Almost a month since I last updated, apologies for the wait. Anyway, hope you people had a good holiday season so far. New Year's is just round the corner, and I'm looking forward to that. Looking back at the whole year, 2016 has been a rough year for me personally and I don't mean it in a bad way, just had to go through with a lot of changes in my life like going to uni, living independently, and separating with old friends. I, like most people, don't really like change, I usually like things to stay the way things are. But the fact is life is full of changes, and we just have to go with it. Who knows, some changes are for the better. Well, here's to hoping for the best in 2017!

So as I mentioned in the footnotes of last chapter, this is chapter is an interlude. My friend/co-writer wrote this by himself, I only helped with the dialogues. He took a while to finish this because he's quite a slow writer, but I have to say, after I first read the draft he sent me, the wait was worth it. Also special thanks go out to The Tundra Fox for helping editing and sharing his thoughts on this interlude.


Falmart: Refugee

1

A village was burning, the wild flames lighting the night sky with display. Sixty men-at-arms plundered the place, kicking down flimsy doors, ransacking houses, probing floorboards, checking wells and anywhere which the peasants would hide their valuables. Stores of ham, smoked fish, caskets of salt, barrels of ale, were what they mostly found. But some houses yielded small hordes of silver coins, and they went into the pockets of the raiders, which will only serve to be gambled around later. Anything worthless, the bandits burned. Burned and burned until the whole village was going up in flames, the fire easily spreading from one wooden building to another.

The screams of the villagers had never ceased from the moment the bandits came, and even as they were struck to be silent, they cried out to the gods. However, the gods did not listen to their pleas, and they could do nothing as their homes burned. The raiders had killed the men of the village. The women and children, however, they let live, for they could be sold to slavery or used for their own amusement. The prettiest of which were already beaten to the ground, their skirts lifted and cries ignored as the men-at-arms took their turns, grinning as they indulged in heinous sin, knowing that no one could stop them.

They howled and hooted, cheering in their spoils and the hurt they have caused. Rich man they were. They were on a plundering spree, traveling across the countryside, going from village to village and killing their inhabitants. Now they left their latest victim, gone into the dark once more to enjoy their gains and search for yet more prey. The village was left burning, its inhabitants dead, missing, or taken prisoner.

Lusia ran for her life, her lungs burning and legs moving as fast it could. She held the hand of her brother, who was doing his best to keep up, though with an injured foot it was proving to be a struggle. The young boy of twelve summers old tripped many times as Lusia led the climb up a hill, on which she hoped would provide a brief refuge from the invading men-at-arms.

"Get up, Vel!" she called out when the boy fell again. "Get up!"

She reached down to pull her brother up, panting and struggling. And then, they were running again, the wind blowing hard at their faces as they could feel the heat of the burning village behind them.

They reached the peak of the hill and started a sprint down the other side, their bodies spent and tired. Once Lusia judged they were far enough to be safe, she dropped to the ground, pulling her brother down as well.

"Stay down," she whispered harshly, then listened carefully.

There were no sounds of any pursuers, only the howl of a cold, wild wind and the panting of their breaths. She let out a sigh of relief.

"We got away," she said gratefully before turning to her brother. "You okay there, Vel?"

Vel had to catch his breath for a few moments before he could answer, and she waited patiently, all the while keeping her ears open for any signs of bandits coming in this direction.

"I'm okay," Vel finally replied, only to break into a fit of cough.

"You sure?"

"I'm fine."

"We have to get out of here. We can't stay here long."

'I know. But where are we going?"

Lusia paused for a moment as she thought. "There's another village not far from here, we'll go there. How's your foot?"

"It's fine."

Lusia frowned. "Show it to me."

"I said it's fine," Vel said fiercely.

"Vel, now's not the time! Show it." Without waiting for her brother to respond, Lusia forcibly grabbed his right foot, eliciting a yelp of pain. It was clearly swollen, and she saw Vel flinching when she touched the ankle. "It's broken," she said.

"I can still walk," Vel said weakly. "I mean I just ran with you."

Lusia didn't respond for a moment; she was thinking of what to do. With an injury like this, Vel could hardly make the journey to the next village. But what choice did they have?

"Do you think you can make it to the next village?" she asked.

Vel nodded. "I have to."

"Okay, we'll rest for a bit now, then we'll get moving. If you're in too much pain, just say so. Don't try to act tough."

"Okay, Lusia. But the same thing goes to you as well. Don't try to act tough. Ma and Pa are dead now, we're all that we've got left." Vel's voice choked up a little as he said those last words and he looked away to hide the tears leaking from his eyes.

To that, Lusia nodded and smiled a sad smile. She looked up at the sky and saw the grey pillars of ash and smoke that rose from the village that had been her home all up to only a few minutes ago. Never did she thought she would leave this place. But now it was all gone, along with her parents, friends, neighbors, and almost everything she held dear.

She shook her head. No, she couldn't afford to get emotional now. The days to come would long and hard; she had her brother and herself to take care of.

2

The morning sun came after what felt like forever and Lusia was grateful for its slight warmth, having walked through the entire night in near freezing conditions. The winter days were harsh in Falmart and, by experience, it would only grow worse. If they do not find safe shelter by the time the snow starts falling, they would have no chance of surviving.

"There's the river," Lusia said. Ahead of them was the bank of a slow-flowing river, and she hurried towards it, supporting her brother, whose right foot—after hours of walking—had swelled even further until it looked like a melon.

Vel coughed in acknowledgment, his body shivering from the cold.

"Hang in there, Vel."

She set her brother down gently by the bank—close enough so that he could reach and drink from the river—before scooping with both hands into the river as well. The water was freezing, the cold causing her to coughed several times, but she drank greedily with relish, and her throat—parched and dry—was grateful for it.

Once she was finished, she stood up, wiping the dirt on her hands on her skirt. "I'm going to find us something to eat."

"I'll help," Vel said, forcing himself to stand.

She frowned. "No. You stay here. You can barely even walk."

Either knowing that it was futile to argue or he was just too tired, Vel stayed quiet, and Lucia wondered where could she go to find food. She had nothing to hunt with, no knife to kill wild marmots, no nets to catch fishes in the river. She saw some trees in the distance and started heading towards there, hoping that there might be some fruits to eat.

Thankfully, she found some wild berries growing in bushes, and she set about foraging, gathering as much as she could in her pockets.

An hour later, she went back to her brother, who she saw was standing in the middle of the stream, attempting to catch some fish with his bare hands.

"You're not going to catch any, Vel. Get out of there, you shouldn't be moving too much," she said, too tired to raise her voice.

"My ankle is rested enough."

"Just get out and eat," she said, taking out the berries she had gathered and piling them on the ground.

Exhaustion weighed heavily behind her eyes, and she was doing her best to resist the temptation to close them, her skin feeling the cold.

"You should rest, Lusia," Vel said as he carefully climbed onto the river bank, his body dripping with water. "I'll keep watch."

She nodded. "I'll start a fire first."

"Isn't that dangerous? What if someone sees it?"

"We'll have to take that chance. We'll freeze if we don't get a fire going."

The fire did not take long to start. Luckily, there had been many twigs and loose branches lying around that weren't too wet to kindle, and when the flames were large enough, Lusia laid down next to it, enjoying the warmth as she attempted to sleep. However, Vel began to fall into a series of coughing fits, and eventually she sat up.

"You okay there, Vel?"

"I'm fine," he said, only to coughed again.

"You're catching a cold. Stay closer to the fire." Then she saw his clothes were wet for he had been standing in the river. "Take off your wet clothes and dry them by the fire. I'll lend you my cloak."

"You'll freeze!" Vel protested.

"I'll be fine." She pulled over her cloak, leaving only a thin chemise on, the cold air biting at her exposed skin, and handed the cloak to her brother. "Just do it."

Vel complied, taking off his breeches before wrapping the cloak around his legs. "Thanks," he said.

She got up and went over to sit next to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, pressing her body against his so that they shared body temperature. "Stick close to me, Vel," she whispered, and felt his head nod. "We'll get through this."

For the next hour, they slept sitting in this position, Vel's head tucked in the neck of Lusia, her shoulder his pillow, and her arm his support, their breaths visible in the air. Their boots were off, and their feet now show their array of blisters and sores, masked heavily by the dirt and grime accumulated since their escape from their burning home.

And when it began to rain, the first drops hitting Lusia's head and waking her, Vel was still fast asleep, the exhaustion gained from the night before clearly showing. She slowly got up, stretched the ache out of her cold bones, and then lifted him into her arms with great effort, carrying him as she searched for better shelter.

The rain fell on her without remorse, growing heavier and heavier by the second, but she kept moving onwards with no signs of despair, only clutching her brother closer to her body, so that the rain drops would not fall on his head.

3

When the rain finally slowed to a drizzle, it was near evening, the sky turning into an overcast of yellow as the sun made its way towards the horizon. The land was entirely quiet, except for the pitter patter of raindrops hitting the ground.

Lusia stuck a hand out of the makeshift shelter she created from stacking loose branches and broken old roots against a tall chestnut tree.

"It'll be safe enough to walk soon," she said. Her head throbbed and her body felt especially warm, and she feared that she may have caught a fever.

"Maybe we should stay here? It'll get dark soon," Vel said. The boy had been surprised when he had woken up in a different place from the one he slept at, and he rebuked his sister for not just waking him up earlier.

Lusia shook her head. "No, we need to get to the next village soon."

She felt a wave of nausea suddenly and she shut her eyes, pressing one hand against her mouth.

"Are you okay, Lusia?" Vel asked.

"I'm okay," she lied.

It was cramp inside the shelter, and they were practically hugging each other in order to fit within. So, when Vel moved his hand to check on Lusia, it tangled into an awkward mess of limbs.

"What are you doing!" Lusia demanded.

"Stop moving!"

Finally, Vel managed to get a hand to touch his sister's forehead, and he frowned. "Shit. You're sick," he said.

"I'm not."

"You have a fever, Lusia."

Lusia opened to argue again, but then another wave of nausea hit and she backed down.

"You should eat something," Vel said.

She nodded. "There's still some berries inside my pocket," she replied.

After another rough shift of movement, Vel took out two small blueberries and passed it to Lusia, who promptly popped it into her mouth.

"We really should get moving soon," she said as she chewed. If they stayed here any longer, they not only run the risk of freezing to death, but also starving for she doubted that she could find any more food than what she had today.

"Whatever you say, Lusia. But you're sick, and my foot is broken. The chances aren't looking great for us."

"We'll get through this, Vel," she said, and then ruffled his hair despite the shortage of space. "You're all that I have left and I'm not going to give up this easily."

Vel smiled. "I didn't expect you to."

She pushed her way out of the shelter, and stood up, feeling the ache in her bones after spending long hours curled up. "Come on, we're going," she said, rubbing the numbness out of her legs. "Can you walk?"

"Yes, I can," he responded, and allowed himself to be helped up. He tested his right foot and judged that the pain was bearable enough.

Lusia nodded. They were both weak, hungry, and tired, but at least they had each other, and that was what would keep them going to survive.

"We just need to follow the river to find this village."

And off, they went.

4

The blackened remains of the village had been dampened by the rain from the previous day, and the charred bodies of its slain inhabitants laid all around the streets. Vultures sat on the fallen beams of destroyed houses, attempting to salvage what could be found in the area, and their carnivorous eyes watched as two newcomers approached the village warily.

Lusia's heart sank as she took in her surroundings, her knees threatening to collapse under her weight and that of her brother's, who once again had to be supported. Her eyes scanned for any survivors in the village, but the place was full of the dead, smelling of the wetness of rain and the remnants of ash. It reminded her of the fate of her home.

"The bandits got here as well," she said slowly. Her fist clenched, and she felt her anger rising, only to be stifled by a pang of pain behind her forehead. "Everyone's dead."

"What do we do?" Vel asked, his expression tight. At this point, every step he took was one of agony and as a result he had gone mostly quiet for the past hour.

"What do we do?" Lusia repeated the question. She did not know what to do. Her hopes had been to find refuge here for her and her brother, but all that now—just like the village and its people—have gone up in the ashes. What do we do? She had no idea.

She looked around once again, hoping to find an answer. But the area was devoid of anything except for the dead and wild scavengers. They could not stay here. They had to go somewhere else. But where? If this village was attacked by the bandits, then it wasn't difficult to assume that other villages were as well. That only left them with one option.

"We have to go to a city," she said.

"We'll never make it," Vel said. "Italica is the closest, and it's a three weeks' journey."

"We have to try."

"Lusia, it's too far to a city, we'll just die if we go!"

"What choice do we have?" Lusia snapped, her frustration finally surfacing. "Unless you rather die here. Just sit down, and wait till we starve. Then let the vultures have us? Right? That's what you want to do, Vel?"

Vel's gaze shied away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

She grabbed her brother so that she was looking right into his eyes. "I'm not giving up yet. And you're not going to as well. So don't give me—"

A shot of pain between her eyes prevented her from completing her sentence, and she waved her hand to cut off any response her brother might have. The pain passed in a moment, and she was left feeling more tired and weaker than before, her anger fleeing from her.

"I'm sorry, Lusia," Vel said, his expression turning to one of guilt. "You should rest. You're still sick."

She shook her head, steadying herself with controlled breathing. "It's a three weeks' journey to Italica. I'll see what supplies I can find here, and then we'll get going."

"I can do that as well," Vel said.

"No, you stay here." Her tone dissuaded any further arguments, and she went about the village, searching, though doubting that she could find much. Only the bodies of villagers were in the plentiful, while everything else was likely to be too burnt to be of use. "I won't be long," she said, desperate to get this done and be on their way to Italica.

She had no notion of staying in this place of the dead for the night.

5

Lusia's stomach ached, growled in protest of its emptiness, and she just hoped that the sound wouldn't alert the hare she was stalking. The air was thin and still, for there was no wind today, and she could hear her own breathing as she crept forward. Several meters ahead of her, a brown winter hare sat, nibbling on some blades of icy grass. It was rather small in size, with little to almost no fat, but she knew if she could just catch it, there would be enough food for the day for her and Vel.

She took a slow step forward, careful of where she was stepping. The area was a wide expanse of grassland, with no cover for miles; if the hare was alerted, it would have a full stretch of land to flee in, and Lusia had little hopes of catching a hare on open plains. She was still sick, and her illness had often left her in a state of weakness, that it was only because of sheer will she could get up and move each day.

Her boot slowly landed on the ground. No sound, and she took another step, readying the seax knife she had found back in the village.

A twig snapped. Alarmed, the hare ran.

"Shit!"

Lusia sprinted after it, her legs stomping on the cold, hard ground. She had never hunted before. Her father was the one who used to do all the hunting with Vel, and she remembered the times when they would return home together with a marmot or two slung over their shoulders, their faces full of the pride for supplying the family's dinner. Her mother would then ready the fire, while Lusia herself would help skinning and gutting the catch. Vel would always give her a detailed account of the hunt as she worked, describing the way they tracked the game to the type of snares they used. Times were simpler back then. It was frightening to think how everything had changed in just one week.

She had cursed the bandits who attacked her village every night. They who killed her parents, destroyed her home, and forced her and her brother on a journey that they little chance of surviving. Oh, how she hated them! But she knew, that no matter how much she swore and called curses on them, it would do nothing to change her current situation. Vel and she were alone. She prayed to the gods each night to change the past and wished with all her hopes that her parents were still alive. But whatever their reasons were, the gods did not seem to want to grant her wish, and she wondered, was there true justice in this world?

The hare was too far to reach now, its limps carrying it faster across the land than what Lusia could hope to catch. She panted heavily, her breath a mist in the near freezing air, and felt the throbbing pain of a headache recurring. She would have to go back to Vel with only the mushrooms she had found growing at the base of a tree. It was not enough to sustain even one of them.

She vomited suddenly, though only spit and saliva came out for her stomach was empty. She wiped her mouth with one hand, and rubbed her forehead with the other, mentally willing for the nausea to stop. That was the second time today that she had puked.

Tired and hungry, she went back to a small valley between hills where she had left Vel to rest. A copse of large, leafless trees covered the mouth of the valley entrance, and Lusia could see ice forming on the long branches, a sign that snow was not far from coming. They would need to find some winter clothing soon, she thought. If she could kill a wild animal, its hide could be used as a cloak, while its fat could be rubbed over their skin as cover against the wind. The problem with that notion, however, was finding an animal large enough, and also how to kill it.

She walked towards the end of copse, and she could see the smoke rising from the fire that Vel had started earlier. She readied herself to deliver the news that she had failed to catch much food today. It had been very much the same case these past few days, the land devoid of anything to eat, and she could only hope that it did not get any worse as they travelled towards the next stretch of land.

As she stepped into view of their camping spot, she opened her mouth to call out so that her brother knew that it was her who was approaching, but froze with the words dying on her lips.

A tall man, who wore entirely black from his cloak to his boots, crouched next to Vel, warming both his hands on the fire. He had a longbow wrapped in leather hanging by a strap on one shoulder, and he also carried a heavy pack on his back. He looked up when he heard Lusia approached, and she saw that his face was wind-beaten and scarred. Her heart skipped a beat.

"That's my sister," Vel said. The boy sat close to the fire, leaning on the heel of his palms, his legs outstretched.

The stranger stood up and tried to crack a smile, revealing missing teeth. "Hello there," he said.

"Who are you?" Lusia demanded. Her body felt weak from her fever, but she did her best to stand upright and look unafraid. Her hands inched closer to her belt where she kept her knife. If it came down to a fight, she doubted it would be much use, but it was better than nothing.

"I'm Eugene," he said. "I mean no harm. I just saw the fire here and came to investigate and found your brother."

She glanced at her brother, who did not seem to be in a desperate state. Still, she did not relax though. "What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I could ask you two the same," he replied calmly. "But your brother has already explained to me what happened."

A confused look crossed Lusia's face as she tried to figure what the man meant. "Explain," she said.

"We're in the same situation here, lass. I lost my farm and land to bandits when they came. At first, I stayed and fought. I was an archer before I became a farmer, and I killed a dozen of those damned sods before there were too many and I had to run with my family. Though it wasn't long after that that I lost my wife and son too."

Eugene's eyes were staring straight at her, and his gaze made her uncomfortable. He was another refugee, Lusia realized, just like them.

"I see," was all she could say. "I'm sorry."

"Don't need to apologize, lass," he said. "Like I said, we're both in the same situation here. Us three have lost everything, and yet it's funny how we keep on going despite so. I've been out here for too long now, doing my best to survive, and I guess it's the same for you two. Doesn't it make you wonder what's the point of it?"

Lusia shook her head. "Me and my brother are still alive, and that's enough reason for me to keep on going. If the only other option is to sit and die, then you can know that I'm not doing that."

Eugene gave a rueful chuckle. "I see. I like that answer very much. Still though, it's very likely that we may wind up dead in a week or so."

The way the man talked began to tick Lusia off, and she could not stand to see someone speaking of death this easily. This here was a man who had gone through the same loss that they had—their homes and their families—and speaking to him had just reminded her more of the pain she had endured. It made her remember the argument she had with Vel, when he was confident that they would not survive, and how she had spat on that opinion and shut her brother up. She would not let some defeatist attitude bring her down, especially after all she had done for her and her brother to survive.

"That may very well be the case, but I thank you very much for keeping that opinion to yourself," she said. "As for me and my brother, we're pushing on. If we make it, we make it. If we don't, we don't."

She walked over to Vel, who had been silent throughout the exchange, all the while not letting her gaze drop away from Eugene. The warmth from the fire thawed the chill in her body, and she realized that she had forgotten how cold she had been.

"What's your plan then?" Eugene asked.

The sudden question surprised her and for a second she didn't reply. "We're going to Italica. We'll be safer in a city than anywhere else," she said eventually.

Eugene nodded. "We can help each other out," he said. "It's a long way to Italica, and you could use a hand. I know that your brother is injured and it's difficult for you to support both of you at the same time. I have my bow, I can hunt, and kill, and scout." He paused. "You have strength in you, lass. We can help each other out."

The offer caused Lusia to pause. Several moments ago, the man had been talking about how they were likely to die soon, and now he was suggesting to work together. It was confusing. But what he said made sense, she could hardly gather enough food for Vel and herself. Eugene's longbow would be a great asset, the length of the shaft was as tall as a grown adult, and he seemed to be a man who knew how to use it well as she noted the large chest and arms the man had. She glanced at Vel, wondering how much did he tell Eugene about their situation before she arrived.

"Lusia, you know it's better if he came with us," Vel said.

Her brother was right, she knew that they would have a better chance of survival if Eugene was there with them. But it was still difficult to trust a stranger. However, there was no way she could refuse his offer either. At this moment, they were at his mercy, where he could still kill them and take what little food they have. So she agreed and nodded.

"We can help each other," she said.

Eugene smiled, and stuck out his hand. "You're a tough girl, lass. Your brother says it's only because of you that you two managed to survive this far."

Lusia silently rebuked Vel for telling that much to a stranger, but there was no harm done so she let it go quickly.

"We should get moving soon," she said, ignoring the man outstretched hand, feeling her headache returning.

"Aye," Eugene agreed. "Snow is coming."

6

"I fought in two wars," Eugene said, "Eight battles, and a countless number of skirmishes. I used to stand in the ranks of other archers, and we would loose our arrows at the enemy, volley after volley, until they broke. Nothing more frightening than to see thousands of shafts flying through the air, enough to cover the sky with thin wood and feathers. The enemy always feared us, Elbe's archers, because our longbows reached further than all other bows, and could punch through any armour—except dragon scales—like it was thin linen. Even Imperial Legionaries feared us, can you believe that?"

The former archer, Lusia thought, liked to talk a lot, as she realized after several days of travelling with him. She guessed it was because he had been alone for a long time before meeting her and Vel, and now he was enjoying every ounce of human interaction he could get. Vel seemed to be listening to the man as he went through his stories of his experiences, but the boy's limp had gotten worse and each step he took caused his face to clinch in pain.

"I almost died once," Eugene was saying. "It happened on an open field just like this one. A horseman was charging towards me. I was out of arrows, one of my legs had taken a blade cut, and I could not run. But the horseman did not see my friend, who managed to jump onto the horse and pull the sod down and stick a knife in his eye-slit. By the gods, I thought I was dead then, and would definitely have been if not for my friend. I managed to pay the debt back later when I saved him in another fight, but thank the gods for him that day."

"You know, after I ran from the bandits," the former archer said, changing topic, "I still remember looking back and seeing my land—my home—being burned to the ground. The land which I had earned through my services in war, worked on through good and rainy days, and raised my family in. Everything built with my own two hands destroyed. I should have stayed and fought to the end, but I still had my wife and son to take care of. I knew they wouldn't survive without me out in the open plains."

Eugene's eyes turned especially cold then, and his gaze wandered over the vast, bare landscape for a brief moment.

"But even then, it turned out that the both of them died anyway. My wife always had a weak body, and she could not survive the journey. And my son…he inherited the same from her. It was only a week after running that they both slept and never woke."

He let out a sigh at the memory, watching his breath cloud his vision.

"Vel!" Lusia suddenly shouted.

Her brother had collapsed, and his face was one full of agony, his hands clutching at his right foot. He cried out in pain.

"Vel!" She went down next to him, holding him up. "Are you okay?"

"My foot," he managed to say through gritted teeth. "My foot."

Lusia tore off his boot, and saw some bones were sticking out in unnatural positions, showing that it had mended incorrectly. She pressed a thumb on the ankle, eliciting more cries of pain from her brother. She knew that he could not put any weight on it let alone walk.

Eugene came over, and squatted down. "That's not good," he said. "His bones are broken again. Since it didn't heal properly the first time, all this walking has made it worse."

"We'll stop here for now," Lusia said, already looking around for materials needed to start a fire, all the while keeping a concerned eye on her brother.

"I'll find us something to eat," Eugene said, dropping his pack to the ground and began stringing his bow.

She nodded. "You do that."

After the former archer left, Lusia promptly started a fire before focusing her full attention on Vel. The boy had quietened a bit, and she could see that he was doing his best to prevent the pain from showing. "I know it hurts a lot, Vel, but you're going to be fine." But even as she said that she was already beginning to wonder how will they continue from here on out.

"It hurts," Vel said, controlling his breathing. His face had gone red and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He tried to move his foot and screamed out as more pain shot up his leg.

"Stay still, Vel. Just lie down." She gently helped her brother lie on his back, keeping his injured foot raised.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm just slowing all of us down."

She smiled. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Vel."

"Fuck my foot!" Despair was getting into his voice, and she saw tears rolling down from his eyes.

She wiped the tears off his face. "Just bear with it for a while. It'll get better soon."

Vel's fingers clutched around the edges of her cloak and she could feel him shaking with pain and fear. "I can't walk anymore," he whispered. "I can't."

"It's okay, Vel, it's okay," she said, running her hand through his hair in soft, smooth strokes just like how she had always done when she wanted to comfort him. "Just rest for now."

"I can't walk anymore, Lusia," he repeated. "I can't make it to Italica."

She shook her head in disapproval. "What did I say before? Don't say that."

"I can't, Lusia. I can't." He gripped her shoulder tightly, and she felt how weak his arms were.

"It's going to alright, Vel," she said, slowly taking his hands into hers. "Once Eugene gets back, we'll figure this out. You better take this chance to rest now, or else once that man returns, he'll keep on yapping with his stories. He doesn't shut up, does he?" She giggled at her small jest, attempting to lighten the mood, though it clearly wasn't enough. Vel stayed quiet. His face twisted every now and then at the pain.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"Don't worry about that now, Vel. Just rest," she said.

"What are we going to do, Lusia?" he asked again.

That question had been asked too many times during these past two weeks. After their village was attacked, what are we going to do? After finding everyone dead in the next village as well, what are we going to do? After running out of food, what are we going to do? And now, once again. The question kept coming, and coming, and she wondered when will it all stop? She was tired. "I don't know, Vel," she responded. "I don't know."

She looked up at the sky, watching the overcast clouds drift as if they might hold some codex answer.

"I'll think of something," she said quietly. "Something will come to me. It has to."

Two hours later, Vel managed to fall asleep despite the pain and Lusia watched his chest slowly rise and fall, still thinking on what to do. Eugene returned with a small fox in his hands, its white furs stained with blood from where it had been hit by an arrow. The former archer had snapped the animal's neck and now its little head dangled loose, disconnected from its body.

"How's Vel doing?" he asked as he pulled out a knife to start gutting the fox. He stabbed the blade through the middle of its chest and carved in a straight line down the center of the torso.

"He can't walk anymore," Lusia replied, watching him removed the insides, bits of innards and blood spilling onto the ground.

Eugene grunted, his knife working on skinning the fox. "That's no surprise. He shouldn't have been walking in the first place, but tough times are tough times. So what do we do?"

"We'll have to carry him. I can carry your pack, and you can carry Vel on your back."

"Lass, it's a two week's journey to Italica. I don't think I have the strength to carry him all the way there."

"I know it's still long way to Italica, but what choice do we have?"

"There is one other choice," Eugene said quietly.

"No," Lusia said, knowing well what the man was suggesting. "I'll carry him then. He has lost a lot of weight, I can carry him." She remembered the time when she had carried him out of the rain.

The former archer shook his head, and he glanced at Vel for a second to make sure that he was asleep before speaking, "We've got to leave him behind."

Lusia stood up abruptly, her expression instantly turning dark. She glared at Eugene with cold eyes. "No, we are not doing that." Her voice was serious and she spoke each word clearly so that the man would understand.

"Lusia, look, I've kept this in for a while, but Vel was never going to make it to Italica. Not with his injuries," Eugene said, ignoring the fox now. "It's only a miracle—no, it's only because of you—that he managed to survive until now. But there's not anything you can do now."

"There is something I can do. I can still carry him!" she snapped.

"Not in your condition. You are not in much better condition than him. I know that you're sick. I've heard you vomiting at night." Lusia froze at his words. "Gods, I don't know how you managed to keep moving every day, but you definitely won't go for long if you continue to support your brother. You're a sixteen-year-old girl; you have limits."

She didn't reply for a time, turning her gaze to Vel's sleeping body. He didn't seem to be disturbed by the ongoing argument.

"Yes, I have my limits, Eugene. But that's my business. If I collapse, I collapse. One thing is for sure though, I'm not leaving my brother behind," she said. The words were not a boast, but were spoken with quiet certainty, which caused Eugene to stand as well now.

"You will just die then. Be realistic, lass! If you take him with you, you'll never have the strength to make it to the city. And once you're dead, he's going to die as well. If you leave him, at least you can—"

"Don't you say that!" she shouted, shaking with anger. Her head was bursting with pain, but she did not back down. "He's my brother, and I'm not going anywhere without him. I'm telling you now that he's going to come with us all the way to Italica. I don't care whether you think we'll just die. Would you have abandoned your wife or son if they were in Vel's place instead?"

"Yes, I would," Eugene said coldly. "Because that's what I did."

Lusia stared at him, bewildered, trying to comprehend what he meant. "What?"

"They were too weak to go any further. My wife was coughing blood and my son had contracted pneumonia. So, I left them. They're dead now, for sure."

"You said that they slept and never woke," Lusia said, her confusion turning to absolute disgust.

"That was how they probably died. I don't know, I wasn't there to confirm." There was no remorse in the way the man said it, and she felt the urge to vomit again.

"You're telling me that you just left them?" she said slowly, almost as if to make sure she wasn't hearing things.

Eugene nodded. "I am. Tough times are tough times, lass. If you want to live, you have to leave your brother."

"No. You should go, Eugene. You've made yourself clear. We are not going to be travelling with you."

"You're turning me out?" Eugene asked incredulously. His fist tightened around the knife he was gripping. "You won't survive without me!"

"I said you should go, Eugene," she said.

"Even if you somehow survive here, the bandits are going to catch up to you two. With you carrying your brother, there's no way you can escape fast enough."

"Go!"

Eugene glared at Lusia for a long moment before stooping down to pick up the fox he had caught.

"Don't be an idiot, Lusia. Save yourself," he said as he turned to leave.

He walked away to the distance, Lusia watching his back until he disappeared past the horizon. The wind howled around her, and she was alone with her brother once more.

7

Lusia hugged her knees closer to her chest for warmth, her eyes watching the fire dancing and spitting. She could barely feel her hands, and she rubbed them together to get some blood flowing. The air was like a cold sheet of ice on her face, and her nose felt stuffed and blocked, forcing her to breathe through her mouth. Her cloak, wrapped around her like a blanket, was little protection against the cold.

Though it had only been an hour since Eugene left, the skies were already turning dark, and the horizon casted an orange hue across the land. Such was the season that sunset came well early in the day.

A dull pain throbbed behind Lusia's eyes, but she was used to it already, having endured it for many days. She was surprised that she hadn't collapsed from her fever by now, the toll on her body would no doubt show soon. The tired she felt was enough to put an adult to sleep for a whole day, but yet she still hung on to consciousness, trying to find out what to do next. Her mind ran through options after options, but there was no solution to be found for their situation. They were out in the open, with no food and her brother unable to walk. No matter how she looked at it, it was the end game.

She wondered for the hundredth time whether letting Eugene walk was the right decision. The man hunting was greatly needed, and she wanted nothing more than to have a piece of hare roasting over the fire now. But however useful the man was she knew she was right to force him away. He was going to abandoned Vel, and that was the one thing she was not going to do. Even if it is to save her own skin.

She looked over at Vel, staring for a long while before letting out a sigh. "Hey Vel, you can stop pretending to sleep now. I know that you're awake," she said.

"Oh, you noticed," he responded, slowly pushing himself up till he was sitting. He grinned at her.

She studied his face, aware of how much weight he had lost since escaping their home. He was a strong boy, but she knew that he wouldn't last for much longer if they stayed out here. But there was really little she could do now. Eugene was right, she admitted, it was not possible for her to carry her brother all the way to Italica. She buried her face between her knees, feeling the frustration of not knowing what to do.

"Lusia?

She lifted her head up and saw Vel's eyes staring at her. She smiled at him. "You okay there?"

He nodded. "Feeling better."

"You've been awake for a while, haven't you?" she asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"There was no way you could have just slept through the argument I had with Eugene." The expression on his face told her that she had guessed correctly. "Well, he's gone now."

"Sorry, Lusia. It's because of me that he's gone," Vel said.

"You've heard everything then?"

Vel nodded. "Sorry, it's all because of me."

She shook her head. "That man abandoned his wife and son. There was no way I was going to be traveling with him any longer," she said.

"But it's better if you'd followed him. You two could have made it to Italica."

"No." She said the word in a tone that ended the discussion before it began.

Silence settled between them for a while, both staring wordlessly into the fire as if it held them in a mystic trance. Sparks flew here and there, landing and fizzing on cool, dry ground. The shadows of the approaching evening flickered across their faces. Eventually, Lusia broke the silence.

"So why were you pretending to be asleep?" she asked.

Vel's gaze shied away from hers, and she knew something was up. "I thought that if I pretended to sleep, you and Eugene would just leave me and go on. It would have been better that way. I can't walk anymore, Lusia. I'm only a liability."

If he had said this earlier in the day, she would have gotten angry at him for it. But now, it seemed that she had no more anger left in her, only despair and hopelessness. "I feel like I'm always saying the same thing over and over again. I could never leave you behind, Vel, and you're stupid for thinking that I would."

"Am I stupid to hope for you to live rather die here with me?"

"We're not going to die here," she said stubbornly and unconvincingly.

"We are, Lusia. I can't go any further," Vel said. "Please, just leave me."

"No, I won't." It was then she began shaking uncontrollably, and all the emotions, the frustrations, pent up for weeks, came out of her. What began as tears falling out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks like frost soon turned into an open weep. She tried to say something but the words choke in her throat and only a mangled cry came out. Her fist clenched and unclenched, her fingernails—most of them broken—bit into her palm, digging into flesh. There was no justice in this world, she thought. No matter how hard she struggled to keep her and her brother alive, the worse always turns up. She was tired, fed up, and tired.

Perhaps, it was time she gave up?

"Lusia?" She felt her brother's hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at his face, the tears blurring her vision but not preventing her from seeing that her brother was crying as well.

With no other option left, she decided what she had to do. She would stay with her brother. Stay with him until he passed on. She would not let go. Not ever.

8

The highway was full of dust and dirt. But it was better ground to walk on for Lusia than what she had been traversing for the past weeks. In these times, it was dangerous to travel here for the bandits were infesting the area, preying on foolish merchants attempting to cross here. But she had a hunch, that if she comes here she would find the help she needed.

All day she had prayed to the gods that her hunch was correct. Let someone come, someone with a good heart.

Her feet were sore, and the soles of her boots had completely fallen off. Her stomach was empty, having eaten nothing in the past two days. Each step she took was agony.

But still, she had to keep moving. If she stopped she would not move again.

A step forward. Another.

And then she fell.

She had no strength to pick herself up again. She guessed this was it. This was the end. She did her best, but she could not fulfill Vel's last wish. She had no regrets though. Just as Vel had been, she had accepted her fate long already.

She laid on the pavement road, breathing in the dust and coughing it out.

Her thoughts wandered back to when Vel had died, how he had looked at her with that strange, calm expression of his. An expression of being entirely at peace, having already accepted his fate and thus not worrying about anything any longer.

"You should leave. You can still live," he had croaked out. He had not eaten or drunk anything for two days at that point.

She remembered shaking her head and saying something, though she did not remember what she had said.

"You've done everything for me already. But there's nothing more. Just live for me, Lusia, will you?"

She had smiled.

"Just go. Just go."

Then he had faded back into unconsciousness, but this time his breathing slowed even more, and more, before finally stopping, and she let out a gasp, but it was hardly surprising to her. She leaned down to kiss her brother on the forehead before standing up. She had laid her brother's body on the ground and gave it a good look. Her brother's face was one of entirely at peace, and she engraved that image to her memory. Amidst all the war and chaos, her brother had died at peace with his fate.

And now she was about to do same as well. The light was fading from her vision, and she allowed her exhaustion to consume her. She had only one regret, that she was not able to bury Vel's body for she hadn't had the strength to dig a grave. He had been with her from the day he was born till the day he had died. She convinced herself that she had been a good sister and had done her best to take care of him. Though it was not enough. And now, it was her turn to leave this cruel world. Her eyes closed.

Then she heard a rumble, and the ground began shaking slightly. She looked up and saw what seemed to be a metal box coming towards her. She had no strength to move out of its way. Whatever the hell that thing was, it would just have to run over her to get by.

But the box didn't run her over, instead it stopped before her. A man and a woman wearing green stepped out and came before her. They were speaking in a language so foreign to her. What were they saying? She didn't understand.

The woman, who had brown hair, knelt down before her. Lusia groaned, and the woman stepped back in surprise, most likely she had thought that she was dead and was startled by the sudden movement.

The woman said something, and the man squatted down as well.

"What happened to you?" the man spoke her language.

She opened her mouth to answer, but the words could not come out.

A canteen of water was handed to her, and she drank greedily, feeling the liquid cool every inch of her dry mouth.

"What happened?" the man asked again.

"Bandits. They killed my family, and destroyed my home." She didn't have the strength to explain her full story.

"And just you survived?"

She shook her head. "My brother was with me as well, but he died."

The man looked shocked, and he consulted with his fellows in green. They discussed for a long moment.

Eventually, the woman with short brown hair spoke to her, though her speech was clearly broken. "I…lost a brother as well."

The man who spoken to her first said to her, "We're taking you back to our camp. Don't worry, you're safe."

She was too hungry and tired to comprehend what was happening so she didn't say anything. They helped her up into the metal box, and before long the box was moving, heading back in the direction it came from.

9

Lieutenant General Hazama gazed out over the overlay of the Special Region Task Force forward operating base. Everywhere, men and women were going to work. For the past month, the task force had been gathering more information on the land they were in, and soon he reckoned that he would have to push for an offensive. The Empire had rebuffed every attempt at negotiation, and he would soon have to force their hand.

He watched as the units enter and exit the base. He spotted some of the natives wandering around in the base, clueless at the spectacle around them. At first he had allowed these refugees into the base because it provided a good opportunity to learn more about the people of the Special Region, but now every day his recon teams are reporting more and more refugees encountered. It was not a coincidence that the number of bandit activity had skyrocketed in the area as well. He reasoned that these bandits had originated from survivors of the army that had come to reclaim Alnus Hill; with their leaders all but killed, they had no leadership and order, and thus many deserted.

He folded his arms, thinking of what should be done with the refugees. He could hardly turn them away. If it was heard back in Japan that he had refused to protect helpless civilians, he would be under heavy scrutiny by the Diet. Perhaps he might even be recalled.

Thus, he was left with only one option.

"Yanagida."

"Sir." His aide snapped to attention.

"How many refugees do we have in the base now?"

"About a hundred, sir. Though it's increasing more each day. If this continues, it could significantly compromise the base's security. Should I pass the order for the men to stop bringing in more?"

Hazama shook his head. "No, pass this order instead." He paused, taking the time to confirm what he was going to do. "A refugee camp will be built just outside the base. All refugees will stay there and if more are found they will be brought there. They will be taken care off there. One company will be assigned to garrison and maintained it."

Yanagida blinked in surprise. "A refugee camp, sir?"

"Yes. We can't turn these people away. They may not be our people, but they are people nevertheless."

"I understand, sir."

Hazama let out a sigh. "My only worry is that once word of this gets out, only more will come to us for help. Perhaps thousands. And I fear it's more than what the task force can handle."


Fairly long read, right? Hopefully that makes up for the long update time.

When I asked my co-writer what's the theme he had planned for this interlude, he told me "Reality". And I have to say that he executed that theme damn well. You don't get this happy ending for the protagonist, you don't get a too dark ending either. Another thing is my friend did try his best to capture the mindset of a refugee, how they had to leave everything behind or else they would just lose it all anyway. It's a tough thing to execute in this perspective, but I thought he did a good job at it.

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Work on the second arc has begun, but since I have exams coming up in early Jan, I might consider waiting a bit till I update again. But until then, have a good new year's and go drink till you piss alcohol.