In Between The Ends

Chapter Three

Regiment Commander Uric Halsen lead 2 of his men purposely along a deserted hallway. The small company was quiet as they passed by empty rooms that in an only a matter of hours would be teaming with personnel. The commander's face was heavily lined and soft, but his be-speckled dark brown eyes were unnaturally piercing. His receding dark hair was shot with grey, yet despite his age he walked with an iron-straight posture. This was a man who had seen more than his fair share of battle and strife in the name of the greater good; he was just relieved to now stand firmly on what he considered the right side.

The last door on the right had 2 of the most capable (albeit clearly exhausted) of his soldiers stationed on either side. As he approached the two men straightened, placing one closed fist angled over their hearts and the other tightly behind their back: a salute. Halsen nodded as he knocked softly on the thick interior door of the Allied Forces Intelligence office. The sun had barely risen in the sky, but he knew she would be here.

"Enter." A high, ringing voice answered. He let himself and his men in, closing the door quietly. Historia sat at the head of the long table; papers littered around her haphazardly as she poured over a mountain of documents. Her eyes were bloodshot, sleep desperately trying to force them closed. Yet still she studied each piece of paper carefully, jotting down her own notes as she went.

"My lady, shouldn't you be getting some rest?" Halsen asked tentatively. This had been a weeklong trend for them. He would find her buried beneath a mound of mission reports and conversation transcripts and almost need drag her back to her chambers before she would relent. Historia barely looked up from the table when she responded. "I want to make sure I have every scrap of information I can give them before they do this." She whispered, grabbing another stack of papers from the towering pile.

Commander Halen was relieved to be able to give her better news this time around. "That's actually what I came here to tell you, your majesty." Historia's head snapped up quickly to assess the commander's expression.

"The convoy has been spotted, your Grace." He nodded towards the southern-most window. "They're here."

Throwing herself from her chair, Historia raced to the window and searched desperately until she saw a pillar of dust billowing in the air on the trail heading towards their command center. Even in her sleep-deprived state, the queen managed a genuine smile.

"They're home."

Just as Historia was opening the front doors of her complex to anxiously await her friend's arrival, a door within the Capitol's high council building was also being opened.

"General Loren, I apologize for the intrusion so early in the morning sir, but I have an urgent communique from the Trost district Regiment Barracks."

A wiry man in his mid to late 30's looked up from the large and ornate desk he was sitting at. General Caleb Loren of the Eldian Jaegerist Movement was a tall and gaunt man. His blonde hair was immaculately presented, trailing ends landing just above his cold grey stare as he regarded his second in command.

"Let me guess Angelo, our little band of peace-talking traitors have left to see their queen." He said in a deep voice that did not match his appearance in the slightest.

"Yes sir. The Trost district has also sent along their itinerary. This timing schedule gives them a few hours of conferring with Historia at her command center south of here before they make their way to the Capitol. They should be here just after midday."

"Hmm." Rising to his feet, Loren strode to the large picture window that overlooked the courtyard below and watched the soldiers that marched back and forth out of sight. "I wonder what they will think of the improvements we have made to the castle that used to hold their precious Historia Reiss." War battlements adorned almost every outlying parapet surrounding the fortress; soldiers patrolled the walls fully equipped with Strategic Maneuvering Gear, loaded weapons hanging at their sides. Their forces continued to grow each day thanks the strict conscription laws that had come into effect the year prior.