Crazy, Crazy, Crazy

OUR PERSPECTIVE SHIFTS...

The door into the main tree hollow opened with a thud.

Pauline barely had time to register the room before the unease hit her.

There were too many people.

People she’d never seen before—and she made it a point to remember their names.

Yet here they were, wearing the Feather-spangled banner, speaking their slogans, acting like they belonged.

But loose bonds made for a weak ship.

She scanned the faces, searching—

Until she found her. "Aurelia!"

The woman’s head snapped up, eyes widening.

"By the gods..."

Then—a hug. Aurelia’s grip was tight, fierce, as if she didn’t believe Pauline was real.

"We thought you dead."

Pauline stiffened.

"Clearly not," she said flatly. "If someone had bothered to look."

Aurelia pulled back, eyes searching hers.

"You were the best of us. If you were gone for more than a day, it was... it meant that something horrible happened."

Pauline exhaled sharply. "I would have sent someone to check on you—even from a distance. You don’t just make assumptions based on past experiences. I am as mortal as all of you."

Aurelia didn’t respond right away.

Then, with a glance toward the war room—"Talk to Daniel, then."

Pauline narrowed her eyes.

"Why?"

"He is putting his soul on the frontlines, Pauline. He would know best. And... he made that call in the first place. You didn't leave behind your usual trail. We thought you were compromised well before you reached..."

"Yes. Because it was an emergency. One that involved Elisa. The girl we threw to the wolves to buy us some time, remember? I didn't exactly have time to plan it all out."

"I respect your logistics work," Aurelia continued, as if whatever Pauline said was negligible, "but he has seen what none of us do. They are more depraved than we could imagine."

Pauline clenched her jaw.

"Take me to him, then."

\\

The moment Pauline stepped inside, all eyes were on her.

The map of Highcliff was spread across the table, covered in pins, scrawled markings, and blood-red ink.

But all eyes were on Daniel.

"Did somebody tamper with the explosives?!" a rebel demanded. "You said it was underpowered!"

Pauline crossed her arms, watching.

Daniel didn’t flinch. Didn’t even bother looking up right away.

Instead, he leaned back, utterly composed, arms crossed like he was discussing trivial logistics, not the aftermath of an explosion.

"The demonkin lie," he said smoothly. "They lie all the time, you know this. And you suggest we should take them at their word?"

His gaze swept across the room, daring someone to challenge him.

Nobody did.

Pauline’s gut soured.

Daniel’s voice remained measured, unwavering.

"We test on our own, we waste good resources," he continued. "We weren’t going to blow something up in the middle of nowhere and hope no one noticed. Testing means exposing ourselves. It means giving the Count time to prepare. And if he got wind of it, he would’ve doubled security, changed routes, or worse—made it impossible to strike at all."

His fingers drummed against the table.

"We had one shot. We took it." Then, with an easy shrug—"May as well test it on them."

Pauline’s jaw tightened. "But demonkin from other nations didn't need to die. Are you crazy? Are you trying to bring the whole of High Lordian might onto Highcliff? We can't handle all of them at once!"

A few heads turned toward her.

Daniel only smiled.

"The demons who sold us the device said the explosion would be minimal. Just enough to penetrate the carriage walls. On the assumption he was lying, we compensated." He waved a dismissive hand. "Either way, we know where to hunt him down if he double-crossed us. Aura device, remember? And it turned out for the best."

Pauline’s nails dug into her palm.

"We discussed why it wasn’t."

Daniel sighed dramatically, but seemingly genuine enough. "You’re all caught up in the scale of the blast, but you’re missing the point." He spread his arms. "What matters is that we proved we are not powerless. We proved that Highcliff is not a puppet state, and that our gods still watch over us, and approve of what we are doing."

His voice rose slightly, more impassioned now.

"Are we really going to argue about logistics when we finally made them afraid? This is payback. We deserve a win, for once, don’t we? And frankly, I am tired of feeling like a cornered animal. We all are."

It was like a cascade, the way the sound of ‘aye’s’ circulated the room.

Pauline’s teeth grounded together. "You bloody idiot."

Daniel’s expression didn’t shift.

Then, calmly, but rather loudly—"Are you jealous of me, Pauline?"

Pauline stared at him. "What?"

His expression was sincere. "All that I've done has been for the people of Highcliff. Same as you. But what do you do, the first thing you get back home? You take this opportunity to smear my content of character. What right do you have to take my good intentions and twist it so you boosted your own self image? Especially when people’s lives are on the line?"

Pauline’s fingers curled into fists. "You can’t be serious. I founded this movement."

"Co-founded." His voice lowered. "But anyway, we digress. Why did it take you so long to come back, then?"

Pauline blinked.

Daniel leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, his voice deceptively soft. "It’s convenient for you to say all of this now."

Pauline’s breath shallowed.

"It means you were licking your wounds, as you say, or worse; you were reconvening with the enemy. Knowing you Pauline, you wouldn't let anything accost you for too long. You would have had contingencies. Which... begs the unfortunate question."

A slow murmur rippled through the room.

Pauline’s pulse pounded in her ears.

"That’s a serious accusation," she snapped. "You never sent anyone to check on me!"

"Oh, we all know what the demonkin do to their enemies. Don’t try and trick me." His eyes glinted. "They would’ve killed you on the spot."

She took a step forward, voice low. She was about to say something only to turn around to find everyone giving her a look that could kill.

"No… no… All of you?"

Her hands shook. She had to think to force herself to breathe. “So it was a colossal fuck-up, Daniel. Sure. But you can’t double down on your aggression just so you can save face and try to pin the blame on me. There was a human in the carriage, for gods’ sake.”

“Are you saying they don’t deserve it?” Daniel bemoaned. “Be serious with me right now. You hated them more than I do!”

“I am just saying the situation is more complicated than we thought!”

“Why are you so against meaningful progress and change?" he pleaded. "What is there to argue about?! We are supposed to be on the same side. The demonkin occupied us. Taken from us. Exploiting from us to feed their cattle. There is nothing more complicated to get! You haven’t seen what I’ve seen. The Count has everything answer for. And, apparently, so do you.”

This was not the alliance she fought for all these years. It didn’t deserve to come down to this. Daniel was always hotheaded but… she never noticed the discontent hiding under her very roof. And now he’s wax lyrical on her inaction?!

If she didn’t say anything now, she would never be able to salvage her position in this place.