A Sharp Sword and A Sharp Mind
“What’s all that?”
Grime jumped, whipping around to see the now nine year old Sasha standing in behind him, looking at the vast array of maps that were tacked to the stone walls of his bedroom. The old toad had been planning out where to send his scouts next -- mainly to monitor some of the wealthier towns-when the young soldier had come in unexpectedly.
”Why are you here?” He asked sternly, raising an eyebrow.
”We finished battle practice- dinner’s being served. What are those?”
She pointed at the maps again. Grime looked at the maps, and it was then that he realized that the child didn’t know about the rest of Amphibia, other than where they lived and the villages they raided.
”...Maps....Maps of Amphibia.....”
Sasha walked closer, eyeing them.There were multiple of them -- old, yellowed maps that showed close ups of certain areas, political maps, maps that had tacs on certain areas and places.... Maps of all sorts, all covering the wall like thin, yellowish wallpaper.
”So, That’s Amphibia?” She pointed to the biggest map, right on the center of the wall,which showed a large, lily pad shaped thing, the script underneath reading “AMPHIBIA”.
”Yes, it is.....And we are....here...”
Grime placed his finger on a small area of the map that depicted mountains, labeled “The Valley”.
“ How come you got all these maps? “ Sasha asked, her eyes scanning the great map.
“ I use them to plot which towns and villages we need to visit, keep track of the towns and villages that have paid and the ones that haven’t, classify the rich, poor and barely surviving towns and villages, plan out where the next battles might be, plan out where to send scouts… many reasons.”
Sasha looked at each area on the map, her eyes falling on an area that had a tower depicted on it. She looked at the text written near it.
”Newtopia....Looks like they have a tower of their own...”
Grime nodded.”Newtopia’s the capital city of Amphibia, ruled by a colossal newt by the name of Andrias Leviathan......technically we work for him......we have to collect taxes, which we give to him, and in exchange we are given half the total amount of money gained from the collected taxes and his protection......as long as we serve him and don’t “do anything too barbaric.” He said, sounding slightly bitter.
Sasha cocked her head,looking at him, growing curious as to why the toad captain sounded so angry at the mention of this “ Andrias Leviathan.”
”So.....he’s on our side,or....?”
“The King says he doesn’t take sides......probably because the only side he’s on is his own. All he cares about is himself and his kingdom. If the frogs and other creatures in the villages and towns didn’t have to pay taxes to keep up his and the other elite’s lifestyles he’d probably give absolutely 0 fucks about them.”
He didn’t even consider the fact that he’d just sworn in front of a child. He knew that Sasha, despite her young age, was mature enough to handle such language....plus Frog knows the things she’d heard come out of the mouths of her fellow soldiers over the past three years that she’d been with them.
”.......Have you ever met the King?” Sasha asked.
”Yes......let me tell you something,Sasha.......The King was very friendly when I first met him....too friendly........at first I just thought it was because he was one of those annoying, always cheerful people who just can’t bear to feel anything other than joy because they’re too weak and pathetic to handle any other emotion......but then I saw through him......right through him.....the only reason why he acted this way was to get us to let our guard down....get us to see him as weak and harmless and then trust him so that he could use us to get exactly what he wanted.” He growled, the abhorrence he had for this newt evident in his voice.
”He used us to leech us of our money,our independence as creatures…. to make sure he got the majority of the money from the taxes that WE collected, that WE fight to get, goes to him and the newts while we don’t get nearly anything! All the while trapping us in his system so that we couldn’t go back to living on our own even if we tried. When we try to ask for more money, for a fairer cut of the cash in exchange for our services, he just laughs, smiles that lying smile of his, and tells us that we get enough money....Sure, we get enough.... Enough to fund the tower, but that's about it. Everything else here, from our armor, our weapons, our furniture, our clothes, our tarantulas and carts......it’s looted.We don’t tell him about the looting much.....we do need to give him some things that we loot, but as long as no one says a thing, we can keep what we choose. We have a well to provide us with water, but there have been times when it gets polluted or threatens to dry up, and we have to live worrying whether or not we’ll have water or not.As for our food, we must hunt and farm.....Braddock keeps a small garden up that manages to produce some vegetables to feed us despite the shit climate.....”
He sighed, breathing in an attempt to not get too angered as he talked about the grievances the king had committed against the toads.
”It's.....unfair.....to say the least.The way the newts always go first before every other species.....even the frogs seem to come before us sometimes.....”
He glared at the drawing of Newtopia at the map, his eyes were smoldering with rage.Sasha watched him with intensity, hanging in to every word that came out of the toad’s sharp toothed mouth.The girl felt rage boil inside of her- a rage that Grime and the rest of the army had felt since the day they’d learned about Andrias’s deception.
How DARE he do this to them, after all they were doing for him???
How DARE he leave them with little resources, to the point where they had to steal most of their things and look to their own devices to get resources like food and clean water while he and his rich friends lived carefree, indulgent lives off the money the toads had collected?
How DARE he!
”.....Why don’t we fight back?” She asked, eyes bright and flaming with anger.
Grime looked at her, sighing.
”No, I afraid not, Little fire eyed creature......I’m afraid that, while the Newtopian army may be comprised of weaker warriors compared to us, due to having such sheltered, well provided for existences and lesser training, they outnumber us greatly......and once you disobey the King, you are given two choices: Either you have to live underground, or face being imprisoned and possibly executed.......”
“But what if we made our army bigger?”
Grime stared at the girl. Wheels were turning inside her head,ideas forming.
”What if......next time we collect taxes......we give the villagers a choice......either they join us and join our army....or we confiscate or destroy everything they own....if they want to keep their stuff, their land.....then they can train with us.....become warriors....add to our army....”
Grime was silent.
This child......had a very,VERY good plan.
A plan that didn’t seem like something that could be thought out by a young child.....but Sasha obviously proved that notion wrong.
The girl’s mind was as sharp as the sword that hung in it’s sheath at her hip.
How could he have not thought of it sooner??
”........You’re onto something,Little fire eyed creature....” he said,turning to face her.
”......Think it could work?” Sasha asked, eyes widening.
”......Let me think about it with the others......maybe refine it a bit.....but yes, I believe this plan of yours could work...”
He looked down at her. Nine years old, and already an accomplished fighter with a title......and possibly a genius when it came to battle planning.
She was remarkable.
”Captain Grime? Dinner’s getting cold!” Alric called from downstairs.
Grime sighed,walking downstairs,Sasha right behind him.
”......Perhaps it’s time you spent less time on the practice fields and more time with me and Admiral Wormwood...”
Sasha looked up,raising an eyebrow.
”...Why?”
“Well.....you’ve already proved yourself to be incredibly skilled in warfare, Mantis Slayer.” He said,eyeing her as he referenced the title bestowed upon her by her fellow soldiers.
``But besides warfare and battle skills, a strategic mind is also another important asset for a warrior to possess....and if you spend more time with us, we can maybe take the plans you create, refine them.....and use them....maybe teach you a few things about battle planning and strategies.”
Sasha stepped closer. She felt......excited.
Excited and.....hopeful?
“....Yes....I’ll do it!” She said,trying not to let this new wave of happiness show in her voice. Grime nodded.
”Good......we’ll eat dinner now,then meet me in my room, I can start showing you all we’ve been doing regarding spies and scouting missions...”
He kept talking as they went downstairs, but all Sasha could focus on was Grime. Not only had she gotten his praise, a rare occurrence for any soldier in the army.....she’d also suddenly gained new respect from him.
She wasn’t just a child in his eyes......she was now a smart,strong young warrior who was living up to and going beyond every expectation he’d had.
It made her feel......proud of herself.
But she also suddenly felt differently about him.
He was her teacher, her captain......but.....the way he’d taken her in, the way he now offered to mentor her and educate her and get her more involved within the army.....
It was.......
Those were all things that a father would do for their child.
Things Sasha’s biological father never would’ve done for her.
Yet Grime-who many would consider unfit for fatherhood, was doing all these things for Sasha.
He......
He wasn’t just acting as her teacher and commander.
He was her father.
How had she not realized this till now?
Sasha couldn’t help but let a smile make it’s way onto her face.
She had a father......a real father....one that respected her and paid attention to her and cared about her.
She had a father......and she was going to do everything and anything she could to make sure she kept making him proud.....and that he stayed with her.....no matter what.
She didn’t care what it took.....she was going to make him proud.