CHAPTER EIGHT:
Candidates
Valkyrie was called for her vote at midday, before then she hadn't a clue who the candidates were. The cam was a bustle of activity, weapons of all sorts were being supplied. From guns to swords to slingshots to axes to maces to hand grenades, there were some who didn't use weapons at all such as Fletcher.
Valkyrie herself had taken a particularly nasty looking knife that she kept hidden in her clothes in case of emergencies.
The white Army could strike at any moment and they still didn't have a leader.
Twenty people could use the voting tent at one time, there were twenty pieces of paper on the tables with little walls separating the voters from the others.
Valkyrie made her way quickly to the free one and scanned the paper.
And got the shock of her life.
The paper was as follows:
TAP THE PERSON YOU WANT FOR LEADER'S NAME.
AS SOON AS YOUR FINGER TOUCHES ONE NAME THE VOTE IS COUNTED.
TAP ONLY ONE NAME THEN LEAVE.
(Tanith Low)
(Crepella Blade)
(Greaya Smith)
(Gary Lerk)
(Valkyrie Cain)
Valkyrie stared, dumbstruck at her name for a second, then tapped Crepella Blades name. She knew Crepella vaguely, but enough to know she'd make a great leader.
Valkyrie couldn't see what had possessed Lerk to add her name to the candidacy list.
It was ridiculous! She was fifteen for God's sake!
Insane.
Valkyrie strode out of the tent briskly. She knew that the majority here wouldn't want to be led by a teenager, so she was safe from that. What was the point in confronting Lerk about it if she didn't have a snowballs chance in hell in winning.
So she left it alone and went back to her lesson with Blessed and Tanith.
*
"That is right, Valkyrie, let the swing of the wrist and the pull of the shadows become instinctive." Blessed called in her usual, dreamy way. Valkyrie was in a lesson which specified necklace necromancy so Wreath had surrendered her to Blessed and Tanith because it was also a combat lesson. Wreath had stated that since Valkyrie had been drafted into this war and would most likely have to fight, she should concentrate on honing her fighting abilities. Fletcher was currently fighting one of the other people who had decided to practise with the group, Valkyrie was fighting Tanith and loosing.
The fight ended with Valkyrie on the ground.
"You're getting better, Valkyrie! Congratulations! You only lost horribly this time instead of very horribly like last time!" Blessed complemented in her own, cruelly honest way.
"Thanks, Bless. I've told you I'm better at fighting as an elemental."
"That's good, because I like you and I would be mildly upset if you died." That was a very high complement coming from Blessed.
"Blessed! Is that your student? I didn't know you were taking on an apprentice!" A girl that looked to be Valkyrie's age came up, she was wearing a black t-shirt that said "FORGET PRINCESS, I WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE" written on it in capitols.
Valkyrie stared, her mouth open.
The girl smiled. "It was a gift from my mortal friend and somebody's stolen all of my other shirts, people have been staring at me for the whole day." She explained, then shot an accusing look at Fletcher's opponent who had just joined them.
It was Crepella Blade. Crepella had long black hair that looked like she was in danger of sitting on it when it was in a plait, which it always was. Her green eyes were wide and pale. She looked to be Valkyrie's age, too, but Valkyrie knew for a fact that she was in her thirties.
Blessed was talking in her usual way. "Oh, no, Valkyrie isn't my pupil, she's Solomon's."
The girl with the vampire shirt started and stared at Valkyrie, and Valkyrie watched in amazement as her dark brown eyes changed to a pale blue with brown surrounding the pupil. "Valkyrie Cain? You're Valkyrie Cain?" She had a weird accent, sort of a mix of English, American and something that she had heard in an Australian movie once.
"Fascinating." The girl murmured.
Valkyrie blushed. "Who're you?"
"Name's Greaya Smith." And then her accent changed into one she'd heard in Ten Canoes, an Aboriginal Australian movie.
"I from Aussie, yeah? I was born 'n Queensland but 'm a territory girl. Born mortal. Oh, yeah 'n' dat's the Northern Territoy not ACT."
Valkyrie stared back mutely and Greaya laughed, "Ne'er min'. Creep's, I'd like you to know that I know what you did last night."
Crepella tried to appear innocent and failed horribly. "What did I do?"
"Where are my T-shirts?"
"I don't have them!"
Greaya raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Well…" Valkyrie and Blessed said goodbye and went back to where Tanith was waiting to teach Valkyrie advanced hand-to-hand combat and Fletcher beginners', leaving Greaya glaring at a sweating Crepella.
About half an hour later when Fletcher had finally managed to beat Valkyrie for the first time by sheer luck that her attention was diverted in a way which she would never allow to happen if she were actually in a real fight, it was announced that the leader was about to be announced.
Lerk stood on a stage that had been quickly constructed by magical means. A tense crowd gathered around it, all aware that this would be the perfect time for the enemy to attack.
Valkyrie, Tanith, Blessed and Fletcher were joined by Ghastly near the stage.
"I can't believe you're a candidate, Valkyrie!" He raged. "Either Lerk is a complete idiot or he's trying to rig the vote! I mean, he's the most experienced mage on the list! Other than him the oldest is Tanith! I mean, Greaya is forty-two (A/N: not in real life), Crepella is thirty-eight (A/N: also not in real life) and you're fifteen! Plus you're all female and Lerk knows that some of these people are sexist! Idiot!"
"Calm down, Ghastly, Lerk isn't very well liked, he's a good organiser but is extremely prejudiced, it'll probably be Greaya or Crepella, they're both good leaders." Ghastly pressed his lips together then looked at Tanith and nodded once. He turned his attention to the stage.
It was very surreal. They were in the beginning of a war, about to go into battle and they were holding an election! Ridiculous, but true.
Lerk spoke, apparently somebody had fished a microphone and a dozen speakers from somewhere and placed them all around the camp, because obviously some people wouldn't be able to make it to the stage. "This is a very important event in history! The election of the leader of what has been nicknamed the Black Army by a Miss Valkyrie Cain! Bet you didn't think it would catch on, did you? Well, now to business, I would like the following to come up to the stage!"
And he said, as if a teacher calling the roll. "Crepella Blade, Valkyrie Cain, Tanith Low and Greaya Smith! Come join me as candidates.
"C'mon, Val," Tanith sighed, taking Valkyrie's arm and making way for the stage, soon to be joined by Greaya Smith and Crepella Blade. Greaya had a bulging backpack and a different T-shirt, still black, but with white words on the front that Valkyrie didn't bother reading.
On the stage, the girls all stopped, having no idea what to do until Greaya seemed to decide that they line up and went to stand next Lerk. Crepella stood on the other side of him, Tanith next to Greaya and Valkyrie next to Crepella.
The mic was handed to a man dressed all in blue who held a piece of paper and announce, quite seriously: "The official leader is...!"
*
A/N: AND I CAN'T REVEAL TO YOU WHO THE LEADER IS 'CAUSE I'VE ONLY GOT FOUR VOTES! PLEASE, PLEASE vote! You want me to continue don't you?
You know the candidates so review your vote, PM your vote or poll (whatever it's called) your vote from my profile! In fact that'll go on well after the ten votes are in, just 'cause I wanna see who would've won in the long run.
Greaya/Basic-bookworm/ISeeBluePeople/Ma…
Wow, I have a lot of names.
