A Choice Is Made

You make your way into the Sunrider Villa, watching many different warriors training against dummy's, multiple warriors are talking, eating and having a great time with one another and you also see off in the corner of the Villa a mini orgy taking place which most likely is a group of eight Sunriders and Warriors partaking in some pre-war fun. You smile and shake your head at the thought as this is just another typical day in the Syndicate as your warriors are having tons of fun the few days before war, letting all hang loose and enjoying themselves while they can.

As you reach Zoe's door, you give a knock and wait, hoping she's there and will say to come in. As you wait and wait, nothing comes from inside so you knock again, a little louder this time and still, after a few moments, nothing comes from the room. You reach your hand down and try the knob and with your luck, it turns easily. So, you turn it and press into the door, allowing it to open and flood the sunlight into the room. As you do, your eyes look around and like normal, the room is a complete disaster.

As you step inside, you close the door behind you and your eyes start to focus, clothes are everywhere, a chair at her table is turned over, food is scattered across the floor, the bed is unmade but at least, in that unmade bed is a black haired girl laying face down with her head turned to the side. A giant wet spot is around her head as either she drooled a ton in her sleep or she potentially threw up a little bit, either way, you weren't going to judge because you've been there before. At least for now, you were here on a different mission so you walk over to the table and begin to look around the contents.

You fiddle through the mess on the table, moving trash, food and random objects and don't find what you're looking for. You move next over to her dresser, fiddling through her clothes briefly, fingering through some shirts, pants, underwear and even jewelry but still, you don't find what you're looking for. As you shut the dresser drawer closed you look back at the sleeping Sunrider on the bed and to your surprise, that Sunrider is now hunched up in her bed, looking directly back at you. "O-Oh shit, hey Zoe!" you give her a half smile.

"W-What are you...ughh.." she grips her head hard, squeezing it as well as she can, "What are you doing, Darien?" she questions out, swinging her legs off the side of the bed and holding that spot for a little bit.

"G'Morning, Zoe." you reply, watching your High Commander, "Missed you this morning?" you say in a upbeat voice.

"Y-Yeah yeah yeah!" she mumbles out, "Stayed up late last night...ugh..." she groans again, clenching her eyes shut hard, "I-I, well, I had a rough night." she exclaims out, pushing herself up and standing up. She wobbles in her step, almost falling back onto the bed before her hand goes flat against the sheets and steadies herself, "Whoa!" she grins, looking at you with bloodshot eyes. "Enjoy the night yeah!?" she grins at you quickly, "But I gotta pee!" she immediately moves towards the side room where she can use the restroom.

You raise an eyebrow at the girl and watch her leave your sight, immediately slamming the door shut behind her.

In the mean time, you continue to look around her room, moving clothes, old food and random objects aside as you study her room. It isn't much longer before Zoe exits the bathroom, looking at you with a giant smile on her face, "Hi Darien!" she exclaims, "What are you doing here?! Why are you here?! What's going on?!" she rattles off quickly which worries you.

With a questioning look as you talked with her just a moment ago, yet now she seems to be full of energy and ready to go again, "Well, didn't see you at the grounds this morning, or yesterday, just worried." you shrug it off, trying to pretend you don't care one bit.

"O-Oh!" she yelps out, "I'm just, I"m just, well, I'm having fun! We leave for war soon and I'm enjoying myself! I know I"m amazing, I know it! I know it! I'm the best, the very best! I'm a High Commander! I don't need to train, I'm so good I wanted to take a break and have fun!"

"Oh yeah?" you question her, watching as her personality went from aching in pain to feeling amazing, "That's good yeah?"

"Y-Yup!!!" she yelps, "The very best! I've been feeling great, training great! Having a great time back here at the Syndicate and I'm ready to crush some Rathkin forces! We're gonna rock this war, Darien, rock all those bad warriors!" she grins ear to ear, "You and me, side by side, the very best warriors!"

"Yeah, it should be a ton of fun..." you step towards her, glancing over her body.

"Darien, what are you, oh stop it! Don't you dare! Not you!" she grins, "I'm not, no way, no way at all!"

"Where is it..." you eventually grumble out as your eyebrows furrow and you almost glare at the girl.

"Don't you act like that, Darien!" she grins, moving to the table and trailing her finger among the clothes "You are trying to be all sly and seductive again and I'm not, nope, I'm not gonna fall for it!" her hand throws up to the air.

"Zoe..." you look at her again, not playing anymore games, "Where is it?"

"W-Where is what?!" she grins, "What are you talking about? I can't believe you! I c-can't believe you would do this to me, try to seduce me on these last few days. Oh Darien! I expected better from y-you!" she smiles, nodding a few times, "You little jerk! Trying so hard!"

"Where's the Snuff." your monotone voice lets out, not giving a single shit about any of the words she says.

"S-Snuff? What? What's that? I don't know what you're tal..."

"Don't fucking lie to me." you interrupt her as you step forward and put pressure on the young girl.

"U-Uhh, Darien, I d-don't understand w-what you're..." her hands rub the sides of her shirt, "I don't know w-what you're talking..."

"Zoe, I swear to the Syndicate Suns..." you glare at her again, stepping your entire body right up to hers.

"Darien!" she grumbles out, stuttering your name slightly. "I-I-I don't know what y-you're t-t-thinking about?!" she plays it off, "I-I'm tired and h-hungover!" she nods, sniffling her nose a few times.

At that moment in time, you knew that Zoe was still indulging herself in that addicting drug known as Snuff. It made you feel terrible, it pissed you off and truthfully you wish you could just grab Zoe and shake some sense into her to ask her what the hell she was doing.

"W-What's up, Darien?!" she exclaims, "I'm only having some fun before we leave for war!" she grins, nodding up and down over and over again, trying her best to convince you.

"No we aren't." you reply in a stern voice.

"H-Huh?!" she questions, shrugging her shoulders, "We aren't? W-What are you saying? I'm confused!" she gives a few forced laughs, looking over your body.

"No, Zoe." you begin to let out, "We're not leaving in two days..."

"Oh?" she scratches the side of her head, "So we're leaving sooner? Or later? Or did something change? Either way, I'm ready!" she grins again, looking directly into your eyes.

"Nope." you reply almost instantly, "We're not leaving for Rathkin at all."

"Huh? We're not? What? I'm confused?"

"We're not leaving..." you grumble out, glaring back at your Sunrider, "I'm leaving..."

Zoe looks at you, cocking her head and giving you a questioning look, "I-I don't understand? When are we leaving?"

With a deep exhale you stare at the ground and your eyes can't help but form a miniature glaze over themselves, "Zoe..." you begin as they now dart back up, connecting with her own, "As of this moment, I relieve you of your High Commander duties..." you say slowly, letting those words sink in, "And as of today, you are no longer welcome as a Sunrider on my forces." you gulp down, watching her expression change, "I'm sorry, but you're no longer a warrior of the Syndicate."

Silence. There was finally silence for a handful of seconds before Zoe starts to laugh hysterically, "O-Okay, Darien!!! Hahaha!!! Nice joke! I get it! Haha! That was good, but wow! Jokes on me! Very funny!" she grins, ear to ear, not believing your words.

You stand strong, not showing her any chink in your armor, "Sorry Zoe." you repeat again, giving her another stern look.

"Darien..." the reality finally begins to sink into your ex-high commander, "I'm...you...no..." she mumbles out.

"You're to stay here, in the Syndicate while we march south." you reply, "That's an order."

"N-No..." she mumbles out, "No way, you're lying! I don't believe it. You wouldn't do this! No way!" she repeats herself, looking at your face and seeing the seriousness in your expression, "Darien, please! Don't do this, no! I've trained! I want to be there! Please! Please!!!!" she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around you, "I'm not addicting to this drug, I was just having fun before war, that's it! Don't do this, please!"

"You lied to me." you immediately tell her, "I told you there would be consequences, I told you to stop using it..." you turn your face away from her own, not wanting to connect with her eyes, "I told you, yet still, you used the drug." you take a gulp down, your heart beating hard as you take a few deep breaths, "I asked you to stop and you said you would. You told me you wanted to sell it, get some gold and buy others things. You told me you wouldn't use it. You told me that!" you look emotionally at her, "But you lied." the words roll of your tongue, "You lied to me, Zoe. After everything I've done to you...." you close your eyes as your head tilts to the ground, "I'm sorry, Zoe, you lost my trust."

"Darien!" she pulls her body into your own, gripping you tight, "P-Please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Don't do this! It was a mistake, I didn't mean to do it! Darien! Please!!!" she pleads over and over again. "You can't do this, I'm a warrior! A fighter! I'm here for the Syndicate! I can't sit back and wait, I want to be by your side! P-Please?!"

"I'm sorry, Zoe." you grumble out as your eyes still can't make contact with the dark haired girl, "You broke my trust and I can't have you leading my warriors into battle anymore."

"P-Please!!!" she begs, pulling herself forward and rubbing your back, "Darien, please!!!" she wails again but now her head flings forward, giving you kisses around your face, pecking your cheeks and your lips, trying her best to do whatever she can to win you back.

"Stop." you don't move a muscle, "Just stop." you say again, causing the girl to freeze from her friendly kisses on your face.

"Darien, I'm here for you, don't do thi.."

"Sorry, Zoe." you interrupt her, "You're staying here in the Syndicate as we march south." you continue, "That's an order."

"N-No!" she steps back, glaring at you, "I won't do it! I'll march south! I'll fight for the Syndicate! I won't allow you to decide my faith! Screw you, Darien! If I want to fight for Sicilian I will!" she stomps her foot down, "This is MY city, this is MY war, this is MY fight!!!" she yells out, trying to gain an upper hand from whatever she can.

"You're staying here Zoe." you reply, looking at her eyes only briefly, connecting with those black irises before you veer them below, feeling almost guilty and bad for denying this girl, but you know it's the right thing to do, "You will stay here, in the Syndicate and defend my soon to be wife. You will defend your queen and you will defend your city."

"Darien, p-please!" she exclaims, "D-Don't do this...I'm serious, I'm not addicted, I'm just havi..."

"That's an order, Zoe." you interrupt her, giving her a nod and turning around. At the same time you reach for the doorknob and grip it, turning it to the side.

"Darien!" she wails, tears flowing down her cheeks, "Please!!! Don't!!!" she wails out, trying her best to convince you. "Y-You can't do this to me! Darien, I'll talk to Lexie! Don't you dare! Lexie will tell you whats up, no way will she allow this!" she rattles words off, "You're gonna be in so much trouble! I can't wait to see your face after I tell her!" her words continue to do what they can to convince you.

You stand there for a moment, the door half open as the black haired ex-high commander argues behind you, her voice, her wails, her pleads, they sound so tempting and worthwhile but no, with another deep breath, you exhale that air out, focus your thoughts and step outside, closing the door behind you and sealing the fate of Zoe behind you.