Out of the Ashes Ch. 10

"Why you? And why do you need the two?" Alexia asked.

"Safety mostly," the doctor interjected.

"From me? Do I really look like I could harm any of you?!"

"No... from us... and the ones coming for us," Margaret said to her anxious partner and sat down next to Alexia's makeshift bed and calmly stroked her hand.

"They are the only members of the militia we've ever knowingly spoken to. It ... looks like they are afraid we could potentially identify other members of the militia if we'd have contact to more than them. They think they put their lives on the line here, Lexi. That's the reason for the familiar faces," Margaret explained.

"Not everyone trusts you ... and I can't blame them," Manuel remarked and looked at Margaret, his face slowly brightening up. "Very few know you two like I do."

"That's another reason why we are here. To see your judgement isn't clouded by personal feelings," the doctor sternly added.

The two elderly men silently stared at each other with disappointment and distrust looming over both of them - just a small hint on how many heated debates they must have had over the last 3 days.

"Very well then. Let us begin," Manuel hissed and returned his gaze to Alexia and Margaret.

"Lexi, you served in the royal palace for years. Can you take a guess on how many troops the highking will be able to muster in one to two weeks? Any estimations?"

Alexia shook her head and immediately noted the disapproval of the doctor and his henchman, which worried her enough to give a proper reply.

"I have been there for almost a decade, but I was too young to go on any campaign or take part in major battles," she said hastily and lingered on a stray thought she often had back at the palace.

"It... was almost like a ceremonial rank. I... don't think I ever deserved it," she admitted and couldn't stop imaging some of the most veteran members of the guard. Especially Cassandra.

"So, you want to tell us you know nothing?" the doctor coldly asked.

"I can't make an estimation on something I don't know... but... I am sure Margaret already told you the same," Alexia returned.

Her anger and reluctance shined through with every word coming from her mouth. While she wasn't in charge of the military beyond the walls of the palace, she certainly had enough influence to at least draw a decent picture of ongoing operations and logistics.

"Please... just take a guess, Lexi," Manuel interjected as the youngest man in the room was starting to get visibly angry.

Alexia sighed and noticed that Margaret as well was looking for a solid number, silently urging her partner to speak up and offer the help she agreed upon the day before.

"Maybe a few hundred. Give her two or three more weeks and she will muster thousands," Alexia sighed and felt unsurprisingly guilty about handing them such information.

Manuel looked terrified after hearing Alexia's estimation. His gaze desperately looked for signs of Alexia not telling the truth, hoping she was overexaggerating - she was not.

The doctor as well shared a similar reaction, piercing Alexia with his eyes just to end up believing her and feeling the same dread as the innkeeper.

Silence was taking hold of the musky bedroom and Alexia didn't even dare to guess what was going through the men's heads.

"Why the long faces? C'mon we won't ever get an opportunity like that again... that's our chance! We can deal with a few hundred!" the youngest man said, trying his best to motivate the terrified elders.

There was something almost magical about this man's attitude. With every word coming from his mouth he persistently managed to fuel Alexia's growing disgust even further. She instinctively formed a fist and not even Margaret's calming presence was able to still her fury.

"Sure, sure you can... and the thousands after that as well. Are you even listening what I said? Do you think you can just walk up the hill and storm the palace?! This isn't a fight you people can win," she growled in open defiance and forced herself to push her torso up, ignoring the constant pulsating sensation from her side.

"If I wanted your opinion I would have asked. Besides, you 'people' didn't seem too impressive to me thus far," he remarked, his smile widening when he saw Alexia's face turning red out of rage.

A mischievous grin that reminded her a lot of Cassandra's, which only added to her already boiling anger.

"They were my friends you arrogant moron! You wouldn't last a minute against any of them! Consider yourself lucky I am not able to get up right now!" Alexia tried to shout but couldn't raise her voice as loud as she would have liked.

"Lexi, please don't..." Margaret tried to calm her down when the young man took a step closer.

"Watch your tongue or you will meet up with your friends earlier than you'd think," he said with a threatening tone.

"That's enough," Manuel muttered but got ignored by him and Alexia.

"You think you are tough, huh? I see when someone is just playing soldier because they like flouncing around in their uniform or waving with their toy sword! You are nothing but a brat trying to convince others that you are a soldier," Alexia snapped.

"One more word and you will regret it you futa bitch," he returned equally angry.

"I got two words for you: Fuck you!"

"Lexi!" Manuel shouted but the two warriors' gazes were locked on, ready for confrontation but held back by different circumstances. The militiaman already attacked her if Manuel wasn't asking for her help and Alexia was in no shape to fight at all no matter how much she was longing to teach this guy a lesson he would never forget.

He growled, his fingers visibly twitching as he clenched the handle of his weapon. Both knew he couldn't fight her, but that didn't mean he would let her get away easily.

The young man kicked out at the wounded hermaphrodite on the floor and his foot hit her just below her hip - merely a few inches away from the bullet wound.

Alexia curled up in pain and before Manuel could even try to calm the situation Margaret jumped up and towered menacingly above the triggered man as the building tension eventually exploded.

She barely broke a sweat when pinning Remy to the wall and lifting him up and the militiaman wouldn't pose much more of a challenge for the now almost 9ft woman.

"Get away from her. Now," Margaret threatened, her arms spreading wide like wings to protect her partner and to grab the man if he'd try to unsheathe his sword.

The naïve soldier was taken aback by the figure that suddenly appeared in front of him. He thought back to when he saw the same figure pin Remy to the wall, and how he had seen plenty of men pinned against walls by women, but with Margaret's unmistakeably huge bulge between her legs, the young militiaman was reminded that this wasn't any ordinary woman. She was nothing but a sick joke by mother nature to him.

"Don't even think about it... you freak" he muttered under his breath.

"I SAID ENOUGH!" Manuel shouted, louder than either of them ever heard him before. "We are here to find a solution not to insult and fight each other!"

"I won't talk to you for as long as he is here," Margaret said.

"That's not how this works, Margaret," the doctor said but pulled his comrade gently back without getting up from his wooden seat.

"It does. Get out," Manuel said to the young, still grinning man.

"You must be kidding? What if she decides to use her strength to good use, huh? We both saw what she is able to do now. You can't even defend yourself Manuel," he said.

"I am far more concerned about you being here than without. Get out, that's an order," the innkeeper sternly replied.

The man's smirk vanished and he angrily looked over to the doctor, who just shook his head. He clearly didn't appreciate Manuel's order, but was seemingly in no position to disobey.

He let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Get out."

"This is outrageous! You are all out of your minds if you keep putting this much faith into them. They lied to you from the beginning! They will get us all killed!" the young man hissed at Manuel.

"Don't forget who you are talking to. I am very much able to make my own decisions here. Now get out," Manuel coldly said.

Margaret thought for a second, she was back to where they started when they first stumbled into the "Sailor's Mug". Manuel's warmth of the past few weeks seemed to be gone completely and he fully returned back into his cold, distant, self-defence mechanism driven demeanour.

The militiaman disobeyed for a few more moments, but eventually reasoning won out and he followed his superior's command. He kicked the water jar Margaret put next to the entrance when she was treating Alexia. It broke into pieces as he loudly shut the door behind him, hissing to himself all the way down the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Margaret asked and returned her attention to her girlfriend on the mattress.

"I'm fine..." Alexia gasped, still holding her side and gently touching the bandage, hoping the wound wouldn't start bleeding once again.

"You really have to learn keeping your temper in check, Lexi," Manuel said.

"Probably," she grunted while Margaret took a look at the wound herself. Thankfully it didn't look like it ripped open because of the kick.

"That doesn't justify how he treated her. She is after all still injured. What's his problem?!" Margaret hissed.

"He is just young and impulsive, Maggie. Many of us are. They think we can only win by action, not with old men talking and waiting. They simply don't know better," their human boss said.

"Are they all this eager to go to war? Do they even know what that means?" Alexia asked.

"Some are. But they are the ones who haven't experienced war yet. Who haven't seen what old men like us have seen," Manuel said in a cautious tone while looking over to the doctor, who looked almost as terrified as himself. "They don't understand that we don't want to go through all this bloodshed again. We simply can't. We won't survive a third time."

"But eventually we will have to fight ... if it's necessary," the doctor muttered, showing one last spark of willingness to fight.

"Only if it's really necessary," Manuel agreed and nodded towards the doctor and returned his gaze to Margaret and Alexia. "And that's what I am here to find out. Maggie, Lexi I ask you, not as your enemy, not only as a negotiator, but also hopefully as a friend, to help us and save help us save..." he hesitated for a moment, "both our people".

The metaphorical burden on their shoulders only weighed down even more brutally after Manuel's pleading, adding anger because of their inability to their guilt.

The two hermaphrodites were actually avoiding his gaze in hope of not having to admit to him that they didn't know how to respond. But unfortunately for them, he and his colleague were not giving up that easily.

"I agree with Manuel when it comes to preventing another war and that many seek open confrontation - just like you have just witnessed. But my young friend has a point," the doctor stated. "If you say there is no chance in a prolonged war, why shouldn't we attack now and try seize the king?"

"Because the king probably already turned the palace into a fortress. She always plans ahead for any possibilities. She will surely predict that you might try to do that ... and it would end in a massacre," Alexia said.

Another scenario another gut punch for the two men. They were sent to find a way to resolve this situation and make sure they get the information they need. While it seemed like making sure Margaret and Alexia were telling the truth was going to be their main concern, the genuine tone in their voice both quelled that concern and brought light to something much more discouraging.

"How about negotiating? Is there any chance for that?" the doctor suggested.

Maggie and Lexi shook her head and shared a quick look before Alexia spoke up and explained.

"You got nothing to bargain with. In her eyes you have slain her personal guards and keep her daughter hostage. She will never forget either of those incidents and she will make you pay."

Her delivery was as lifeless and unwavering as the certainty of the town's demise.

"She wouldn't risk attacking a town when Margaret was still here. Right?" Manuel asked, looking for any straw to clench onto.

"She would. The king knows of her own reputation and must think that no one would be stupid enough to actually harm Maggie. Not if you cherish the lives of your friends and family. She would take her revenge on every last of you," Alexia muttered. Her voice was unsteady, but not because she wasn't convinced about her prediction, but because she exactly knew what the highking was capable of doing, especially when things got personal. "Every man, woman or child."

"So, you say, we can't fight, but we also can't negotiate. I... what are we supposed to do then?" the doctor asked.

"I... don't know. I am sorry," Alexia whimpered.

"And you, Margaret?"

The princess looked lost in her thoughts and remained silent as her hand tightened around Alexia's. She might have appeared calm on the surface, but anxiety and fear were growing inside of her - ready to burst any second.

Her lower lip was twitching when she was about to speak up, but couldn't bring herself to word the plan she was forming over the last few days.

Margaret's hand was starting to shake and she tried to stop it from doing so with the other - something she often did back in the palace to avoid showing weakness.

Alexia always noticed when Margaret felt miserable though and now, more than ever, saw it as her duty to take as much suffering off of her as she could.

She wasn't sure what to say, but just a genuine smile, a heartfelt touch could get a long way if someone feels like on their lowest low. In this case it surely did.

Little did she know that this was the last bit of encouragement Margaret needed to commit to a promise she made to herself back when she saw the guards lay dead in the blood-soaked street.

Margaret took a deep breath and visibly regained some of the confidence she managed to gain over the last few weeks and months.

"I... maybe I know a way," she admitted.

Both men leaned forward, craving for any suggestion, while Alexia looked worried on how much Margaret had to force herself to speak up.

"You could never negotiate with her... but ... I think I can," the princess said - accompanied with a loud gasp from Alexia, the doctor and Manuel. All for different reasons.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Alexia hissed, reaching out and grabbing Margaret's hand - effectively trying to hold her in place. "The king sent her own guard to kidnap you! You got no idea what she wants from you! You can't just go to her... No! ... you can't do that!"

"Who else but me?" Margaret asked in return and looked into her partner's fiery eyes. "The least I can do is trying, after everything that has happened already because of me."

"That was not your fault, Maggie," Alexia wanted to shout, but Manuel seemingly took the words right out of her mouth.

The blonde smiled, clearly touched by hearing such words coming from someone directly affected by her lineage.

"I... thank you," she whimpered. "I won't let you down. I swear."

"I know," the innkeeper returned with a soft smile.

Alexia on the other hand refused to accept Margaret's proposal this easily. She groaned, breathed deeply and frantically out of fear Margaret was willingly trying to get herself in danger... or worse.

"Let's be real here, Maggie. The king didn't listen or care about you for years! Why should she start doing that now? Think about it for a second. Please, Maggie," the wounded soldier begged.

"As much as I hate to admit it, but I agree with her," the doctor said, speaking up and right away offering a new perspective to the situation. "We can't let you leave just because of goodwill. You are the only assurance we have."

"He is right. Think about them, Maggie. What happens if she doesn't listen?!" Alexia said, willing to reach out for any help to convince Margaret to stay- even if it's coming from a militiaman.

Margaret paused, her eyes returning from the doctor who saw nothing more than a movable chess piece in her to someone she knew was only desperate to protect her.

"I will make her listen. There ... are things ... I know she won't just ignore..." Margaret said.

"Like what?!" Alexia shouted angrily.

"I... can't say. You would never let me leave otherwise," the princess whimpered.

For a moment she forgot about the ramifications of her decision and the fate of the town and its inhabitants faded out as the debate became exclusively a lover's quarrel.

"Please don't question me here, Lexi. I am as scared as much as you are but I need you to believe in me now ... more than ever," Margaret whispered and offered her hand to Alexia.

The former commander went through many emotions. Anger, confusion, admiration but first and foremost: despair.

Alexia stared at her partner's hand almost like it would be the last time she would feel Margaret's skin on hers. She winced when thinking about such a scenario.

"Only if I can go with you," she eventually said.

Margaret nodded, but it was obvious that she didn't intend on Alexia joining her, nor did she think that her partner would even be in a condition to walk in time.

"You are in no shape to join her, Lexi. And we can't wait for your recovery," Manuel said cautiously.

"I will be ready!" she replied in a determined tone and returned her attention back to the silent heir.

"Just ... don't leave me behind, Maggie. That's my only condition," Alexia whimpered and grabbed Margaret's hand.

The princess wanted to object of course, but instead a hesitant smile emerged on her face. A smile trying to hide how emotional she felt in that moment.

Alexia just got shot, had to kill a childhood friend of hers and was surely having an existential crisis - all because of her. Still, she was absolutely determined to join Margaret, regardless of the risk or worrying about her own health.

"Of course..." Margaret lied and tears welled up in her eyes.

The two men silently watched up to this point, but the doctor was not empathizing as much as Manuel.

"It's great to hear, that you are willing to do what it takes Margaret. But what if you fail? The council simply can't allow you to leave," the doctor said.

"You don't speak for the council," Manuel sternly interjected.

"Same can be said about you. You are a member, nothing more."

The balding innkeeper grinned cryptically and nodded at the two hermaphrodites he offered shelter months ago - a deed he still didn't regret.

"I will convince them. When you two are willing to fully commit, so am I," he said, earning a smile from Margaret and Alexia.

"Thank you, Manuel. I know we can count on you," Margaret said.

The grumpy old man's mood visibly lightened up even when facing the darkest days in decades. All it took was feeling a sense of family in his life - a spark Margaret and Alexia helped to ignite again.

The doctor shook his head and growled when he got up from his chair.

"I just hope you two know what you are doing," he muttered and looked coldly at Manuel. "And you."

The innkeeper sighed and got up as well and playfully clapped his old friend's shoulder.

"Come, we got a lot of old fellas to convince. Let's not let them waiting," Manuel smirked.

The doctor frowned but smirked himself and followed Manuel towards the wooden door.

He bowed subtly towards the princess before he left and Manuel waited in the doorframe for a few more moments, his grin widened.

"Oh, Alexia?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I hope you don't mind, but there are some more visitors I promised they could see you. They have been waiting for quite some time."