"So, now you get to hear all about my time in the truly illustrious armed forces of this country" said Felix, with sarcasm all but exploding from his words.

In yet another surprising moment, Violet stopped typing and looked at him with a look that the guards often gave him when he ran his mouth, "I thought you were a proud soldier. Your tone suggests otherwise"

Felix had to laugh, "Oh, I am. Very proud actually. But am I proud of the army I served in as a soldier? Not so much"

Click click click

"I don't think I understand. How can you be a proud soldier if you are not also proud of the army you served in?" she asked, less annoyed this time.

Felix waved his mug around in a circling motion, "Where are we, Violet?"

"A prison"

"That's right, and what is a prison?"

Click click click

"A place where criminals are sent as punishment for their crimes" she said, typing away

Felix took a sip of the mug, "More generally than that. Try this, what does a Prison, a School, a Library and a Post office all have in common?"

"They are all buildings" Violet replied

Click click click

"Well, actually, you're right, but that's not the right word I'm looking for" Felix said, draining the mug.

Violet stopped typing, and placed a gloved hand under her chin. After thinking for a long time, she typed out a single word.

Click.

"Institutions" Violet said, "a Prison, a School, a Library and a Post Office are all institutions. Specifically, they are institutions of the government. And each has a very specific set of rules that people inside must obey"

"Good job Violet, you really are a pro at words. I wish I could explain things like you can" said Felix, opening the third thermos.

Click click click

"With time and effort, anyone can understand any topic. It simply requires patient study and careful reading of material containing the subject you wish to understand better" said Violet as she typed.

Easy to say when you can't read thought Felix.

"So, the Army. The Magistrate told me it was a better deal, said three hot meals a day, decent pay and a bed to sleep in every night. All the things I had back home on Schalcten Street. So I figured, why not? Couldn't have been worse than any other point of my life, right?" Felix said, ending with a question.

Click click click

Violet looked up, "Did you want me to give you my opinion, or was that a rhetorical question?"

"A what?!"

"Rhetorical. It means you do not actually expect an answer to this question" Violet said.

Felix stumbled over the word, "Rerohical"

"Rhetorical" Violet corrected.

"Retorikal" replied Felix, still mispronouncing.

"Ree-tor-ee-cull" Violet said, slowly.

"Rhetorical" said Felix.

Violet nodded at her friend, "Well done, Felix. I had confidence you could say this word correctly"

"Rhetorical," Felix said yet again, "It means I don't actually expect an answer to the question. I wonder if that's what the Magistrate meant when he asked me, "Army or Prison, son?". He was Rhetorical"

Click click click

"It is an adjective. Adjectives are used to describe or modify other words, to make a word more specific or meaningful. Typically, you use an adjective before a noun. For example, the coffee in your mug is hot and delicious. 'Hot' and 'Delicious' are descriptive adjectives. 'When should we continue your story, Felix?'. When is an interrogative adjective, used to ask a motivational question. 'Olaf is an old guard in this prison'. Old is an attributive adjective, used to discuss a specific trait" Violet said, educating her client.

Felix leaned back, never missing an opportunity, "Hey Olaf! You hear that?! Violet says your trait is that you're old, Old Man!"

Old Olaf walked over to the blanket quicker than his age allowed with his truncheon in hand, "I'm warning you, Felix, you little punk. I've got a bed in the hospital waiting for you with your name on it!"

Felix laughed, and tossed a sandwich at the Old guard, "I'm just practicing new words, relax. Here, have a sandwich straight from the Felix Deli"

Olaf opened the wrapper and took a bite. Salami was delicious, delicious enough to forget the beating he was about to lay on Felix for his smart mouth.

As Olaf returned to his chair by the door to the inside of the prison, Felix poured a new mug of coffee and asked, "Was this what school is like? Learning new words all day? Might not have been so bad"

Click click click

It had to be the coffee. The soothing liquid was also soothing his nerves. It was the only reason the typewriter-turned-rifle wasn't bothering him today.

"Perhaps. I did not have a formal education either. I have learned mostly through reading books at the institution called the Leiden Public Library. But I believe you are attempting to delay your story about your service in the Army, Felix" Violet answered.

"Nothing gets past you, does it? You got me, Violet, I was trying to stretch it out a bit" Felix sighed.

He took a deep breath, and continued, "I told the Magistrate 'Army', after his Rhetorical question. So the next day, they loaded me and twenty other kids into the back of a huge lorry and drove us out to the mountains north of the capital. It was the Army's main training camp before the war. We got there in the middle of the night, and after we piled out of the lorry, they started training us right away"

Click click click

"What was your first training experience like?" Violet asked.

"The Sargent walked forward and started yelling at us. He told us we were all worthless, and that if we wanted a place in his army, we had to earn it by knocking him on his ass" Felix replied, draining yet another mug.

The third thermos was almost empty. He wondered how long he could keep going.

"So, one at a time, we ran up to him, and he knocked everyone else out in seconds. I remembered how to steal during that night, so I waited to the very end before my turn. I watched the other kids try to fight the Sargent. Some of them were bigger than me, some of them were smaller. Some were faster, some were slower. Some of them knew how to fight, others had no idea what to do. But the Sargent took every one of them down. It was like he had a plan for every attack" he continued.

Click click click

"What did you do?" Violet asked.

"There was only one thing I could do. Nothing. I just kept my place in the line and didn't move or say anything. The Sargent walked up to me and asked me what I was doing. I said 'nothing'. He tried to goad me into attacking him, saying that obviously I didn't want a place in his army. So I said no, I don't, because the only way in seems to be to beat you in a fight, and I just watched you beat nineteen other kids. I know I can't beat you, so I'm not going to fight" said Felix.

He reached over and put his hand on Violet's shoulder, just as the Sargent had done, "So he said to me, 'Kid, you might just be the smartest private I've ever trained. Because the fifth art of war is to win without ever fighting'. I didn't even know there was arts of war, let alone five of them"

Click click click

"There are fifty actually, in the first volume of the book anyway. I can bring you a copy tom morrow if you want to read them" Violet replied, not bothered by Felix's hand.

Felix removed his hand, and took another sip, "That's alright, but cool, I never figured out how many arts there were. And the next day, we started the actual training. Running, climbing, jumping, swimming, how to make fires, knowing what plants were safe to eat in the wild. There was a lot of useful skills, but we didn't learn anything that I thought soldiers were supposed to learn, like fighting or shooting just yet"

"I asked the Sargent one night, when do you teach us how to shoot? And he said to me, 'You can't take a life until you know how to protect your own, because the odds are there's someone out there who wants to live more than you do'. At the end of the month, he gave us our final challenge. They drove us to the middle of nowhere somewhere, gave us a pair of boots, and said we had to make our way back to our barracks on our own. We had two days and two nights to get back. If we took longer, we failed. One of the kids asked what were we supposed to do about food or water. The Sargent just said, "That's for you to figure out, Private'. And then he left, and we were on our own" Felix said, shuddering as he remembered that cold week.

Click click click.

The third thermos was finally empty, and Felix felt his stress starting to rise. He decided to stop before it got to him. This was important, and he needed to make sure he didn't leave anything out.

"Stop. Let's uh, let's take a break Violet" Felix said, lying down on the blanket.

Violet removed her hands from the typewriter and looked into her basket, "Oh, we have run out of coffee"

"Yep, probably gonna have to bring more next time. Cya tomorrow then?" Felix asked.

"Maybe. I have an idea. Stay here for a moment" Violet said, reaching into the basket and taking out a leather pouch and one of the empty thermos.

She stood up and walked towards Olaf. The Old Guard had fallen asleep in the warm sun, and Felix placed her gloved hand gently on his shoulder, "Olaf? Are you awake?"

He was startled slightly, but regained his composure quickly, "Yes, yes. I wasn't sleeping! I was...checking my eyelids for holes. Did you need something, Miss? Does Felix need a lesson in manners?"

Violet shook her head, "No sir. We have run out of coffee. I did bring some grinds, but I need a place to brew them. Is there a kitchen in this prison I can make use of?"

Olaf brushed his mustache as he thought of the answer to the question, "Hmm. The Warden will have my rear if I let you into our kitchen. I'm not actually even supposed to let you outside, truth be told"

"And yet, we are outside" Violet said.

Olaf laughed, raised his old bones from the chair and held open the door, "When you get to be my age, young Miss, you stop caring about things like that. I'll take you to the kitchen myself to make sure none of these other punks try anything smart"

Violet bowed and proceeded through the door. Before Olaf closed it behind them, he shouted back to Felix, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't try to climb over the fence while I'm gone, young punk. The dogs will be on you the second you get over!"

Felix held up the empty thermos, "Why would I leave when there's good coffee coming? I think your too old for this job, Old Man!"