Alchemised

by SenLinYu

Lila sat on the edge of Helena’s bed. “Are you—” Lila wasn’t looking at Helena and seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Are you not all right anymore? Is that why you spoke and why there’s all the trainees now?” There was a pause. Helena looked sharply at Lila, but Lila was focused on unfastening a buckle and didn’t meet her stare. It had never occurred to Helena that Lila might know of the Toll. It was more than she could handle thinking about just then. “No. I’m fine. The trainees are because Matias hopes to get rid of me.” “Oh, good. I mean, not good, but that makes sense,” Lila said, and cleared her throat. “I can see why you’re not thrilled about them, then.” Helena forced a laugh. But the tension, the new undercurrent between them lingered. It was Lila who spoke next. “You know, you can talk about—anything with me, if you want.” “No,” Helena said. “I don’t need to talk. There’s—no point in talking, and as I have now been reminded publicly, I’m not a fighter. I don’t know anything about what war really is. So—what would I even have to say?” Lila’s prosthetic leg clicked as she shifted and then said, “I think the hospital’s worse than the battlefield.” Helena went very still. “I realised it when I was in there for my leg.” Lila’s gaze was faraway, eyebrows furrowing. “At the front—everything’s so focused, you know. The rules are simple. We win some. We lose some. You get hit sometimes. You hit back. You get days to recover if it’s bad. But—” She looked down, her...

Flashback for chapter 12 memory