enough to reach Missi's ears.
" How did you hear that" the second maid asked as she widen her eyes and held her mouth in a gasped.
" A letter was sent to madam Margret earlier today and I happened to take a peak" the first maid responded as she sighs dejectedly.
"Let me tell you, I have heard from some locals, that he is fierce, merciless, brutal, vicious, ruthless in the battlefield. He is commander of Azure, their warlord, the demon with a sword. Highly skilled with martial arts and the use of modern weapons. When he attacks its swift, accurate and fast" a maid explains, while others maids gasp and look at each other. Missi swallowed a big lump that has formed at the back of her throat.
"I should have learnt martial arts when dad opted to teach me, but silly me, I was overly busy stuffing my life with food" she said giving herself a mental knock on the head.
"My skills are average and I doubt if it will impress someone as mighty as lord Azure. What to do now" Missi thought to herself as she mindlessly works out of madam Margret quarters unnoticed. But what she did not realize was that, it wasn't only her eavesdropping on the maids conversation, there was also a shadow that disappeared right after hearing the news.
"Mile's" she vaguely heard someone call, causing her to snap out of her thoughts.
"Mile's" the voice called out again.
"why does this voice sound familiar" she asked herself. Before she could register what was happening, she was already engulfed in a very tight hug. This caused her to widen her eyes in surprise.
"I have missed you Mile's. When I heard that aunty called you, I thought she wanted to scold you again, so I decided to come see you my self" The lady said still tightly hugging Missi.
Missi immediately snapped out of her shock, and gently pushed the lady out of her embrace
"Young ladies, should not be getting close to young gentlemen especially if they are unmarried" Missi said to the young lady as she clears her throat maintaining a young gentleman composure.
"Of course I know this voice, it's the voice of none other person than Sarah, madam Margret cousin, who apparently has feelings for me. She sure can be a pain sometimes" Missi said to herself with a sigh. She looked at the crying Sarah and heaved a sigh of frustration.
"Okay, okay, okay, stop crying already. You are making me look like a bad person" Missi said trying to make her voice sound like that of a man in attempt to console the crying Sarah.
"Look at me, I am fine" Missi said, trying as much as she can to make Sarah belive her. This time Sarah gradually calm down.
"If you are fine then why did aunty come to the dispensary to get ointments" Sarah asked Missi with a pout.
"Oh that…. Was for… .. A little…… embarasing situation " Missi responded, awkwardly scratching the back of her head.
"But I am really fine, you can see that" Missi assured Sarah. Who has finally stopped crying and now drying her tears off with her hands. She stuffed her hands in her trouser pocket.
" Here I brought you an apple" Sarah said handing Missi an apple she brought out of her pocket. Missi stared at Sarah for a while before collecting the apple with a smile.
"Thank you" she said earning a blushing smile from Sarah.
"Too bad I can't reciprocate your feelings, because I am just a girl dressed as a boy on a quest that may bring about my extinct" Missi said to herself, as her mood turned sour. She took a bite of the apple, just then she seems to remember something.
