"Ahh!" Polvina suddenly woke up in a fright. She just had a nightmare of when she and her friends were children and their fathers were evil warmongers.
It had been over a decade since those innocent days and the princes and princesses had grown into fine and mature young adults, albeit with still a bit of teenage immaturity about them. Sadly though, Salacia was at war with Dryland and like in Polvina's nightmare, all the princes and princesses were obliged to become warriors in a war with formidable opponents calling themselves true and unparalleled warriors.
After the nightmare she just had, Polvina was wary and apprehensive as she got out of her bed and prepared to go downstairs. Outside her room, there were all manner of people running around and talking to each other. The last time the Octopus Palace was this packed was the events that ensued from the day the morning did not come.
"Missile incoming! Take cover!"
A soldier had spotted a Drylander carriage travelling some distance away from the Octopus Palace. It fired torpedoes towards it before quickly leaving. Luckily, the torpedoes missed the palace, but there was no doubt that there would be more carriages strafing the kingdoms of Salacia; neither the Shark King's camouflage system or the Starfish King's refractive perception paint was effective against the Drylanders anymore.
Everyone in the Octopus Palace, even Polvina, got to the ground and took cover where they could. The explosion of the torpedoes shook the palace a bit, but there was no serious damage.
As the shaking subsided, Polvina got up and left her bedroom. Just as she got out the door, a familiar hand was on her shoulder, frightening her…
"Good morning, Polvina." It was her father, the Octopus King. "My goodness, did I scare you? I'm sorry."
Polvina managed to regain her composure, reminding herself that she was free of that nightmare and that her father wasn't evil. "I'm fine, Father, it's just… things have been too much for me lately."
"Come on darling. Let's head downstairs for breakfast."
As she and her father walked down the stairs, Polvina stopped at the base and looked at all the people running around. She thought about everyone on Salacia and Dryland, whether they were fighting on the frontlines, helping their people behind the scenes or caught up in the chaos on and off the battlefield. None of those thoughts could come close to the possibility of what would have happened had the torpedoes landed any closer to the Octopus Palace, or any other palace for that matter. Every Salacian fighting on the battlefield was taught to live their life like it would be their last; Polvina was among those to whom the thought was difficult to fathom.
Polvina sighed and turned to the Octopus King. "Oh, Father, when will this war end?"
The Octopus King had heard this question from Polvina many times before. His answer was the same each time, but because of how bad things had become, Polvina never expected any different from him. "I don't know, Polvina. I just don't know."
THE END