Lastland's Last Stand: The Prince's Ascension

An Investigation All Their Own

"If only our tasks were more than just hurrying up and waiting!" Quincy scowled, he and Princeton alone at the training forest since every other Gifted—Southwood or Northplain—was up at Northplain. Meanwhile, WE got left behind!

The only exception was Isabella, but she was still in such critical condition that it didn't seem she would do much for weeks to come. And although Quincy felt no anger against her, of course, it was a little humiliating to think that he was being placed on par with one Gifted who was badly beaten in battle, and another who had no idea what his Gift even was.

"I do have a Gift! I do!" Quincy tried to convince himself and the images of his leaders and deputies in his mind. He clenched his hands and teeth. "I know I messed up during the ambush, but cut me some slack! What I need is more practice, not less!"

Beside him, Princeton was secretly, selfishly glad that he and Quincy were spared from the investigation north, but of course, he could understand Quincy's frustration even if he personally thought they ought to be grateful. "Maybe they just didn't to send all their Gifted up there at once?" he tried, but Quincy only shook his head with a scoff.

Nice try, but if that was the case, they should've left at least one more "strong" Gifted behind with us! He simply could not get over the pattern he identified, which was that he, an inexperienced Gifted, was being held back alongside a Giftless one and a severely wounded one. Quincy again grit his hands and teeth. It wasn't just a desire for adventure, battle, glory, or even practice, it was a desire for connection, and vengeance.

While literally every other heavy hitter and big player is up at Northplain—MY home camp, by the way—I'm stuck down here just waiting for them to come back so we can keep training! And it had been this way ever since the Northplain ambush. Emerald made a private call to Quincy after the first night to inform him of Wilde's death, and she and him told Isabella together, even though Emerald was unable to be in there in person.

"Wh-what...? N-no... No! That can't be!" Isabella sank deeper into her Med Center bed, pink eyes wide and staring unseeingly at the ceiling. Once again, Quincy sat at her bedside, biting his lip in fear and grief. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster inside his chest, and his stomach was twisting itself into knots. It was easily the hardest conversation he'd ever had with anyone, and once it was all said and done, he wept his thanks out to Emerald.

"I know you're not a very emotional person, and it was probably even more unpleasant for you than it was me, but thank you so much for being there and helping us! I know I wouldn't have known what to say otherwise!" He wept during the conversation with Isabella too, but after he was finally excused from the Med Center and able to resume his call with Emerald in private, he broke down. Emerald's voice on the other end of the line was passive and impassive, unreadable and steady. It made Quincy laugh wetly.

Anyone else would call her callous for not comforting her ex-apprentice more, but... This is exactly what I needed right now! If anything, Emerald's stalwart and almost disinterested tone reminded him that no matter how hard and scary things were at the present, time would continue to move forward, and in that, it offered all of them the same transformation. If only I could do something WITH that time...

That led Quincy right back to his initial frustration. While Emerald was still up at Northplain, and Isabella having nearly suffered a second mental break in light of Wilde's death, Quincy felt even more useless than a bump on a log. The only thing keeping him sane was Princeton. The lines of frustration on Quincy's face lessened slightly as his orange eyes flicked to the boy walking pensively beside him through the training forest.

He's a nice guy, just a little shy and awkward. Quincy chuckled to himself. That much had been true since the day they met. Even though Quincy was already a soldier by the time Princeton was enlisted, they met at Princeton's pre-deployment orientation. Quincy was helping facilitate, but the first time either boy really remembered seeing the other for the first time was when Princeton ran into Quincy in the hotel in the evening after orientation. The larger, older boy was running around shirtless, and Princeton got an eyeful of a dark, muscled chest and hadn't been the same since.