//------------------------------// // Distraction // Story: The War of Equestria // by rainbowtiger00 //------------------------------// Leona peered from the wall of a wooden house that she was hiding behind. The Second Commander stood in the middle of the fort, her feet encased in Jacomina's magic diamond. Her silver sword lay at her feet. But her bow was currently in one hand, with her quiver strapped tightly to her back. All she had to do was reach behind and grasp an arrow to shoot. Leona bit her lip. Her wings were folded tightly onto her back. Her left wing was bleeding from an arrow wound. The pure white arrow that had caused the wound was still in there. At her side, was a wooden club at the point of breaking. She had been using it when she could, against the Second Commander. But she was proving to be a tougher foe than the rumors said. Every time someone made the slightest move, they were shot at with her bow and pure white arrows. Distracting her was getting rather hard. She winced as the left wing twitched, sending a jolt of pain. The Second Commander was scanning the area for targets. Her pink purplish eyes suddenly narrowed. Quickly, she grabbed an arrow and strung it on her bow. She shot at whatever she saw toward a shadowy spot. The arrow flew toward its target and then suddenly stopped in mid-air. Leona started, then gasped. The Third Commander appeared from the shadows, his hand holding the arrow. It was supposed to be impossible for humans to do that, but this was the Third Commander. He was rumored to be able to do a lot more. The Third Commander walked up and placed the arrow at the crystallized feet of the Second Commander. Then he spoke. “Third Commander requesting backup, ma'am.” The Second Commander blinked. Then she spoke. “Third Commander, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to make sure that they weren't holding any humans hostage. Unless you were distracted. Again.” Her voice was pretty, but her words were ugly. She turned away to glance at a group of shadows. The Third Commander's eyes briefly flashed a glare in her direction. When she turned to look at him, all traces of the glare were gone. “I did make sure, ma'am. There isn't any.” The Second Commander shot another arrow at an unseen target. A muffled outcry of pain came out from where the arrow went. Leona's eyes widened. The Second Commander strung another arrow and aimed at the same spot. But a loud noise made her turn around. After seeing that there was nothing actually there, she turned back and shot. No noise came out this time. She kept turning, searching for potential victims. Leona swallowed hard. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hallmark crawling on a bridge next to the wooden wall nearest to the sound. On the inside, there were small bridges on top of the wooden walls for the scouts to use. Hallmark was using these. She saw him jump into the shadows. A few minutes later, and he came out, helping a fellow Engel over to where the wounded lay. If one knew the fort well, then they would know about a large courtyard that was on the left side of the fort. Hallmark was most likely taking the wounded there, as it was very hard to find. Leona grimaced at the sight. The arrow was deep in their leg, preventing them from walking. As well as causing extreme pain. Leona chewed her cheek. She was probably the only one left to distract The Second Commander. The Second Commander made a final sweep of the area and looked back at the Third Commander. “So then why exactly are you here? If I recall correctly, I told you to let me handle myself unless there was an emergency.” The Third Commander cut her off with a sharp retort. “With all due respect, ma'am. There is an emergency.” The Second Commander raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And what would this urgent emergency be exactly?” The Third Commander's face very slightly tightened with anger. It was barely visible. “These Katzes and Engels have stolen the crystal halberd and the necklace.” He growled out. The Second Commander did an odd thing. She stiffened and looked at the Third Commander. “Are you certain?” She asked, her voice growing curious. The Third Commander nodded. “ Yes, ma'am. My guess is that they found it at the bottom of that pit we couldn't find back at the ruined castle, and stole both objects from.” Here he paused, as if suddenly unable to continue. His head bent down and stared at the ground. His fists clenched. The Second Commander rolled her eyes. “From the corpse?” He nodded slowly. The Second Commander sniffed. “Sounds like them. They must have hidden the pit so we couldn't get them first. Well, I'm certain that The First Commander of the Exile Legion would be most interested in this.” The Third Commander rolled his eyes, making sure that the Second Commander didn't see him doing it. “I am betting that you will be the one to tell him, ma'am.” The Second Commander's eyes sparkled with a menacing light. “Yes indeed.” The Third Commander sighed, and placed a hand on his forehead. In that instant, he looked very weary and saddened. But when he removed his hand, he regained his composure. “Well then, ma'am. Maybe if you help me defeat the ones who stole it, you will get to tell him that you properly punished those guilty.” The Second Commander's eyes gleamed with sudden delight. “Oh yes. That would be lovely.” Swiftly, she snapped her fingers. The diamond trapping her feet shattered into tiny pieces. Leona started. She didn't expect that the Second Commander could get out so easy. She gazed curiously at the Commanders. “What in the lands were they talking about? We didn't steal anything!” She thought as she watched the Second Commander bend down and grasp her sword. As her hand was about to make contact with the sword, it paused over a symbol. A rose had been delicately carved onto the blade of the sword. The rose was made to look like the petals were black. Like it was a black rose. For a moment, the Second Commander remained like that, staring at the symbol. Then she grabbed the sword and stood back up. Leona then grasped her nearly broken club more tightly. She had to stop them. But how? Her wing was injured, so she couldn't fly out and attack them with the club. Besides, the club was half broken. Almost all of her allies were now injured and unable to help. Jacomina was nowhere to be seen. Andromeda had gone to look for Jonathan. Africanus had disappeared to make sure that no one was hurting Lightingfeet. And Hallmark had to help the wounded. Leona glanced at her left leg. A tattoo of three pink butterflies with teal antennas was there. The tattoo allowed her to cast spells. She could use them for defense, and aggression. But the spells almost never went right, almost always going wrong somehow. Like the spell that started this whole mess in the first place. She sighed softly. Spell casting was going to have to be a last resort. She looked at her club. She had been smacking it against the walls of the houses to distract the Second Commander. But the club would only be able to stand a few more smacks, as getting three arrows shot onto it made it wear down a lot faster. Approximately, five smacks and it would break, leaving her utterly defenseless. Although, if she was quick enough, she could run to another part of the fort, while the Second Commander was searching for the source of the noise. Perhaps distracting them would be a good decision. But the Third Commander was here this time. He could easily jump onto a roof and look down into the dark alleyway where she was hiding. Leona made her decision. A loud noise sounded from the shadows where she was hiding as she smacked her club on the wooden wall. The wood splintered slightly underneath her hand. “One.” She thought. The Second Commander paused, then turned around. Her pinkish purplish eyes narrowed. “Pesky scum.” She strung her bow and pointed it at a patch of shadow. Slowly, she turned around, looking for her target. The Third Commander said nothing, only watched the Second Commander as he waited for her. Impatience was clear in his silver eyes. Leona quietly moved away from her corner. Instinctively, her wings spread out. She flattened herself on the wooden wall of the alleyway so that her wings wouldn't betray her presence. Slowly, she edged over to another house. She went about two steps before a flash of pain in her right wing stopped her cold. Her teeth gritted to keep from crying out. The club fell and landed on the dirt with a soft thump. When the danger of crying out in pain had passed, she glanced at her right wing. A dagger gleamed, pinning the wing to the wooden wall. Feathers were broken from the force, piercing the delicate flesh that they grew from. She turned to look at the Third Commander. He was looking straight at the patch of shadows she was in. The Second Commander had spotted him throwing the dagger, and now was also gazing intently at her. Leona panicked. Like a frightened rabbit, she remained right where she was, trembling like an autumn leaf in the wind, frozen from fear. The Second Commander came slowly closer, her pink purplish eyes seeming to be staring straight at Leona's silvery blue ones. Her heart pounded in her ears, and she felt the sweat from her forehead run down her neck. Logic screamed at her to move, but she stayed there, paralyzed by the gaze of the Commanders. All the rumors she had ever heard of them floated around in her head, adding to her fear. Her breath was fast and short, making her feel like she was suffocating. The Second Commander's eyes narrowed, and she walked even closer until a loud noise sounded out. The Second Commander turned around swiftly and glanced about. She moved to the center and swirled her sword expertly. The Third Commander's face was now covered by his hand. He seemed exasperated. The Second Commander looked around a final time, then shrugged. The Third Commander muttered something that she couldn't hear. The Second Commander turned to him and said something back. Her hand went to her hips. The Third Commander gave the ground an annoyed look. The two were apparently arguing. Just then, Leona saw movement behind the Third Commander. A crouched figure was slowly creeping up the wooden wall behind him. It must be a Katze since they would have claws to hook onto the wood. The figure climbed on the bridge of the wall and looked down with a look of contempt. There was just barely enough light from the sky to see that it was Africanus standing there, holding a cloth to his shoulder. Leona breathed a very soft sigh of relief. Africanus was okay. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down. Hallmark inched along on another bridge and singled Africanus to follow him. Leona watched as they crawled along. Hallmark caught sight of her and her injured wings. He grimaced. He glanced at the Commanders, then slowly crawled over to the bridge above her. Hallmark then bent down so that the upper half of him was in front of Leona's face. He shot her a look that plainly said. “Don't you make any noise.” She nodded. He steadily grasped the handle of the dagger. Leona bit her tongue hard. Jerking his hand, he removed the dagger. Leona made no noise, but she tasted blood in her mouth. Hallmark slowly placed the dagger beside him. Silently, as the Commanders argued, Hallmark used his strong muscles to lift Leona up onto the wall. She crawled with him over the wooden bridges, leaving the Commanders behind. Seven bridges later, and they arrived at the courtyard. Twenty other people were here, all injured. Medical supplies lay everywhere on boxes from cloths for bandages and knives for cutting, to needles and powders. Potions were also here, some bubbling, others frothing. Hallmark first helped Africanus get off the bridge and sit down near a corner. His shoulder was bleeding quite badly, and his face was twisted in pain. Hallmark took one look at him and shook his head. He then helped Leona down and placed her next to Africanus. He grabbed a long piece of cloth from one of the boxes and began to wrap it around Africanus's wound. Africanus's ears flattened slightly. “Not too tight now.” He said, gritting his teeth. Hallmark grunted. “What happened to you?” Africanus smiled bitterly. “Got clumsy. Slipped while dodging a punch, allowing the Third Commander to stab me. Good thing Lightingfeet was there, even though he was supposed to be in his stable.” Africanus's breath hissed in pain as Hallmark tightened the cloth. “Dumb horse. He always kicks down the door to his stable if he thinks I'm in danger.” Africanus's teeth clenched as Hallmark tied a knot and finished. “Is the horse safe now?” Africanus nodded. “Is he going to stay put?” Africanus shrugged with the unhurt shoulder. Hallmark shook his head again. “Lightingfeet better stay put.” He turned his attentions to Leona. “Leona, the only way I am going to remove that arrow in your wing, is by tugging it out. I promise I will be quick.” He handed her a strip of leather. “Bite down on this while I do it. Don't worry, I washed it this evening.” Leona took it and bit down on the leather. The taste was bitter. Africanus glanced at him. “Is it really going to hurt her that bad?” Hallmark nodded. “Engel wings are very sensitive. This is really going to hurt.” Hallmark gripped the handle of the arrow and looked at her. “Ready?” Leona felt one of Africanus's hands gripping her own tightly. Giving him a grateful look, she nodded at Hallmark. Hallmark then tugged the arrow free, leaving a wound where it used to be. Leona bit harder on the leather, trying her best not to scream. What came out was a muffled groan. Her grip on Africanus's hand tightened. Hallmark placed the arrow on the ground. Leona spat out the leather. She wiped her mouth with one hand. Slowly, she let go of Africanus's hand, flexing her own. Hallmark patted her shoulder. "You did well." He grabbed another long piece of cloth and ripped it in two. Using both pieces, he wrapped up Leona's wounds. Once that was done, he handed both of them a bottle full of a bright, glowing, bubbling, purple potion. “Here, drink this up. This will ease the pain that you are experiencing.” Leona took the first drink. The liquid tasted like vanilla, with a hint of sugar. She handed the potion to Africanus, who also took a drink. Between them both, they drained the bottle dry. Hallmark went off to tend to the other patients. Leona looked at Africanus. “Do you think that Jonathan, Andromeda, and Jacomina will be safe?” Africanus snorted. “Totally. Jonathan has that crystal halberd of his, and Andromeda knows some special moves with that sword of hers. Jacomina also has magic and skill to boot, so they will be fine. Besides, it's nearly morning. Only twenty minutes to go. Those Commanders will have to leave at some point. Plus, we won't have to worry about them coming back.” Leona nodded. She glanced at her hand, wondering about the things the Commanders had said. “Watch out Jonathan. I think they are after you.”