“Damn it!” A blonde beauty suddenly stood up from the long table. Her name was Charlotte Gardinier. She was 23 years old, had fiery blue eyes, and a scar on the left of her mouth. She was the only female in the French army. She was also the one in charge. They were fighting right now to protect Italy from invasion. The war had been going on for over 2 years now and neither side was giving. They had suffered terrible loses today. “Calm down, Charlotte,” a voice called from the other side of the room. “We will win this, for our cause is just.” The blonde looked up. There were tears in her bright blue eyes but she’d be damned before she’d let her men see her cry. She needed to be strong. “This should be over by now,” she muttered through thinned lips. “We signed that peace treaty back in October, leaving us only one enemy. But here we are in the beginning of June and we still haven’t won this cursed war.” A drunk footsman came up behind her. “She just wants to get home to her beloved,” he howled laughing. The other men let out choked laughs, caught between finding it funny and scared of not wanting to piss her off. She just smiled and walked out of the tent. The sky was clear tonight. It was true. She did miss her betrothed, Remy Armand Dubois. He was the only one who understood her and their marriage had already been put off for a year. She couldn’t wait to look into his kind hazel eyes and be wrapped into his strong arms. She sighed out loud. Yes, she missed him, but that was beyond the point here. Her men were dying while she could do nothing. They were out fighting their hardest everyday. She, herself had been injured many a time before. She went into her personal tent to get some sleep. They may have lost the battle today but the war was far from over. She needed to shake this off.

She awoke to screams sometime in the early morning. Their camp was being invaded by the enemy. “Charlotte!” She looked over to see her men awaiting her orders. She grabbed the nearest sword and screamed, “Charge!” It took only a few seconds to be in the heart of the battle. She started slicing her way through the nearest enemy. He screamed in agony as his blood sprayed over her. Her heart was pounding rapidly and she felt it in her throat. But she couldn’t stop, she couldn’t think. She let instincts and the will to survive take over her. She forgot everything else as her and her comrades beat down the intruder.

It was already starting to get dark by the time Charlotte could breathe properly again. Her armor was scratched and in desperate need of repair. Her golden hair was stained crimson red from the blood of the fallen. She gasped when she felt a bucket of cold water stream pour onto her. “We did well today. We successfully defended our ground and even gained some. And we lost very few soldiers.” She looked up at the man holding the bucket. Her brain was still fuzzy and she couldn’t remember his name. “You fought bravely milady.” “I hope this will all be worth it,” was her tired reply.

The next morning they received orders to return home. For some reason, the enemy had agreed to sign a peace treaty on June 19th. That was only about ten days away. On the voyage back to France everyone cried victory cheers. Charlotte was among them, however her mind was still grieved by all she’d come to known, lost, and left on the battlefield. While the war had gone on she could put it aside. But now it was the full focus of her mind. However, even that took a back seat when she returned to her betrothed home. She was had on a dress which she truly didn’t care for, and her golden curls were up in a bun. As she waited she thought of all the memories that were inside this house. “Charlotte,” a husky voice said. She turned to see Remy standing in front of her. She started to cry tears of joy as she threw herself into his arms. “Is it finally over?” he breathed into her neck. “It is, it really is, darling,” she said through the tears. He kissed her passionately, letting the love he felt towards her flow threw it. “I’ve missed you so,” he said looking into her eyes. “I love you,” she laughed happily. Later that night they discussed the wedding. “It should be as soon as possible. No more putting it off,” he said matter of factly. She looked up from his embrace. “I agree.” “He smirked down on her and said with a smirk, “You are going to make such a beautiful bride.” In her mind, Charlotte couldn’t help wonder how she had gotten so lucky. True, her soon to be husband was not a born noble. In fact he was born a peasant; a poor indentured servant. But it just made her love him all the more knowing he worked his way up to nobility. It gave him a heart. When she had first learned she was to be married off, she had not been happy, even though her parents had insisted. However, when she had met Remy, he had assured her that if after getting to know him, she wanted to call it off, he wouldn’t stop her. And he had even given her permission to go into the army because he knew how much it had meant to her. So yes, as the beautiful heroine fell asleep in the caring arm of her lover, she considered just how lucky she was to be alive. Though that didn’t mean she was done paying her way for society. She had no intention of leaving the army. The innocent needed to be protected. But perhaps it was time for a long deserved break so she could be with the man she loved more than her own life.

~ End