11 Wrong

~Choices are made with experience and wisdom. However, not all choices are ones made with everyone's best interests at heart. They can be made with greed and self-interests in mind.~

He killed the blond girl. Penny was her name, if his memory was correct. As she fell, the brunette screamed. Great, the last thing he needed was attention. Time to kill the other girl and get out of the city.

Turning to the other child, Dalash found a sword directly against his neck. The sword glinted red in the light. 'Rougian make,' he thought.

He wondered why such a nearly extinct race was here, after the war.

"What are you doing here, Dalash? Murdering innocents doesn't seem like you," the brunette said in a regal voice. Where had she hidden the sword?

"Under orders from the general. He needs to find her, and believes she is amongst this race. Something about a vision from the Rend Witch." He answered truthfully. This girl was a royal, they could smell lies. "Why are you here, your highness? Humans don't become a Rougian princess such as yourself."

The Rend Witch was a tyrant in her kingdom, but her words were always heeded.

"The Rend Witch told us she would be in danger here. So I was sent to find her first. It was a royal mission from my father. I brought two of my retainers, as well. Were your orders to kill children, Dalash? Or just find the true queen?" The princess seemed angry. Her acting had fooled the humans, and Dalash didn't like it. How primitive can they be?

"The queen is to be found. I am sorry your little friend got caught up with this, but sacrifices are common in a war. We were on the same side once, princess. Why can't we work together now?" Dalash was trying to get that sword away from his neck. The only sensitive part of the Ancientian race. A deadly weakness, to be protected.

The sword moved, closer to the skin. She was angry, and he could use it to his advantage, if the cards were played right.

"Move cities, Dalash. Get. Out. Of. Here."

"Yes, your majesty," he answered. Turning to leave he said, "Jakelean isn't going to stop looking for his sister, and the King is looking to remove the Queen from the universe entirely." The warning should be listened to.

"I know. Now leave." Her anger was building. It was time to leave.

***

Back in his hotel room, Dalash received a phone call. It was his commander, but he ignored it. He had to leave before the Rougian princess's retainers came after him. No matter how extinct the Rougians were, their warriors were not easy to deal with alone. Their like would kill him, which would be highly inconvenient. The princess' "suggestion" to move was a wise choice. Where the next area would be was a difficult choice however. Maybe he should move south, across the border. The United States of America, was it?

■■■

She watched the clock. If, and only if this girl was the one, she would heal in a few hours. But, things may not turn out the way they were expected. Penny might not be who they thought, Dalash certainly didn't have a clue.

She pondered the chance that Penny was just a normal, unlucky child. Death was a mercy to her then. Poor girl had been abused since she was a toddler. In her years, she had never seen anyone like Penny, who just kept their head down and endured. Humans raised their offspring to either rule, or to submit. There seemed to be no in between.

Penny being submissive would cause some problems. If the queen had transferred into the poor girl, she would try to take control. Perhaps the queen would want to sit and watch, but the chance of that? Near impossible.

Her best friend never gave up, even when it was a losing battle. Precisely what got her killed in the end. Figuring out how to keep Penny from this path would prove very difficult.

She thought about the war council she missed. She had been busy with her own planet's affairs, and keeping her race from going extinct. Even now, there were so few Rougians, re-population would be touchy. Less so, if the rebel base could be found anywhere.

She was pondering these thoughts, when Penny stirred on the bed. Her suspicions were correct then, this was the poor girl who was reincarnated. Penny was about to have an even rougher life from here. But Ruby was going to help her in any way she could. It was the least she could do, after all the queen had done for her and her race.