Before every election at Saunders, both candidates meet each other and shake each other's hands. They bid each other good luck with the occasional exchange of playful banter between the rivals to be. It was such a sensationalized ceremony that oftentimes it was done publicly. Then, after the election was said and done, both the winner and the loser would meet again in front of the school. The two would shake hands again, congratulating the other on a race well won. The two would then embrace and turn towards the school, a symbol that even though they had bickered and argued about the finer points of Saunders law and the changes they would make, they were still fellow students.
It wouldn't take a genius to know that the last election before the Saunders Civil War wasn't going to be as pretty. For on the night of the meeting, Jennifer was absent. That night Jennifer had already started campaigning. She chose on that night to speak these words, the words that would seal the fate of Saunders.
"How can I respect a candidate who chooses to disgrace our values in favor of money? One who spits on our proud history in favor of strangers who bring nothing but trouble?"
It was no surprise that, upon losing the election, Jennifer would refuse to meet Abigail and honor the tradition of Saunders, instead tearing the school in half. But, ironically enough, she would still meet Abigail. She would go to Sensha-do Island and meet Abigail upon the deck of the JSF's ship where the judges coordinated their efforts to watch the entire field at the same time.
The room where they were to meet was smaller than what Jennifer had expected. Abigail was there first, shifting nervously in her seat until she saw Jennifer had entered the room. Jennifer smirked as she saw Abigail force a smile and said "Jennifer, I was wondering when you'd show up."
"Abigail," Jennifer answered, shortly and to the point as she sat down on the opposite end of the table. She was about to prop her feet up but decided against it as doing so in a skirt would only become embarrassing. The two sat in silence for five minutes that to them seemed to last an eternity before the judges entered the room. Jennifer smiled at them as the three judges took sides of the room, one on Abigail's side, one on Jennifer's side, and one in the middle of the two. There could be no question on who was truly in control. Jennifer had something similar planned when Abigail surrendered.
"You both understand the rules?" The judge asked.
"Yes ma'am," the two girls said in unison.
"Alright then," the head judge said as she opened a manilla envelope and took out a sheet of paper. She opened up the paper and said "Abigail Mason. Should you lose the tournament, you will be expelled from Saunders Highschool and Jennifer Dixon will be appointed as president. Jennifer Dixon. Should you lose the tournament, you will be expelled from Saunders Highschool." She looked up again. "Any questions?" When neither girl replied, the judge nodded and continued. "Surrendering at any point will allow you to discuss these terms. Outright defeat, as in your entire army is defeated or all your territory is lost, will result in these conditions."
The judge placed the page in front of Abigail first. Abigail looked down at the paper, then back at the judge. A chilled silence befell the room as Abigail stared at the document in front of her in disbelief. Jennifer smirked. "You never had the stomach to oppose anyone. That's why you had that filthy South Korean do it for you."
The atmosphere of the room shifted as Abigail looked up at Jennifer. "What did you say?" she asked, evenly.
Jennifer shrugged and smiled. "Hyun. Don't think I don't know your tricks, Mason," She answered. "It's clear for everyone to see that you're nothing by Hyun's lapdog. A nobody who just happened to charm you into following her orders. It's not too late Abigail."
Abigail's eyes narrowed. "Not too late to what?"
"You don't want this," Jennifer said as she folded her hands. "You don't want to fight this match anymore than I do. Well, I simply wanted one thing out of the presidency at Saunders anyway, the immediate expulsion of the foreign students. Perhaps we can come to an agreement. The declaration doesn't go into effect if you never sign it." She leaned forward.
"Wha…" Abigail swallowed. "What happens if I don't sign it?"
"Oh I'll still be president of Saunders," Jennifer replied. "But, you can still be a student at Saunders. Hell, I'll even make you the vice president. Together, we can drive the scourge of the foreigner out of our beloved school. We can make Saunders a better place together instead of divided against one another."
Abigail stared at the contract before turning her gaze to Jennifer. A devilish smirk came across Jennifer's face as she watched Abigail struggle with herself internally. She had always been weak, just like those who followed her. The only difference between her and her supporters was that she was both brave and Japanese. She was the perfect puppet for the foreigner.
Which is why it was a shock to her when Abigail picked up the pencil and signed the contract. She slid the contract and the pen over to Jennifer. Jennifer tried to hide the surprise on her face as she raised an eyebrow to Abigail. Abigail remained silent as she returned Jennifer's look and, in that moment, a thousand words were said. Jennifer had misjudged Abigail and everything she thought she knew about her was called into question.
Jennifer huffed and took the pen. "So be it," she said as she sealed the fate of Saunders, signing her name on the dotted line.
The Saunders Civil War had finally begun.
From on top of the hill where she had set up her artillery, Mary had a good view of the battlefield. As the regiments from her corps organized themselves in their staging areas, she took out her binoculars and determined her strategy. As she did, she saw a lone rider cross one of the two bridges that led to the other side of the hill. They were coming towards her, and she approached them. "What did you see?"
"There are about three or four hundred infantry, a regiment of cavalry, and one artillery battery set up on that hill on their side of the river," the scout said.
"Already?" Mary asked. The scout nodded. Mary bit her bottom lip and looked at her own battery. She then turned back to the scout. "Ride down to Victor's corps, he should be down that way a little bit. Tell him that I want his battery to counter fire the Dixon artillery on the hill once they open up. The smoke trails from their cannons should give away their position and they'll be too busy focusing on the infantry to notice us."
"Anything else?" the scout asked.
"Tell him to take a message to his corps. I want skirmishers to probe their lines first. Have one of his cavalry regiments skirmish across the bridge closer to him. I want your regiment on this one. Once your engaged, we'll send in the infantry."
"Alright, I'll relay the message," the scout said. She snapped her reins and took off down the line in front of the artillery. Mary pocketed her binoculars and walked back towards the trees where her horse had been hitched up. She mounted up as she looked at her battery. "If and when the cavalry runs into Dixon infantry, I want you to open up on the Dixon side of the bridge. I'm going to tell the infantry their role."
"Yes general."
"General! Reports from the bridges," a scout said as she rode up to Anna's position on the hilltop. "They are engaged with Mason skirmishers. Their artillery is opening up on our lines."
Anna looked through her binoculars towards the bridge, then followed the lines up. As she did, she saw a wave of blue infantry coming up the way. And beyond that, she focused her sights on an artillery battery. She lowered her binoculars and pointed towards the battery. "Divert your fire. Half of you target the infantry column moving forward and the other half open up on that battery up the hill. Do you see it?"
"Yes general. We'll give them hell."
"Anna, we have a problem."
Anna's attention was turned to another of her scouts riding towards her. When she rode up besides Anna, she offered the commander a salute before saying "The Masons have us outnumbered. They've got at least a thousand bluecoats marching up this way."
"Do you know who's leading them?" Anna asked.
"It's Mary herself, along with some Kraut."
Anna nodded to the scout. "Good, Mary's a predictable commander. One firm slap across her face here will see her pompous attitude shattered to pieces. Ride to Jackie, tell her to hold here."
"And what are you going to do?" the scout asked as Anna turned to leave the hill.
"Bring up the reserves," she said, then smiled like a wolf. "Mary desires to fight us here. If that be her wish, then it is my obligation as a proper Saunders woman to bestow upon her a battle so fierce she'll remember it for the rest of her life."
And with that, Anna spurred her horse and bolted off into the woods.
"INCOMING!"
Kay barely had time to react before the cannonball detonated into the company in front of hers. She stutter stepped and froze in place as the remnants of the company tried to reorganize themselves while many laid on the ground still, covered in paint.
"Holy-"
Eliza pulled Kay down as another shell exploded near them, no doubt saving her from the fate of those who had been hit by the cannonball. Kay looked up from her position. Her eyes locked on a tree. "Eliza, look!"
"RUN FOR IT!" Eliza said as she stood up. Kay was quick to follow her as the shells exploded around her. She threw herself against the tree, clutching her rifle close to her chest as she huddled against the tree for whatever cover it provided. Eliza sat next to her and looked out towards the Dixon lines. "That artillery is on the hill on their side of the river."
"That accuracy is surprising," Kay said. "One shot and they knocked out half the company."
"They probably ranged it beforehand," Eliza said before smiling. "The Dixon's adopted a defensive doctrine."
"And that's good because?"
"Their cannons are only accurate at certain points. Look."
Kay turned around and saw the cannon fire up the path they took towards the bridge. The road had mostly been abandoned with both craters from explosions and girls who had been hit and knocked out lying on the side of it. Most of the companies, however, were huddled around pieces of cover. The cannons fired, but missed more often than not. Kay blinked before looking at Eliza who was standing up. "What are you doing?" Kay asked.
"If we keep moving, they're going to have a harder time zeroing us in." Eliza said. "Come on, let's go. You want to hit those Dixon's hard, don't you?"
Kay and Eliza ducked, dove, and dashed their way across the fields towards where the cavalry skirmishers had been at earlier. The skirmishers that remained made use of the trees and rocks that blocked them from the Dixon barricade that had been erected on the other side.
Kay narrowed her eyes as she saw girls in grey uniforms pop up and fire before going back down to reload. She pressed herself against the tree and leveled her rifle, took aim, and fired. The smoke from the rifle fire blocked her view of her target, leaving her unable to see if she hit or not. Kay decided it was better to leave that question a mystery and ducked back behind her cover, pulling open another cartridge and started to reload her gun. The sounds of the fight enveloped her, the sound of pain-filled cries and paint splattering masked the sound of the ramrod sliding down the barrel.
Kay popped back over and fired another shot. This time, however, she could tell she struck a Dixon in the back. The girl in the grey uniform fell face first onto the grass and lied there motionless. Kay smiled to herself and witnessed the extent of the Dixon lines. The ones that had hidden behind the barricade had abandoned their breastworks and were now running towards the hills that housed the Dixon artillery positions.
"WE WON!" Kay exclaimed in joy.
"I don't think it's over yet," Eliza commented. "They're probably going to take up positions on that hill right there. We're going to have to toss them off of it."
Kay looked to Eliza, then to the hill, then sighed. "You always have to be a spoilsport, don't you?"
"We've got them on the run," Mary said as she watched the Dixons retreat to the mountain. She smiled to herself. "That was quick. Casualties?"
"We've taken a couple," one of her aides said. "About fifteen killed with another ten wounded. Victor's reporting less resistance and is ready to push his divisions across and to that hill over there."
"Organize our divisions and prepare to march out to that hill. With Victor's attack, we should be able to surround them and crush their lines in a matter of hours," Mary ordered. A smile crept across her lips as she added "and this little rebellion of theirs will be over in a matter of hours."
"General, our skirmishers have retreated."
"Casualty report?" Jackie asked as she turned to the aide.
"Minimum. Probably about twenty in total."
"Fantastic. And our trenches?"
The orderly nodded. "We've dug in deeply sir- er, ma'am."
"No please, 'sir's rather fitting for a commander, wouldn't you agree?"
"Uh…" The orderly replied, then nodded. "Yes ma- er… sir. The Masons are going to have one hell of a time trying to throw us from this hilltop."
"Excellent," Jackie smiled as she looked down the hill. "This is going to be fun."
"Ladies of Saunders, hear me!"
Kay's division had organized at the base of the hill by this point. The banners of the Mason units flew high above the lines of blue. The speaker had been none other than Mary Clellan herself, riding along the rear of their lines with her saber drawn.
"Today we show the world that we're committed to our allies. FORWARD! Take that hill and send those Dixons running back to the bogs and marshes they've crawled out of."
With a mighty yell, Kay took off like a cheetah towards the hill. The trees and the incline may have slowed her down, but the rush of adrenaline and the fervor of personality drove her forth up the hill, kicking away leaves and loose grass from the earlier exchanges of artillery.
She was only stopped when an explosion went off in front of her. Kay quickly found herself on her back, her uniform covered in dirt. As she rolled over onto her front, all tenacity drained out of her. Rifle fire echoed from the hill. Her comrades threw themselves behind whatever cover they could find, as the deafening hail of fire rained down on them like a swarm of killer bees. Kay looked up to see Eliza ducking bullets. Her friend quickly grabbed Kay and dragged her to the safety of a tree.
"You need to be more careful kiddo," Eliza said as she fired her rifle from her cover. "Come on, up the hill."
Kay nodded. She looked out from her tree as a paintball whizzed passed her head. She heard another one splatter against the wood before she took off, collecting her rifle and ducking behind another tree. She aimed and fired up the hill before making her way to three other Masons sitting behind a fallen tree.
"Who is that?" one of the girls asked before firing. "I thought we had them outnumbered!"
"Whoever they are, they're about as thick as a stonewall to stand against this assault," another one said.
"More like standing like a stone wall," the third commented. "At least they're going to stay put."
"I'll say." Kay agreed. "This war will be over in a matter of-"
Kay's sentence was interrupted when a paintball splattered against the tree next to her. She looked up and her eyes widened as a swarm of grey came running up the hill to their left. Kay quickly leveled her rifle and fired into the horde, before getting back to her feet and taking off back the way she came. Her new found friends by the tree were right behind her, and were way ahead of the order that echoed from the mouths of various NCO's and Commanders.
"SAUNDERS! RETREAT! RETREAT! BACK TO THE BRIDGE! BACK TO THE BRIDGE!"
Anna watched from her horse as the ranks of blue clad girls emerged from the forest in a panic. The infantry before her leveled their rifles and fired into them, causing more confusion as the Masons ran back towards the bridge in disorder. She smiled to herself as the fire continued. She quickly made her way back up the hill and towards Jackie who stood with a gleeful expression on her face.
"FORWARD! AFTER THEM, DON'T LET THOSE MASONS GET AWAY!"
"Cancel that order," Anna said as she rode up to Jackie, making her presence known.
Jackie turned to her sister. "But Anna-"
"No buts, Jackie," Anna interrupted. "Mary may be a careless commander, but you forget that we're still in contact with the Germans on our other flank. If we waste our time chasing Mary's army down, the Germans will cave our lines in and pin us down between the leftovers and a full corps. Right now, we need to focus on driving the Germans off the hill."
"But by the time we do that, Mary will have organized-"
"-a decent defense to a counterattack that will never come." Anna finished as she spurred her horse.
"Allowing the Germans somewhere safe to retreat to." Jackie protested. "We have to finish them off here and now."
"Jackie, have faith in your big sister." Anna replied. "Think about it. If we chase the Masons, we'll keep taking losses. And since Julia's not riding up here with Mary, I fear she's leading her own army somewhere else. If we continue to throw away our resources for total victory, we will not be in a situation to defeat Julia when the time comes. Therefore, we will hold this position."
Jackie narrowed her eyes down the hill. She gritted her teeth before sighing in exasperation. "Fine," She spat as she turned her horse to the sound of gunfire.
"Don't worry, there will come a time and a place to run down fleeing Masons. Just be patient."