1. Seraphic

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆. the revolution

s e r a p h i n a

☽ ☾

The General kept his word. Six months on, Seraphina never once ran into him, even though she'd heard of him visiting for discussions—that frustratingly didn't turn out to be fruitful—with her father sometimes.

But, six months on, Seraphina was only feeling worse. Not about Salvatore and their unspoken secret, but rather the war, because six months on, it hadn't gotten any better.

Her father refused to allow Orphim to help in the war effort, and all the reports she had read in their war room proved that the prejudicial choice was only doing permanent harm and damage to their people. Many more people were dying, and without the help of the Orphim, there was nothing more they could do.

That truth broke her. Seraphina wanted nothing more than to be the best for her people, to at least help in some way or form in regards to the war, but what if that wasn't enough?

She knew what they needed. They all did. They were all just too stubborn and arrogant to admit it, to see past old, small-minded beliefs founded on nothing more than spite and prejudice and divide.

Wasn't an enmity worth looking over in order to save the people?

Wasn't that what mattered? The safety of the people?

But it seemed even as she tried to get her point across in the meeting with representatives and diplomats, no-one could look past the word Orphim.

"Why is the title of Orphim more important than the safety of our people?" she asked, standing from her seat, placed in front of the dais. "Why are some of us willingly letting people die because of divide between Seraphim and Orphim? And are you really okay with that, knowing that you refusal to work with your enemies will result in all of these deaths? Because I would not be. I would loathe myself."

"They are a dangerous group of people," her father said from behind her, no doubt voicing the mentality of everyone in the room; the nods that followed gave it away if the grimaces and unvoiced opinions weren't enough to go on. "Who knows what sort of harm they will inflict?"

"Surely no more than is already being inflicted on our own." She raised her chin in defiance. "Is that the kind of leader you would want to be? You are all in a position of power—use it, for good. Help these people. They need it—need us, now more than ever." She refused to let them become collateral damage.

"I am sorry, dear," he apologised insincerely, "but we cannot even consider this. An alliance between our kind and theirs would ruin us all. Surely you do not want that on your shoulders?"

Seraphina turned to look at him. "I am willing to risk it. I would rather make a mistake trying than watch the world burn and know I did nothing to stop it." She could feel the shock rising from the other members of the Council in the meeting room. "I am certain that everything they have asked for and all the conditions they have laid down, they will stick to. They want to help. Why should we not give them that chance?"

"Sera, this is not as simple as it seems."

"I know that it is not simple. It is far from it. But the Orphim are offering us assistance and help for a price of basic human decency, of the bare minimum. Surely we can give them to them in exchange of their help? Who are we supposed to turn to if all of our people in the army are unable to fight or us? Children?"