I See Who You Are

“It’s dirt. That’s it. It happens when you’re digging all day.” He was already trying to clean off his face, but the rag was just pushing the dirt around. Maybe it smear instead of being wiped off.  What a pain... “Look, could you at least point me to a bathroom? A sink? Really, anything with running water.” It was starting to get into his eyes; He needed to actually wash his face.

“Hearing that does put a smile on my face.” the queen replied upon hearing how well Peter was doing “Perhaps someday he might become my assistant, or perhaps he could become your assistant.  Goddess knows you’ll be fairly busy picking up the work these traitors have left behind.”

As they arrived at the queen’s carriage Hazi quickly opened the door, holding Gaki’s hand to help the woman climb inside.  The priest shut the door before going to the front to join the driver.  Gaki looked out the carriage window back to Lexi “I will see you back at the palace to discuss our next course of action.”

“That is very true. Who knew so few men could make such a large mess?” Not like the work wasn’t welcomed. It was a small price to pay for his queen’s satisfaction, and for the kingdom as well. A woman and country that had welcomed him when his own family wouldn’t? He couldn’t complain in the least.

“Wonderful.  Let the test begin.” Gaki spoke, watching as another harpoon was loaded into her latest experiment and fired at the farthest rebel.  This continued until all of them were reduced to nothing but crimson puddles in the dirt.

“The firing range could use a bit of improving as well.” she muttered to herself.

“Well, General Dumont, you’ve done well today in locating and eliminating this rebel force.  I must say I’m a bit impressed.” the queen smiled at the man as she walked with him back to the carriage that waited to take her back to the palace “Keep this up and my expectations for your little brother will only get higher.  Which reminds me, how are young Peter’s studies going?”

“You truly honor me, Your Majesty." Despite the carnage that they were leaving behind, Lexi’s smile was of genuine pride and flattery. Honestly, to imagine where he would have ended up today... If his mother had been alive, she might have been proud. Or maybe horrified; He was no longer a sweet, innocent child, after all.

“The tip is just basic iron, but the second prong, once it enters the body, triggers the mechanism which causes the rest of the shaft to explode.  Creating the shrapnel.” the queen explained in more simple terms.  There wasn’t any need to go into specifics about how it worked.  It wasn’t like anyone here could understand her genius.

“I would like to test the firing range.  Bring the rest outside and set them up at 10, 15, and 20 meters.” she ordered, turning to leave the monastery.  However, she paused for a moment to look back to the Major “Oh, and congratulations Major, you’ve just been promoted to General.  See to it that you don’t disappoint me like these pathetic whelps.”

There was a brief look of surprise at her words, though it was soon replaced with a smile. He was pleased, and proud, that Gaki saw him fit to replace the traitors. Lexi bowed to her as she left. “I wouldn’t even dream of it, your Majesty. Your disappointment would be my end.” Probably quite literally. Gaki was a merciless queen. While it was admirable, it could also be a bit terrifying.

Standing up straight, straightening out his shirt in the process, the newly appointed general turned to the soldiers. “You heard her! Bring them outside!” He granted the remaining rebels enough movement to be walked out and re-positioned, having the soldiers place them before anchoring them to the new spots. Ensuring that their luck wouldn’t save them from the shrapnel this time.

Gaki fanned herself as the rebels, who cursed and spat on the queen’s name, were all gathered and put in the center of the room.  Once they were restrained a wave of soldiers carrying shields stepped forward, protecting all who were still loyal to the queen.  Two placed their shields down on either side of Gaki while a third waited for the queen to step back before filling the gap.  There was a small window at the top of each shield that allowed her to watch the experiment without getting her robes dirty.

With a flick of her wrist, the queen snapped her fan shut.  “Major Dumont, you should step behind the barrier, this is about to get messy.” she ordered before looking down at the soldier that held her latest experiment “Fire when ready.”

With that, the man pulled the trigger and what looked like a harpoon was shot out of the end.  The large pronged tip embedded within the chest of a rebel kneeling towards the center of the group.  The harpoon soon exploded, sending shrapnel into all of the surrounding bodies.  It killed most, but those on the outer rim were left only with minor cuts or bruises.

Gaki hummed “More effective than I thought, but there’s room for improvement.”

She didn’t need to tell him twice; He didn’t exactly want to get his uniform dirty, either. Not unnecessarily, at least. He moved to join the others behind the shields, peering through the window to watch her experiment.

“You read my mind.  Would you be a dear?” the queen replied, gesturing back to where the soldiers were quickly assembling the weapon, preparing it to be fired “This is still a prototype after all, the more test subjects, the better, and having them all in one place will make it easier.”

Gaki turned her attention back to the traitors, her expression cold “Alright, string them up.”

The soldiers moved in.  The generals tried to fight them off, Yao lunging for the queen herself.  In an instant, Gaki’s fan was drawn, blocking Yao’s blade between its spines.  With a flick of her wrist the woman knocked the weapon away before kicking the ex-general in the chest.  The force of which knocking him into a pair of soldiers that quickly grabbed their former comrade.

The queen fanned herself “Now, with that out of the way, I would like to proceed with the experiment.”

“As you wish.” He turned towards one of the soldiers, motioning for him to bring in the rebels they had caught. The whole scene was honestly amusing... Though Lexi could understand why the generals had tried. They had been capable fighters, after all. But there really wasn’t much they could do against the soldiers that they had once commanded, nor the queen that they had once served.

The other had even tried going after Lexi, only to be blocked by the strange, massive wolf he now commanded. Skeletal with a body of darkness, practically dripping with it, the general’s attack bounced harmlessly off of the exposed skull. The sword was yanked away before it essentially corralled him with the others, pacing around a few times until Lexi called it back to his side.

❝I know what blunt force trauma is, learnt it at a young age. Don’t see it very often at all, wonder why. Probably cause it takes more time and effort than just stabbing someone or shooting them, and you people are incredibly lazy when it comes to killing. But whatever  you’ve done the bare minimum of what was asked of you. Have fun with that, might want to keep the knife as a souvenir, or at least to hide evidence.❞

Shit, he was right. He was the last person to handle the knife, and there was no way in hell he was getting into trouble for murder. Lexi crouched down to grab the knife, wondering what he would do with it now. Clean it and chuck it into the river? Or maybe use it for something. Some spells liked things used in death, right?

“Ah, so the higher ups ordered it, hm?” he shakes his head, continuing on nonchalantly. “Not even considering how it would affect the people actually working. How rude, but typical. At least it looks nice, if you wanted it to resemble a fish tank for people.”