Thanks to Erisdalian roads, the Lightning Battalion were marching quickly to Lehrbeck. The column they formed were mostly of footsoldiers, a combination of musketeers and melee infantry. The head and rear of the column were protected by cavalry, with the supply wagons in the centre of the formation. Every member of the Lightning Battalion knew how to use both firearms and pike, though. Elizabeth and Frances had insisted and it’d proved incredibly useful in the raid into Gestoch.

Elizabeth and Ayax, Martin and Ginger, were sitting on a supply cart, wracking their minds.

“So the problem is if it does come down to a fight, we’ll be in a really bad spot,” said Martin.

“Yeah. We don’t know what forces Princess Janize and Earl Darius might send and the rest of us Displaced might side with them,” said Elizabeth, using the term she and her classmates typically used for themselves.

“I don’t think the remaining Otherworlders aren’t as skilled or as powerful as you or Frances, though,” said Ayax.

Elizabeth blushed. “Sweetie that’s not… well Frances maybe, but I’m definitely not the most skilled fighter of the Otherworlders.” At her friends’ grins, the Korean girl sighed. “Okay, I think I’m the best commander of them, but I haven’t seen them in action. So I honestly know them by reputation and rumor alone.”

Just that moment, one of their cavalry scouts rode up to their wagon, panting. “Commander, our scouts met a small, well-armed party numbering ten ahead of the road. They claim to be Otherworlders that would like to speak to you.”

Leaping off of the cart, the teens followed their scout to the head of the column, which had halted. They were met by the group of Otherworlders on horses, led by a stocky young man with brown hair and tanned skin.

It took a moment for Elizabeth to recognize the rider. “George is that you?” A sporty boy who liked playing hockey, Elizabeth remembered George as a fairly reserved, if popular guy at school. The years of war hadn’t done anything to damage his good looks and the tan actually seemed to make him healthier looking.

“Yes. Elizabeth that you? It’s been a long time,” said George. He didn’t dismount from his horse, though, and Elizabeth found herself stopping a good distance from his group, close to her own cavalrymen.

“Are you heading to Lehrbeck?” she asked.

“Where else?” It wasn’t a question, and neither were George’s eyes meeting Elizabeth. They were instead on what essentially was the small army behind her. “What are you doing with so many soldiers?”

Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “They’re my battalion and I’m taking them to Lehrbeck with me.”

“To arrest us?” hissed one of the other boys behind George, who seemed to be of East-Asian descent. Elizabeth recognized him as Daniel, one of George’s good friends.

“No. I’m not here to stop you from meeting. I’m going myself. I will admit I am going to try to persuade you all not to join Princess Janize,” said Elizabeth.

“And I’m guessing you took your battalion with you in case we didn’t,” asked a blonde girl from behind George in a droll tone. Elizabeth didn’t recognize her. She looked to be a mage and was wearing a painted white war mask that evoked a cat which covered her face. “You’re going there to threaten us.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. I will fight those that side with Princess Janize, but I’m not going to threaten people. I am, however, bringing my battalion because there’s no way that Earl Darius or Princess Janize won’t send forces to Lehrbeck to kill those that side with King Jerome and Queen Forowena.”

She was hoping that being upfront would either relax or not escalate her classmates. Unfortunately, while they remained quiet, the Otherworlders really tensed up at this declaration.

She could tell in the just-disguised hint of panic in George’s tone. “Elizabeth, why should we even care about this succession crisis? Why are you caring about this? We’re Otherworlders, we kill Alavari, we kill King Thorgoth, we get paid, end of story.”

Elizabeth felt herself flinch, and had to bite her tongue. “Because it’s the right thing to do! Princess Janize is trying to usurp the throne and she and her supporters are responsible for war atrocities that nobody should be allowed to commit!” she exclaimed.

Daniel swallowed. “But why should we get involved? We weren’t brought here to solve these kinds of problems, and especially not to kill humans.

“So killing my kind is fine then?” Ayax hissed, unable to keep quiet any longer. “What are we dogs that you can just put down if you’d like?”

“You’re not… that’s not what we meant,” George stammered.

“No, that’s exactly what you meant, George,” hissed the girl in the mask. She took the mask off, and Elizabeth’s eyes widened. There was a warped, ugly burn scar across her face from forehead to chin, shutting one eye closed, but she had been one of Frances’s old bullies.

“Jessica? What… what happened?” Elizabeth croaked.

The blonde girl pointed at her scar. “Oh this? Yeah, old story, don’t want to talk about it. I’m fine, just not completely over it. But I get what you’re saying, Elizabeth. We need to make a decision that might affect the future of this world.” Jessica shrugged. “I know I’m siding with you and the Reformers, but you’re going to have trouble convincing the rest of us. You’ve been away from us Displaced for too long on your adventure with Frances.”

Elizabeth, eyes narrowed and crossed her arms. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Jessica gave Elizabeth her famous sneer, made more twisted by her scar. “It’s a fact. You don’t understand that we’ve been fighting Alavari for four years with barely a break and never really connecting with the population in Durannon. You’ve been leading Durranians, and dating one too. You don’t get us. We’re homesick, we just want to finish this bloody war as fast as we can and get home because this isn’t our world.”

“I want to finish this war as well as you do. I just won’t leave this world a mess after it!” Elizabeth shot back.

“It’s already a mess. They have a system that summons thirteen-year-olds to fight their wars if ever the Alavari threaten humanity. That’s fucked up!” Jessica hissed.

“Then it’s our responsibility not to screw it up further!” Elizabeth retorted.

Ayax, her anger long evaporated, now worriedly tried to reach out to her girlfriend. “Liz?”

Elizabeth stepped forward before Ayax could touch her, and stormed up to Jessica, guantleted fists tight.

“This world isn’t some game or some dream realm like Narnia. Everything we do here has an impact. Every life we take, every life we save. And even what we’ve told them about our world has changed how they fight their war. Like it or not, we changed this world and are changing it so we have a responsibility to it.”

Jessica sighed. “You’re the only person who might think that way. I mean, yes, we are changing this world, but none of us have any particularly strong attachment to it. We shouldn’t be an ass about it because it’s wrong, but how can you expect any of us to give a damn about a place we won’t be staying?”

“Because some people like Frances and I want to stay here!”

The Otherworlders’ all started, their eyes wide, and Elizabeth suddenly found herself being looked at as if she was some monster.

“You’re joking, Elizabeth. What about your families?” George asked.

“Frances’s parents are abusive assholes. As for mine…” Elizabeth felt her heart tear and she shook her head. “Look, I haven’t decided for sure, but I… I care deeply about this world and the people in it. I like my life here. I want to keep living it.”

“There’s not even electricity or internet here!” Daniel exclaimed.

“So what?” Elizabeth glared at Daniel, and the other teen couldn’t meet her gaze. Grimacing, Elizabeth let out a sigh. “Look, let’s just get to Lehrbeck alright?”

“Fine by me,” said Jessica, cutting George off before he could say anything else. Another glare at the rest of her companions and Jesscia had the Otherworlders were soon riding with the Lightning Battalion.

Elizabeth meanwhile, stormed off to a supply wagon, to Martin and Ginger’s wide-eyed shock. Ayax, swallowing, turned to her friends.

“Martin, Ginger can you—”

“Of course we’ll cover you, kitten. Get going and we’ll catch up as soon as we get the march going,” said Ginger.

Ayax quickly clasped Ginger’s and then Martin’s arms before running after her girlfriend.

The troll found her human girlfriend leaping into her horse with all the grace and strength afforded to her by her Otherworlder abilities.

“Liz, where are you going?”

“I just need to clear my head,” Elizabeth hissed. She was about to flick her reins and steer her horse off the road when Ayax jumped onto her horse as well.

“Well, can I go with you?” she asked.

Elizabeth hesitated, and nodded. Once Ayax was on her horse, the pair set off.

No direction was particularly chosen. They were just going off the road. At this moment, off the road was broken, untilled ground that was part of a forest that regrown after chopped down. Shorter, scraggly trees dotted the undulating earth, which was covered with ferns.

Such ground wasn’t easy to ride over and at first the two girls focused on guiding their mounts over this broken ground.

“Ayax, I don’t understand,” Elizabeth said suddenly, pulling her horse to a stop.

The troll looked at her girlfriend, watching her dark brown eyes fill with tears.

“What don’t you understand?” Ayax asked.

“Why they—my classmates—can’t see how beautiful this world is?” Elizabeth threw out her hand. “I mean, look at that!”

Ayax looked where her girlfriend was pointing. Where they’d stopped, they could see mile upon mile of trees, dotting craggy slopes that soared into the sky and turned white. It was pretty, if a rather common sight in Erisdale.

“The world where I’m from… much of this would be gone, the animals, the trees…” Elizabeth swallowed. “I miss my home, but… I know I’ll miss this and you and… I don’t understand why nobody else gets what I see here.”

Ayax wished she knew what her partner was thinking, but to her frustration, all she could tell was that Elizabeth was unhappy, and deeply so.

“Because you’re one of a kind, Liz. There’s nothing wrong with you not seeing the things they see,” said the troll finally.

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth demanded, eyes narrowed at Ayax.

“I’m sure,” said Ayax gently. She reached for Elizabeth again, but the human didn’t take her hand. She just held onto her reins with a white-knuckle grip.

“Ayax, you lost your parents and I’m willing to give my own up when they’re still alive. How can you possibly be fine with that?”

Cold. Ayax had never felt so cold before. She was so surprised, frozen with shock, that she wondered if she’d blacked out. When she came to, when her vision focused, Elizabeth was still staring at her, her eyes still bright with tears.

“What… but… no that’s….”

Ayax found her voice trailing off as her girlfriend snorted. “It’s true though! I… I want to stay with you, in Durannon, more than I want to go home to my family and I don’t know why!”

The bitter tone in the human’s voice cut through the troll harder than her words, and the words already hurt enough.

“Liz, calm down, please,” Ayax begged.

“How can I be calm when there’s something wrong with me?” Elizabeth asked. “I want to leave my family and my parents who I should be lucky to have!”

Ayax shook her head. “But there isn’t anything wrong with you!”

“How can that be? Frances may not admit it but she hates that the people who’ve messed her life up are her parents of all people. You miss your parents every day. All my classmates from Earth want is to go home. And me? I want to leave my family.” Elizabeth stared at Ayax, accusation clear in her eyes. “How is that not messed up?”

The troll didn’t break eye contact. She stood her ground. “Liz, my parents were murdered. I didn’t choose to leave them! This is different.”

“How?” Elizabeth spat.

“You have a choice!” Ayax hissed.

“And what if I make the wrong one? What if I am being stupid and I should be going home?” Elizabeth demanded.

“You think it’s stupid to not leave me?” Ayax retorted.

There was no anger in the troll’s question, only a sharp, keen demand for clarification. It was enough to cut the anger from Elizabeth’s expression and replace it with one of horror.

“No! That’s not what I meant at all! Oh. God. Ayax I’m sorry I—”

Ayax shook her head. “Liz, I know you don’t mean it. I… I do want you to stay. I want to wake up next to you every day, knowing we’re going to run headfirst into our next adventure. But… If you do want to go back to your family, I would never stop you.”

Sniffling, Elizabeth looked away. “You’d hate me if I left.”

“No. Never. I’d miss you. I’d miss you so much and I know you would too.” Ayax brought her horse closer to her girlfriend and finally managed to take her hand. This time, Elizabeth didn’t resist. “Liz, I just want you to be happy.”

Dark brown eyes gazed into black ones longingly, worriedly. “But what about your happiness?” Elizabeth asked.

“What about mine? What about yours?” Ayax replied.

Elizabeth held her partner’s hand tightly, worn palms against her fingers. The calm, stoic expression Ayax had tinged with just a bit of her worry and sadness. The rest Elizabeth knew, Ayax was holding back, trying to calm her down.

“This is quite the problem we have, isn’t it?” Elizabeth asked sadly.

Ayax nodded. “Yes, but… I think we can work this out together.”

Elizabeth was far more doubtful about whether they could work this out. However, she found herself nodding, just glad that her friend and lover was holding her hand.

“Together.”

It had been years since Elizabeth had returned to Lehrbeck Castle. Belatedly, she wondered if the room she had had ever been cleared out. She wasn’t concerned about something being thrown out. All of her most prized possessions were with her baggage that she’d brought along. It was just kind of weird that she’d once seen this castle briefly as home.

The castle itself had two concentric walls and a moat and was built atop a steep ridge. The ridge overlooked a flat plain, divided only by a winding stream that someone could jump over. The first wall was low, thick and covered by a wooden roof, more to stop siege engines than prevent scaling. The second was high and resembled that of a typical medieval castle from her world. It also enclosed numerous buildings that had formed the training area for the Otherworlders.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and turned to Martin and Ginger. “Martin, you’re in command while I go in with Ayax. Ginger you’ll be second-in-command. Set up a fortified encampment and dig in.”

“Right. We don’t know where the rebel forces are coming from,” said Martin.

“That and we might be fighting Otherworlders, right?” Ginger asked.

Elizabeth swallowed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. That’s why I’m bringing Ayax. She… she can help me get out if necessary.”

Ginger nodded. “If rebel forces arrive, what do we do?” she asked.

That query brought along a quick round of silence that Ayax broke.

“I’d say we should attack them, but I don’t know if that would be reckless,” said the troll.

“No, you’re not the only one, Ayax. I feel like we should attack them as well, but I have my own reservations,” said Martin. The knight scratched his chin. “If we ambush them we won’t find out who is leading the force. Who knows… maybe we could convince them.”

“That’s not guaranteed, though, Martin, and attacking them would give us the advantage and stop them from digging in,” said Ginger.

“But what would the Otherworlders think if we immediately attack the Traditionalists?” Ayax asked.

“Nothing good.” Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I think that for the moment, let’s hold off on attacking them until we determine more about what’s going on.”

“Alright. We’ll dig in then for a fight,” said Ginger.

Lehrbeck’s castle doors were open. There was also a noticeable lack of guards that Elizabeth picked up as she rode in with George and Jessica’s party. In fact, it looked like much of the castle was very much deserted.

“I thought this castle belonged to a Count,” said Ayax. “Where is he?”

“We’re not sure,” said a familiar female voice. Elizabeth and Ayax turned to find Nicole walking towards them. The female Otherworlder looked exhausted, and more than a little worried.

“Nicole, I… assume things could be better?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah. I’m glad you’re here, though,” said Nicole. “We… Let me show you.”

Elizabeth, Ayax, followed by George and Jessica’s party, walked through the clearly abandoned castle, listening intently to Nicole.

“People started arriving a few days ago and the arguments are already breaking out. Tempers are high and we don’t have a lot of food because everybody’s gone. Servants, guards, coaches… The rumor is that Count Haurstadt is trying to remain neutral, but with us on the way, he realized that his position was untenable and fled, taking them all with him,” said Nicole.

“What about the Red Order of Mages?” Elizabeth asked.

“The Red Order split, most going to the Traditionalists side, thanks to certain elements persuading them to do so. Thankfully, we still have the White Order on the Reformers side, but it’s made things worse,” said Nicole. She pushed open the door to Lehrbeck’s Great Hall, and the argument that Elizabeth and Ayax could already hear grew louder.

The male voice was Jim, Nicole’s boyfriend, who’d gone a long way from the shy bookish boy that Elizabeth had once known. The asian boy was in a screaming match. Upon seeing his opponent, Elizabeth stopped in her tracks.

An east Indian girl was sneering at Jim, hands on her hips, dressed in heavily embroidered silk Red Order mage robes. “Jerome is an idiot, Jim. A fool who thinks that Queen Titania won’t betray us once we’ve helped her secure the throne. No, better let Thorgoth and Titania fight it out, weaken them both so that we can finally kill the Demon King and go home already!”

Jim slapped his hand against his forehead. “Leila, if we side against King Jerome and don’t support Titania, we might never be able to defeat King Thorgoth! Even if we do support Princess Janize, and somehow she wins, she hates Alavaria so much there probably would just be another war between the humans and Alavar after we win this one!”

Frances’s old bully shrugged. “And how’s that any of our business? We’ll have done what we were brought here to do, kill King Thorgoth.”

To Elizabeth’s horror, she could see a number of her classmates seemed to consider this suggestion seriously. She understood why. They were homesick, and they wanted to see their families, but… there was no way they hadn’t heard of what Darius and Janize wanted to do with the Alavari, was there?

“Leila—”

“No, Jim, you have argued again and again for us to support Jerome and Forowena, but they’re offering almost the same thing as Darius and Janize, with one exception.” Leila reached into her robes and took out a letter. “I’ve spoken to Darius and Janize. They are offering any Otherworlders who join their cause actual rewards. Oh, it’s worthless to us in the long run, but think about it. We get to control our own finances, buy whatever food or drink we want and they’ll put us in charge of this war instead of making us listen to their beck and call.”

“Are you seriously siding with rebels for money, Leila?” Elizabeth demanded.

Leila turned to take in Elizabeth, her eyes narrowing on Ayax. “Elizabeth, why have you brought an Alavari swine here of all places?”

Elizabeth stepped forward, but Ayax was faster. She strode through the crowd of wide-eyed Otherworlders until she was eye to eye with Leila.

“I’m Ayax Windwhistler of Erlenberg and Darius had my father murdered and my mother raped, despite the War Council’s vote to leave them alone. Not only that but my father hated Thorgoth and wanted to dethrone him.” Ayax glared at the other Otherworlders. “He’d have gladly helped you but Darius killed him because he’s a bastard who’d think nothing of brutalizing civilians just because they’re of a different species.”

Leila didn’t flinch. She just rolled her eyes. “Oh please, the War Council. The War Council’s been in charge of this war for four fucking years and they still haven’t been able to win it. They don’t allow us to lead except for Lizzy over there for whatever reason and now even Roranoak’s quit the war!”

There were mumbles from some of the Otherworlders, but Elizabeth barely heard them. She was trying her best not to just scream expletives at Leila, and watching Ayax stare at Leila in complete confusion.

“The bullshit you just spewed from your mouth is exactly why you weren’t given any command roles, Leila.” Nicole smirked as a number of their classmates chuckled at that, much to Leila’s fury.

“Well, explain to me, Nicole, how Lizzy over there has her own battalion while most of us just get shafted from theatre to theatre. I get you, you’re Earl Forowena’s personal mage. Jim’s invented a ton of handy gadgets and weapons for us. Lizzy’s best contribution is betraying her imaginary sky daddy by fucking Frances—”

Leila flew sideways, Ayax having socked her in the face and sent her flying into the ground. When some of the Otherworlders reached for their weapons Elizabeth drew her hammer and stepped beside Ayax.

“Touch one hair on her head and I’ll send you back to Earth!” Elizabeth hissed. Once her classmates were suitably cowed, she glared right back at Leila, who was massaging her cheek. “I became the commander of the Lightning Battalion because I earned it. I make the plans, I handle logistics, I make sure my soldiers are paid and I am not fucking Frances.”

Ayax grinned and wrapped one arm around Elizabeth’s waist, setting the human’s cheeks aflame. “Nope. She’s got me.”

“Ayax, not now—mhm,” Elizabeth closed her eyes as Ayax found her lips. She heard a few of her more idiotic classmates whistle at that, but she was enjoying herself too much to care. When they parted, Elizabeth found herself smiling at Ayax. “Really?”

Her troll arched an eyebrow. “What, seeing you get all bossy is one hell of a turn-on.”

Leila pulled herself to her feet, wiping her lip. “So you’re just going to hurt us if we disagree with you?”

“Oh come off of it, Leila!” Jessica cried out, marching into view, one hand pulling off her war mask. “You were provoking them on purpose!”

Leila looked at Jessica and her sneer faded. Elizabeth blinked. The pair looked like they hadn’t spoken to one another in some time, and yet… there was clearly some fond feelings between the two.

Yet, as suddenly as it had faded, Leila’s sneer reappeared, and with a nasty twist to her lips.

“I’m giving you all an option where we can actually benefit from and end this damn war!” Leila growled.

“You’re suggesting to side with people that are willing to murder and kill those like me, people who are simply not human!” Ayax retorted.

“That and more than half of Erisdale’s nobility are arrayed against you! You’re saying that we should side with rebels!” Jim exclaimed.

“You just barely have half and the Reformers don’t even control the capital.” Leila crossed her arms. “What I offered to you all earlier was the carrot. If you don’t join, or stay out of this fight, then Queen Janize and Earl Darius will be all too happy to put you down.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened and the hall broke out into hushed murmurs.

George, his features pale, whispered, “Leila, what have you done?”

Leila shrugged. “What? Lizzy didn’t come alone. You didn’t think I came alone as well?”

The Lightning Battalion had just started to dig a perimeter trench when two of their scout riders dispatched to search the area rode up to Martin and Ginger.

“Sir! We spotted a large force on the other side of the castle. I think about a thousand two hundred mostly cavalry or mounted soldiers,” gasped the rider, patting his blown and foaming horse.

“I saw about nine hundred, sir,” stammered the rider’s partner. “The important thing is their scouts must have seen us. When we left they started to mount up!”

After Martin and Ginger thanked the scouts and told them to get some rest, they exchanged a glance. It’d been only two years since they started their relationship, but both knew what the other was thinking.

“Stakes?” Martin said hesitantly.

“Yes. We’re using them like Elizabeth described, right? Like at Nagashino, right?” Ginger asked, the unfamiliar, foreign sounding word rolling out of her lips.

“Yes. Where though?” Martin asked, straining to try to take in the ground around them. The plain they were on was mostly flat, except for the ridge the castle was standing on, perfect ground for cavalry and mounted troops. What they had planned with the stakes would help them negate that, but the Lightning Battalion would need every advantage.

“By the stream, there.” Ginger pointed at the lone stream that carved its way across the plain along a fairly straight path. It wasn’t much. A human could jump across it, but it was something.

“Good idea. To arms! To arms! We’re setting up by the stream! Get our cannon to the stream!” Martin bellowed.

“I’ll be with the infantry, you with the cavalry!” Ginger exclaimed. She smiled grimly at her fiance. “Should we call Elizabeth?”

“After we set up. If they’re coming to attack us, we have a lot to do,” said Martin.

“Alright, see you in a bit,” said Ginger. She blew a kiss to her knight, who grinned and blew a kiss back. Laughing, the convict touched her heels to her horse’s sides and galloped off as Martin waved her away.