Chapter Two
"Mithros bless, Kel, why are you still awake at this hour?" Faleron stumbled wearily into her tent. Kel looked up from the paperwork in front of her.
"I just got back from guard duty and wanted to polish off a few more things before going to sleep, that's all," she replied.
"Why on earth were you on guard duty? Isn't that what the soldiers are for?" Kel sighed as Faleron sat down on her cot.
"Not guard duty properly. Seaver was feeling ill and asked me to cover his position for him. Just a supervisory kind of thing, but Captain Lawson insists that we keep every position filled even if we haven't seen hide nor hair of the enemy since I got here over a month ago." She tried and, judging from Faleron's expression, failed to keep the resentment out of her voice. "Sorry, I'm just tired and a little cranky."
"I think we're all starting to feel that way. It's frustrating, day in and day out preparing for an enemy that just won't come. I know they kept fighting after you destroyed their killing devices, but maybe they changed their mind once summer rolled around again."
"It's possible; this time last year we'd already seen at least a few skirmishes down at Haven and we got reports saying that Wyldon and Raoul both saw some action. This year it's dead quiet."
"Well, we can't fight an enemy that we don't have. If Maggur's done fighting, it'd be nice if he would let us know so that we can all go home. What are you going to do when this war is finally over?" Kel thought about it for a moment.
"You mean after I catch up with everyone? I think I'd like to go visit the Yamani Islands again. Then again, I think that it would be good for Tobe to work with Daine and I don't think he'd appreciate it if I dumped him in a strange city and then took off across the sea. But I'd like to see them again." Kel chuckled.
"What?"
"My old training master, Mistress Nariko, I don't know if she'd be proud or if she would just toss me on the ground and lecture me for getting cocky. Probably the latter. But what about you, Faleron? Any big plans when you get off the front line?" He was silent. For a moment, Kel thought he had fallen asleep on her bed.
"I don't know. But I'm really looking forward to relaxing. I think I would probably spend some time at King's Reach, it's got the best orchards in the realm. You should see them sometime, when we're not at war." Faleron described his home, clearly clinging to fond memories of the place. Kel tried not to yawn; his stories were interesting, but by Mithros she was exhausted.
She could almost see the orchards, warm and sunny. It was too early in the season for ripe apples, but it was a beautiful, calm day. Kel sat down at the base of a tree and picked up the shirt she was mending. She leaned back and made several lazy stitches, her needle moving with ease through the soft fabric. A light breeze whispered through the leaves up ahead.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder.
"Kel, I think you should go to bed now."
"Wha— Faleron, did I fall asleep? I'm so sorry, I was listening. And then I was dreaming about sitting in an apple orchard."
"It's alright. It's late, Kel. Get some sleep. That work can wait until morning, you're too tired to finish it now. Honestly, I have no idea how you managed to work on it at all, it's so late out." Faleron helped her over to the cot and removed her boots for her. She thought about objecting, but her limbs were heavy and she knew that she would only fall asleep again. Faleron was right; her work would just have to wait. He tugged on the blankets until they covered her, then blew out the candle on his way out.
"'Night, Kel," he whispered. She wasn't sure if she replied or not.
Kel woke up at her usual time the next morning. After a quick stretch and a rushed practice dance, Kel set her glaive aside and returned to the little desk she'd acquired.
Two candle marks later, the previous night's paperwork was finished. Looking at her work, Kel noticed that this morning's handwriting was much more legible than last night's scrawl. She couldn't remember ever being that tired, but she was sure that she had been at some point before.
Next, Kel turned to the letter from Neal. Although it only arrived yesterday, Kel knew that her friend was eagerly awaiting her reply. To be honest, Kel too had craved correspondence. She was itching for news of her friends and of New Hope; this was the first word she'd heard from the town.
Dearest, darlingest Kel,
Yes, I know that 'darlingest' is not a word, but scholars such as I have often invented new phrasing when other phrases were simply inadequate.
How is life with the army? I am sure that it must seem like your presence has been thrust upon a company of uncivilized brutes, and for that I am so sorry that I cannot be there to lighten the burden. Is Tobe keeping out of trouble? One day I'm sure that he's going to go about starting mischief, given the influences that he has suffered through. For that matter, are you keeping out of trouble? I seem to recollect a few bruises and fights when we were in our heyday.
Life here is good. Although we haven't seen any Scanran activity, life at New Hope is never boring, as you are well aware. Yes, the fields are thoroughly planted, as I know you were about to ask, were we speaking in person.
Kel smiled. Yes, she probably would have done just that.
Several more acres are in the process of being cleared while the wood is used to build more houses. Sometimes even I am surprised at how quickly these northerners can work! Those who are not otherwise engaged have continued their lessons, with zeal, I might add.
The other day, Irani gave me the most wonderful news — I'm going to see you soon! I do not know how soon or under what circumstances, she refused to tell me, but I am excited all the same. I was already training several assistants to take over for me in the infirmary, but now I have reason to be particularly thorough. For the most part, they are good pupils and I have the sincerest belief that they shall learn everything that I can teach them within a month or two — which is pretty impressive, I'll have you know, because they came to me with little knowledge and I with little experience in teaching. My how the times have changed!
Merric is doing as well as may be expected; his wounds from last year are healed, but I'm afraid to add that he'll never be the same. Oh, he can walk and ride alright, but he tires much more quickly and he is significantly less active than he used to be. Sometimes he complains of an ache, but only when he is at the end of his rope. Even the orphans have stopped giving him a hard time. Unfortunately, their efforts have been concentrated on me to make up for it, I think.
My bride has adjusted well to life in the north. Since her magnificent arrival, some of the men built us a proper house and the women helped her fashion linens for it. I would have protested that such efforts were too much, but I knew that they would have brooked no objections. In any case, Yuki was thrilled. I think that she was a little nervous about her incorporation here, but the townsfolk welcomed her with open arms. I like to think that they want to see me happily situated.
Looking forward to seeing you again soon!
-Neal
P.S. If you would be so kind, please pass on my regards to Tobe, and anyone else I may know in camp.
As she folded Neal's letter, Kel could not believe how relieved she felt. Logically, she knew that New Hope would do just fine without her, but she still worried about the ever-growing town. She set out to draft a response to Neal's letter.
Dearest, darlingest, Nealan,
I'm glad to hear that everyone is in good health and that planting is well under way. I cannot wait to see how much New Hope has grown since I left it!
I am afraid that life here has been too busy and yet so tedious to give you much of an account. I spend most of my day working, although it seems like as the days go on I do a lot more paperwork and a lot less training. I say training, because, like you, we haven't seen any Scanrans, let alone combat, since I arrived a month ago. It's not just me though; everyone here is itching to do something real and tempers are running a little high because of it. But that's just my opinion.
Tobe and I are well, though we don't see each other very often. Faleron and Seaver are both assigned here as well, though I only see them a little more frequently than Tobe, for all that we are all knights with similar tasks.
Tobe is— surprise, surprise, working with the army's horses. There isn't anyone else here his age, but I think he's adjusting as well as can be expected. He complains a lot about his new coworkers and supervisors, but I think it's mostly just hot air rather any serious issues.
I look forward to seeing you again. Perhaps that means that we'll be doing something interesting for a change!
Your friend,
Kel
She made a note to share Neal's letter with Tobe whenever she saw him next. Although, she realized sadly, they might as well be in separate camps. Even though their tents remained pitched next to each other, Kel only saw Tobe on the rare occasion that they were both up and about at the same time.
The camp around her was still quiet. For the millionth time, Kel thanked the gods that she had always been an early riser. She looked down at her task list, trying to decide which to tackle before breakfast. These days, Kel often found herself working on camp supplies, putting her math skills to use. It was only when, a request for spears finished, Kel noticed the sparrow lying on top of her trunk, and only then because she wanted a fresh set of clothes from within.
Kel felt her eyes watering, threatening to overflow. When the tears came, she only tried half-heartedly to stop them. Looking down at the dead bird, she realized that she couldn't even remember its name. It felt like a lifetime ago when she had last paid much heed to the sparrows. Part of her assumed that they would always be there. At least this sparrow died peacefully, though Kel knew that it had scouted for her and probably saved her life, at least once. Hot tears ran down her face. She didn't deserve animal companions if she couldn't even be bothered to identify them. Snot ran down her nose; Kel swiped at it angrily.
She wanted to keep crying forever. But a small part of Kel's mind knew that she was crying more because it felt good to cry, as tired as she was, rather than for the sake of the sparrow. She didn't deserve the sparrow's help. The sparrows didn't deserve to be taken for granted. Kel let out a long exhale and tried to inhale slowly, attempting to calm herself down.
The least she could do was give the unnamed sparrow some sort of burial. Once upon a time, Kel would have wrapped the sparrow in a spare bit of cloth, or cut some from her shirt, but now both were in short supply. Instead, she decided to use her spare shirt to carry the body; while most people were only just waking up, Kel didn't want to answer any questions about why she was carrying a dead bird in her hands. The sparrow securely folded into the shirt, Kel left her tent in search of a shovel.
Shovel in hand, Kel walked out to the edge of camp, away from prying eyes. She tried not to think about how many latrine holes the shovel had been used for. Luckily, Kel didn't run into anyone she knew as she went. She planted her foot on the shovel and scooped out a small amount of dirt. Carefully, she dumped the sparrow into the little hole before covering it once more. It wasn't like the first sparrow burial, years ago in a quiet garden in Persopolis, but it was the best she could do with the resources she had. On her way back through camp, she returned the shovel before heading off to breakfast.
Unfortunately, she bumped into Quinden on the way there.
"Well if it isn't the famous Protector of the Small! You've got your filthy shield and people are still calling you names… isn't that a little sad?"
"A pleasure, as always, Quinden," she replied curtly. Although Kel had done her best to avoid her former year-mate, it was not always possible. She tried to walk past him, but he stepped in her way.
"What, you don't have time to catch up with little old me? Tell me, how bad was being stuck with a bunch of commoners for the brunt of the war? I mean, even a scum lover like you must have found it miserable, even if it kept you from messing up anything too important…. I guess that's why you didn't try to stop the Scanran dogs from burning your place down. Then again, that's what happens when jumped up sluts sleep their way into command positions."
"And yet, I see that you aren't leading any more patrols. I guess command realized that you're too lazy and arrogant to handle even that much responsibility," she countered. Quinden flushed.
"That's none of your business!"
"Oops, sorry. I didn't realize your demotion was such a touchy subject. Well, I'll be off now. It was so great catching up, we'll have to do this again sometime." Kel walked around him again. Maybe there was hope for him after all, because Quinden didn't try to stop her a third time. She almost made it to the mess tent when someone jogged up to her. Kel wheeled around, irritated.
"What— Oh, sorry, Faleron. I thought it was Quinden again."
"Yeah, I heard the last bit of that," Faleron smiled. Kel sighed.
"I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I'm a little cranky today."
"I don't think you're cranky," said Faleron. "I just think that Neal's finally getting to you. He's a bad influence."
"Well, I guess that's alright. But stop me if I start composing flowery poetry to Captain Lawson's eyebrows or something."
"I don't know, that would be rather amusing," he teased as he entered the mess tent. Kel followed Faleron through the queue for food, oatmeal again, and then to a small bench where Seaver already sat, bowl in hand.
"Hey guys," he called.
"Morning, Seaver."
"How are you feeling?" Kel asked.
"Much better, thanks for covering for me last night. I owe you." Kel shrugged.
"What are friends for?" Beyond that, there was little chit chat as the knights ate. Kel wasn't a picky eater, but after a month of mediocre oatmeal, she found it best to try to taste as little as possible. What she would give for just a smidgen of honey. Bowl scraped clean, Kel deposited it the bus bin and left with Faleron and Seaver, discussing the daily camp conference.
"Do you reckon that we'll actually discuss anything important today?" asked Faleron. Seaver snorted.
"Yeah, right."
"Oh come on, it's not very interesting, but we always cover upcoming decisions. You can't tell me that's not important," argued Kel.
"If they were major decisions, or maybe controversial ones, I would agree with you," countered Seaver. "But they're usually about some little problem that's blown out of proportion with only one or two obvious solutions that everyone agrees on anyways. We don't need to meet every day to discuss that." Faleron nodded in agreement.
"Sorry, Kel, but I'm with Seaver on this one. I think we're just meeting so that we can say that we did something, but we all know that we're practically twiddling our thumbs until Maggur surrenders."
"That's exactly what I would like to discuss this morning," said an older man.
"Good morning, Captain Lawson," the group chorused as they bowed briefly. Although socially, three knights would never defer to a common-born captain, the army followed strict military discipline.
"Yes, yes. Get in. I want to discuss finding a way to force Maggur's hand; if he's not going to bring the fight to us, we had better bring the fight to him!"
"Really, sir?" Lawson's mustache twitched with mirth.
"Really, Keladry. But I won't say anything more until everyone is assembled; I don't want to repeat myself unnecessarily." Kel, Faleron, and Seaver found seats next to each other. To her disappointment (though not to her surprise), Quinden still joined these talks and was already here. She looked around at everyone but him. Finally, Lawson addressed the room at large.
"Now, as I am sure you are all aware, this summer has been unusually quiet compared to previous years throughout the war. Well, I don't know about all of you, but I'm tired of cooling my heels out on the border. I would much rather go home to my family and cool my heels there. So, to make that happen, we need to end this war.
"But Maggur seems unwilling to surrender. I don't know why, to be honest. Yes, by and large the Scanrans appear to avoid surrender in battle at all costs. But they aren't afraid of running away with their tales between their legs, as we saw last year when the killing devices failed.
"Maggur's lost his ace in the hole. Without those cursed killing devices, it's just his forces against ours. I can't speak for the navy, his wolfships seem competent and dangerous according to all of the reports I've heard, but I can speak for the armies. And ours are better, plain and simple. Men, we're going to win this war. And since, as I told a few of you, he's not coming down here, we're going to have to go up to Scanra and wrangle a defeat out of him. So, who's with me?" A cheer went around the room.
For the first time since she arrive, Kel felt a smile on her face. She couldn't wait. This was more like what she thought the war would be like.
Hey guys, I'm back! I hope you enjoy the latest installment. Special thanks to mellyfan, Madrigal of Rose, and missgrant for your support and criticism; I hope I addressed everything adequately.
-Rudduck
