Chapter 2

Chapter 02 – First Duties as a Rose General

It had been a month since the inauguration of Celeste Rozenburg to the position of the White Rose General. It was a tradition for the newly appointed Generals to take a break from the front lines and build publicity with the people around the capital.

“I’d rather I travelled to the Alamar region as well. No one ever goes there, right?” said Celeste to Rex as they were going down the hallways of the Imperial Palace. They had been summoned to the War Room, clearly to be given orders to return to the front lines of the war.

“Alamar is so far away from here and from the war. We shouldn’t really care about them unless they decide to rebel.” said Rex calmly. “More importantly, it seems we will return to the front lines. Are you prepared?”

“Yessir! I took this time to rest as well so I will be ok. Don’t worry.”

“Perfect. You need to show them that they didn’t make a mistake by trusting you with this position. I put my honor on the line for this. Don’t disappoint me Celeste.”

“I won’t Rex… I promise!” Celeste replied all flustered.

Rex laughed at her expression. “We’re here.” he said.

When they entered they found Lord Joshua and Alexius already there with the Patriarch. Alexius made a weird face when he saw them together.

“Oh! Where were you? Fooling around? Don’t you know that relationships between Generals are forbidden?” he said mockingly.

“D… don’t misunderstand!” replied Celeste all red. She still wasn’t used to Alexius making fun of her. But his words always hit close at home.

“Now, young ones, behave.” said the Patriarch sternly, shutting them up. “As you understand I summoned you here because the situation at the front lines requires your presence there immediately.”

“All four of us?” asked Lord Joshua. “Are things that bad?”

The Patriarch nodded and he pointed at the map laid out on the table at the center of the room. It was a map of the Nameless Land, a piece of land connecting the two warring continents. It belonged to nobody and t was the perfect place to wage the Eternal War that went on for almost two hundred years with the two opposing forces gaining the upper hand and losing it consecutively.

The Patriarch clicked his fingers and, suddenly, magical representations of strategic points appeared at the map. Using magic was an everyday habit in the Holy Empire of Phantasmagoria and the main focus of the Amosa Religion.

“As you can see…” he said “the Republic has introduced some new mechanical war suits and they have been hammering our positions nonstop for the past week. Our magic barriers won’t be able to hold much longer and our offensive spells don’t hurt them much. If this goes on we will be at a great disadvantage in a month. We may even lose the war.”

“We can’t let that happen!” shouted Alexius.

“Of course we cannot. Therefore I want you to return to the front lines ASAP. I heard that both the Blue Rose and the Red Rose have developed a defensive and offensive spell during your stay at the capital. Is that right?” the Patriarch asked his subordinates.

“Indeed we have.” answered Joshua. “Though I am not sure how strong the barrier I have created is, it is certainly stronger that the ones we use now.”

“And my spell is lightning-based so it’s great for short-circuiting their robots.” said Rex. “But we need to amplify it because the range is limited.”

“My barrier needs amplifying too.”

“That can be a problem.” said the Patriarch. “Right now all the amplification cannons are being used in the front lines. We don’t have any spares to set up and we cannot afford to withdraw any to change their settings.”

“So we need to get new cannon materials. You know, right now, the only place that has them is Lors Mountain, the Dwarven Province.” said Alexius.

“It will take time to transport them to the Nameless Land from Lors. We have to issue a special order and use the Arcane Carriages.” said Rex. “Will you do it Sir?”

“I will issue that order immediately. However we cannot leave this mission to any lower rank officers.” answered the Patriarch.

“Indeed.” Rex turned to Celeste. “Therefore Sir, I suggest that Lady Celeste go and bring those materials from Lors. Let this be her first mission as a Rose General.”

“Great idea Red Rose. This is a great chance for the White Rose to show us how she can handle a top priority mission. White Rose, you are to depart immediately for Lors tomorrow morning. The rest of the Roses must hurry to the front lines. We have to reverse the situation.”

Hearing the Patriarchs order, Celeste responded affirmatively. She and the rest of the Generals waited for the Patriarch to exit before they could leave.

“Well, Miss Rozenburg.” said Alexius after the Patriarch left. “There it is. Your first official mission. You have to complete it accurately and with utmost caution. If you fail…”

“Yessir! I will not disappoint or betray the trust you have shown me.” said Celeste and gave her military greeting.

“For the glory of Amosa and the Empire.” said Lord Joshua and everyone repeated his words. Afterwards they left the room.

Rex took Celeste with him and they left the Castle and went past the Royal Gardens to a secluded gardener’s shack. It was a place they often went to when they were together at the capital.

“Don’t be afraid.” said Rex after they arrived. “This mission is quite easy.”

“I am not. Just a little stressed. I have to act like a General now.” Celeste walked to a patch of white roses and kneeled to look at them.

“When you feel really pressured you can always come and talk to me. Remember I will always be your ally.”

“Yes… I know. But I will show you I won’t need your help anymore. I can stand on my feet now. I am strong!”

“Hahaha. You’re still that little girl I know. You haven’t changed one bit. Still acting like you’re the mightiest girl around, huh?”

“Am I not?” Celeste turned and looked at Rex smiling and pulling out her tongue.

“You definitely are. Anyway… we will meet again at the battlefield. So, let’s take this time to relax a little.” said Rex and went near a patch of red roses. He picked one and smelled it.

Celeste was looking at him the whole time. Ever since they were little, she was always looking at him. He was her inspiration and she followed him to the army to be with him. Although she denied it for the longest time, she had finally come to terms with her feelings. She was in love with Rex Soren. Not the Rose General but the man himself. But she could never find the courage to tell him. Besides it being forbidden now that she was a Rose General like him, Rex seemed to think of her as his little sister. He couldn’t love her back like this. Therefore her feelings were doomed to remain unspoken.

“But you know… I am excited that I get to go to Lors. I haven’t seen any dwarves before.” she said.

“Really? They usually came and brought supplies to the front lines. You really haven’t seen any?”

“No. I guess I wasn’t around any time they came.”

Rex laughed and tossed the rose to Celeste.

“Anyway, do your job properly Miss Rozenburg. It’s your first duty as the White Rose after all.” he said.

Celeste nodded and held the rose so tight in her hands that it prickled her.