***

--- Route 18, between Fort Alnus and For Minick ---

April 4th, 2026

Sarah drives the HUMVEE back to Fort Minick after another day of school. In the passenger seat is Selina.

"I see you have been getting along with the other students," she says.

"It has been nicer," Selina says.

"I am glad," she says.

She is glad that life is getting better for Selina. She was worried that Selina would end up as an outcast at the school, but Sharpe seems to have fixed it. She cannot believe what Sharpe did worked.

Now she wants to encourage Selina to be more of a leader at school.

"Sarah," Selina says. "What is it like being with my father? Being around boys?"

"What do you mean… oh," Sarah says. "You mean dating."

"Yeah," Selina says, in an embarrassed tone.

She chuckles; she has been wondering when this conversation would happen. She didn't want to force it because she isn't her mother, just her father's girlfriend. But, she is glad she came to her and not Rory, Lelei, Tuka, or Yao.

"It is great," she answers. "He is a fighter, and I like that. But, he also respects Selina. I can do my own thing, and he supports me in doing it. You see, Selina, a relationship is finding someone you want to support. It is a two-way streak."

"Ok," Selina says. "What about love?"

"Yes, there is love," she replies. "But be careful, Selina. Watch out for just a pretty face."

"What do you mean?" Selina asked.

She takes an annoyed breath as she thinks about her ex. "Some guys will take advantage of you, and you will let them because the woman's heart is big and blinding sometimes. We're women, and we like to support the ones we love, and there are some guys out there who will abuse that. You want to find a guy who wants to support you too."

"Ok," Selina says as she thinks on it.

"Why do you ask?" she asks.

"I saw this cute boy while we were in town," Selina says.

As Selina explains her experience in walking into some boys. It reminded her of her bad experiences with men back in high school.

She finds it cute what Selina is saying. It reminds her of when she was this age, just being a little order.

As she listens, he glances around as she feels that something is wrong.

"Everyone, ok, Sarah?" Selina asks.

"We should have passed a checkpoint by now," she says.

While Fort Minick is only five kilometers away from Alnus, there are still two checkpoints to maintain security.

Suddenly a sniper bullet hits the engine oil, and other fluid sprays the windshield.

She is forced to slam on the breaks, stopping the HUMVEE. "Selina, get down."

She grabs the radio, but notices that it is being jammed.

"Are we under attack?" Selina asks.

She grabs her SIG M17 pistol and loads it. "Selina, grab your sidearm. Anyone who comes here, you shoot them in the head."

"But I thought you said…," Selina starts to say.

She hasn't been the biggest supporter of Selina carrying a sidearm, especially at school. Right now, she no longer cares.

"Forget what I ever said," she says. "Do what your father said and put one in the head."

She opens the door, aiming her M17.

She already knows the enemy isn't the Empire because of the sniper around. They knew where to hit on the HUMVEE engine, which means this is an inside job.

She stays by her door, using it for cover. She wants to grab Selina and run to the tree, but that would make them an easy target for a sniper.

That is when she realizes whoever these people are they want them alive; otherwise, the sniper would have killed her by now.

"Sarah!" Selina yells.

She looks and sees two guys appear out of the brush. She hears two more behind her.

She turns around and sees two guys in full camo appear.

She fires her pistol at one but then gets hit by these darks.

She looks down and sees three darks in her. She falls back into her seat, feeling weak.

She notices her vision fading in and out.

A man walks up and grabs her. She then hears Selina scream, so she grabs the man's arm.

Her Ranger training kicks in, so she grabs the man's arm, twists it. She hears the man grunt in pain, so she pushes him into the door.

She then feels someone grab her and pulls her off that man.

She is then thrown into the back door. She feels someone grab her head and rammed into the window.

Then everything goes black.

---

Sarah slowly wakes up. Everything is fuzzy at first, but slowly she sees a dark figure in front of her.

She hears the person speak, sounding male. The man is talking to someone.

She tries to raise her hand but is stopped.

"Don't move," the man says. "Sir, she is awake!"

She closes and opens her eyes, seeing better now.

As her vision clears up, she now recognizes that man is Jerry, Vanguard-7 medic.

She then sees Sharpe walk up, kneeling next to her. Seeing him, she feels far safer now.

“You are ok, Lieutenant,” Sharpe says with a smile. “The good guys are here.”

“Ok…,” she says. She then sits up quickly, remembering Selina screaming. “Where is Selina?”

She looks around. Her head hurts. She sees two HUNVEEs and soldiers walking around. It looks like Sharpe gathered anyone available.

“Not too fast, sir,” Jerry said. “You were hit hard on the head.”

“Ok,” she mumbles as she lets them both lay her back down.

“I was going to ask you that, Sarah,” Sharpe says. “I was hoping you were going to say that she ran into the forest.”

“I am sorry, sir,” she says. “We were surrounded, nowhere to run. I counted… I think five around us. Plus, the sniper.”

---

Sharpe gets up as the medics carry Sarah to a medical HUMVEE.

He looks at the hood of the HUMVEE Sarah was driving. The bullet hole in the hood had to be done by a professional.

Jerry showed him the three darks. He has seen a design like them before, being a generic brand on the black market. But the best quality however they get the job done. The only reason a group would use them is to hide their identity.

He turns around and sees the hiding spots of the attackers. Perfect ambush operation, something he has done three times during his time with Delta.

With Sarah leaving, he wishes the Girls are here. He has gotten used to them being around, but they all are doing their own thing. Rory is in Alnus with Myuute, Lelei hanging out with a new friend, and the Elves are doing Elves things with their people. Today was supposed to be a relaxing day, so no missions were planned.

“Sir,” a Human man called Decimus says. “I found blood.”

Decimus is one of Wolf’s Militia soldiers. While he doesn’t know him personally, his file says that he was in the Imperial Army during the Trophy Hills Campaign early in the war(1). While he was hesitant in allowing Imperial Soldiers into Wolf and Rory Militia, Rory made a cause for him to allow it. That everyone deserves a second chance and that he is against the Empire now.

He walks to Decimus and sees some blood.

"Someone was lying here before standing up," Decimus says. "That is when your projectile weapons injected him."

"Looks like Captain Rose got one of them," Randy says.

"Good shot," he says. "Get two samples."

"Two?" Randy asks.

"One for the lab," he says. "The other just in case the first sample disappears."

He understands that he is facing skilled agents or special forces. If they figured out Sarah's daily routine. If they can figure this out they will know how to destroy all evidence of their presence.

"Why do you want the blood samples?" Decimus asks.

"We can read someone blood," Jerry answers as he approaches. "If there is a record, we can match the blood, figure prints, or hair to that person."

"By the gods," Decimus says, shocked. "First you can go to your Ideas, now you can read blood. What can't you do?

"Apparently this," he answers in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry," Decimus says.

Wolf walks up. "My scouts found three of your vehicle's tracks. All were going in different directions."

Just as he expected, any used vehicles went off in their direction, probably a kilometer or two before heading to their rally point. This is just to throw him off.

"I had a feeling," he says. "Thank you, Wolf. Rally up your team."

As Wolf walks away, Randy grabs him by the shoulder.

"Are you ok, sir?" Randy asks.

"Imagine if your wife was beaten and your daughter taken," he says. He then takes a deep breath as he rubs his eyes. "This is a professional job from Earth, not Imperialist or local action. I can only assume they are after me."

"Russians, Chinese?" Randy asks. "If so, why leave Sarah behind like this? It is better to have both than one if this is a snatch and grab."

"Good point," he says.

He then quickly looks around, looking more carefully at the evidence. He sees how professional the ambush was, and Randy is right; if this were a hit on him, then they would take or kill Sarah. This was a target against Selina; however, he cannot think of why some governments on Earth want to take her. It is more logical for the Chinese or the Russians to target Rory, Lelei, Tuka and Yao due to their precious DNA and magic, not an ordinary princess from a relatively insignificant kingdom that's on the other side of Falmart.

That is when he remembers about the Wood Elf and what he said(2). The Wood Elves want to make a trade, Selina, for information on the Haryo Tribe. He remembers the CIA wanted that information, and he bets they would do anything to get that information.

He looks around again, picturing the CIA layout. They are the only ones who know of Selina's importance in this context. The CIA knows the route Sarah would take and her daily routine with the school. They would be able to pull out the second security checkpoint, so she was alone.

"Fucken A," he says.

"What is it?" Andrew asks.

"It was us," he says. "It was the CIA."

"Are you sure?" Randy asks. “That seems like a radical conclusion sir.”

"No," he replies. "But it is the only thing that makes sense. They are going to trade Selina to the Wood Elves."

"Let's go after them then," Andrew says.

"How?" Jerry asks. "There are three paths. There are not enough of us to split up. Plus the amount of time it will take us to organize and rule out all the possible paths they took her."

"What about the Stryker Brigade at Minick?" Andrew asks. "Their job is to support us."

"Not enough time," Randy says. "By the time they mobilize, Selina will be dead."

He looks around, trying to decide what to do. Jerry is right, and there are not enough of them to split up. Wood Elves nearly got Vanguard-7, and Rose Knights killed the last time they fought(3). Sending a fraction of the force against them would just get them killed. He cannot send people to their deaths to save his daughter. However, he knows he cannot do anything.

"Lieutenant Colonel," Wolf yells.

He looks over and sees Wolf and his Militia by the passenger side of Sarah HUMVEE.

He walks over to Wolf. "What is it, Captain?"

"Selina was right here," Wolf says. "I can smell all the feminine smells she puts on each day. Your people’s lotions and potions."

"Yup," he says as he crosses his arms. "Hundreds of dollars of girl shampoo, makeup, lotions. They love all that smelly fruit and other senses crap. Whatever those sprays are and fruit soups." He thinks for a moment. "If those damn smells can lead us to her, then I will never complain again. Can you?"

Wolf takes another whiff of the ground. "Yes. She got into these tracks here."

"Everyone, we are rolling out now!" he orders.

***

--- somewhere in the forest ---

Selina is sitting on a log, her hands and feet bound. She looks at her dirty dress and is annoyed by it.

She looks up and sees six men. They are either cooking, unloading supplies out of the HUMVEE, and one of then wrapping bandages around this other man's shoulder.

She saw them remove this bullet out of the man's shoulder. When they were attacked, Sarah was able to shoot one of them before they took her out.

The wounded man looks at her. "What are you looking at?"

"You ripped my dress," she replies in a pissed tone.

"You’re fucking kidding me?" the wounded man says. "Don't you know what is happening?"

"Yes," she replies.

"You don't look like it," the man who is helping the wounded one says. "You are not acting like you understand the gravity of the situation."

She rolls her eyes hearing that. "First, gravity is what's holding us down because the world is so big. It has nothing to do with what's happening."

She then looks directly at that man. "Second, it does not matter what is happening. My father will find me and murder you all. Then Rory will cut your bodies into pieces, and Lelei will burn your remains into crisp."

She sees the two men laugh at what she said.

"I will give you this," the man who is cooking said. "You have spunk. We have kidnapped these strong military-trained men, and they always wet their pants."

She thinks about what he said and shrugs it off. She is worried about what is happening, but they didn't kill Sarah and did nothing to her means something else is up.

"This isn't the first time I've been tied up in the middle of a forest surrounded by older men," she says. "The only difference is that I am clothed. I am shocked that you are Americans, not those Chinese that attacked the resort where we were last time or the Russian's dad talks about, which by the way, why are you attacking your kind? Politics?"

"Interesting response," the man cooking says. "She is modelling after Sharpe well. Too bad."

"Everyone stop goofing around," another man says. He walks up and sets down an ammo box. "Remember, we don't have long. We leave at forty-five, so get wrapped up."

She can tell that man is the leader. He is acting like her father would act if he was here.

As everyone goes back to work, the leader sits on a log in front of her. “You have a lot of spunk kid. Sharpe raised you well. Give it a couple more years and I think you could be a good soldier."

During the attack, she tried to kill two of them. But when Sarah went down, she got distracted and panicked a little, giving them time to disarm her.

"Next time, I won't miss," she states.

The leader chuckles. "For an adopted kid, you are a lot like him. You almost have his stare. That defiant look that nothing can stop you from your objective. Still need a few years, though."

"You know my father?" she asks.

"Jackson?" the leader says. "Yes. We go way back. We did a few missions together, and let's just say we don't agree on things."

She is surprised to hear him say her father's name. Most call him by his last name. "He doesn't like being called Jackson. You call him Sharpe or sir."

"Even now, you defend him," the leader says. "I respect that. But before all this, everyone called him Jackson."

She blinks, confused by how different. She knows her father did secret work for his country and is hesitant to speak about it. She heard some stories, however seeing this man, it is clear she still doesn't know much.

"Who are you?" she asks.

"No names," the leader says. "When on a mission, we have no names, only codenames. For this mission, you can call me Anlgos-Lead."

“What do you want with me?” she demands. “I became a citizen when I was adopted. You should be protecting me, not kidnapping me or hurting Sarah.”

The leader chuckles again. “We both know that’s bullshit, you of all people should know that.”

She then thinks back about how her nobles murdered her family for power. People whom she thought were loyal and trusting.

“I see you understand,” Anlgos-Lead says. “Also, you might have his attitude, but I recommend avoiding his idealism. The world is a harsh and broken place.”

She struggles to find a response. “Is that why you took me? To go after my father?”

“No,” the leader says. “The Wood Elves offered a trade. If we hand you over, then they give us information on the Haryo Tribe.”

Her eyes widen when she hears that. Real fear enters her mind as she remembers the last time(4), nearly being burned alive. “But… Am I one of you now? Why would you trade me? I am supposed to be free. Daddy said so.”

“There is that fear,” Anlgos-Lead says with a chuckle. “As I said, be careful with idealism. It blinds you to the reality of the world. The Haryo Tribe has proven to be hard to find and not to mention incredibly dangerous due to their ability to mind-control people with their brain slugs. Just imagine if they can make the President press the “red button” on their whim. The Bunny Queen might have given us extensived intel about them, but we don’t think it is enough, so we need to know more. This is an offer we cannot pass up.”

Anlgos-Lead then holds up his finger to make a point. “Besides, that has never stopped us before. Here is a lesson in life, girl, the only reason Americans get to wave their little flags around, yell freedom. The reason Americans don’t have to think about anyone else in the world and play in their garden. We do what needs to be done to make all that happens, no matter the cost. We let your father keep his clean, idealist hands. We will do what we have to. If that means toppling governments or assassinating civilians, then we will. If that means trading someone, we will. The end justifies the means. Welcome to the real world.”

She stays silent as she tries to find the right words. She has heard of the Haryo Tribe, that they kidnapped some kids and turned them into slaves. But she does not know all of the details. If this man is willing to trade her, then he must be taking the Haryo Tribe seriously.

“Don’t worry, kid,” Anlgos-Lead says. “I know your history with the Wood Elves. Brutal bastards. Now listen here, if you do what we say, maybe you will see your father in two days. But if you don’t play ball, then you’re stuck with them. Makes no difference to me.”

“Are you planning on betraying them?” she asks nervously.

Anlgos-Lead nods. “Yup. All we want is that information. After that, I don’t want these rogue elves running around. They are a future threat I would rather remove now, much like the Haryo. If you are willing to do go through what Ii said, we will achieve a win-win solution here. You will not be worried about the Wood Elves coming after you and we will get a lead on the Haryo to rescue our people and eliminate the Haryo.”

“They are smarter than you think,” she says. “You are underestimating them! They are not like those Imperialists in Saderan who always think they can outsmart NATO.”

“But they are barbarians in the sense and they will not expect the fact that we will be willing to trade you for such information,” Anlgos-Lead replies. “They might be skilled, but they are lesser forms. Now let’s go.”

---

Selina is walking through the forest as she is being pulled by a rope that is connected to the bounds around her arms.

She feels wet, cold, and dirty.

“Please Miritta, help me,” she whispers.

“I told you to be quiet,” Anlgos-3 says. “Elves have great hearing. Less noise, the better.”

She shoots him a death glare and looks forward.

She steps on a log but then slips. “Ouch…”

“Dammit girl,” Anlgos-4 says in an annoyed tone. “Why do I have to drag her around?”

“Knock it off,” Anlgos-Lead orders. “We are almost there.”

She is lifted up back to her feet. Looking down she sees a cut on her leg.

She starts walking again, feeling her heart pumping. She doesn’t know if these people were lying about playing ball and she gets to go home. She wonders if he just said that to make their lives easier however, if he is telling the truth then she doesn’t want to ruin it.

She looks up at the Anlgos-Lead as they get to the meet up location. She overheard the plan. While the four take her to the meeting location, he has two of his men in the trees with snipers. Once he gets what he wants from the Wood Elves, he wants to kill them.

As they wait, she sees a Wood Elf walk up. She looks around and sees a few more, all with bows. In total, she sees five elves.

“Sneaky bastards,” Anlgos-Lead says.

She looks to where Anlgos-Lead is looking. She sees Lord Lashin, the man who wants to murder her for what her father done.

“You came?” Lashin says.

“Your proposal was very attractive to the people I represent,” Anlgos-Lead says.

As they talk she glances around. She sees the hate in the elves eyes. She thought about yelling, calling out for her father however, she wonders if that will risk Anlgos-Lead help, assuming he was telling the truth.

“Once this trade is done our people will have no need to communicate or cause conflict with your people anymore,” Lashin says.

“That is fine,” Anlgos-Lead replies. “We are busy as it is. Now hand over the information.”

Lashin holds up a red crystal. “This is a memory crystal that is shaped like a stone. We use it to store our history and knowledge to preserve our people's history and culture. Here is what you seek. Now send the girl.”

She sees Anlgos-3 pull her forward. She struggles. “No. Please! Daddy!” She decided to struggle and call out, seeing no other choice. “Daddy!”

Anlgos-3 grabs her and looks at her. “Shut up girl. There is a reason we are out here. There is nobody. We made sure.”

“Please don’t give me to him,” she says, tearing up. “He will burn me alive. How can you?”

“Come on,” Anlgos-Lead orders, annoyed by the delay.

Anlgos-3 pushes her toward the leader. She looks up at Anlgos-Lead, hoping that he will change his mind.

She is then forced to start walking towards Lashin but suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks back and sees Anlgos-Lead holding her in place.

“I do have a question,” Anlgos-Lead says. “We have been trying to get information on the Haryo Tribe for awhile now. They are an underground secret organization the people of this world don’t know about. Not even most leadership knows about it. We only learned about them recently so how the hell do you have all this information?”

Lashin smiles. “We have been in this world far longer than you have. Because the Empire citizenry doesn't know anything doesn't mean others don’t.”

“Make sense,” Anlgos-Lead replies with an angry look. “I guess you can put that stupid question bucket. However, do you think I am that dumb? Memory crystals are hard to craft and extremely rare. You need to be in a city with a heavy crafting industry to forge one like Rondel, not your backwater tribe in the forest. Besides, a memory crystal isn’t shaped like a stone, it looks more like a trapezium.”

“So, you have done your research, that blue-hair sure informs you well,” Lashin says and then smirks.

“Give me what I want or no deal,” Anlgos-Lead demands. “I have what you most want. You will never get another chance at the girl if you fuck me.”

She feels the tension as the elves raise their bows. The Anlgos raise their P90s.

“Here is something you Humans never seem to understand,” Lashin says. “While there's nothing more I want than to get my revenge. But I understand your kind, your technology, your tactics, your way of thinking. I learned everything I could. You see, I have lived a long time and learned to be patient. I knew that man who adopted her would never let her go. I do not wish to face the Apostle of their weapons on their terms.”

“So I sent a message,” Lashin continues. “I know none of them would take the offer however you Humans have complex organizations. This offer would be sent to your higher leaders and sooner or later someone will see the offer and would risk it. I do know much about the Haryo Tribe as they once fought against my people long ago but we are crafty enough to give them no quarters, unlike the Bunnies.”

“You intently wasted my time,” Anlgos-Lead says in a pissed off tone. “You might be all wise and mighty but let's not forget, we have guns. We can kill all of you in seconds, including you.”

"You think I am that naïve to face you people without any preparation? You are wrong. We are not those impatient and deluded morons in the Imperial government who think they can win all the time!” Lashin states.

She looks around and sees more Wood Elves appear. Wood Elves are masters of using the forest to their advantages. Able to move quietly without anyone noticing. “Mister Anlgos sir, there are more of them.”

Anlgos-Lead looks around and grabs his radio. “Snipers, take them out.”

She looks up, seeing that he had a plan all along. She knows what snipers are, they can kill someone from a long distance without anyone knowing where they are. She knows one of the Anlgos snipers will kill Lashin first because he is the leader.

She looks at Lashin, expecting him to suddenly die but nothing happens.

She can see the nervous reaction from the six Anlgos agents.

“Sniper teams, engage now!” Anlgos-Lead orders.

Then another elf drops from the trees and lands next to Lashin. In his hand is a dead human head. The elf tosses it to the ground. She saw this elf before, Haoulis.

That is when she realizes all of Anlgos-Lead sniper teams are dead. All of this was a trap.

“Good job, Haoulis,” Lashin says. “You people thought you could out-trick me in my domain; but, hear me now, I rule the forests. Kill them all, but leave the girl alive.”

She hears all the Anlgos open fire, trying to kill the wood elves. The wood elves take cover and arrows come out of the distant trees, three hitting one of the Anlgos in the face, killing him.

She rushes back, trying to take cover behind the Anlgos. She trips and falls because of the boundes. She sits up, wishing her hands are free.

She looks up and sees a Wood Elf fall after being shot just as another Anlgos falls down dead from four arrows.

She can tell that they are surrounded with no path to escape. While Other Worlder weapons are powerful, they cannot defeat the large number of elven attackers, not to mention the surrounding fauna are their advantages thanks to their Fey Magic.

She sees a knife from the dead Anlgos. She crawls over to him and pulls the knife out.

She then cuts the bounds and grabs the M9 pistol.

Her father has been training her how to use a pistol for self defense, however the pistol she uses is small to fit her small hands. She is struggling on holding it, requiring her to use both hands.

She takes the safety off and looks out and aims. As Anlgos-3 gets hit by an arrow in the back, she fires a few shots at an elf, wounding it. Two of his comrades grab him and carry him to safety.

Anlgos-Lead looks at her and accepts that she is helping.

“Never criticize my father again,” While she is no fan of these Humans, she sees no choice but to help. People thought her father was crazy to spend so much time training her band how it is paying for itself.

She fires again but slowly, finding the weight and recoil problematic but she killed a elf.

She looks around and only sees three Anlgos alive but only one still standing. The leader is on the ground with an arrow in his leg. All of them are still fighting.

She aims at her next target but then feels an arrow hit her in the left shoulder. She falls on her knees as she holds her left shoulder. The pain is overwhelming, making her cry.

“I said do not hurt the Princess!” Lahsin yells.

She hears more weapons fire but it is dying down. There are just too many elves and it was a trap. It is clear that none of the Anlgos were going to walk out alive after the trade.

She sees the elf named Haoulis walk up to her.

She looks back at her wound and sees a lot of blood coming down her left shoulder and dress.

“Please help me Miritta, please help me daddy,” she mumbles as Haoulis grabs her other arm.

Then a bright glow appears, stopping the battle. Haoulis is pushed back by some kind of magic spell.

She looks and sees Karlin land besides her. She is holding a silver Bo staff which is glowing gold.

“Hello, little one,” Karlin says with a smile. “Just hold on for a moment.”

She looks at her confused.

She watches Karlin swing her staff. An energy wave uproots four trees, landing on or between the elves.

---

Karlin springs around and uses another energy wave at the other elves, also uproots two trees.

She looks around as she sees the Wood Elves regrouping. She is impressed by how prepared these elves are. They clearly put a lot of effort to learn who NATO is and how to exploit it.

She blocks two arrows.

"Who are you?" Lashin demands.

She looks directly at Lashin. "I am Karlin Daolo of the Kitsune folk. Apostle of Mirrita."

“Impossible! I thought Taylin chased you far away from Falmart long time ago,” Lashin shouted, shocked by what he was seeing.

She then raises her staff, the orb on it glows gold and a bubble-shaped energy shield forms around them.

While the shield won't last long, she knows it will by time until she can help Selina.

"Thank you," Anlgos-Lead says.

She looks at the human. "I didn't come for you."

She then looks at Selina.

Selina looks at her with a surprised look. "You… your…"

"Yes," she says. She then smiles at her. "Just hold on Selina."

She walks over and takes out the arrow.

She can see that Selina is in a lot of pain and with the large amount of blood flowing out as the arrow hits a brachial artery, which is a major artery in the left shoulder.

"You are the Apostle of Miritta?" Selina asks.

She nods. "Yes little one. I always have been."

Selina smiles. "So my prayers were answered”.

She finds the 'prayers' comment humorous. The type of prayers she has talked about and now is an Earth concept.

"Am I going to die?" Selina asks. "I feel tired."

She places her hand on her forehead. "No my child. This should help the pain."

She places her hand on her wound. Her hand glows gold. "Does that feel better?"

"Hmm… yes," Selina replies. "But, how?”

“Healing magic,” she says. “It is the magic of Miritta. Only people who value life, a true follower can learn.”

Even though the cut heals, Selina has become weakened due to huge blood loss. While healing magic is useful for cuts and wounds, healing magic isn’t a cure. It cannot heal critical wounds and badly organs. While her healing magic helped stabilize Selina, she can see it isn’t enough, that the internal damage and blood loss are too great. She knows she has to get to Alnus Hospital.

She hears pounding on her shield. She sees two Ent abominations smashing against her shield. She can see they will break though any moment.

She looks around and sees the determination with these Wood Elves. She then looks down at the wounded Humans and debates if she should leave them to their faith.

She isn’t an offensive Apostle like Rory.She has always fought in a defense manner, out of respect towards her goddess.

She then sees her shield bubble collapse. She grabs her staff and slams it into the ground creating a huge golden shockwave that blows away the Wood Elves and the Ents.

Her ear twitches as she hears arrows coming down.

She abandons the Humans and picks up Selina in her arms. She leaps backwards, going to safety. She sees the arrows hit the one standing human in the neck, killing him.

“Do not let them escape!” Lashin yells in an angry tone.

She sees a few elves surround her, trying to cut her off. The two Ents come at her.

She slams her staff on the ground again but this time creates a huge golden ground tidal wave that blows the two ents back at quite a distance.

The other Ent places its branches on the ground and she sees roots coming out of the ground.

She enchants her staff to rotate like a whirlwind, which generates a razor-sharpe gust of wind that cuts all the roots. She knows she can kill the ents easily however carrying Selina is hampering her movements.

She hears movement behind her and creates a smaller bubble shield around her.

She looks at the other Ent and sees a rocket destroy it. She notices the roots around her dying as the Ent hits the ground in smoke.

To her left she sees two Wood Elves suddenly get tackled and torn apart by Wolf, the Alnus Militia leader.

She deactivated her shield and took another leap backwards. She then looks to Sharpe. “I was beginning to wonder if you didn’t get my flare.”

“What are you doing here Karlin….. Selina!” Sharpe says, in pure shock as he looks at Selina.

She lays Selina to the ground. “I tried to heal her arm so she is ok for now however I think one of her main blood veins are damaged. My healing spell cannot heal major organs.”

“Hi daddy,” Selina mumbles.

She looks at Sharpe and sees him struggling to accept that Selina is hurt. “It is ok Lieutenant Colonel. I won’t let the Wood Elves take her. I promise.”

“Lashin is here?” Sharpe says. He looks towards the battle and back at her. “God dammit. Jerry! Get over here!”

She sees the man come up towards her.

“Hi Jerry,” Selina mumbles. “You look all fuzzy.”

“That ain’t good,” Jerry says. “What happened? The wound doesn't look bad.”

“I healed it with healing magic however I believe there is more internal damage. The main blood veins might be damaged,” she explains.

Jerry reaches into his bag. “You healed the wound but the brachial artery is still damaged or ripped open. How much blood did she lose before you healed her?”

“A lot for her size,” she replies. “Can your medicine help her like those brainwashed children?”

“Yes,” Jerry says. “But we would have to get her to the hospital quickly. There is no way we can get a medivaced out here in time.”

“I wish Rory was here,” Sharpe says. “She would maybe carry Selina and dash to Alnus, or get close enough for help to arrive. I don’t know.”

She can see that Jerry and Sharpe are worried.

“That won’t be a problem,” she says.

“Why not?” Jerry asks. “This is very serious.”

“I understand that,” she says and then smiles. “I know you are friends with Rory and just like her, I am an Apostle. I am the Apostle of Miritta. I will not allow my most devoted follower to die like this.”

“What?” Sharpe whips his head to look at her.

She sees a shocked look on both of their faces. “I can explain later.”

Because of her Kitsune years she hears Lashin complain about how he is about to lose Selina a second time. “I can get her to the hospital. Do you trust me?”

“Sir,” Jerry says. “Even though the wound looked healed I can confirm she is bleeding internally. Permission to use the Bio-Gel(5).”

“Do it,” Sharpe orders. He then grabs Selina's hand. “This is going to hurt kid.”

“What does that do?” she asks.

“It is Bio-Gel,” Jerry says. “What it does is insert a gel into the wound to stabilize the patient. This should take you some time until you get to Alnus.”

Randy walks up. “Sir, the Wood Elves are regrouping. If we don’t act now they will get on top of us.”

Sharpe looks at Selina and then at her. “Alright Karlin. Save my daughter.”

“What about Lashin?” she asks. “He wants her and will follow me. I already ran into some before I got here. They came prepared.”

She then hears Selina scream from deep pain from the Bio-Gel. Based on how loud Selina screamed she can imagine how painful it was.

“Randy, get Wolf and form everyone up into a defensive line and prepare for an advance,” Sharpe says. He then looks at her. “Karlin, I am trusting you to save my daughter.”

“I promise Sharpe,” Karlin says. She then picks Selina up. “Also, the Humans who kidnapped her are right over there. Last I saw, two were still alive.”

“Really,” Sharpe replies. “God speed.”