Disclaimer: All the respective characters and places in my story are owned by Sunrise and Bandai.
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"Commander."
"Yes captain." A tall, well built man in his late teens with short brown hair replied.
"It would seem that a large group of bandits took advantage of our absence and raided this village." The captain responded. His face was coated with dirt and blood from yesterday's battle. His blond hair was almost unrecognizable from the vile red liquid that was caked on it. "They are not here anymore though."
The commander returned his gaze to the burnt ruins of what used to be a bustling agricultural community. The charred remains of animals and people alike littered the streets. Signs of a violent resistance were visible from makeshift barricades, broken pitch forks, and cracked sickles.
"Search for survivors."
The captain nodded and turned to relay the orders to a waiting platoon when he asked," What of the bandits?"
"They couldn't have gone too far. When we find them, when I find them, I will butcher the little fuckers myself."
"Yes sir." The captain shivered a bit before going on his way.
The commander could be quite ruthless at times. The captain thought. Still, he (the commander) had the men's unwavering loyalty. His brilliant strategies and masterful use of unorthodox field tactics that greatly minimized casualties had decided the outcome of the war before the first battle started. However, what won the soldiers over was his willingness to lead and fight in the front lines.
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The commander searched around even though he is well aware that the chances of finding any survivors were slim to none.
Damn it. He thought. They just won a major battle and now this. What the hell was his father thinking? All villages that were anywhere near the place of battle was supposed to be evacuated to the capital.
Come to think of it, I asked for reinforcements and received none. Good thing I had a handful of reserve troops that proved useful. It's almost as if he wanted me…………oh…… he chuckled for a bit. Of course he did.
His musing was cut short when he heard some whimpering in the water mill that was still very much intact.
He slowly crept inside and was disgusted at what he saw.
A bandit who seemed to have stayed behind was violating a peasant woman. He noticed that the victim was already badly bleeding from an earlier injury.
He silently went behind the bandit and slowly pulled out his hatchet, thought about it for a moment, sheathed the blade back in, and grabbed the criminal by his hair and shirt.
The shock on the scum's face slightly amused him as he dragged the bandit to the other end of the water mill. The thug tried to reach for his weapon but it was to no avail as the commander threw him head first on the path of the massive milling stone.
The bandit's body twitched for a bit as the agricultural appliance crushed his head. The blood and gore slowly mixed in with the wheat.
I guess I won't be eating that.
The commander turned his attention to the woman and held her up. "Can you stand?" She just whimpered as blood started pouring out of her mouth.
Too late.
The poor woman raised her arm and pointed at a trapdoor under a stack of farming equipment.
She died not a moment later.
He covered the female corpse with a tarp before moving on to the trapdoor. The floor creaked as he removed the heavy metal tools. The commander cautiously opened the wooden door and saw an unconscious little girl who couldn't be more than seven with vibrant pink hair. He picked her up and wrapped the fragile package with his field coat.
He looked around one more time and left the milling shed before setting it on fire. The commander didn't even look back as it burned to the ground.
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The bumpy ride slowly woke the pink haired girl. She blinked a couple of times before finally focusing her eyes. The memories of what happened rushed in and she shot up screaming "Mama!!!!Meer!!!!"
An arm held her down and a soothing voice said "Calm down. You might fall off the horse."
She looked at the source of the voice and saw a young man with brown hair and violet eyes looking at her. She started crying and whimpering "Where is mama? Where is Meer?" The man was silent for a bit.
"Your mother is gone I'm afraid. I was unable to be there in time. As for this Meer, you were the only one in there."
The little girl started sobbing louder as the man held her closer. "Hush child. It's over now. You are safe."
"Really? What becomes of me now?"
"We head for the capital of Orb. We will see what happens from there." The commander's eyes softened, "By the way, I didn't catch your name."
The pink haired girl sniffled and looked once more at her savior. She didn't notice before but despite the many scars that adorned his face, he was quite handsome. She blushed, "My name is Lacus Clyne."
The commander smiled for the first time, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Clyne. You can call me Kira and everything is going to be fine."
End Prologue
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