The Throne

14

Anna's POV

"Everybody ready?" A security man asks and everyone nods or says yes.

I've been in Azerbaijan for two months now and all I've done is train locals on how to de-activate land mines.

We had to extend our time here because the situation was worse than when we left it so we needed to train more de-miners.

I'm actually pissed we had to extend our time here because I miss my nephews, I miss my sister-in-laws, I miss my brother's, and most importantly I miss Christen.

We talk every morning and night on the phone and sometimes I have enough wifi to Skype my girlfriend, but I still miss her a lot.

Thankfully this is our last full day here then I'm heading back to the London to do laundry so I can pack to go to America for the last victory tour game and stay with Christen during the NWSL Playoffs.

"Let's head out then."

The 8 of us get out of the van then we begin making our way to one of the known mine sites to start deactivating the mines.

As we're walking around a piercing scream fills the air stopping all of us in our tracks. Everyone looks around and tries to find the source of the scream and eventually one of the security men finds the owner of the voice and the sight I see breaks my heart.

On a hill there is a mother looking at her daughter who, I assume, has stepped on an explosive device. Since the little girl is still standing I know she is on a pressure mine

I take off my protective gear so as not to scare the little girl then I carefully rush up the hill to the little and squat next to her.

(A/N: I couldn't find a good translation site to translate the conversation into the native language so I'm going to leave the conversation in English.)

"Hi sweetie." I say with a soft smile. "My name is Anna."

I look at the explosive device the little girl stepped on and it doesn't look good, but at least it's not a landmine. I mean it's still deadly, but the girl is alive so that's a major plus in my book. Unfortunately I am the only one of the de-miners who know how to deactivate this type of explosive device.

Fuck me.

"What's your name sweetie?" I ask as I get out my tools.

"M-M-Milena." The cute little girl says through her sobs

"Well Milena you and I are gonna work together and get this done then we'll go enjoy a popsicle alright?" I ask and the little girl nods so I get to work.

I do everything by the book all while distracting Milena with small talk. The two of us talk about ponies, fairies, unicorns, The Lion King, and basically anything else to keep Milena's mind off the fact she's standing on an explosive device.

"Alright Milena one more thing and then we can get our popsicles." I say and smile at the little girl.

"Okay."

I look down at the explosive device and cut the last wire, effectively rendering it useless.

The moment I cut the wire Milena hugs me so I wrap my arms around the little girl.

"You did so so good Milena." I say and pick her up. "So so good."

I carry the little girl away from the explosive device and pass two de-miners who are going to dispose of it in some way. I continue walking down the hill and head toward the van where the group is waiting along with Milena's mother. When we get onto flat ground I set Milena down then she runs to her mother and they have a little moment while I go to the back of the van and get out our small cooler. I then bring the cooler over to Milena and her mother.

"Can she have one?" I ask the mother as I show her the popsicles.

Milena's mother nods so I squat down to Milena's height

"Which one do you want Milena?" I ask.

"Can I get one for my Mum?"

"Of course."

Milena chooses a blue popsicle for herself and a red popsicle for her mother then I pick a purple popsicle for my self. The three of us then sit on a nearby wall and sit in silence while we enjoy the cold treats. After we finish off the popsicles I take our trash then hug Milena and her mother before they go on their way.

"So that's why we have that cooler." One of the native de-miners says.

"Yep." I say.

The locals continue their de-mining operation while I get picked up by someone from HALO Trust and taken back to our base. Once at our base I am taken for a debrief and a psych eval which always happens after traumatic event.

After all that stuff is finished I grab the satphone and go off to a secluded part of the base then I call my girlfriend.

"Hey Baby." Christen says when she answers the phone.

"C-C-Christen." I stutter and try not to cry.

"Anna...Baby what's wrong?" Christen asks.

"I-I-I-I."

"Anna take a deep breath for me."

I do as told and take the biggest breathe of my life.

"Good. Now what's wrong?"

"I...I'm alive."

"What?" Christen incredulously asks.

I replay the days events and leave no detail out because I don't wanna lie to my girlfriend.

"Oh Anna." Christen softly says. "You saved that girls life baby."

"I know." I say. "It's just...I've never been more scared in my life."

"Baby you're human. It's okay to be scared."

"I'm giving you the biggest hug ever when I see you in a couple days." I admit.

"And a kiss?" Christen playfully asks.

"Definitely a kiss."

"Good."

"I'll see you soon My Love." I say.