Under The Emperor's Eye

Lance wakes up with a slight headache. The convoy moves slowly towards the southern territory. He looks over his horse-drawn carriage and sees a familiar figure. 

"Ms. Jobaine..." he says out loud in a bit of a daze.

Selena looks over and smiles softly. "Commander Lance, No need to be so polite. Just call me Selena"

Lance looks at her clear eyes and a strange feeling starts blooming in his heart.

He quickly looks away and says "Ms. Selena then... I apologize for my rude behavior earlier. I have some special circumstances..."

"You don't have to explain too much, commander. We all have our secrets. Let's not make things uncomfortable. We're going to be together in the near future, so why don't we get to know each other a little bit?" Selena says in a calm but incurious tone.

Lance is a bit shocked by her words, many people try to curry favor with him due to his powers but they don't go as far as caring about his personality or trying to get to know him personally. And her eyes seem so clear, as if devoid of ulterior motives. As if she truly wants to get to know him. 

A warm feeling rushes into Lance's heart. He breathes a sigh of relief that through his vision, he did not directly see this woman hurt him in any way. 

"It seems that she truly is a good woman" he mutters under his breath with a smile.

"Excuse me?" Selena says with a confused look on her face

"Nothing, Don't worry about it. I also think it would be great for us to know each other a bit more. So what exactly do you want to know?" Lance asked with a smile on his face.

"What exactly did you see when we shook hands earlier," Selena says

The atmosphere between them froze. It was so quiet that you could hear the other's heartbeat pound. 

Lance looked at Selena and his expression became more cold.

"You know?" Lance says in an emotionless tone.

"I don't mean to be your enemy, prince, but whether you like it or not, it seems our fate is connected. I'll take this secret to my grave so you don't have to worry about anything. I am on your side, so you don't have to worry about my intentions" Selena says in a serious tone.

Lance looks at her closely one more time, again, her clear eyes, which shine so bright the moon is reflected on them. It doesn't seem like she's lying at all and she didn't show up in that nightmare vision after all, so maybe it is okay to trust her...

Lance sighs, "I understand. That vision isn't something I can tell you just yet but I do appreciate your words of consolation".

"Ever since I was thrown into the battlefield at 10 years old, I've never had someone say they're on my side. I've hidden these eyes because the fewer people who know about it, the better. I'm surprised you were able to notice, I'm sure I hid it quickly. Lance says with a bittersweet smile

Selena stays quiet for a while, "Commander, you've had a rough life. I lived a carefree and had a doting family. School was a bit rough but I had support from friends and the dean. I may not be able to relate to your struggles but if you ever need me, I'll be here for you" She says in a strong tone.

Lance smiles and says, "Well then Selena, I'll be in your care"

The atmosphere between them warms up as they continue to discuss little things in their lives.

The Convoy eventually arrived in the southern territory and reached an intersection with many paths.

Lance jumps out and stands in the middle of the intersection. The convoy full of classmates and soldiers all stared at him respectfully.

"We have arrived. The battlefield is close so you will have to take extra care in your safety. Remember, leave all the dangerous tasks to us military men. Your final exam is merely to provide support from a safe distance. This will be great practice for your future but all of this will mean nothing if you die halfway from trying to play hero. There are many people of high rank within my army who will guide you through the process. I have sworn to keep you guys safe and I plan to stay true to my promise. This is our final stand against the southern tribe. Once this campaign is won, a new era for our Kadence empire will be achieved!" Lance stays in a powerful and majestic tone.

The many classmates and soldiers all burst out with cheers and a round of applause.

Selena looks at Lance with a slight blush on her face. "This fiancé of mine isn't too bad at all," she thinks to herself while watching Lance closely. 

After the speech, the convoy got back into their positions and took the path closest to the east.

As things get settled, Selena looks over to Lance and says, "Why did we take this path"?

"There isn't a big reason, Commander Zenat took the path on the north, Commander Flamor took the path closer to the northeast so we took the path closest to the east".

"Why not take the path directly to the east?"

"Unfortunately, that is the path where the lake got poisoned. It may be a little more difficult than other paths but the water source makes it extremely attractive. Alas, do southern tribe warriors really are hard to deal with" Lance says in a solemn voice.

Selena heard what he said and fell deep into thought as if she was thinking seriously about solutions to the problem. 

Eventually, the convoy arrives at the camp. Everyone slowly gets settled as Lance goes over the game plan given to him by Commander Zenat.

"Selena, how is Commander Lance? Do you think we can win this war?"

"Selena, we hardly ever see you get close with other guys, Are you and Commander Lance gonna be a thing?"

"Selena, how are we supposed to help out with the war? I want to get some military accomplishments and get me a title in the future!"

Many voices of her classmates barraged Selena with questions as soon as she arrived at the camp made for her graduating class.

Selena ignored most of the questions and came to the front. 

"Everyone, as the class representative, it is my duty to ensure the safety of not only you guys but the success of this campaign. As you all know, the main forces of our magic military are at the borders of the Thorkell and Voraine empire, many soldiers fighting in the southern territory do not possess magic at all. This makes our job very important. We can easily shift the tide but we also represent the future of our empire. If we fall here, there will be a big gap between the current magic military and the future magic military. This will allow the young and promising soldiers of the Thorkell and Voraine empires to take advantage and conquer us. We must not only win this campaign but do it in a way where no one dies! So stop with the jokes and let's be serious. This isn't class, this is war!" Selena says with a majestic voice she never even knew she had.

The faces of the class start changing slowly. They knew this campaign was serious but it was hard for them to get used to the nature of war so quickly. Selena's voice became a wakeup call for most of the class. This really is not the time for making jokes, They came here for a purpose and the future of their empire is at stake here.

"We understand Selena, forgive us for our previous remarks," The class says in unison.

Selena gives an affirmative smile, "It's no problem, I made a practice field for you guys to use in the back. Go and hone your magic so you are in your best form to help with the war later" 

"Practice field?" The class says in shock. They run outside and see makeshift targets slowly moving around in complicated patterns. There are targets of all shapes and sizes too. 

The class was well aware that Selena did not study offensive magic as they did but they had no clue that non-offensive magic could be used in such a way. This seems very difficult for them to even implement but Selena did it with no problem at all.

"Thank you class Rep, we will not let you down," The class says with a smile while running towards the practice field to practice all the cool offensive spells they learned throughout school.

Selena stares at them with a warm smile. 

"I can't do much offensively so you're the ones I have to thank. Without you guys, This war might not be able to be won". She silently responds in a voice only she can hear. 

She heads back to the camp and takes a break.

After a while, Lance comes in with a very solemn face.

"Selena, we have a big problem. Tomorrow afternoon, they're coming..." Lance says with a frustrated face

"Who?" Selena says in a confused tone.

Selena froze when she heard Lance's next words.

"The southern tribe, They'll be here and unless we do something, everyone in your class will die,".