"...I'm sorry. You were the only survivor."
It had been over an hour since Garland had said those words, yet they echoed through Annabeth's head as loudly as when they had first been spoken. She didn't know what to do. What to say. She had retreated back to her room, and had been lying on the bed ever since.
Her father, dead. Everyone she knew, dead. All in a single night. Who was left? Just her? Just one little girl out of the whole village?
Who did she have left?
Someone knocked on the door. Annabeth didn't respond.
"Excuse me," Annabeth heard Zazie say as the door creaked open. She looked up to see Zazie entering the room, bearing a tray of food. "I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you something to eat."
"...table."
"I apologize, could you repeat that?"
"Leave it on the - "
Annabeth burst into tears. She couldn't help it. What was she even doing? Everyone she knew was dead, and here she was telling a princess where to put her food. She curled up in a ball, burying her face in her hands.
"I heard what happened," Zazie said. Annabeth felt Zazie sit down beside her. "To your village. I'm sorry."
Annabeth didn't reply.
"I mean it. It... it was my fault," Zazie continued. "I bear the burden for those deaths."
"What do you mean?"
"Those bandits and raiders were targeting me. They meant to capture, and possibly kill me. I was passing through your village on the way back to the capitol, and... it seems that you were caught up in my conflict."
"Why were they after you? Just because you're the princess of the kingdom?" Annabeth asked through occasional sobs as she looked up at Zazie. "Why did my father have to die? Why did everyone have to die? Tell me!"
Zazie looked away. The two girls were silent for a moment.
"Because I aim to save the world."
"What?"
"I truly am sorry for the loss of your village and father. If it is any consolation, I do not intend to let their deaths be in vain," Zazie said as she turned to face Annabeth. "Can you keep a secret? This is something I have yet to tell anyone else."
"What... what is it?"
"Every night, I have the same nightmare. The same vision. From the shrine of the God of Light, a burning light will scour the world and wipe humanity from its surface," Zazie explained. "For as long as I have dreamed, I have seen this."
"What... what are you talking about? A dream?"
"No. Not just a dream. I visited the shrine of the God of Light mere weeks ago and... I found it familiar. Just as I saw in my nightmares," Zazie said. She locked eyes with Annabeth. "In a single moment, sometime in the future, the world will end. I intend to stop it, and someone intends to stop me. And if I fail... the destruction of your village will be nothing compared to the annihilation that will follow."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"You helped me escape from that burning village. You protected me unconditionally, without even knowing who I am. Outclassed as you were, you even stood up to Garland for my sake," Zazie said. "I need allies I can rely on at my side. Allies to protect and help me when I falter. Allies I can trust unconditionally. I realize that I am asking a lot from you, but..."
Zazie stood up from the bed and kneeled in front of Annabeth.
"Please, help me prevent the end of this world."
Annabeth was stunned. A princess was kneeling to a village girl, the daughter of a no-name blacksmith. She didn't know what to say.
"If you wish to stay with me, then you'll come with me back to the capitol, and I'll ask Garland to have you trained in the way of the sword. You show promise already, considering you did not fall instantly when fighting him," Zazie explained, standing up again. "But if you decline, then I'll make sure you end up in the finest orphanage in Arcadia with a sizable sum from the royal treasury to your name. You have my word."
Annabeth didn't reply. She looked down for a moment.
"You don't have to decide right now. I realize that I've given you a lot to think about during a particularly hard time," Zazie said, moving towards the door. "Let me know when - "
"I'll do it."
"What?" Zazie stopped just before the door. "Are you sure? I'm asking quite a lot from - "
"I... I'm still not sure what's going on. I'm still processing what happened to my father. What happened to my village. I have... I have nothing left. No one left. But if what you say is true, then..." Annabeth paused. She took a deep breath. "If the end of the world really is coming like you say it is, then I would very much like to stop it. I couldn't save my father, but... maybe I can save everyone else instead. Like I saved you. So I'll be at your side and fight alongside you, so that we can keep this world from ending. I swear it."
"I see. I... appreciate that very much. More than you could know," Zazie said. She turned towards the door. "I... if you're still grieving, I can leave you - "
"No. You can stay."
"O - okay," Zazie said. She approached the bed and sat down next to Annabeth. Neither of the two girls talked. They simply sat there in silence. Annabeth thought about her father. About her village. About Zazie. About the offer.
The village was gone. Annabeth was alone. Directionless. Maybe Zazie could give her that direction. That purpose she needed.
A reason to keep going.
Chapter 4: A Glimpse Beyond the Curtain
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Snap!
Annabeth's boots crushed the freshly-fallen snow underfoot, occasionally breaking a dead branch or two as she trudged through the forest. Zazie walked ahead of her; her footsteps were light, and she hummed a tune to herself as she made her way over fallen logs, around bushes, and between snow-covered trees.
Zoey. That's the name she goes by now. Zoey Ashtray, Annabeth reminded herself. It was an odd name, mundane compared to the one Annabeth knew her by. A new name for this new world. If what Zazie had said was true, the great kingdoms and empires that Annabeth once thought as infallible had vanished completely, replaced by ones she had never heard of. And her unfamiliarity with magic? Every child in the world was familiar with the gifts bestowed upon humanity by the gods, even if they did not know how to utilize it. For her, who supposedly traveled around the world for her job, to not know what it was? It only pointed at a further difference between this world and the one Annabeth knew.
"Hey, how're you holding up? You're doing fine, right?" Zazie asked, turning around and walking backwards as she spoke to Annabeth. Somehow, she was able to keep up her pace and avoid incoming trees and shrubs as well as when she had been walking normally. "I've got another jacket in my backpack if you need it. It's a lighter one that I use as a spare, so I'm not sure if it'll be good enough for this weather, but it's probably better than nothing."
"I'm fine right now, thank you," Annabeth said. While her armor didn't do too well in keeping the cold air out, the layers of protective wear and padding she usually wore underneath were surprisingly effective at making sure Annabeth was warm in the snowy weather. "I can heat myself up with fire magic if necessary, but I'm warm enough for now."
"Magic, huh? You mentioned that before. What is it?"
"I'm surprised you are unaware of it. You..." Annabeth started to say before trailing off. She already knew Zazie had no recollection of any of their experiences in the world that Annabeth was familiar with. Trying to bring up those memories would only cause more confusion.
"Me? I'm unaware of it? More like the entire world, you know. This is the stuff of fairy tales and fantasy stories, not real life," Zazie explained, her mouth turned down into a puzzled frown. "Are you sure you're not pulling my leg? You don't seem like the lying type, but..."
"I could show you, if you'd like," Annabeth said. She extended her arm and concentrated on the magical power coursing through her body and the air, focusing it to a point above her hand. A small ball of flame appeared in the air, just above her palm. "I can do basic magic such as this, but I'm nothing compared to those who actually study the arcane arts."
"Wow, that's pretty neat," Zazie said, stopping and leaning in close to observe the flame. It was an odd feeling to watch her so enamored by such basic magic, especially when she was the one who taught this to Annabeth in the first place. "You said this is magic, right? Are you sure this isn't just some fancy semblance or something?"
"A semblance?" Annabeth asked as she snuffed out the flame. "You mentioned that before. What is it?"
"Huh, so I guess all that acting clueless wasn't just hypothermia," Zazie muttered, turning around as the two girls resumed their walk through the forest. "A semblance is like, uh... you probably don't know what aura is either, do you?"
"No, I don't. Though you did mention that as well."
"Well, how do I explain it... it's like bringing out your soul into something tangible. I think that's how the textbooks explain it, anyways. If you've got it unlocked, you can do stuff with it like block hits and heal faster than normal. But not nearly as fast as you did back there; it's more like waiting a week for something to heal instead of a month."
"Interesting," Annabeth said, nodding. What Zazie was describing sounded like the rudimentary defensive and healing magic that Annabeth had learned from Zazie. They were basic techniques in the grand scope of what magic could accomplish, but still vital for anyone who would enter the battlefield.
"Anyways, semblances are kinda like... well, it's hard to describe because it's different for everyone. It's like a unique power that comes after you unlock your aura, and only you have it."
"Do you have one?"
"Yeah, it makes me go fast," Zazie said. She paused for a moment. "But I get tired afterwards, so I don't like using it much."
"I see." Annabeth had heard that most mages had an affinity with a single particular branch of magic - in fact, there was no better example of that than Zazie herself, whose affinity was so great that it actively plagued her thoughts and dreams. But despite that, anyone could master any school of the arcane arts given enough time and training. While aura seemed to be similar to basic schools of magic, these semblances were something completely different.
Annabeth shivered slightly. She spotted a snowflake falling through the trees, followed by a few more.
"Aw, it's starting to snow again," Zazie muttered, looking up at the sky. "Peakstone shouldn't be too far away, though. We'll pass through there, and if the weather gets bad, we can take shelter until it clears up."
"That sounds fine."
The two girls trudged onwards through the snow.
"Wait, you're telling me you don't know what Dust is, either?" Zazie asked, pulling a small red crystal from her pocket and tossing it back to Annabeth. She grabbed it out of the air and brought it up close to her eyes.
"No, I don't think I'm familiar," Annabeth said, turning the crystal around. "Is this it? What is it?"
"It's like... elemental energy condensed into crystals and powder. We use it for all sorts of stuff. Lightning Dust for powering things, fire Dust for heating things, that kinda stuff."
"Interesting," Annabeth muttered, turning the crystal over in her palm. Judging by its bright red color, she assumed that it was the fire Dust that Zazie had mentioned. She could feel a powerful magical energy within the crystal. One that she might be able to draw out.
"Oh, by the way, you might wanna be careful with that," Zazie said, turning back towards Annabeth. "Fire Dust is kinda volatile. It's not gonna explode if you just drop it or something, but that magic of yours might - "
Zazie stopped. Her usual smile changed to a thin frown. She sniffed the air once, then twice.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you smell that?" Zazie asked, looking up as she sniffed more.
"I..." Annabeth paused to sniff the air herself. "Smoke. I smell smoke."
"We should be just downwind of Peakstone. That means the smoke is likely coming from there. But to be able to smell it from all the way out here... oh no."
Without warning, Zazie took off through the trees, leaving Annabeth standing in the snow. She slipped the crystal into a pouch on her waist before running to catch up.
"Zazie! Wait!" Annabeth shouted, trying to keep up with Zazie. However, unlike the physically frail and weak Zazie that she knew, the Zazie in front of was dashing through the forest at a rapid pace that could best most of Arcadia's swiftest soldiers, and it was all that Annabeth could do to keep Zazie in her sights. The smoky smell was getting strong, and Annabeth could see a pillar of billowing black smoke rising over the trees in the distance.
Then, Annabeth heard the screams.
"What's happening?!" Annabeth shouted ahead to Zazie as they approached the source of the smoke and the screams.
"I don't know. I think it might be a Grimm attack," Zazie replied. Annabeth nodded; she remembered what Zazie had called the creatures spawned by the God of Darkness. While they were generally hostile to humanity, it was rare that they would ravage entire human settlements like this. "We're close."
"Let's go, then," Annabeth said as the two girls ran towards the smoke. Before long, the trees gave way to a large clearing. A wooden wall several meters high surrounded what looked like a small village, with a gate in the front being the only visible way in or out. Or, well, it should have been; a large horde of Grimm was surrounding the village, with more coming in from the surrounding forest. Many sections of the wall had been torn down and broken through. The billowing smoke rose up from beyond the wall, and the shouts and screams of the people from the village only grew louder.
"I was expecting some Grimm, but this... this is too much," Zazie said as she came to a stop. "If we get any closer, the Grimm will notice us. We should - "
"I can get through," Annabeth interrupted, drawing her sword and stepping forward. "Stay behind me."
"Wait, you're really going to - "
Annabeth dashed forward, quickly closing the gap between her and the nearest Grimm, a large wolf-like creature that had its back turned to her. Before it had even noticed her, her blade cut through its torso, slicing it in half and killing it instantly. Some of the other Grimm surrounding the village turned towards Annabeth; there were more of the wolves, the bear-like creatures that Zazie had called "Ursas", and a few creatures that resembled large gorillas.
I need to cut my way to the village, Annabeth thought as her eyes darted from creature to creature. She still heard shouts and screams. That meant there were still people to save. If she could cut a path into the village, she could do the same out of it, hopefully with any survivors in tow. One of the wolf creatures lunged towards Annabeth with its jaws opened wide, but she ducked beneath its leap before stabbing her sword into its stomach and running it through. As she drew her blade out of the creature's disintegrating body, she turned towards an attacking Ursa, lopping off its arms with two quick slashes before it could even strike before cutting off its head.
"Behind you!" Annabeth heard Zazie shout. She turned once more to see two more wolf creatures running towards her, as well as one of the gorilla-like creatures slowly approaching behind them. The first wolf leaped towards her, while the second circled behind.
They intend to flank me, Annabet thought as she sidestepped the first wolf's leaping strike and cut a deep gash into its side. The second wolf dashed up behind her, but she turned, stabbing her sword into its mouth and up through the back of its head. The first wolf saw an opportunity to strike as Annabeth's blade was occupied and lunged at her, only for Annabeth to quickly jerk her sword out of the second wolf's disintegrating body and smash the first wolf's face with its hilt. As it recoiled back, Annabeth brought her blade down upon it, nearly splitting it from head to stern.
"Watch out!" Another shout from Zazie had Annabeth look up just in time to see the gorilla-like creature hurl a great chunk of stone, as large as Annabeth was tall, in her direction. The boulder was moving surprisingly fast. Too fast.
No time to move, Annabeth thought as she gathered what magical energy she could in an instant before concentrating it in her hand. She extended her arm and unleashed a concussive blast from her palm, shattering the boulder just before it smashed into her. However, despite most of the boulder having been blown away, some fragments of rock still carried their momentum, and Annabeth grit her teeth and stumbled back as the high-speed chunks of stone struck her body. One particularly large fragment smashed into her left shin, and she fell to one knee.
A roar. Annabeth looked up. The gorilla was approaching quickly.
"Don't underestimate me," Annabeth muttered through grit teeth, pushing herself to her feet and raising her sword. The gorilla raised its fists to smash Annabeth into the ground, but she was faster, dashing past the gorilla and cutting a large gash into its hip. As it turned, Annabeth swung low, carving large gashes in each of its legs and causing it to fall forward into the snow. Before it could get up, Annabeth stabbed her blade down into the back of its neck, causing it to go limp as the red glow faded from its eyes.
"Ugh..." Annabeth muttered, falling back to her knee. She pushed herself up again, but a burning throb in her ankle nearly sent her tumbling back to the snow.
"Are you okay?!" Zazie shouted. Annabeth looked up to see Zazie running to her. "Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
"I think that boulder might've messed up something in my ankle," Annabeth said through gritted teeth as she concentrated on the burning pain in her leg. She turned towards the village, and while there were still dozens upon dozens of Grimm surrounding it with more pouring out of the forest beyond, the immediate path to the gate was clear. She began limping forward. "Come on. Before we get more company."
"Come on, let me help you there," Zazie said, coming up next to Annabeth and letting her lean on her shoulder and relieve pressure from her ankle. The pain felt like it was cut in half, though it was still present. "Can't you heal that or something?"
"I can, but it would take much too long. The only things I can heal quickly are superficial wounds like cuts and bruises. I think I might have sprained or broken something," Annabeth explained as the two girls hobbled past the gate into the village. Inside, Annabeth saw wooden houses and stores lining snow-covered paths that led up and down the village. Some of them were partially collapsed or on fire, and several corpses already littered the pathways between them, their bodies mauled by great bites and claw marks.
"H - help me!" Annabeth heard someone shout. She looked further along the path and saw an Ursa towering over a man cowering on the ground. Ignoring the burning throb in her ankle, she dashed forward, closing the gap between herself and the Ursa before stabbing her sword into its back. Her blade sunk deep into the Grimm's flesh, and she pulled her blade up, nearly splitting the creature in two. As it disintegrated, she looked down at the man she had just saved.
"T - thank you," the man stuttered. He was carrying some sort of long, thin contraption. Something Annabeth didn't quite recognize. "You really saved my ass there."
"What happened here? Where is everyone?" Annabeth asked, wincing as the adrenaline started to fade and the burning throb in her ankle resurfaced.
"The Grimm laid siege to Peakstone out of nowhere. We lost over half of the village before we could do anything," the man said as he got to his feet. "I tried to push through the Grimm and make a path to escape, but... you saw how that went."
"Where are the survivors?" Zazie asked, coming up behind Annabeth. "There are others, right?"
"We gathered everyone we could at the center of the village. That's where we're holding out, the man explained. "I can show you the way. It's not far."
Annabeth and Zazie nodded. The two girls followed the man through the village, wary of any other Grimm that might ambush them as they made their way to the center of Peakstone.
Annabeth's fingers brushed over her ankle. It was bruised. Discolored. It didn't feel broken, but a sprain was likely. She concentrated magical energy into her hand as she tried to heal herself, and while the discoloration faded somewhat, the burning pain in her ankle still remained.
If this was the old Zazie, she would be able to heal this in seconds, Annabeth thought as she looked up. She was sitting in the corner of the village square, where dozens of people, from old men and women to children, were milling about, their faces wrought with fear. These were most of the survivors of the Grimm's siege so far; the few that were capable of fighting were further out towards the edges of the village, trying to hold back the tide of black creatures. That's what she had been told, anyways.
"Are you okay?" Zazie asked, walking up next to Annabeth. "How's your ankle?"
"It's fine. I can still fight," Annabeth said, standing up and gritting her teeth as the burning pain in her ankle grew. "We need to evacuate the survivors. If we can force a path through the Grimm like we did to get in..."
"All we did was make a brief opening through the horde of Grimm. That's enough for two people, but..." Zazie turned and looked around at the people milling about the square. "Now you're injured, and we need to get nearly half a village through the horde instead of just two. And from what I heard, more Grimm are still coming."
"So, what would you suggest?" Annabeth asked. Zazie was smart. She always had an answer. Even if it wasn't the right one, it was usually better than anything Annabeth could come up with.
"I... didn't want to go into the village in the first place. I saw the amount of Grimm surrounding the village. I was going to say that we should leave, but you ran in before I could stop you," Zazie said. She paused for a moment. "I still think we should do that."
"Do what?"
"Leave. Like I said, it'll be a lot harder to get half a village out than it'll be to get out by ourselves."
"And what about everyone else?"
Zazie looked away. She didn't say anything.
"So, you want to just leave them to die?" Annabeth asked. "Why'd you follow me here, then? Actually, why did you even save me in the first place? Pull me out of the snow?"
"It's a lot easier to save one person than fifty!"
"So you won't even try?!"
"I..."
Zazie went quiet. She looked down at her hands.
"I understand where you're coming from, but..." Annabeth started to say before trailing off. The Zazie she knew wasn't reckless. She knew when to not overextend herself. When to cut losses and when to retreat. But she was never a coward, never one to back off and save her own skin at the cost of others. Whatever had happened to Zazie between then and now, she had changed.
"I'll be talking with the villagers. I think I can cut a path through the horde for them to escape. You're welcome to join them, if you'd like," Annabeth said, walking past Zazie towards the crowd of villagers milling about. "Is there anyone in charge here?"
"The village chief was killed during the initial attack," someone said. "Her husband is coordinating the defense."
"Great. Where is he?"
"Over here!" Annabeth turned to see a rather short man running up to her. "I heard from one of the village guardsmen that someone strong forced their way through the Grimm and made their way here. Is that you? Are you a Huntress?"
"I think that would be me, though I'm not a... Huntress," Annabeth said. She remembered that term from yesterday. "I don't see how that's relevant, though. Get everyone capable of fighting back to this location."
"What? But if the guardsmen retreat from the outer parts of the village, the Grimm will converge here and - "
"And we'll have already departed. I'm cutting a path through the horde; have your guardsmen protect the villagers as they escape."
"You want us to go into the Grimm horde? That's suicide! I'm not trusting our lives to someone who's not even - "
Annabeth reached for her sword. With one swift motion, she unsheathed her blade and pointed it directly at the man's throat.
"If you would rather trust the lives of your village to the Grimm, then I should cut you down where you stand!" Annabeth shouted, keeping her blade steady against the man's neck as he nervously raised his hands. She turned towards the gathering crowd of villagers, who were looking fearfully at her. "If you wish to stay here until this dark horde consumes this village and you with it, you are free to do so. However, if you follow me, I will cut you a path to safety. I give my word."
Annabeth sheathed her blade. Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Who is she?"
"I heard she cut through the horde by herself to get here."
"Can she really help us escape?"
"I don't want to die here..."
"We'll be leaving through the main gate," Annabeth said, turning back towards the man who was supposedly in charge. "As I said, gather anyone who can fight so that we can protect everyone who cannot. I swear that I will cut a path through the Grimm, or die trying."
Annabeth slashed in a wide arc in front of her, cutting deep into the chests of two wolf creatures lunging towards her. Beowolves; that's what the villagers had called them. They fell to the ground, and she finished them off with two quick slashes before they could recover.
"Keep moving!" Annabeth shouted, pushing forward despite the burning pain growing in her ankle. She looked back to see the villagers following several meters behind. Those who were young, old, injured, or otherwise incapable of fighting were huddled in the middle of the group, while the more capable fighters on the outside protected them with strange weapons. They were similar to crossbows, but instead of launching a bolt from a drawstring, they propelled small pieces of metal at high speeds through some process that Annabeth didn't understand. The guardsmen had called them "rifles". However they worked, they seemed to be quite effective; Annabeth watched one of the guardsmen shoot an incoming Beowolf, blowing a hole through its head and sending it toppling to the ground.
"It shouldn't be far to the south gate," one of the guardsmen said, pointing down a row of wooden cabins. "If you take the right path there, you should see it just ahead."
"Then that's where we'll go. We need to evacuate everyone before the Grimm converge on us," Annabeth said. As she led the villagers onwards, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Zazie.
"Hey, about earlier, I..." Zazie paused for a moment. "Sorry, I was - "
"We can talk later. After everyone's evacuated. For now, stay safe with everyone else," Annabeth interrupted, turning forward and resuming her march towards the gate. As she turned the corner the guard had pointed to, she spotted yet another corpse lying in the snow. No, wait, not a corpse; this one was alive.
"Oh no," Annabeth muttered, limping as fast as she could to the man lying face-up in the snow, clutching a rifle in his bloodstained hands. He had bloody gashes cut deep into his chest, and his blood painted the surrounding snow red. Too much for Annabeth to heal. "Is anyone back there a medic?!"
"No... no time," the man sputtered through blood-laden coughs. "More Grimm... huge hoard... hundreds... from the southwest... they'll be here soon... had to come and warn..."
The man's voice grew weaker as blood dribbled from his lips. His eyes fluttered closed, and he went still. Annabeth didn't need to check his pulse. She had seen wounds like his before.
"What did he say?" one of the guardsmen asked.
"More Grimm are coming. Hundreds of them. From the southwest," Annabeth repeated, limping past the man's corpse towards the gate. "Once we're out of the gate, take everyone and punch through to the southeast. I'll split off and deal with the oncoming horde."
"Alone?" the guard asked. "Against hundreds? That's suicide, no matter how strong you are! You'll - "
"I don't intend to die," Annabeth said through gritted teeth as she limped towards the gate. "Now, follow me and get ready to - "
"I'll do it."
"Huh?" Annabeth turned to see Zazie step towards her. She bent down, grabbing the blood-stained rifle out of the dead man's hands. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the weapon, her expression hardened, and there was a new look in her eyes that Annabeth couldn't quite get a read on. "What are you - "
"I'll distract the oncoming Grimm. That means you'll be able to punch through the horde surrounding the village right now and get everyone to safety, right?" Zazie asked, her expression softening immediately as she smiled at Annabeth. She turned towards one of the guardsmen. "I'll need more ammo. A lot more."
"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked as the guard handed Zazie a box of something Annabeth didn't recognize. "I thought I told you to stay - "
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna die either. I can distract the oncoming Grimm and escape a lot easier than you can, especially considering your ankle," Zazie said, running past Annabeth towards the gate. "Stay safe!"
"Wait!" Annabeth shouted, but Zazie had already ran down the path, through the gate, and out of sight. With a sigh, she turned back towards the villagers. "Follow me! We're using the opportunity she's giving us to force our way out of here before any more Grimm arrive!"
The villagers and guardsmen murmured in agreement, and Annabeth started towards the gate, with everyone following behind her. Everyone except Zazie.
"Hah!" Annabeth shouted as her blade pierced through the armor on the Ursa's chest and sunk deep into its body. She pulled the blade upwards, ripping through the Ursa's shoulder and letting its disintegrating corpse fall to the ground. "Get to the forest, everyone! The way is clear!"
The crowd of villagers pushed past Annabeth towards the forest surrounding the village as several guardsmen covered their escape, holding back the horde of Grimm with their rifles. Most of the Grimm surrounding the village had turned their attention towards the evacuating villagers, and it was all that the guardsmen could do to keep them away from the fleeing villagers as Annabeth carved a path through the horde in front of them.
"Help!" one of the guardsmen shouted as a Beowolf swatted him to the ground, knocking his rifle from his hand. Annabeth dashed to him, running the Beowolf through with her blade before it could strike the vulnerable guard.
"Go! Protect everyone else! I'll cover your retreat!" Annabeth shouted to the fallen guard and his allies. As they went to join the rest of the villagers, Annabeth looked up at the oncoming horde of Grimm. As strong as she was, she was only a single person. Even if she could take on the horde by herself, for every creature she struck down, five would be able to move past her and chase after the fleeing villagers. She could try for a blast of magic to hold the horde back, but she was no court mage, and what power she had wouldn't be able to divert all the Grimm.
Wait, magical power...
Annabeth reached into the pouch by her waist, and she pulled out the fire Dust crystal that Zazie had given her. She could feel magical energy pulsing from it, begging to be released. Concentrating on the crystal, Annabeth pulled at the blazing energy inside it, drawing it from the crystal into her body and feeling it course through her veins. Then, dropped the now-inert crystal and gripped her sword tight with both hands, feeding the energy of the crystal into her blade. As the horde of Grimm quickly grew closer, she raised her fire-infused blade.
"Hah!"
With a shout, Annabeth slashed towards the oncoming Grimm and unleashed the energy within her blade. White-hot flames lashed out in an arc, completely incinerating the Grimm closest to Annabeth and forcing any of the surviving Grimm back away from the the initial blast of fire quickly faded, it was replaced by a surging wall of flames that held back what remained of the horde.
That worked for now, Annabeth thought as the pain in her ankle intensified. She fell to one knee, and her body ached fiercely. She wasn't used to such a surge of magical power coursing through her body, and she had no idea what the side effects would be, if any. She didn't particularly care either, at least at the moment. The villagers should be safe... but what about Zazie?
Pushing herself back to her feet, Annabeth turned and limped as quickly as she could towards the southwest, where Zazie had gone to fend off the Grimm that the dead man had warned them about. As she pressed onwards past the clearing and into the forest, she heard rapid rifleshots in the distance.
Zazie took the dead man's rifle. That might be her. Annabeth trudged through the forest, ignoring the growing pain in her ankle. Finally, the trees gave way to another clearing, a large field covered in snow. Annabeth's eyes widened in surprise as she saw hundreds of Grimm corpses littering the clearing, their disintegrating black forms breaking up the snow-white landscape.
And in the center of all of it was Zazie, her eyes focused and her face expressionless as she blew the head off a lunging Ursa with her rifle.
"Gods..." Annabeth muttered, looking around at all of the disintegrating Grimm. Not a single one moved; all of them that she could see had holes blown through their heads and chests. Even Annabeth would have had trouble with a horde this size, and yet Zazie had intercepted and completely destroyed them in so little time without so much as a scratch on herself. Was this the same girl that Annabeth had saved from two Ursas the day prior?
No, figuring that out could wait. Zazie was fine. That was good. Annabeth watched as Zazie dropped her rifle and sat down in the snow. She curled up into a ball and buried her face in her hands. Annabeth heard a faint sobbing.
Was Zazie... crying?
"Zazie!" Annabeth shouted across the clearing. Zazie didn't respond. Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth spotted one of the many black forms littered across the clearing move. A single Beowolf, the lone survivor of hundreds. It let out a piercing howl before sprinting towards Zazie, its fangs bared. Zazie still didn't move.
No! Ignoring the pain in her ankle, Annabeth ran to intercept the Beowolf, but even without an injured ankle she had no hope of beating a Beowolf in a contest of speed. Thinking quickly, she reversed her grip on her sword before throwing it forward like a javelin. It sailed through the air before piercing through the side of the Beowolf's head, instantly knocking it to the ground where it lay still.
"Annabeth?" Zazie looked up as Annabeth limped towards the now-disintegrating Beowolf. Her gaze turned to Annabeth, then to the Beowolf with the sword sticking from its head, then back to Annabeth. "Why'd you come here? I thought you were helping the villagers - "
"They've escaped. We got through the horde, and the guardsmen should be protecting them now," Annabeth explained, pulling her sword from the Beowolf's corpse and turning to Zazie. "I suppose they have you to thank for that."
"I..." Zazie paused as Annabeth limped up to her. Annabeth could see tears still running down Zazie's face as Zazie looked up at her. "Why'd you come here, though?"
"I was worried. How could I not be? You went off on your own to distract a horde of hundreds," Annabeth said, looking around at the hundreds of disintegrating Grimm corpses. "Well, I guess you did quite a bit more than distract them."
"Yeah, I..." Zazie looked down at the rifle on the ground next to her. She reached a shaky hand towards it, but pulled her hand back before it made contact. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For being a coward. For telling you that we should just leave everyone behind," Zazie said with a weak chuckle. "I'm guessing you don't think too highly of me right now. You see that I can do all this, yet I just let you get hurt when you were trying to get into the village. I was even telling you to just leave the village to die. That probably doesn't look too good, right?"
"I... that's true. I was somewhat disappointed with you when you wanted to leave everyone in the village behind. That wasn't the Zazie I knew," Annabeth said, sitting down next to Zazie. "But in the end, you stepped up and helped. I believe that's what matters."
"I... only did it because I was ashamed of myself after seeing you try so hard. Ashamed that I could do all this and I... wasn't," Zazie said, turning to Annabeth. "To be honest, I'm surprised you came to check in on me at all."
"I swore an oath to protect you, Zazie. And though so much has changed, including you... I still swear by that oath, even if you don't remember it anymore," Annabeth said. "Though it doesn't seem you need as much protection as I thought you would need."
"I see. That's..." Zazie trailed off for a moment. "Aren't you suspicious at all? Not even a bit?"
"What do you mean?"
"Hundreds of Grimm dead, taken down by a girl with just a rifle? A girl who didn't want to fight in the first place?" Zazie looked down. Though Annabeth couldn't see her eyes, she could hear that faint sobbing again. "No matter how you look at it... it's not normal. I'm not normal. You can't think I am after seeing all this. You think I'm hiding something, that I can't be trusted, that - "
"I am somewhat curious, but... I saw you crying before. I saw how you reached towards your weapon. I've seen that look in your eyes. All that reminds me of what I've seen from old soldiers whose minds have been scarred heavily from bloody conflict. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been scarred as well," Annabeth said, pulling Zazie's head up and locking eyes with her. "And I don't know what secrets you have, but what I know is that you were the one who saved me first, when you dragged me out of the snow and took care of me while I was unconscious. Whatever it is that's going on with you, you can tell me when you're ready to tell me. Until then, I'll remain at your side."
"I..."
Zazie started crying again. Annabeth put a hand on her shoulder and waited for her to finish. After a minute or two, Zazie wiped the tears from her eyes and looked up.
"I... thought my last fight was already behind me. I thought I would never have to pick up a weapon again," Zazie said, pushing herself to her feet. "I guess I thought wrong."
"We should probably regroup with the villagers. They may need our protection getting to the next town over," Annabeth said as she stood up, wincing as the pain in her ankle came back. "Do you know where that would be? I've healed my ankle somewhat, but I would like to have it looked at by someone sooner rather than later."
"Uh... I think the next village should be about ten miles southwest. That's where I picked up some mail - oh, shoot!" Zazie exclaimed as she swore under her breath. "I was supposed to pick up the mail in Peakstone! Man, I hope the Courier office doesn't dock me for that..."
"I... I think mail is the least of everyone's worries right now."
"The least of your worries, maybe. I'm a Courier, remember? That's my entire job," Zazie said. "Hm, maybe some of the villagers brought their mail with them?"
"I doubt it."
"There could be a chance!"
The two girls made their way to the edge of the clearing, leaving the disintegrating bodies of the Grimm behind as they moved to regroup with the escaping villagers.
A/N: And that's chapter 4! The girls rescue a village under siege, and it seems there's more to one of them than meets the eye.
Thanks to SpiritOfErebus for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. While this story will be quite character-focused, we'll be rolling into the plot soon enough. Thanks as well to everyone for reading, following, and favoriting, and if you've got anything to say at all, whether it's feedback, criticisms, questions, or simple comments, please feel free to leave a review, and have a nice day!