[Waking by Hand]

"What was that?" The Dark Lord stopped walking and turned to look at General Avery. The Dark Lord was not wearing her imposing, horned helmet and her long silver hair flowed freely.

"Nothing my lord!" General Avery fell to his knees and apologized profusely as soon as he had her attention. Even on his knees, the lean elf was still almost as tall as the teenage Dark Lord. "Forgive me! It's not for me to know your plans!" Even as Avery begged for his life, he couldn't help but notice the Dark Lord's warm smile.

He couldn't help the sniveling, try as he might; but, deep down he knew she wouldn't actually hurt him. There was a reason General Avery was loyal. The Dark Lord was actually a polite, pleasant person. She giggled at him as she reached her hand out to help him up.

"I told you to quit doing that...," she said. General Avery accepted her assistance. She was much stronger than one would assume based on her appearance; there was a reason she was the Dark Lord. "...But seriously, what did you say?" she asked once they started walking forward again. General Avery was escorting the Dark Lord for her daily rounds and giving her the appropriate reports. But, he was so comfortable around her that he accidentally spoke his mind.

"It was merely a bad joke, my lord," General Avery shook his head. But, it was more than that. The elven General was concerned about the campaign and his own sanity. Every fiber of his body was telling him to keep his thoughts to himself. All he had to do was keep quiet and follow that programming; but, he really wanted to make a different choice. The more he wrestled with it, the more he realized he could make a different choice. It was difficult but not impossible. "..it's just that...," he struggled to get the first words out. But, the Dark Lord stopped walking again and gave him her full attention.

"Just what?" she asked. The Dark Lord's kindness was enough encouragement to help Avery through. He was having trouble putting his ideas together and he blurted out the half-formed question.

"Why are you conquering the world with a children's card game?? HOW??" he asked. She tilted her head at him.

"That's an insightful question," she said. Her observation was followed by a sudden question. "What's your favorite number?"

"One, why?" General Avery answered. The Dark Lord nodded and smirked.

"Oh boy, you're in for a few surprises," she said. "First of all...," The Dark Lord stepped closer to General Avery and offered him her hand. "....my name is Emily," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Avery."

"Thanks...," Avery shook her hand. They'd obviously met before, he'd worked very hard to achieve her goals. But, this time it felt like he was meeting her personally; and, more than that. Something about their handshake and the way she met his eyes. He felt like he was her equal. "...what do you mean surprises?" he asked.

"You'll see," Emily replied. "I don't have a lot of time right now; but, I can answer your other question. You wanted to know why I'm using a 'children's card game'...," Emily used air quotes. "...to conquer everything, right?" Avery nodded.

"The simple answer is, that's my class. I'm a Card Mage," she said. She made a motion with her hand in the air and suddenly she was holding several cards splayed out between her fingers. She flipped her hand over again and they were gone just as instantly. "...A necromancer would try to conquer the world with the undead, a wizard would use magic, I use cards," she said.

"As for how I am achieving my goals using a Children's card game...," Emily shrugged and winked. "...I'm just kind of making it up as I go along. I'm doing okay so far," she giggled. "If it works, it works."

"Ohhh..," Avery found he was somewhat disappointed with her lack of plan. This whole time he thought he was serving a greater ideal. He thought the Dark Lord was special and unique; but, he was starting to realize he was just some school girl. His loyalty flickered in the back of his mind. It happened for the briefest of moments; he let a stray thought take form: "I could be a better Dark Lord."

"Hey, Emily, where's the patient?" A new voice startled Avery. He turned and saw another teenage girl, this one with dark violet hair, standing with them.

"Hey, Vivi," Emily nodded at Avery. "This is Avery. He just Woke up," she said.

"Great, it's nice to meet you Avery," Vivi offered him a handshake and he accepted it.

"Thank you... who are you?" She grinned.

"I'm going to take you to Mundo, he'll answer all your questions," she said.

"My lord?" Avery looked at Emily out of habit and she nodded at him.

"Go ahead, Vivi will take care of you," she said. Then, she added a reminder. "My name's Emily."

***
Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1778 in a row. (Story #333 in year five.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at this link.