Chapter 10: First Words

Kate eagerly walked into the Stronghold and headed towards the Mail Room. Just as she entered the central chamber, she paused. Jack was there arguing with Hero Adileh and Zeus again.

"Let me join the new trainees!"

"Jack," Hero Adileh said. "This is not up for discussion."

"If you hadn't forced me out before the cave expedition – "

"Then you would be erased now," Zeus said sharply. "You're special, Jack. No doubt about it, but that doesn't change the rules the creators put in place. We were outnumbered, and your presence in the army wouldn't have changed anything, except that we would be mourning your permanent loss."

Kate couldn't bear to watch this.

She stepped forward and said, "Jack, can you come with me to the Mail Room? The others were too busy to come along."

Jack's brow was furrowed, and Kate could tell he was going to refuse her.

"Please?" she said.

Jack's tensed body relaxed a little, and he sighed. He nodded and let her pull him away. Behind him, both Hero Adileh and Zeus mouthed a "thank you" to Kate.

Kate opened the door to the Mail Room and pulled him inside.

The Mail Room was a little different than the other rooms in that there were no shelves. It was large and square with a row of several stone pillars going down the left and right of the room. The far end wall was blank and covered with a thick layer of crystal. Like all of the other Player accessible rooms, a large white Player Orb floated above their heads in the center of the room.

A few citizens and a manager were at the front discussing the different mail and reports that had come through for the Player, so Kate pulled Jack to the side towards one of the pillars. The Mail Room always had a low hum running through it, so their voices wouldn't echo here.

"I thought we were here to see mail," Jack said when they reached the pillar.

"Jack," Kate said and paused.

She wanted to word this right.

"Do you want to be a soldier that badly?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

"Why?"

"Who wouldn't?" he said. "You become stronger and faster than the average citizen, and you get to go out to places. If we ever become strong enough to attack other Strongholds, as a soldier, I would get to see those cities, too. You just get to do so much more."

Kate said, "But what if you're erased?"

Jack straightened his shoulders and a determined glint entered his eye.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Even if it means leaving me alone?" Kate said softly.

"Kate…"

Kate didn't like the quiet expression he was giving her, so she turned away from him. She didn't resist when she felt his arms go around her, but she didn't lean into him either.

"I wouldn't allow myself to be erased," he said in her ear. "Because I know you would be waiting for me. Don't you ever think my desire to be a soldier lessens my heart for you. Never."

Kate sighed and turned around in his arms.

She put her own arms around him and said, "I'm certain that one day you'll become a soldier again, but for now, since you're not allowed, can't you just accept it? Enjoy your time with me while you can. As a soldier, you didn't always have this much time to spare."

"I…" Jack breathed deeply and sighed. "For you, anything."

His arms around her tightened, and they held each other for a few moments. When they released each other, Kate smiled up at him.

She said, "So, do you want to know why I was coming here to the Mail Room?"

Jack said, "I'm sure it has something to do with our Player. Something good, I hope?"

Kate nodded and said, "The Player who destroyed our troops at the cave sent our Player a mail."

Jack grimaced, and Kate immediately put her hand up to his cheek.

"Oh, Jack. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing," Jack said. "I just…I still feel like I should have been there."

"There was nothing you could have done," Kate said. "Zeus wasn't wrong. You would be gone now if they hadn't pulled you from the troops."

"But the student who took my place…"

"Stop," Kate said softly. "It's finished, and the best thing you can do is make sure his unknowing sacrifice wasn't for nothing. And you won't. We'll help our city prosper."

Jack took a deep breath and said, "Keep going…what about this enemy Player who mailed our Player?"

"Our Player wrote a response," Kate said. "It's the first time we've seen him say anything at all. The Mail Room manager sent someone to tell me."

Jack snorted and said, "I'm not surprised. The entire city knows about your obsession with our Player. I don't have to be jealous, do I?"

Kate playfully punched his shoulder and said, "Well, that's why we're here. I wanted to read his reply for myself."

She then reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"And no jealousy needed."

Jack smiled.

Kate took his hand, and they left the pillars to go to the citizens and managers still discussing the mail that had come through. The crystal layered wall wasn't blank anymore, and a large view of one of the mails that the enemy Player had sent filled the wall.

Just in front of the crystal wall, there were five crystal podiums. The main podium in the center was the mail control panel. Then the two podiums to the left were the Inbox Podium and the Reports Podium. The two podiums to the right were the Saved Podium and the Notices Podium.

The Inbox Podium was currently lit up.

"Ah, Kate!" the Mail Room manager named Hermes said. "We were wondering where you were. You missed the replies our Player sent, but I had one of the citizens memorize it for you."

Kate looked up and frowned at the enemy Player's writing. It was incomprehensible.

"What kind of words are those?" Kate said. "I don't understand any of it."

"I believe the Players speak a variety of languages," Hermes said. "We're oriented to whatever language our Player speaks. Our Player didn't know its meaning either. 8978F? If you would, please?"

One of the citizens next to the podium stepped forward.

8978F said, "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're saying."

"That was the first reply our Player sent," Hermes said. "And the second one sent a few Player's seconds later?"

8978F said, "I don't understand what you wrote. Sorry."

Kate blinked.

"Isn't that the same message?" Jack said.

Hermes chuckled and said, "Sent messages don't get saved, so I think our Player wasn't certain if the first one had gone through, even though it did."

The other citizens standing next to the podiums were also chuckling.

Kate smiled and said, "How adorable!"

Jack let out a low cough next to her.

Suddenly, the main podium in the center flashed a bright orange, and the Inbox Podium lit up blue.

"Ah, more mail!" Hermes said. "Could you take us to the main Inbox screen, 8978F?"

8978F moved to the main podium and put her hand on it. The screen switched from the enemy Player's mail to the main screen with the four tabs of different types of mail. The tab with the inbox label had a small red square with a white number one at the top right. All of the mail listed underneath that tab were gray, except for the topmost one, which was white.

"Aren't we going to read it?"

Hermes shook his head and said, "It's locked. We can't read it until our Player opens it."

The Player Orb hanging from the ceiling lit up and a flare of light touched the crystal wall. The topmost line of mail turned gray.

"Excellent!" Hermes said. "Let's see what the enemy Player wrote."

8978F moved to the Inbox Podium and put her hand on its flat crystal surface. The screen changed to the enemy Player's message.

8978F read out loud, "I was asking if you wanted to join my alliance. I'm the leader."

"An unofficial alliance invitation?" Hermes said. "Excellent! Wonderful! Our fame spreads!"

Suddenly, tendrils of light flared out at the screen from the Player Orb, and a blank page came up. More light flared at the screen, and with each flaring touch, words typed itself onto the screen.

Kate watched the Player's light create the words onto the blank screen with wide eyes.

These were her Player's words. He was actually speaking.

Amazing.

8978F read out loud, "Sorry, but I'm already in an alliance. Thanks for the offer, though."

Hermes nodded solemnly and said, "How admirable. Our Player is a loyal one."

Jack crossed his arms and said, "And why should he join this Player's alliance? He's the one who just destroyed all of our troops!"

"Has our Player said anything in the Chat Room, yet?" Kate said.

Hermes shook his head and said proudly, "His first words were from here in the Mail Room, but you can go see what some of the other Players in the alliance or kingdom have to say."

Kate shook her head. She had no interest in the words of any other Players except for her own.

"You know, I didn't realize how talkative Players could be until we joined the alliance and the alliance chat opened up. I think it was Nemesis in the Chat Room who realized that the chatter in the kingdom chat and alliance chat were all Players talking to one another."

"Well, ours is a little on the quiet side," Jack said.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Kate said. "I think it's more regal."

"You would," Jack muttered.

Kate raised a brow at him and said, "What did you say, Jack?"

Jack put his hands up and said, "Nothing, dearest darling Kate. Nothing at all."

Kate tried to frown but ended up smiling instead.

"Now you sound like Toffer," she said.

"Well, I always noticed that when Toffer talks to you, you get into a better mood. Should I be jealous?"

Kate laughed and said, "No jealousy needed."

Suddenly, the door to the Mail Room opened and a citizen popped his head in.

"We have an Epic Quest in the Alliance Quest Chamber! It's PURPLE! You should see the list of resources and Alliance points we'll get if we complete it! It's so much more than the basic quests! Spread the word!"

Hermes immediately shooed Kate and Jack away. He even told his helpers to go.

"This is a special event," he said. "Go see it! I can handle things here."

Kate thanked Hermes and the other citizens for letting her know about the messages. The citizens also thanked Hermes and rushed out of the room. Kate and Jack left, too, and headed straight for the Quests Room.