The Great War: Chapter 60
General? Maybe not...
It becomes so still and quiet among the healers that the roar of the distant ocean’s waves comes into sharp focus.
She’s here looking for who? Jae thinks, less shocked and more annoyed. If Cassie is looking for the next General, why not go to Yumi instead? She’s the true leader of the healers, and she’s already under Cassie’s thumb. But, in that case, if Cassie could go to Yumi, why would she be talking to Jae, too?
“A devoted healer… for a General,” Jae hums. She crosses her arms and closes her eyes. If she were to put together a list of healers, who would be on it? Healers aren’t leaders. Certainly not commanders. Definitely not combatants. The General of Life magic, doing what, exactly?
There aren’t many names that come to mind. None at all, actually.
Her skin slowly begins to prickle with eyes landing on her. The healers slowly turn their heads to her, eyes wide with wonder, with worry, and some, amazing, with hope. Do they hope that they’re potentially chosen for such a role? Or do they hope that their names remain off her list?
Jae shakes her head. “No being comes to mind.”
Cassie arches her eyebrows with mild amusement. “Really? Not one?”
“No.”
It takes no time at all for the criminal to laugh back at her, as if Jae just told her the most funniest joke on all of Astria. She rears her head back and forth, her howls filling the air. But it wasn’t filled with the warmth of a genuine laugh. Or, perhaps, she wasn’t even laughing at Jae in the first place.
In response, the ring of healers around Cassie expands ever so slightly, as much as it can inside the tent.
All Jae can think about is how infuriating this whole situation is becoming. A crazed criminal, seated in the royal court, asking her for a list of healers. What about Yumi? What’s stopping her from going to the real Head Healer? She’s more than devoted enough! That’s why she’s the Head.
“What an amazing answer!” Cassie says, coming down off her giggling high. She claps her hands together and flashes her a knowing smile. “And tell me why that would be?”
“Because the only being that fits your description is Yumi,” Jae answers, her chin held high, “and she’s already under your thumb.”
There’s a slight yet very audible gasp from the crowd of healers at her revelation. Yumi, working for this maniac? they must be thinking. And they have every right to.
“So you being here and wasting my time is useless,” Jae adds. “Go get the healer you already have.”
“But that’s precisely the issue, my dear,” Cassie responds. “Yes, Yumi fits the description on all fronts but one: with her being ‘under my thumb’, her loyalties have been skewed. The king would see her as my lackey and would reject her outright, and even then, she would do almost anything to keep the infirmary I gave her. It’s all a matter of conflicts of interest, you see?”
Jae doesn’t move to agree or disagree. At this rate, she just wants Cassie gone. She’s tried her patience for long enough.
“You’re still not getting a list from me,” Jae reasserts. “For something this important, I refuse to give any names without vetting beings myself first.”
“Still no being comes to mind?” Cassie hums.
“Get out.” Jae jabs a sharp finger towards the tent’s only exit.
The flashes her one last smile, then wordlessly does as Jae demands. The crowd of healers part as she struts her way out. She flips the tent open with a quick flick of her wrist, and disappears into the wide open world on the other side.
Murmurs arise the moment the General is out of sight. Heads turn and lips part as the healers go right to gossiping. Jae can’t help but let out a chuckle of amusement at the sight.
“Alright, alright,” she finally speaks up, clapping her hands to drown out the whispers. Heads turn to her once more, looking for guidance and answers. “Let’s try and not let this get in the way of our work. I’ll have to talk to Yumi about this, but until then, don’t worry too much about whichever being will become the General of Life. We’ll… work it out.”
Her announcement doesn’t seem to put any minds at ease, though that’s not really the point. She doesn’t want the healers clawing over each other for nominations. They do that already whenever it’s time for the next Head Healer to be chosen.
Then again, simply based on the reactions to Cassie’s announcement, it doesn’t look like many healers would even want to be the General in the first place, so she doesn’t want them to forsake their duties to avoid a nomination, either.
She waves at one of the healers nearby. Their body tenses, bracing for whatever she has to say, as she tells them, “I want you to run a letter to Yumi for me.”
“S-Sure,” the healer nods back instantly.
“The rest of you, back to work,” Jae instructs the rest of the onlookers. The gathered healers promptly scatter to the wind, many dipping out of the infirmary tent with eagerness.
Jae looks around for some spare paper and a quill. Now to actually write it…
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