The next morning, Igraine assembled Frances, Martin, Elizabeth, and the forty-five Otherworlders that were to be part of their force on a field beside their camp. There, Igraine introduced Frances and Martin, informed the gathering that they were in command, and then left to arrange her own forces.

This left, forty-five pairs of eyes settling on Frances and Martin, only one pair of which—Elizabeth’s—was not judging.

Frances knew she was going to be tempted to freeze, and so before they had assembled, had discussed the situation with her friends, and proposed a solution.

Except, it got shot down.

Martin had looked extremely perplexed. “You want me to explain that to them?”

“I might fumble over my own tongue, Martin. You are a knight, commanding, shining example of chivalry—”

“No. You need to talk to them, Frances. If you don’t, they will have no confidence in your abilities, and that will become a problem in battle.” He smiled and pointed at Frances. “Besides, your approach is sound, you just need to explain it.”

Elizabeth, arms crossed, mirrored Martin’s nod. “They also don’t know you, Frances. Well, know-know you. They’ll be quiet for the moment. You have nothing to be afraid of.”

Unable to convince her friends this was a bad idea, Frances had swallowed, and now, raised her chin as high as she could, and coughed.

“Hello everybody. We are going to divide everybody into four squads, with the remaining six to stay with me as a reserve. To do that, I am going to assess your skills and abilities with the help of Sir Martin, and Elizabeth, whose abilities I am familiar with thanks to the previous missions.”

Hoping she didn’t sound too mechanic in her explanation, but seeing nobody interject, Frances continued.

“Melee specialists are to follow Elizabeth and Martin. As for the mages, I will assess your magical ability, so stay with me please.”

And, like that, the classmates split, about thirty of them following Elizabeth and Martin, and the last fifteen following Frances.

That last fifteen included Leila, who was glaring daggers at Frances, and Jessica, who had schooled her expression into an aloof grimace.

Frances forced herself to ignore the both of them.

“Right if you could all take a seat. I would like to see you try to break several targets I’m going to set up.”

Pointing her wand to a spot about a hundred yards away, Frances sang a spell.

Five mounds of earth rose. Each was larger than the next. The smallest was as high as a person. The largest was about the size of four carts.

When she was done, Frances turned back to the group.

“I’ll call on you one by one, at which are going to blast every mound to smithereens with your strongest spell, as fast as you can.” She smiled, in what she hoped was a confident manner, and pulled out a notebook and stick of charcoal. “Who would like to go first?”

The girls and boys in front of her exchanged looks. They didn’t whisper at each other, but Frances could see the wordless language of glances, flinches and gestures that communicated dare, question, and suspicion.

“Um, I’ll go.”

The group parted to let a lanky Asian teen holding a staff walk forward. He wore brown robes and his eyes were looking up, even though his head was bowed.

Frances however, recognized him, and she blinked.

“Jim?”

Jim scratched the back of his head. “Hey, Frances. It’s been a while.”

Frances nodded and smiled. Jim wasn’t exactly a friend of hers, more of an acquaintance. They sometimes compared notes and homework and would work together if there were any group projects. Sometimes, he’d let her play with his handheld game console. Most importantly, he hadn’t asked any uncomfortable questions.

“Which target would you like to start with first, Jim?”

Jim indicated the mid-sized target, and after pointing with his staff, and crying out a word of power, a bolt of purple magic slammed into the mound of earth. But while dirt went flying, most of the mound was still there.

He groaned, his brown eyes downcast. “Uhh I can do better, and I know other spells. I’m quite good at scrying.”

Frances nodded, examining the mound. It wasn’t a particularly good result, and Jim seemed to know it. However…

“I would love to ask you about your other spells Jim, and about my plan to take Freeburg. I remember you were quite a game and history nerd, right? You might have some insights.”

Jim blinked. “Oh. Um, thanks. It’s good to see you, Frances.”

“You too. Uh, do you mind sitting over there?”

After Jim took a seat away from the main group, a few more people raised their hands. After resetting the targets first, Frances picked the Otherwolder mages one by one, assessed them, took their names and noted down the results.

Slowly, they wound down the list with Frances recalling a few familiar faces and names. Once in a while, especially for those who could only disperse the smaller mounds, Frances documented things they specialized in. Healing, mists, and other details that Frances carefully documented. All the while, her classmates watched her, muttering or whispering to each other under their breath.

That changed after Nicole stepped up to do her test. Before Frances could ask her to choose a target, she quipped:

“So what’s the point of all of this, Frances? I mean aren’t we supposed to be planning to retake Freeburg?”

Taking in Nicole’s tone and her hands on her hips, Frances’s small smile vanished. “I am making a plan, and to do so I need to know what magic you are all good at.”

Nicole groaned, running a hand through her hair, not that there was much of it. Hers was cut so short her ears weren’t even covered. “You’re making a plan? Don’t you think you ought to consult with all of your classmates? Or I dunno, tell us what you’re going to try?”

There were several ways Frances knew she could answer Nicole, but none of them seemed perfect. On one hand, she could explain her thought process, but she hesitated, unsure if it would be a good idea to air her entire plan before she had actually decided to commit to it. Yet, neither did she feel confident in just telling Nicole to sit down.

One thing was for sure, she did not want to consult with all of her classmates. That didn’t seem what Edana, General Forowena, or even General Darius would do.

Then again… Lady Igraine hadn’t told her classmates that they were only part of the attacking force.

She closed her notebook. “We’re part of two attacking groups, the one that is going to attack Freeburg from the southern gate. I plan for the mages will blast a hole in the walls and pin the defends down whilst our fighters breach them. But I need to determine what are our best strengths first. I promise that I’ll present the complete plan to you all when I’m ready.”

Nicole’s brow was furrowed, but her eyes were now looking up towards the distant Freeburg rather than glaring at Frances.

“Alright. But I’ll hold you to that.” She gestured to the second-largest target and after an aria that took several seconds, she unleashed a bolt of force that blasted the target apart.

Frances nodded, somewhat impressed, and made her notes. She continued to call more of her classmates up until she got to—

“Leila.”

Her former bully stood up, and stomped towards Frances, but instead of stopping at a respectable distance, Leila kept marching on.

Frances’s fist clenched around her wand as her broad-shouldered came to a stop, her nose mere inches from her face.

Leila sneered. “Sup.”

Frances stepped back and gestured to the targets. “Please pick a target—”

She was cut off by Leila crying out a word of power. The fireball she summoned whooshed over Frances’s shoulder and obliterated the middle target.

With the heat of the spell still warming her cheeks, Frances had to bite down the wellspring of anger that had once again been reignited.

“There. How did I do? Commandah?”

Leila’s lilting tone and taunting words broke Frances’s stoic mask. Scowling at her former bully, Frances hissed, “Very well. However, you showed a total disregard for safety.”

Smiling smugly, Leila cooed, “Aw, sorry, commander,” and sauntered off to join the others.

It took all her willpower to rip her eyes away from Leila to glare at the last person she had to assess.

“Jessica.”

The statuesque blonde stood up and walked over, but unlike her friend, she didn’t violate Frances’s personal space.

Her crossed arms and narrowed eyes, however, were not giving Frances a comforting feeling. But she didn’t seem to be hostile at first. She demolished the second-largest target without incident, and after that, informed Frances that she was most familiar with earth spells.

Then she said, in her haughty tone, “May I ask you a few questions, Fo—Frances?”

Every instinct on guard, but because she had no reason to deny the request, Frances gave a short nod.

Jessica smiled, but to Frances,, it looked like a shark’s bloodthirsty grin. “So like, why did Lady Igraine assign you to be our commander? I mean, yeah, you did a few good missions, but it’s not like you did anything special.”

The words stung, and old, dark thoughts whispered in the background as Frances tried to think of an answer.

“Lady Igraine trusts me as do other members of the War Council including Earl Forowena and my master, Edana. If you have questions as to why I was appointed, please talk to them.”

“But you have no command experience?”

“No.” Frances crossed her arms. “Where are you going with this line of questioning, Jessica?”

“Jeez. Why so uptight? I bet your parents must have hated having you around the house.”

Frances froze, the whispers in her head crying out:

Worthless waste of space.

Whiny crybaby twerp.

Stupid sister.

Foul Frances

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Oi, what’s wrong? Come on don’t tell me your parents actually hit you as a kid.”

Ivy’s Sting hummed in her hand and this time, she wasn’t holding Frances back. Except, both knew that if Frances blasted her bullies right now, she’d get in trouble. She had to be smarter about this, use what she had.

Hold on, she was their commander...

“That’s it. Jessica, Leila, you’re assigned to the mess tent!”

Jessica blinked and Leila leapt to her feet. “Excuse me?” the blonde spat.

Even as spittle shot past her cheek, Frances retorted, “You heard me! Report to the mess tent and speak to the mess captain! Tell them that your commander has assigned you to wash dishes, and carry out menial tasks alike, and don’t you dare think about shirking this. I will be checking with the cooks tonight!”

Leila spluttered, “For what reason—”

“Insubordination. Endangering your commanding officer. Challenging your commanding officer’s authority. Now carry those orders out or I will report to Lady Igraine that you are disobeying my commands.”

“You can’t do this—”

“Oh I definitely can. I don’t want to, but your behaviour leaves me no choice,” Frances hissed. All the while, her wand trembled in her hand ready for a challenge.

Leila and Jessica, shaking with fury, stormed off in the direction of the mess tent, leaving whispering, awestruck teenagers. They were so infuriated they paid no attention to the very sweaty Elizabeth and Martin who stared at the pair’s departure.

“So… didn’t go quite to plan?” Martin asked.

Frances shook her head. “No. But no matter. I’ve made it clear as I can to them that they have to respect me.” Rubbing her hands, she turned back to her classmates. “Sorry everybody, I will… I will speak to those who I told I promised to speak with. Um, who was first?”

After assessing the Otherworlders and conferring to discuss the results, the three friends enjoyed a hearty meal and washed up for the evening.

There was, of course, no way to actually have a shower, but some nearby streams had been designated for bathing. They were cold, but none of the friends were complaining about the water temperature after a long day of labour.

Martin found his two friends after he’d finished, sitting on the grass in casual dresses, with Frances standing behind Elizabeth, comb in hand. A roaring campfire had been set, with a kettle filled with what seemed to be Hearthsange sitting to one side, along with some yams.

“Evening snack?” Martin asked.

Straining at a particularly annoying knot in her friend’s black hair, Frances muttered, “Yup. Ugh, I wish we had some conditioner and shampoo.”

“Oh God I know right? I think I miss that the most. And hot showers, flushing toilets being commonplace, and toilet paper. Don’t get me wrong, using leaves or old rags is better than nothing, but they’re nowhere near as comfortable.”

Martin pinched himself. “You used paper. Expensive paper, to wipe yourselves after going to the toilet?”

Elizabeth frowned, making a face. Frances thought for a moment, before her lips formed an “O.” “Paper is much cheaper where we come from, Martin, and toilet paper, isn’t the same as writing paper.”

“Ah, that explains it.” Martin dug into his pack, pulling out a small wooden box. “Want some chocolate?”

Frances and Elizabeth nodded eagerly, and so Martin shared his sweets and the three just started to chat, talking about nothing really, but anything.

At least, until a hesitant voice called out.

“Um, may I join you?” Jim asked stepping into the fire’s glow. “I have some fruit if you’d like some.”

“Of course. We have some yams and Hearthsange. They’re not smores, but it should taste good.” Taking in Martin’s confused look, Frances added, “Smores are made by putting chocolate and marshmallows—a kind of fluffy sweet—between two crackers.”

“Oh, I miss those! My mom used to make them whenever we went out for barbeque. She’d get the cook on them just right!” Jim sighed and handed his fruits, crisp Dale apples, to the group. “That’s definitely the first thing I’m going to have when I get back.”

“You mean you aren’t going to go on the internet first, Jim?”

Frances turned to see Nicole strolling into the firelight. “Yo, Frances. Do you mind if I join?” She raised the bag over her shoulder. “I brought some scones.”

Although she was wondering where exactly were all these classmates coming from, Frances gave a short nod and was surprised when Nicole waltzed passed her and took a seat right next to Jim.

“Hey Nicole—” Jim fell into a splutter as the taller girl kissed his cheek and leaned against his shoulder.

“Not too uncomfortable are you? Good, stay there.” She said several words of power and levitated the scones by the fire to warm them up.

Frances stared at the pair, even as she freed her comb from Elizabeth’s now presentable hair and took a seat next to the fire. Shy, nerdy Jim and brusque, tomboyish Nicole, were dating? Jim was bullied by Jessica and Leila quite frequently, and wasn’t Nicole Jessica’s and Leila’s friend?

Yet, Elizabeth only smirked at the sight. “About time. When did you ask Jim out?”

Nicole yawned, and closed her eyes, a content smile spreading on her face. “Actually he asked me out.”

Stunned, Frances nearly dropped the kettle of Hearthsange she was pulling out of the fire. “Wait, Jim, Nicole’s Leila’s and Jessica’s friend. Why would you ask her out?” As the question left her lips she winced. She had not intended to ask in such a blunt fashion.

However, while Nicole’s eyes opened, she didn’t move from where she lay against Jim. “Oh… that. Yeah, no. I’m not Jessica and Leila’s friend anymore. Do I prefer nothing bad happens to them? Oh yeah. We Otherworlders need to look out for each other, but no, we’re not friends anymore.”

Jim nodded, scratching the back of his head. “I probably would still have a hopeless crush on you, though.”

Nicole snorted. “You flatterer. I wonder how surprised our teachers are going to be when we go back and we’re all friendly with one another.”

“They’d probably be more surprised as to why two thirteen-year-olds are that friendly with one another. You know we revert to the ages we leave when we go home, right?” Elizabeth asked.

That got a chuckle out of everybody, which allowed Frances to distribute the snacks. The conversation then turned to the other things they all missed about Earth with Martin asking polite questions about what they meant.

Yet, while the knight was entranced with the stories and technology of her classmates, Frances noticed herself speaking less and less. There was a cold weight in her chest that dragged her shoulders down and shivered her fingers, even though they were wrapped around a steaming mug.

The weight—no, the pain was becoming unbearable, as the conversation returned to the topic of what was the first thing they were going to do when they got back to Earth. Elizabeth was telling Nicole of how she was missing going to church. As her friend finished her story, Frances suddenly realized why she was feeling this way.

But it was too late to stop Jim from asking, “Hey, Frances, what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get back by the way?”

The question sounded like it was coming through a tunnel and Frances felt herself fall through the ground, even though she was sitting perfectly still.

The truth was, she missed Earth. She missed the skyscrapers of the city, the growl of car engines, the hustle and bustle of people in the supermarkets. She wanted to roam in sturdy, air-conditioned concrete and plaster buildings once again, instead of drafty castles. She yearned for a peaceful, sometimes directionless, always busy world without war.

But she couldn’t. Everybody else but she could return to Earth, to… to home. With all those fond memories, came nightmares that underlined her need to stay in Durannon. What she’d do if she died and returned to Earth was not a wishlist. It was a list of steps that she and Edana had worked out to preserve her life. It was a last resort plan based on everything they knew about the summoning system and the modern world.

Run from home and tell my teachers about what my parents were doing to me. If they don’t believe me, run away, draw the attention of the authorities, or get somewhere where you can make a living. Steal or beg the gold from your classmates that did succeed if necessary to do so.

That was the plan, a simple, vague plan. She had no luxury to think about what she wanted to do if she was sent home because if she did…

Gentle hands were pulling her up onto her feet, but she barely noticed. She could already hear her mother screaming at her. See her hitting her.

Hold on, her mother didn’t speak in a kind tone to her. She wouldn’t say, “Frances, it’s alright. You’re not on Earth.”

Blinking, Frances found herself held up by Elizabeth, her friend’s features mere inches away. Behind her, were Martin, looking concerned, and a perplexed Nicole and Jim.

Seeing the looks of her classmates Frances groaned, “I did it again didn’t I?”

“Yes, but don’t worry about that. Why don’t we sit down in your tent for a bit?” Elizabeth smiled. “It’s been a long day, you’re tired.”

Sighing, Frances allowed her friend to lead her away into the privacy of her tent. Just before she left, she looked up to examine Nicole and Jim’s expressions.

“Frances, are you alright? Is there anything we can do to help?” Jim asked, standing to his feet.

Frances tried to form words, but she didn’t know what to say. She knew what she felt, but it see-sawed between anger and sorrow.

“There’s nothing you can do, Jim. Not right now. Just… respect her privacy, don’t mention this to anybody, and that’ll be enough,” Martin gave Frances a sympathetic look. “Go. I won’t tell them. I know what to say.”

Her tongue was numb, but she managed to force herself to give Martin a grateful nod and smile, before letting Elizabeth half-drag, half-carry her back to her tent.