Chapter 8: -Restoration, Reversal, and Rise of the Resistance-

{Revised: 8 Sep 2016}

After the smoke cleared, Queen Miliani looked at the field and lake-edge from the trees, limping from her wound. She was afraid to take the crossbow bolt out, because the medical-talents weren't sure they could stop the bleeding.

"Only 42,000 soldiers loyal to me are ready to fight. Fieva chose this spot because the lake partially trapped us. The wounded are still on the beach. No one is brave enough to leave the cover of the trees to help them. I would go, but I'm not a medical-talent fairy. And I myself…am dying. It suffocates me to say the words, but…they don't have a chance," she said, having great difficulty speaking. Her bodyguards repeated the words louder for her.

"Queen Miliani, 'I promise to do no harm, to help all creatures great and small, to ease pain wherever I shall find it, and to spread health throughout Pixie Hollow,'" said Clairette solemnly, reciting the Healing-talent Fairy Oath.
She continued, "I will go to save their lives; even if they want to hurt me. I forgive them and I love them none-the-less. But, if your majesty will let me, I will start with you."

"No! Heal everyone out there first. Then please take care of me," she said, knowing what that meant.
Her bodyguards protested, but she silenced them with a hand.
"And you do know that many of them hurt you and tried to kill you on your Arrival Day, right?" the queen asked.
"Yes, I know. It makes no difference," replied Clairette.

Clairette walked out into the battlefield, undeterred by the destruction that had occurred there. She walked among all the injured, healing them with her unique talent, and smiled when they stood up. Their injuries vanished, and full-functionality was restored if lost. They ran towards the forest with joy, happy to have their pain removed.

Again, elderly citizens and older military members had their aging reversed. They were so thankful and perplexed, they thought maybe they died and were in an afterlife. Clairette continued on to even uninjured citizens, simply to reverse aging. Reserve pouches of Dust were given to her without any hesitation, so that she could continue healing on such a large scale.

Now that everyone else was taken care of, Clairette ran over to Miliani, worried about her condition.
She was weak from blood loss, but alive, thanks to fluids and bandages from her medical team. But she might not survive another day.

Clairette's glow turned brighter white as she touched Miliani's chest, where her stomach was. Dust transferred from the young fairy to the queen, the crossbow bolt melted, and she was completely healed.
"Thank you so much Clairette! It didn't even hurt! You saved my life!" the queen exclaimed while hugging her, forgetting royalty or etiquette.

One of her bodyguards brought a mirror over, asking her to look.
Miliani's aging had reversed as well! She was as young as when she was in her Arrival gown. She was incredibly gorgeous!
"Whoa! Thank you Clairette! I look beautiful again! I feel young too!" she squealed like a teenager, forgetting she was queen entirely.
Clairette smiled and said "No problem. If you-"
Miliani hugged her and picked her up, laughing and crying with tears of joy.

Everyone stared in amazement at the queen's new appearance.
Already in the spotlight, the queen decided to use it to Clairette's advantage.

"All citizens, after seeing feats such as this today, do you still want to kill Clairette?" asked Miliani.
Various responses were:
"No, she saved my life!"
"I have had a change of heart."
"We're both on the same side now."
"She gave me my youth back, are you kidding?"
"You're drop-dead gorgeous, your majesty!"
The most dramatic response, to which everyone fell silent to hear, was Ree's:
"We had pain, mortal wounds, were missing our quality of life, and lost our will to live. But it was Clairette who brought us back. It was Clairette who healed our unjuries. I don't believe the Legend of the End anymore. How do we know Fieva didn't write it herself?"

Everyone agreed.
"Tens of thousands more have bolstered our ranks! Our hope is restored! We have a fighting chance now! If you be patient, we will grow in strength to free everyone else. We need time and cooperation. Do not give up. I need you all to stay strong. But I will end this if it's the last thing I do!" shouted the queen.

Everyone cheered for Clairette, Ree, and their queen.

Under Miliani's close supervision, a lie-detection talent fairy and sparrowman quickly checked every single soldier and civilian to ensure loyalty. 2 spies were found and swiftly seized, disarmed, and imprisoned in a makeshift wooden palisade enclosure. They were questioned, but never tortured. Miliani herself threw a leftover AntiDust shell at them. "Oh, it's PERSONAL NOW!" shouted Miliani. "You have bought yourselves LIFE-sentences! To say you are guilty of war-crimes doesn't come CLOSE to doing it justice! If it weren't for Clairette's belief, that even the worst can change, I would have had you executed for extremely high, vertigo-level treason," seethed Miliani.
People wondered if her new youth was a factor.

"Understood your majesty," squeaked the fairy and sparrowman in fear.
"Don't ever call me 'your majesty' again! You have been stripped of your citizenship in the nation of Pixie Hollow. You are hereby enemy combatants, and will address me as 'rightful ruler.'"
"Yes, rightful ruler," they timidly said, not just out of fear, but because they too were awestruck at her transformation.

She covered most of the prison with leaves, leaving holes for air and light, and she and all those present moved to a more secure location in the forest. They would be treated with basic fairy / sparrowman rights afforded to prisoners of war, even if the enemy was not part of Miliani's rule.

She then addressed the citizens present, using text on large slideshows made of virtual Dust "screens" again.

"Attention citizens. Stay in outlying towns and areas not essential for ruling Pixie Hollow. Minimize your glow-signatures at night. Continue your day-to-day tasks. Be nondescript and pretend to obey Fieva. Support us in secret at night. Be patient and I assure you, we will retake Pixie Hollow. Do not give up. There are still troops ready to fight and I myself will personally join the battles ahead. We have many advantages and tricks up our sleeves which I cannot tell you about, for your own safety. The less you know, the better; because in case of capture, you won't have to lie. I, your queen, will do all in my power to save all of you and end this war swiftly. That is all."
They cheered and departed.

Now Miliani addressed the military.
"Bubble messages cannot be used anymore because they can be easily intercepted. The magazine-fed crossbows are useless now. We need to go back to the reserve supplies of recurve bows. Their range is about 183 meters, while the crossbow is only 55 meters maximum. We will use guerilla-warfare, firing at a distance we cannot be hit from, and retreating before they can close the distance. I'm glad I still trained the troops in its use as backup to the crossbow."

The troops acknowledged.

The queen continued, "We have to use asymmetrical warfare against Fieva and her vermin. We cannot fight her in a fair, open war. I know that fairies always fly and rarely walk. You will all be trained by handpicked instructors in stealth, running on foot, and fighting without Dust or flight. That's an order."

The troops verbally complied all at the same time. She continued.
"The enemy thinks we will simply give up. For now, we have the element of surprise. We will strike hard and fast, for Fieva's troops cannot be everywhere at once. We will use tactics in such a way that their numbers mean nothing. Think about it. The VEIL troops were a handful compared to us, until they used technology to compensate and an ideological persuasion to even the odds. There is no reason why we could not do the same. All units: at ease. I need you to blend in and fight soft targets. Support and defend without drawing too much attention to yourselves. But we will rise up and crush Fieva with her own technology!"
The military cheered.

The queen took Clairette, Alivia, Doc, her Royal Elite Escort, and Special Forces to an even more secure location inside a safe house. Clairette, Alivia, and Doc were surprised they were included at all. She addressed them:

"Fieva has control of the Dust Tree. I know we will not last forever without it. But fortunately, as queen, I know the locations of strategic bunkers, safe houses such as this, and stockpiles where we will acquire food, water, medical supplies, Dust, weapons, etc. Even Fieva, with her high position, was never given this information. We will last a lot longer than she can estimate. When outside, mask your telltale glow-signature with camouflage netting."
"Yes, your majesty," they replied.

"We will use psychological and unconventional warfare tactics. Later, we will drop leaflets in every major city at once, to hide where we are bases are, and to make them think we have more warriors than we actually have. We will cause chaos in key locations at once, to have the same effect. We will harass Fieva and her army, weakening them with attrition. We will strike at convoys and soft targets. We will also steal her Dust and weapons technology for ourselves."
They all acknowledged.

"We need theatrics and dramatic elements if we're going to win. We need an elite team of warriors who will be unstoppable, invisible, and…who literally cannot die," she said as she looked at Clairette. She continued, "An invincible team will boost our morale, as well as strike fear into Fieva's troops."

She then turned to Clairette.
"I need you in order to win this war, Clairette. Will you please accompany the Special Forces in strikes? You don't have to fight. You just need to heal them. And you yourself cannot be killed; weapons are pointless, and I believe you exist for a reason."
"Yes, your majesty, after all you've done for me, I will be happy to serve," she replied cheerfully.
"Thank you! I will do all I can to keep you safe, although I doubt you'll need it," she said.
Miliani kissed Clairette on the forehead in appreciation and caressed her face, admiring how pure and good she was. She was happy that her people were healed, that they were younger, that she had an asymmetrical advantage over Fieva, and that she looked and felt so young again. She was filled with joy and hugged her again. Her elation was also stronger than normal because of the contrast of the recent horrors on the battlefield when all hope seemed lost. She thought she would have to watch her soldiers die on the field.

Now she turned to Alivia and Doc.
"You were the only ones in the entire queendom to defend her. I need warriors like that. You are the few I trust who won't be bought by the enemy. As you saw, even a few of the Special Forces abandoned me. Due to circumstances, I don't care if you weren't able to finish the Reserve Officer Training Corps. I don't even care if you haven't been trained as Special Forces. You will fight alongside them and defend Clairette. Later, citizens and even troops could blame her and repeat history. You will be the primary bodyguards. Are you ready to serve?"

"Yes! Thank you so much for this opportunity! We won't let you down," they both replied. Alivia was happy that she had a chance to be valuable and to serve. Doc was too and hoped that Miliani wouldn't think he was on Fieva's side, since he cooled the latter's factories with water. He was never loyal to the chemist, but simply did his job. The fact was that Miliani felt guilty for trusting and supporting the new enemy for so long, never questioning her.

"Excellent! It is important to get to know who you'll be working with. Clarion is the head of the Royal Elite Escort, REE for short. That's why she likes to be called 'Ree.' She will lead your new team. The reason why she is going with you is because she can move quickly by transforming into Pixie Dust. This is more useful in fighting than defending me," said Queen Miliani. "Her favorite flower is the calla lily. Her favorite food is the fig-chocolate cake. She cares about all aspects of fairy life. Ree, would you like to say anything?" she asked.

"I am very sorry Clairette for causing all of those citizens to harm you. I didn't know they would do such a thing. I would fly backward in time if I could," apologized Ree.
"I forgive you Clarion. Here, you can have this," replied Clairette, as she gave her a champagne-colored rose made from pure energy.
"I love rose petals! Thanks! How'd you know that was my favorite color?" exclaimed Ree.
"Miliani told me. She also said you like poinsettia petals as well," said Clairette.
"That's right!"
Clairette hugged Ree.
"You're a treasure and I wish more people could see that," said Ree.
"You're cool too, the leader of Miliani's security detail," replied Clairette.
"We felt bad after Miliani got shot in the stomach…like we failed her," said Ree sadly.
"You did your best! And you saved her from most of the arrows! Don't punish yourself! Fieva was just too powerful," comforted Clairette.
"Thanks. After this is all over, you will be able to have a normal life, without people trying to kill you," replied Ree.
"Perhaps. I hope you get to live life normally again too. You seem to care about fairies and sparrowmen, a strong leader. You want to do what is right and just even if no one is looking," replied Clairette.

The queen smiled at them getting along and saw the same qualities in Ree, otherwise she wouldn't be the head of her elites. After a period of silence, Miliani continued: "The rest of the Royal Elite Escort will stay with me, but the new team I'm putting together from Special Forces consists of 2 others. Syerra is a fast-flying-talent fairy, armed with a black collapsible recurve bow and short-sword. Zed is a light-talent sparrowman, armed with a black katana and multiple shuriken. They are both skilled in intelligence-gathering, science, and weapons reverse-engineering. I will give time to introduce yourselves."

They all briefly shared names, a little about themselves, and got along well.
When Syerra and Zed met Clairette, they felt at peace, comforted, and relaxed. They felt as if she knew about them and could calm their unknown fears.
"We heard about you. Zed and I were busy training when you Arrived," said Syerra.
"Yes, and we would have defended you as well, if we were there," said Zed reassuringly.
Clairette smiled, knowing they were telling the truth.
"I like your white hair and glow! It's really cool! You're really pretty," said Syerra.
"Thanks, you're pretty too Syerra. I like your black hair and style," replied Clairette.
"Your talents are incredible, unheard of. I heard no one has aged since you arrived," said Zed.
"It's true. And those I heal who look old are reverted to their Arrival appearance," said Clairette.
Syerra and Zed stood in wonder, happy to help her because she seemed so nice.

Miliani issued a titanium-iron-alloy, Pixie-Dust-imbued katana to Alivia Voe. It glowed red once the latter touched it, lighting up with her fire talent. It was lighter, more powerful, and held an edge better than any normal sword.
"Thank you! This is beautiful!" exclaimed Alivia. She was fascinated with it. She wanted to wield a katana in combat, but never dreamed of having one that had Pixie Dust forged in, not to mention one that could light up with fire. She was delighted with the way it handled.

Miliani smiled, then issued a dark blue, semi-Japanese-style, collapsible recurve bow, quiver, and bodkin-tipped arrows to Caradoc.

"Thanks. This is cool!" said Doc. He liked how the range exceeded the common crossbow and how it felt. The reason he could pull it back was because he practiced with this type of bow since he was young, helping defend the town from snakes and wasps.

"These will serve you well. I'm glad Osprey trained you in hand-to-hand combat already. You will now be trained in a shortened version of Special Forces. Clairette will be trained in evasion and non-combat material. Remember, it's not the full amount or as rigorous. To those who question my decision: these are desperate times indeed," said Miliani.
Alivia, Doc, and Clairette were ready.

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