Chapter 4.
She jerked awake. Resza had barely slept, she had a horrible feeling about the mission. "Are you okay?" Trentis mumbled.
Resza turned to face him. "No. I can't shake this feeling about everything going horribly wrong."
Her husband stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "The recruits weren't just shoved in here, they know which end of a sword can kill them."
She couldn't just lay here. Resza got up and began pacing, shivering slightly in colder early morning air. "But what if we lose them? They're only children! I can't send children to their deaths!"
"Resza," Trentis stood and caught her as she walked by the bed. "Nothing will happen, okay? It's the Darkness making you doubt yourself."
Resza shook her head. "It's not the Darkness! I...Never mind. We have to do this." She pulled away from Trentis before he could kiss her again. "Let's get ready."
The recruits were both excited at the prospect of killing and yet scared of what lay ahead. Resza and Trentis had the only horses. "It shouldn't take long," Resza walked through the rows with her incubus following behind as usual. "But that does not mean we take this any less seriously, alright? I want the Paladins alive. If you must, bloody your blades but do not kill them unless I give the order."
"Cichol told us-"
"Cichol won't be there, will he? You listen to me."
"Yes. General."
They saw the Paladins near the outskirts of Tailteann on the road to Tara. She had a few recruits follow her with Trentis left behind with the others. She wanted this group to look like a small patrol. "Halt!" Resza called out.
The Paladins stopped but some fidgeted. "Why are you here?" Resza asked.
"Does it matter? You're all Dark Knights." One of the Paladins said.
"We are," Resza dismounted and walked toward them. "But we are willing to let you go if you turn around now. If not, we will be forced to take your prisoner."
A few of the small force laughed. "There's more of us then you, darling."
The leader of them advanced, a dagger in hand. She didn't move as he cautiously reached out to her, touching her cheek. "My. my. You're quite the catch. A little damaged, but…"
Another dagger was buried into his neck before he could finish his sentence. Resza laughed as the light died away in his eyes. "You're surrounded." She said to the others as the recruits came from the shadows of the trees, led by Trentis who took his dagger from the body. "Nice aim, dearest."
He smirked and turned to the Paladins. "Drop your weapons and we won't hurt you."
None of them did so and only one slowly backed away. Resza's eye narrowed at the one who backed away to the edge of their forces. She nudged Trentis and jerked her head toward the fearful Paladin. The incubus nodded. "Then I'm sorry, but we will have to do this the hard way."
The boldest of the recruits charged first, yelling wildly. The Paladins met them head on. The day was full of the sounds of a small skirmish. Though outnumbered, the Paladins managed to take down a few Dark Knight recruits before being captured. "Resza." Trentis alerted her as the recruits were taking their prisoners to the wagon they had brought.
She had seen the flash of white, too. "Stay here. I'll get him."
"But-"
"We've had this discussion before, honey." She snapped. "I can handle myself."
Hurt, he watched his wife rush to the fleeing knight. Resza slowed down as the Paladin stumbled to the ground and then looked up at her. "D-Don't hurt me!" He cried. "I'm not here to fight!"
Resza still had her sword drawn as a precaution. "Take your helm off."
"I…"
"Take it off, please."
The Paladin hesitated still. Impatient, Resza walked over to him and pulled it off. As she looked upon the knight's face, she swore she felt her heart stop. "Riu...Riuyuki?" The knight backed away against the rocks as her blade was in his face. "What game do you think you're playing?" The General's voice shook. "Why do you look like him?!"
His black curly hair was longer. The small horns that marked him as half Fomor had grown out. His eyes were full of fear and sadness. "Mother-"
"Don't call me that! Who are you?! Tell me before I kill you!" Her voice wavered now.
"I-I am your son, Resza."
"No you're not. Riuyuki died when he was only ten!"
"I didn't suffer the True Death. I was judged too young and had too cruel a death."
"Every Milletian suffers the True Death when they're killed!"
He shrugged. "I don't know why I was allowed."
"Prove that you're my son."
"My fathers were Kyotaro, a Champion of Morrighan, and Zaknafien, the Incubus who raped you. That's why I'm half Incubus. You used to ask Kyo to make you ice roses in the morning, your favorite color is purple, you used to be Human, but I can sense you're different now."
"How did Riuyuki and Kyotaro die?"
"Kyo took a spear of Light in the chest to protect us. Anobarrs surrounded us, so I used ice magic to freeze them, but Morrighan tore me away from you and flooded me with Light. I died from that."
Resza's sword clattered to the ground as she held her son for the first time many, many years.