Three's mind was full of fog. It was as if the connection between her own mind and body were disrupted or incomplete. She had to fight through it all before she even realised she'd been sleeping.

She sat up and blinked her eyes clear, revealing the familiar living room of her house – rather, her parents' house.

"Welcome back, sleepy head," Eight's honey-sweet voice whispered.

Three looked to her left where a smiling Eight sat next to her on the couch. She must have been leaning on her when she slept. Rubbing her head she asked, "Sorry, did I fall asleep?"

"About half an hour ago. Feel any more rested?"

Three held her head and groaned. "No, and now I feel bad for wasting so much time."

Eight frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The whole point of having these breakfasts is so I can spend some time with you and my parents, not sleep."

Eight patted her arm. "You've been working hard."

"Too hard," her father said as he came into the room. "Cortina, you're still growing; you can't push yourself like some adults can, not that you should in the first place. You need to get your sleep."

Three sighed and rubbed her temples. "I want to, but there hasn't been time. I've been so busy over the past few weeks."

He smiled and sat on his chair, across from them. "Training all those kids in self-defence can't be easy. Teenagers are probably the worst to try and teach."

Three hesitated. "There have been some… issues. At least by having them all together we don't have to worry as much about the Consortium coming after them, but that might also mean they do something unpredictable."

"You shouldn't be worrying about that, Cortina." Her iya came into the room and sat on the other vacant chair. She was looking a little sleepy herself. "That's something for Inkopolis Security to worry about. I'm glad you found another job but you can't be working yourself into paste when you're younger than some of the people you're training, especially with what you've had to deal with since this whole mess started."

With Callie gone to the domes and Marie living in the Vasilika, Three had effectively become little more than a house sitter as far as her connection to the Squid Sisters was concerned, at least in her parents' eyes. She still gave frequent reports to Marie in person, but other than the occasional letters, contact with Callie had been fairly minimal. Her parents didn't know about any of that, nor that she was actually trying to raise those kids to be an army, not merely teaching self-defence.

"The work is rewarding," she said. "At least I feel like I'm making a difference and not sitting around doing nothing."

"Have you been harassed at all?"

Three frowned. "Harassed?"

"Patriarch Keeper threw a huge fit in the Assembly when he found out what you were doing. A lot of other people aren't happy about it either."

Three displayed contempt. "Patriarch Keeper is just an old bigot who's upset that Octarians are being used as instructors and doing a better job of it than most of the militia's."

"It's just hard to separate fact from fiction," her father displayed frustration. "Rumours are everywhere. If we didn't have you to tell us what was really going on we'd feel as lost as anyone else."

Three flashed green. "It would be ideal if our trainees never had to use what they've learned, but I'm not counting on it."

"Well, the Consortium seems to have been quiet lately. They've stopped baying at the walls of the Vasilika to give them Marie and I don't know how they'd ever get Callie now anyway. Maybe they've finally realised they'll never have them."

"No," Three said. "They won't give up until they either succeed or are defeated. They know they have only one more chance to hit us and they're building strength every day."

"Cortina," her mother said in a warning tone. "I said not to worry about those things. Leave such things for Inkopolis Security and the NSF."

Three did her best to keep her mantle neutral. The NSF couldn't stop what they were doing and hadn't even been able to find the crabs underground; although, they had found evidence for their activities. Inkopolis Security had been cooperating with Scylla's people to locate other locations in the Ward the crab gangs had frequented but still hadn't turned up anything definite.

Three glanced at the clock and stood up. "I have to get going. I have to be there for the morning reports."

"I think I'll stay here a little longer," Eight said. "Pearl and Marina don't need me until later anyway."

Acknowledging her wishes, Three started to leave, only for Eight to grab her by the wrist and pull her down for a kiss. Three staggered back in surprise then hurriedly made herself scarce, her face burning. Why did she have to do that in front of her parents? That was just so… indecent.

I bet Pearl put her up to it, she thought darkly. It was just the sort of thing the ivory and pink gremlin would do.

She went out to the car still parked safely in the back lane, the chill in the air helped dispel the last vestiges of sleep. As she drove back to Xapheerell, she hoped that Hachiko's little stunt would be the last of the day's surprises.

—-

Foame grunted as she sat down at the mess table. Today's lunch was chicken, soup, and blocks of fruit. Today marked just over a month since they had joined the Bastion Guard, but it felt like much longer.

Her first morning as a trainee had begun abruptly, with their splatoon commander and sergeant yelling at them all to get up and ready for morning callisthenics. Foame had only been dimly aware of that going on until she received a terrible shock to her body that had sent her sprawling out of bed and falling to the floor. She'd looked up to see her sergeant standing above her wielding a sparking shock stick, the kind used by security or bodyguards.

After hurriedly getting dressed, she and the rest of Zeta Company formed up outside in the bitter cold. It was so early that the sun wasn't even up, and Epsilon Company was already outside jogging and then they learned they were going to have to do it too.

For three kilometres they jogged, all the way around the perimeter of the facility, in the bitter cold. After that came showers and then to the mess hall for breakfast. They were told to eat fast or they'd go hungry. Their commanders and sergeants had also been liberal in the use of their shock sticks too, catching some people in the shower when they were taking too long. By noon, three members of Zeta company, including one of her own roommates, had quit and left the base to slink back home.

After that, basic instruction began. While Epsilon Company went to learn basic drill, Zeta took a class on the basics of the chain of command, the order of ranks, and the general duties involved. They also learned about the particular hierarchy of the Guard as it currently stood.

Beta and Gamma companies were two that had participated in the Liberation of Xapheerell Ward. Alpha and Beta had hit the assumed most difficult targets while Gamma had been the one involved in the Siege of the Hardware Store. All the officers and NCOs for the training companies, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, and Iota, had been drawn from these two original companies. Alpha Company had apparently been made up of Octarian soldiers from what they called the Octarian Domes.

After the classroom, it was their turn to learn basic drill. Learning how to march, stand in formation, stand at attention, things like that. Unlike the militia, it seemed, they were actually given an explanation about why it was important. It taught situational awareness, taught them to act as a unit, and instilled discipline. When they asked the turf war players how many times they'd been hit in the face by one of their teammates swinging around their weapon, it pretty much put it into context.

The rest of their days had more or less gone the same routine. The training companies rotated who had to wake up first, and that company was first in everything else thereafter for that day. First for the morning jog, first to breakfast, instruction, lunch, instruction, dinner, and sometimes more instruction before freetime. And so the routine was for the rest of the month, with the leeway given by their instructors and officers becoming less and less as they became more accustomed to their new lifestyle and accrued knowledge.

A boy named Skad, sitting across from Foame covered a yawn. "My parents cancelled my phone to pay for all this," he said. "So I've basically got no phone."

"No wi-fi in the barracks anyway," another boy named Revil said. "It can't be that expensive to get it installed."

A girl sitting next to Foame named Mia commented, "I'd rather they spend the budget on things meant to keep us alive. Besides, imagine how slow it would be with so many people using it." Some of the others flashed green in agreement.

Mia was a girl who had joined their splatoon for the first day of training, but unlike everyone else, she didn't live in the barracks, she lived in the apartments with the rest of the Octarian officers. Quite why, nobody was sure, but some suspected she had a boyfriend.

"Anyone hear of anyone else missing?" They were referring to if anyone else had quit. It was a question that still occasionally came up.

"Not since Friday," Skad replied. "I admit, it was tough for the first couple of days and I almost wanted to quit, but comparing those days to just today, it was way easier back then."

Foame concurred. Over the weekend they had learned to fill their combat packs, basically large backpacks that carried everything they needed, and they were taught to pack them in a particular way so that they could fill as much as possible inside it and so that if someone else needed to search their backpack for supplies, they would know where to find it.

They'd been forced to pack and unpack them so much that they could do it in their sleep, which they pretty much had to do this morning when they learned they would have to pack their bags from scratch and then wear them while doing their morning jog. But the weekend had brought them something else too.

Foame lightly adjusted the cuffs of her slightly oversized tunic. Everyone was garbed in the official dusty-green battledress of the Bastion Guard. The colour was apparently selected as one to cover the most likely battlefields, urban or underground. Foame had to admit that with everyone now wearing the same uniform, they were actually starting to look like an army.

"Heard Iota's been struggling with their room inspections," Revil said with a boastful smile. "Three rooms failed to be up to standard."

"'ow?" Mia asked. "Nobody's in their rooms long enough to even make a mess. They still learning 'ow to make 'ospital corners?"

"Slackers," Skad grumbled.

Iota company consisted of those who didn't wish to participate in any possible combat that the Guard might see, but still wanted to help out somehow. Apparently, they were being trained as a Headquarters Company, and were learning about maintaining vehicles, weapons, handling supplies, and doing administrative work. Despite earnestly doing their best at these less glamorous tasks, they were derided as slackers and generally treated as being inferior by the other training companies, despite the fact that their routine wasn't all that different.

"I heard this week we're going to have more focus on combat instruction," Skad said excitedly. "We've barely held a real weapon since we got here."

"Zeta Company!" Septain Kirmarch's commanding bark ended all conversation in the mess hall, even for the other companies. "You have five minutes to be outside and formed up. We'll be going to Building 3 today."

Everyone hurriedly finished their lunch and got up to hand in their dirty dishes on the dishwasher belt. Just as they were going outside, Foame spotted a group forming around a nearby table. Deciding she could spare a few seconds, she hurried over.

"What's happenin'?" She asked casually.

"Something at the Assembly," someone replied.

She desperately wanted to find out what it was but knew she'd be cleaning the bathrooms all week if she was late to muster so she hurried outside, making a mental note to look it up later.

I hope Grandma is okay.

—-

"So tell us, Monarch, what explanation does the government have for the Assembly as to how it, not only didn't know the zapfish and Great Zapfish had been abducted, but that it was the Octarians who did it?

A terrible silence hung over the Assembly. Keeper's speech had kept them in stunned silence almost from the moment he had begun speaking. Even in the beginning, something in his tone and rhetoric told them that this was different from his usual speeches and Reina felt like a fool for not picking up on it sooner.

Reina felt like she had an ink gun pointed at the back of her head. Technically, and somewhat unwillingly, she was also a part of this coverup conspiracy that Keeper had just exposed, but she wasn't thinking about her, how would this affect Marie and the cause of peace?

"We are already aware of all this," Orvenii replied calmly.

"Only after the Xapheerell Incident," Keeper countered. "Rather, that's when you actually listened. Some people have been trying to warn the government, to warn all of us about the danger, for years, and were ignored."

Reina's mantle darkened and she gritted her beak angrily. Cuttlefish. That had to be how Keeper got his information. They were both war veterans so of course he would be willing to spill his guts to him. Honestly though, it was her own stupid fault. Why would they have assumed he would keep quiet? They'd just gotten too used to him being ignored, but did he really not believe in peace? Was he really so willing to sabotage all that his own grandchildren had been working to achieve? Or was Keeper taking liberties with what he actually told him?

Orvenii kept remarkably calm, but Reina knew that even her remarkable patience and fortitude was being sorely tested.

"What point are you actually trying to make, Patriarch? What does your argument invalidate?"

"It invalidates your government, Monarch," He said harshly. "You deliberately withheld important information from the Assembly – from the public, all for the sake of your so-called peace, just like a century ago. And where has that 'peace' you were all so proud of gotten us? We've become complacent, vulnerable, and the defence of our nation from our greatest enemy has been dependent on a bunch of youths, youths who have had to sacrifice their innocence and kill hundreds of Octarians, all in the name of protecting the nation. What's protecting us is what we of this Assembly should be devoting our lives to protecting! What kind of nation are we if a few teenagers must carry the burden of our nation's safety on their shoulders?"

Again, there was no uproar, only silence, and the increasingly heavy blanket of shame covering them all. Children were to be treated as sacred, that was one of the most important commandments that the gods had given them, and they had broken it on a national level. All eyes soon fell on Arch-Priestess Tanal, seated in the chair reserved for the Ecclesiarchy's proxy.

Tanal stood and addressed the assembly the way a grandmother might address a room of impatient children.

"The Ecclesiarchy cannot change the past; we are focused on the present and the future. That is why Marie is under our care now and will be for the remaining time she is a child. Having spoken to her myself and some of the other children involved, the burden on them is great indeed, but even we are only now coming to understand the true extent of that burden." She cast her eyes over them all. "So, what will you do?"

The Ecclesiarchy wasn't taking any responsibility for this fiasco and honestly, Reina couldn't see any reason why they should. They were determined to hold the Assembly and the government rightfully accountable. But what could they do?

"Hard choices will have to be made," Keeper said, his tone grave. "This nation has taken on more responsibilities than it can bear. The question is whether or not this government is capable of making those choices."

It was at that question, arguably the worst possible time, that Orvenii's normally unflappable expression and display faltered, just a little bit but enough to be noticeable.

Orvenii said, "Before the government can make a decision, the Assembly is going to have to make up its mind on where it stands. How is the government supposed to come to a decision if the Assembly remains so divided?"

"How is the Assembly supposed to make the right decision when it lacks such critical information!" He snapped. "I argued that we couldn't trust the Octarians because it sounded just like what happened in the last war, now I find out that things are very different, because the Octarains have already attacked us, twice! That changes everything, and yet you decided to withhold that information from us, the ones chosen to represent the people. Again, I ask, 'why'?"

Everyone waited for the response. Even the Moderator General looked at the Monarch expectantly.

Orvenii stood, like the accused awaiting the verdict of their trial. Stiff, proud, but she was putting on airs, Reina could see that. "The information was withheld because of the volatile situation the country was and is still in. While things have calmed down, our situation remains precarious. Our focus was to try and resolve or at least try to diffuse the situation. We are still under threat from the Consortium, after all. And there is the issue of child protection laws. Exposing that information could put them in danger."

"When they were exposed as the masterminds behind the liberation, something they themselves admitted to, they were already in danger. Don't try to hide behind the law, Monarch."

"We in the government are subject to the same laws as everyone else, Patriarch, even in situations where it seems futile."

"I understand that, but in such a confused situation, how can you expect us to come to any kind of reasonable consensus? It's a miracle and a blessing that things didn't go completely out of control! It changes how we look at everything!"

Orvenii crossed her arms. "Care to give an example?"

Keeper glared back at her defiantly. "Didn't you find it strange that the ones who had been fighting the Octarians these past two years are the ones promoting peace the strongest? Isn't it odd that the Octarians gave a noble title to someone who's done more to hurt them than anyone else?"

"The issue of Callie's nobility is a complicated one, even for the Octarians. Not all of them are happy about it either."

"Oh really? Let us remember that we are talking about teenagers fighting in life and death struggles on a semi-regular basis over a period of years. I don't think I need to tell you, Monarch, what that can do for someone's psyche. We saw what war can do to a soldier, and most of those were adults. I believe Callie and Marie switched to a peaceful posture because they realised they couldn't keep it up anymore, they couldn't protect Calachora with force any longer and we are too weak at the moment to defend ourselves without them, because they saw what was happening to their star soldier."

There was murmuring in all the booths and Reina frowned. She didn't like where this was going at all.

"I'm talking about the young girl they had officially appointed as their bodyguard, one Cortina Scarletteri. Obviously, being their bodyguard was a coverup for her actual activities, but the point I'm getting to is that this girl is psychologically damaged. After all, would our enemies give a normal teenage girl names like 'Green Demon', 'Green Death', or 'Monster'? The Octarians are not the type to heap praises on their enemies, they never have been. This girl kills so effectively and brutally, that the entire Octarian Army fears her as some kind of malevolent creature, enough that many of the Octarians in Inkopolis swore fealty to her out of fear for their own lives!"

The Moderator General banged his gavel. "Patriarch, you are speaking hearsay and you are on thin ice in regards to our child protection laws." He looked in Tanal's direction as Keeper responded.

"It isn't hearsay at all, Moderator General. Ask the Octarians themselves and they will tell you much the same. Ask those in Xapheerell Ward who witnessed her in battle, how many of the carcasses found broken and destroyed in the Bloody Circle were caused by her." He looked back at Orvenii. "I assume you've seen evidence to what I am talking about, Monarch."

Reina cursed inwardly. He knew about the secret camera footage? How had he found that out? Just how deep did his information network run? He had to have at least a few spies within Marie's new Bastion Guard, and everyone knew he had informants in the NSF, but did they really run that deep?

"You believe the children have been pushed to their limit and that's the only reason they are trying for peace?"

"Is it not obvious? Callie and Marie must have realised they couldn't endure much longer before they broke. That's why they tried to set up peace, tried to save us from the government's inadequacy before they broke completely."

"You remain convinced that the Octarians are not genuine in their desire for peace?"

"Of course not. I believe that their plan was to accept peace in order to give them time to recover and build strength. I believe that Callie and Marie genuinely were trying to save Inkopolis during the liberation, but the Octarians didn't help out of the goodness of their hearts, but to stoke the fires of conflict between Calachora and the Consortium. We would be forced to sue for peace with them in order to avoid fighting on two fronts. That would let them pick and choose when and where they could attack us from then on."

More murmuring among the Assembly members. Reina tensed as she thought the argument through in her head. He was obviously being deliberately vague on some things, just trying to plant ideas in people's heads, but with this sudden revelation, some people were bound to take everything he was saying as fact just out of fear.

On top of that, he was obviously trying to appeal to Callie and Marie's supporters in both the Assembly the and the public by painting them as well meaning but misguided and ignorant.

He went on.

"This government has been outmanoeuvred, placing us in a position where we have no good options available to us, only different bad ones, all the result of incompetence and ineptitude. Some changes are clearly needed."

Orvenii narrowed her eyes at him. "And what would you suggest, Patriarch?"

Keeper's expression turned grave. "I believe we might have to face the facts, Monarch, that because of this government's poor handling of the situation, we cannot keep our commitment to Bellchora."

The hall went silent as a tomb, grave and shocked colours appearing on the mantles of the other Assembly members. Everyone in the Assembly knew that was a possibility, something that might happen, but none of them wanted to acknowledge it, especially not publicly.

Bellchora had been a close ally for almost two centuries, they'd helped Calachora during the Great Turf War, they'd even tried to vassalize themselves to Calachora in an effort to receive their protection from the Grand Consortium, protection they'd already promised to them. And now, were they really going to abandon them after all that?

Orvenii flashed red. "I won't abandon an ally so easily. We haven't run out of options yet."

"Will you wait until the last minute before making any decisions, Monarch? Will you let the government be suckered again, just like the last war? This situation is your fault."

"This isn't the last war, Patriarch, and I won't let old hatreds stand in the way of progress or reconciliation."

"Enough!" The moderator general banged his gavel, silencing them. "I believe this discussion has gone on long enough for now. If there are no objections from the Assembly, I suggest we break for lunch."

There were no objections, not even from Keeper, but that was to his advantage. From there, he'd be able to talk to the other Assembly members after the session, many who would no doubt flock to him and wonder how he had exposed so great a conspiracy. He would be riding high now, and he'd just exposed the Monarch.

The Moderator General broke the session, and with remarkable calm the Assembly began to file out.

As they left, Reina noted how Keeper suddenly began speaking well of Callie and Marie as soon as it suited his narrative. Reina had always detested such behaviour. Had he also left the issue about Three open ended deliberately?

What will this do to Marie and the girls? The consequences were too dire for Reina to dare contemplate, and she stayed seated where she was, doing her best not to cry at having failed her granddaughter yet again.

—-

Marie found it hard to believe that eating at a table could ever be considered a novelty, and yet, that was how she had felt during her first meal in the Vasilika. It had been more than a month since she'd sat at a proper table to eat a proper meal. Pligrei was filling and satisfying but it was like eating ground up bog moss. Now, weeks since she'd first arrived, she was enjoying a hearty dinner of tuna, salad, and a heavy stew. She even had utensils actually made for someone her size, another relic of Queen Immelina.

The granite table was a full story tall. It was built against the wall such that people from the second floor could literally walk onto the table to deliver her food and arrange the tableware without having to use a ladder or stairs. It was an unusual arrangement but Marie appreciated the forethought and creative solutions of the designers.

The more she learned about Queen Immelina, the more she seemed like a wholly practical person. Her chair was even built on rails that would allow her to push the large chair back and allow her to get up from the table with ease. A simple brake lever integrated into the left armrest made the whole thing work. She decided that when she got a new house, she would commission a similar table and chair system for it.

"If these cooks didn't already belong to the Ecclesiarchy, I'd steal them for myself."

Floa, who was standing to Marie's left on the tabletop, laughed. "Having sampled their food myself, I can see how you would feel that way."

"I just feel bad that they seem like my own staff and servants. It doesn't feel right."

"It wasn't your idea to be kept in isolation. Although, if you want, you could start hiring some staff and getting them trained here. Even after your isolation is over you'll need a staff to look after you."

"True. They don't exactly make regular kitchen appliances giant-sized."

Floa giggled. "It's gonna take a full restaurant kitchen to keep you fed anyway."

There was a knock at the door and Lufelza went to answer it. A moment later, Four, Eight and Scylla approached the table, all three appeared awestruck. Four had only been there a few times, while it was Eight and Scylla's first time in the palace. Happy as Marie was to have company, the three of them wouldn't be here together for a social visit.

Marie gestured for them to come up onto the table. Eight seemed fascinated with the unique arrangement and watched closely as the smaller attendants removed and added to her spread. Due to all the physiotherapy she was going through, Marie's appetite had gone from big to tremendous. How the cooking staff managed to keep up with her she had no idea.

"Did ya' 'ear what 'appened in the Assembly today?" Scylla asked.

Marie flashed red, feeling her stomach knot. If the three of them deemed it necessary to see her in person just to talk about news, it couldn't be good and they needed decisions made quickly. She listened anxiously as Scylla explained.

"Keeper found out about… everythin'. The zapfish thefts, the Octarian raids, the NSS, everythin! And he exposed it in front of the whole Assembly, even called out the government for coverin' it all up. Criticised the Monarch to 'er face."

Marie clenched her beak tightly, her heart cycle speeding up. That wasn't good. They knew they wouldn't be able to keep it hidden forever, in fact, they'd expected the government to reveal it not long after they'd told her grandmother about everything, not over a month later. But to have Keeper reveal it, that was a different issue entirely.

"How are people reacting?"

"Not sure yet. The news is still sinkin' in for most people, but Keeper's never been more popular, I can tell ya' that, but a lot of people are supportin' you too."

"In what way?"

"People see you as heroes," Eight answered. "People in Inkopolis Square were cheering your names, as if their beliefs were shown to be right all along."

"No real reaction from the Guard yet," Four added. "But we always try to keep 'em busy. Might not be until tomorrow that anything sets in."

"It's not like they didn't know something like the Octarian raids didn't 'appen. We told 'em as much durin' the information sessions we was 'oldin' before. We just never mentioned the zapfish. I don't think it'll do anythin' tah change their minds."

Marie set down her utensils and rubbed her temples. "Okay, so what kind of consequences might we be looking at? Maybe hostile actions or harassment against the Octarians."

"Not on my turf," Scylla snarled. "The Octarians protected us and we're not just gonna' let some idiots come and mess with 'em. 'Sides, standin' orders 'ave 'em stickin' together."

Marie felt a little better but the situation was bound to deteriorate from there. Keeper would probably make sure of it. "Well, whether anyone likes it or not, Xapheerell operates under different rules than everywhere else, and that's from long before the Octarians reappeared. How's Marina?"

Eight frowned. "She received some… unkind messages not long after the Assembly session. Threats as well. She has dealt with such things before but not like this."

Marie could relate. She'd received plenty of those herself. "Fear brings out the worst in people. Tell Pearl and Marina that if they'd feel safer somewhere else, they can stay at our house for a while. I'm sure Three won't mind."

Eight winced. "Yes… well… Three has certain things on her mind right now."

Marie stared down into her stew and sighed with regret. It wasn't just their secret that had been exposed, Three's secret had been exposed to her parents. That she had not merely been a bodyguard, that she had not just been hanging out with friends into the late hours of the night, she had been spying, fighting, and killing.

"Have you heard anything from your family, Four?"

Four's mantle turned brown. "Nah, Little Reef is almost as isolated as the Domes, except by choice. Someone would actually have to look into it to know I was involved. If my family finds out, the last thing they'll do is tell anyone else about it. It's Three's family I'm worried about. Her iya's eggnant too."

"I know, and they'll want answers. Has Three talked to them yet?"

Eight shook her head. "Three is terrified to even send them a text message. She's worried about what they might do."

"You think they'd force 'er to back out?" Scylla crossed her arms and her mantle turned a darker brown. "I don't see 'er goin' along with that. I've seen 'er talk to Matrons like they were equals."

Marie's brows furrowed. "Three is in command of the Guard. Since it's not any kind of official army, that effectively makes it a shoal and it makes Three the equivalent of a matron in all but title. Three understands and respects authority, but by extension she understands responsibility and she knows it's her responsibility to represent the Guard and all its members, so of course she's not going to be a doormat to anyone she considers to be of equal rank. But her parents are completely outside of that. She would defy the monarch herself before she'd go against her parents."

Scylla groaned. "She's a teenager, can't she be a little bit rebellious?"

"That's what she's been doing, when you think about it," Four remarked. "But now she's been caught and her parents just learned that their shy little baby girl is more like Octobane."

Eight tilted her head. "Pardon?"

"An Inkling warlord from centuries ago," Floa explained. "He was infamous for killing Octarian nobles and taking their wives as his concubines."

"He is also remembered as one of the most successful generals of all time," Marie added. "He rarely lost a battle and by the time he died he ruled a third of modern Calachora and former Octarian territories. The point is that it's going to come as a shock to them, for sure. They probably haven't called her yet because they aren't sure what to do or how to even face this, but once the shock is over, they're bound to confront Three and Three isn't the type to want to defy her parents."

Scylla looked doubtful. "I still don't think she'd just roll over. Three's a fighter, don't matter who she's fightin'."

"I honestly don't know what will happen," Marie admitted. "So we have to do something about it. I have to do something about it." She looked at Eight. "You know her parents. Ask them to come and visit me here if they feel up to it. They'll want answers and I'm not going to leave Three alone to answer them." She glanced over at Floa, hoping there would be no objection.

"I think that's a good idea. Especially if she's eggnant, we don't want to cause her undo stress. I'm sure we can find an appropriate room to meet them in. The palace might be a little too overwhelming."

"Thanks. I also imagine Nana will want to see me at some point, but before any of that happens, I need to make some kind of public statement."

Scylla frowned. "What are we supposed to say that we 'aven't already?"

"Maybe why, despite having fought the Octarians, we're still trying to make peace with them, just in case it hasn't already been made clear to everyone. I imagine people will also start seeing the Guard in a new light too, worried we might be up to something. We've basically just been caught hiding something huge from everyone so now just about everything we say will be scrutinised and doubted. We might have support now but we can't count on that lasting very long. At the very least we need to make sure the Guard knows the truth, they deserve it more than anyone else."

"Who's gonna' tell 'em? We can't expect Three tah deliver somethin' like that and make it sound genuine. She's good at given' orders and she can fake being a good public speaker for a bit, but with all the pressure on 'er right now…"

"I will."

Everyone paused and stared at her.

"It's my responsibility. I've been doing this much longer than Three and I am officially Supreme Commander of the Guard."

"You feel strong enough to go out?" Floa asked.

Marie crossed her arms. "Callie walked all the way to the domes a month ago and it didn't kill her. I've been having it easy."

"It also took Callie a while to recover after that walk and she's always recovered faster than you. Besides, you've still been growing."

"I'm fine! I'd be riding most of the way there anyway."

"And you'd be vulnerable to attack along the way."

"Let us worry about that. Meanwhile, everyone keep this part a secret. Nobody has to know I'm going until I'm already there."

"And what about on the way back? For all we know, the Consortium has been poised, waiting for you or Callie to leave your little bases of protection to get you."

"A risk we'll have to take. I'm not going to have my life be dictated by my enemies!"

"There's a difference between not living in fear and being reckless."

"It's a calculated risk, and we'll be taking precautions. This isn't up for debate, Floa, this is something I have to do."

"I know I know, but I have to be able to tell the Arch-Priestess that I at least tried to talk you out of it."

Marie gave her an annoyed look, then looked back at Scylla. "It's possible people might try coming after you directly too, so watch yourself."

"I can 'andle myself. It's the octolings I'm worried about. And what if the ambassador comes over again?"

Marie thought for a moment. "Tomorrow, we'll send Vella to carry a message to the Octarians and to Callie specifically. By then we should have some idea of what Keeper's next move will be. He has to have something lined up.

"Four, find a slot for me in the schedule for tomorrow. We can't let this lie."

"I'll talk to Three and Kifi about it. It'll probably be after dinner."

"That's fine. I'll just eat afterwards. I'm too sluggish after I eat these days. Eight, you know what to do?"

Eight nodded. "I will extend your invitation to Pearl and Marina, but I am nervous about approaching Three's parents myself."

"Nobody else will be able to do it. Besides, I think you can give them some reassurance. If Three was actually any kind of monster, you wouldn't be dating her."

Eight blushed a little but otherwise her expression remained a serious one. "I understand. I will try."

After everyone had gone, Marie resumed her now much less warm dinner. Floa smiled and remarked, "is this how it always is or is the palace rubbing off on you?"

Marie frowned at her, and through tuk'yan, asked her to explain.

"The way they all came to you like some big authority figure, how you gave them instructions, how they looked to you for guidance before they did anything."

"Nothing's rubbing off on me. It's just…" she hesitated. "How it is, I guess. Callie and I have both had to do a lot of that since we started the peace efforts. Three and Four always followed our lead and since then other people started doing it too. Just how it worked out. And, I'd argue it's more Nana's influence than this place. At any rate, I'm not interested in adopting a more permanent leadership role, at least not right now. I'm not even an adult yet. I just want to get back to how things were."

"Fair enough, but it sure seems to come naturally to you, almost like you were hatched for it."

Marie fixed Floa with a firm stare. "You think so?"

"I know so. You've basically got your own shoal at this point. The Guard, Xapheerell Ward, not to mention the support from the other bay area wards."

Marie scowled. "Somehow I doubt they'll be as supportive after today."

"We'll see. One thing's for sure, things are going to get a lot more tense from here on out. Especially for you if you don't hurry up and finish dinner then get back in that water."

Marie flashed burgundy. "Yes, Mother."

Floa laughed and walked off the table to take the stairs to the floor. "I'm going to talk to the Arch-Priestess and let her know you'll need to leave tomorrow. Be the first time you've left since you got here."

Marie flashed green. "I've hardly left this room. It's convenient that I have everything I need right in here. I've only ever left the room to attend congregations."

"Well, hopefully soon, I can start showing you the other rooms, now that we've got most of them cleared out and cleaned up."

"Just in time for me to be adequately recovered to walk around on my own."

Floa paused and turned at Marie's suggestive tone and smiled broadly. "Yeah, convenient, eh?"

"Very convenient."

A silence hung in the air, even as the attendants kept about their work. The two old friends kept looking at each other, neither saying a word, until a cough from Lufelza encouraged Marie to hurry and finish her dinner.

Marie turned away and resumed eating but her otoliths listened as Floa left the Queen's chamber.

Maybe we weren't the only ones holding onto a secret.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, used a combination of things I learned from documentaries on military training (also Band of Brothers and The Pacific) and my own experiences to inform the kind of training the guard is being put through; although, none of them included shock sticks. That's a personal touch XD. But anyone who's been through military training, imagine putting kids even younger and less disciplined than you through the same things you went through, you can imagine how such methods of persuasion might be necessary ;) Trying to come up with how someone Marie's size could be served and cared for by normal-sized people was a fun challenge. Marie effectively has a two-story tall table she sits at and people just walk on it in order to serve her food. Obviously, they have to keep their footwear quite clean. And yes, the Assembly is going to get a bit more interesting from here on, or at least its goings on will have more of an effect on the course of the story.