Chapter 10 - Farewell to Home

The next day, a group of men from the docked airship arrived to give Luna a cadet's uniform. It was a rather striking thing, a formal white jacket coupled with black trousers and leather boots that glinted whenever the light struck them. The jacket sported gold embroidery that shone like starlight. The kit came with a pair of sheepskin gloves, the soft texture lovingly caressing her hands when she wore them.

Upon the breast there was a small bar of tin, the same size as the ruby Old Scratch wore. Soldiers in the Elthremian army all wore similar badges, denoting both rank and power. Tin, unsurprisingly, was the bottom of the barrel. No bother, Luna told herself. She’d rise swiftly in rank.

The entire uniform had been designed for both functionality and comfort, and Luna was surprised that hers had been tailored to her measurements with sterling precision. And when she spied her reflection in her mother's standing mirror, she had to admit she hadn't felt so formal for the longest time. It was a stark and welcome contrast to the peasant garb she had been stuck wearing ever since she'd been reborn in Aquilonia.

The soldier who gave it to her had been quite insistent that she shine the boots regularly. Drill sergeants and quartermasters tended to be harsh on any cadet who didn't look presentable. Well, that much made sense to her. Back in her old life, any soldier in the presence of the emperor who did not wear their uniform with pride... were not in her presence very long at all.

Only a few days after that, with the watchtower on the coast fully constructed and operational, the airship was preparing to leave for the capital. Many of the villagers had gathered outside their homes to watch. Some gave gifts to the soldiers in passing, flowers and jars of homemade jam. The locals knew to appreciate their soldiers, after all. One woman even handed an entire basket of freshly baked bread loaves to a guard, who gave her a handful of coins for her troubles.

And many of those same villagers watched Luna and her family with newfound awe and respect. It was amazing the impression a finely tailored cadet's uniform could make on people. She'd even done her hair, at her mother's insistence, into a much tidier braid. Ashen bangs framed the sides of her face. She must have looked like an entirely different person to the gruff tomboy they were used to.

She glared briefly at Damon in passing, who cringed into the broad shadow of his father. Only yesterday she had warned him that, if she heard about him mistreating her brother in her absence, she would gladly go AWOL and rush back to Strafford's Harbour and beat the mortal shite out of him. He seemed to have gotten the message.

Luna's family followed behind her, basking just a bit in the pride Luna radiated. Her father was stonefaced, as ever. And her mother was torn halfway between being proud of her daughter, and terrified at the prospect of sending her away to the army. And then there was Feris, who had sobbed and pleaded with Luna not to go only the night before, but his pleas had fallen on deaf ears.

Luna actually rather her liked the family she had been born into. They were certainly a damn sight better than the family she'd come from in her prior life. But anything was a step up from a father who'd gotten knifed over gambling debts, and a slap-happy mother who had died from a shadow dust overdose before their child's seventh birthday. She did, on some tiny level, feel bad about leaving them and Strafford's Harbour behind. But needs must, and she had to get the ball rolling on getting stronger and eventually getting back to her home reality.

She was certain her empire was suffering more and more with each passing day in her absence. But she'd make sure, when she took control of Elthreme, her family would be spared from any harm and gifted a nice manor for their troubles. It was the least she could do to help them.

The airship hovered aloft far above the village, tethered by a series of heavy metal anchors. It was unlike any technology she had back in her own world, so she was admittedly curious to take a ride on it. A few gondolas with smaller balloons were currently parked on the ground, flanked by a gathering of soldiers. Old Scratch was at the head of the host, watching Luna approach.

"Cadet," he said in a gruff voice. "Right on time."

Luna stood to attention, her heels clicking together. "Punctuality is important to me, Commander." A knot twisted at her stomach. Having to salute and defer to lesser people was going to eat her in record time. But she'd simply have to endure it until she was in a position to claim her rightful place at the top of the hierarchy.

Old Scratch looked beyond her to her family, examining her mother closely. "Take heart, Lady Alcett," he said, watching the woman dab her eyes with a cloth. "Your daughter is going to give you a lot to be proud of."

His words brought a genuine smile to her mother's face. "Thank you, Sir," she said, sniffling and straightening herself. "But my daughter being safe and alive is what matters most to me. So... please keep her safe. To the best of your abilities."

"I cannot make such promises. But given the potential Luna has displayed?" he flashed an ugly smile. "I doubt she'll need my protection." He turned and made for the gondola. "Say your goodbyes, but don't tarry too long."

Luna did just that. Her mother wrapped her in a hug that threatened to squeeze the life from her, and made her promise (repeatedly) that she would come home in one piece whenever she was granted leave, and would sent letters regularly. Her father maintained a stony façade, but did smile as he stroked the top of his daughter's head and handed her trunk to her.

Levins had always been something of a distant man, but never cold or malicious. She knew he cared for her, beneath all the gruffness. But there had always been a bit of a gap between them, owing in part to how... unconventional Luna was as a daughter. He had never forgotten a particular incident from when Luna was only five years old, where his daughter had casually lopped the head off a turkey while the family were still debating who would do the deed. "Kill some ashborn for us, yeah?" he asked, grinning. "It'll do the kingdom a world of good."

"I fully intend to," she replied, smiling up at him. If she solved the problem of the Ashlands and the Mire, then no doubt the locals would hand her the crown out of sheer gratitude.

"And er, if you find your brother doing something he shouldn't..." Levins rubbed the leathery back of his neck. "Well, maybe tell us about it in a letter. An' then tell him off for us."

Luna chuckled, leaning in and embracing her father briefly. She was normally one for physical affection, but she was willing to make rare exceptions when the need arose. It was nice, she would begrudgingly admit, to have a family that cared for her.

Her younger brother approached last as her father parted from her. Feris' eyes were still red and wet from his crying. His lips quivered with every word he tried to speak. "D-do you... do you really h-have... have to go?" he eventually managed to ask.

"I do," Luna firmly replied. As annoying as the crybaby twerp was, she did care for him, and felt some measure of guilt for leaving him behind. But ultimately she'd been handed a golden opportunity to get back toward her empire. It was better than running away from home and groping about blindly in nature as she tried to get her hands on resources. She sighed and rolled her eyes skyward, settling a hand on his shoulder. "Look. I'll write home regularly, and I promise I will read any letters you send me. Alright?"

He nodded eventually, wiping under his eye with the sleeve of his grubby shirt. Luna patted his cheek with a gloved hand, which was enough to finally make him smile. "Alright," he replied. "I'll... I'll write to you regularly!"

She had no doubt he would, much to her annoyance.

Her mother set a hand on Feris' shoulder, looking into Luna's eyes. "You'd best be off, then. The army love their punctuality. And... I'm sure you want to make a good first impression on them."

"Of course. I'll keep in touch all the while," she said, flicking a few strands of ashen hair behind her right ear. Lifting her trunk again, she turned and made for the gondola. Old Scratch joined her, leaning his armoured bulk against the guard rail.

"You ready for this, kid?" he asked.

She nodded firmly. "I've been waiting my whole life for this opportunity."

An attendant at the aft end of the gondola flicked a switch at his side, the two embedded quartzes lighting up with a distinct ruby glow. That spurred a pair of fans on the gondola's hull to life, whirring at such speeds that the blades could likely effortlessly cleave someone's arm off. The attendant lit a burner in the middle of the deck, which shot a blinding flame into the balloon until it inflated and began to lift the ship from the grass. It lurched under Luna's feet, forcing her to grab the railing for support.

As they rose higher into the air, she caught a fleeting glimpse of her family waving goodbye to her.