![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
47thlight.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
tamingthemuseTitle: Charge
Fandom: Original
Character(s): Colonel Lawrence & Sergeant Rain
Genre(s): Drama
Rating: PG
Word Count: 640
Summary: Her decimated regiment is the only thing that stands between herself and their country's safe haven, and she must be willing to protect them at any cost.
Warnings: None
Charge
Even with the canopy of trees to shade them, rain still poured in, drenching their uniforms and dampening their spirits. Assault after assault left them badly scarred and barely considered worthy of being the capital’s defense. But for the last seven hours they had held their ground atop the steep, rocky hill, thus barring the path of the enemy.
Lawrence huffed and heaved, trying to keep her fortitude as solid as possible for her troops to take comfort in. Her strong defensive line had shrunk from over twelve hundred to a scarce two hundred and fifty willing souls still able to fight. Some of the wounds she had seen were so terrible she dared not write home about them to her kin.
As she walked up and down the ranks, gaining valuable insight into her available strength and resources, her aide, Sergeant Rain, caught up to her. “Colonel, we cannae hold this place much longer. If they come up any stronger, I’m ‘fraid we’re gonna have to retreat down the other side and hope for the cavalry to be there waitin’ for us.”
“No.” Lawrence replied firmly, not looking her adjutant’s way as she continued to survey the terrain. “No, I will not leave this place to the enemy. There’s too much at risk here.”
“With all due respect, ma’am, it’s just a hill with some trees on it. It cannae be that valuable to the nature of our cause,” the aging aide retorted, his musket seeming to gain weight the longer the day went on.
Lawrence stopped and looked down through a niche in the trees, seeing down below the consistent flow of the water down and to the left. She thought hard and quickly and surmised a plan before calling for her company commanders for a brief meeting on the tactic she had formulated.
“Once again, Sergeant, I will not leave this place to my enemy. We were brought here by fate to defend it, and defend it we shall – by running down the opposite direction you suggested.” The officers looked at their commander dumbly, wondering if what they had heard was correct or if the deafening musketry fire had damaged their hearing. When Lawrence returned their awkward stares with a confident, though poised demeanor, they knew that her plan could not be folly and rushed to their posts to exact the orders they were given.
Rain pitter-pattered through the leaves, sounding to Lawrence as though it were a marching cadence for her to finally reach the glory she had longed for so much. But now with either defeat or victory ahead of her, all dreams of grandeur fell by the wayside when she recalled the words of her mentor, General U.H.
“A hero isn’t made by the plans he makes, only when duty calls him to go above and beyond when he doesn’t even realize he’s done more than what he felt was right.”
No longer kept as a symbol of pride, nor as a tool to strengthen her resolve, she reached for her saber and drew it out to raise up high for her troops to see. Turning around and facing her regiment, she spoke, “My friends, yesterday we were mere foot soldiers marching up this hill to make camp before pressing onto the capital in its defense. Today, we are the only thing standing between our enemy and our families. Let us protect them at any cost, even if it be our lives.”
A splash of rain hit her cheek and the quick footfalls of rustling at the base of the hill prompted her to about-face and ready herself for Hell. Resolute and willing for furies, Lawrence gave the final cry.
“And when that day comes, Colonel… charge like a horse into battle. Your enemy will have no choice but to run the other way.”
Fandom: Original
Character(s): Colonel Lawrence & Sergeant Rain
Genre(s): Drama
Rating: PG
Word Count: 640
Summary: Her decimated regiment is the only thing that stands between herself and their country's safe haven, and she must be willing to protect them at any cost.
Warnings: None
Even with the canopy of trees to shade them, rain still poured in, drenching their uniforms and dampening their spirits. Assault after assault left them badly scarred and barely considered worthy of being the capital’s defense. But for the last seven hours they had held their ground atop the steep, rocky hill, thus barring the path of the enemy.
Lawrence huffed and heaved, trying to keep her fortitude as solid as possible for her troops to take comfort in. Her strong defensive line had shrunk from over twelve hundred to a scarce two hundred and fifty willing souls still able to fight. Some of the wounds she had seen were so terrible she dared not write home about them to her kin.
As she walked up and down the ranks, gaining valuable insight into her available strength and resources, her aide, Sergeant Rain, caught up to her. “Colonel, we cannae hold this place much longer. If they come up any stronger, I’m ‘fraid we’re gonna have to retreat down the other side and hope for the cavalry to be there waitin’ for us.”
“No.” Lawrence replied firmly, not looking her adjutant’s way as she continued to survey the terrain. “No, I will not leave this place to the enemy. There’s too much at risk here.”
“With all due respect, ma’am, it’s just a hill with some trees on it. It cannae be that valuable to the nature of our cause,” the aging aide retorted, his musket seeming to gain weight the longer the day went on.
Lawrence stopped and looked down through a niche in the trees, seeing down below the consistent flow of the water down and to the left. She thought hard and quickly and surmised a plan before calling for her company commanders for a brief meeting on the tactic she had formulated.
“Once again, Sergeant, I will not leave this place to my enemy. We were brought here by fate to defend it, and defend it we shall – by running down the opposite direction you suggested.” The officers looked at their commander dumbly, wondering if what they had heard was correct or if the deafening musketry fire had damaged their hearing. When Lawrence returned their awkward stares with a confident, though poised demeanor, they knew that her plan could not be folly and rushed to their posts to exact the orders they were given.
Rain pitter-pattered through the leaves, sounding to Lawrence as though it were a marching cadence for her to finally reach the glory she had longed for so much. But now with either defeat or victory ahead of her, all dreams of grandeur fell by the wayside when she recalled the words of her mentor, General U.H.
“A hero isn’t made by the plans he makes, only when duty calls him to go above and beyond when he doesn’t even realize he’s done more than what he felt was right.”
No longer kept as a symbol of pride, nor as a tool to strengthen her resolve, she reached for her saber and drew it out to raise up high for her troops to see. Turning around and facing her regiment, she spoke, “My friends, yesterday we were mere foot soldiers marching up this hill to make camp before pressing onto the capital in its defense. Today, we are the only thing standing between our enemy and our families. Let us protect them at any cost, even if it be our lives.”
A splash of rain hit her cheek and the quick footfalls of rustling at the base of the hill prompted her to about-face and ready herself for Hell. Resolute and willing for furies, Lawrence gave the final cry.
“And when that day comes, Colonel… charge like a horse into battle. Your enemy will have no choice but to run the other way.”
