Elise

Pressure. It had been building in her these past few days, since she’d come back from her leave of absence. She’d felt torn between the regiment and her family before, but never like this. Now, with the two sides at odds again, the sense of split loyalties was growing, getting too much to bear, and she’d never been one to rationalise things for too long before making a choice.

Her idle musings pulled her to her feet, and she began wandering the deserted Command building. They’d moved into Trinsic, and the place was gradually sinking back into the swamp, with nobody there to tend to the regular shoring up and repairing the old girl needed to keep her habitable and above the murky waters she was perched on. Even now, as Elise wandered, a muffled rolling of rubble and planking told her yet another section of the place had fallen.

She gave a short, mirthless laugh, comparing herself to the ruin she stood in. The Regiment had abandoned them both, and yet they were meant to shore themselves up, and remain loyal regardless. “Sod THAT!” she said aloud, her voice echoing in the silent, damp hall and reverberating back into her own ears. She stood for a moment, staring thoughtfully at the stairs in front of her, grown rickety and rotten with neglect, and nodded, just once, as though some decision had been reached.

Then, she turned on her heel and strode purposefully out of the building, taking one apologetic glance backwards at what was left of it. As she walked away, she absently pulled a length of verite coloured cloth from her backpack, tying it around her head, her letter of resignation practically composing itself, so that by the time she reached Strongholt, she headed straight for quill and parchment, scribbled for a while, then attached the completed document to the fastest pigeon in the roost, letting it loose and watching it fly off into the distance.

As the carrier pigeon dwindled to a black speck against the sky, Elise felt a small pang of regret that she couldn’t rebuild the ruins or undo the neglect. She shook her head, then smiled, and headed down the stairs to her family.

After all, why rebuild a ruin when you have warmth and comfort elsewhere?

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