SAGE (under edit)

Chapter Forty Five - What we Fight For

'Sage?'

Sage looked up from behind her book to see her older brother hovering in the doorway, his mouth quirked in a way that meant he was about to tease her.

She huffed at him and dipped her head back to her book, the sunlight warming her from the window above her bed. Dean left the doorway to pad, barefoot, around the side of her bed and take a seat on the mattress' edge.

Again, Sage ignored him. She furrowed her brow, hoping her expression alone would scare him away since she was still mad at him for his last bout of teasing. Not that it was the same teasing she suffered from her classmates; Dean didn't ridicule or belittle her like they did, he just... treated her like his little sister – especially when she reminded him that she was thirteen and not little anymore.

'What are you reading?' Dean finally asked.

Sage lifted her book, flashing him the cover, and then continued reading. It was a history book, one that centred entirely on Lion Crest, the origins of Soldiers and the how the Soldier's Code of Conduct had been created.

'That's one of the first tests a Pre-Soldier takes, isn't it? Memorising the Code of Conduct,' Dean said, casually trying to coax her into a conversation. 'You almost got one hundred per cent on that test, if I remember correctly.'

Sage's head snapped up. 'I did get one hundred per cent.'

Dean grinned. 'I knew that would get you talking. Scoot over.'

Dean didn't wait for her to move before he crawled over to sit beside her, all but shoving Sage aside to give him room. She shot him an indignant glare and readjusted herself, the book falling across both their laps.

'The five Codes of Conduct,' Dean read aloud, 'a Soldier must put first their duty to their city above all else; a Soldier must not do harm to the citizenry they are sworn to protect; a Soldier must heed the orders of their Renark; a Soldier must not act in contradiction to the values of their city and, lastly, a Soldier who dies for their city is a Soldier who dies with honour.'

Sage had known the Codes of Conduct before she had even enrolled in the academy. She knew that even though all Soldiers lived by the Codes each Soldier tended to favour one Code more than the other. Some Soldiers thought it acceptable to compromise on Code to abide by another.

Forgetting her annoyance at her brother, Sage closed the book and said, 'Why did you become a Soldier? Which of the Codes do you live by?'

'I think...' Dean looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling for a moment. 'I think the Codes are better off as guidelines.'

'Guidelines?'

'Guidelines. They're what should shape the morals of a Soldier, but I don't think someone should base their decision to become a Soldier on them. I didn't become a Soldier because I wanted to take orders from someone as respectable as the Renark, or uphold the values of Lion Crest; I became a Soldier because I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I think fighting for people and protecting them is in my blood,' Dean explained, a faint smile on his face as he looked down at Sage. 'Instead of asking what Code you live by as a Soldier, you should ask yourself what it is you want to fight for because once you know that, you should never forget it – and never let anyone take it away from you.'

The surge of water had hit Raidan with such ice-cold force that he almost lost hold of Sage when his body seized in response, but he only tightened his arms around her as the ocean and its dark, unforgiving depths engulfed them.