Scars of War
Chapter 6
Ghost in a Journey
Ash saw the archer hanging from a tree and turned to Fernando, who was awestruck by her action.
"What's wrong? Did you not do this all the time in the War?" she glared at him with rage.
"Oh maybe perhaps you weren't in the war?"
Fernando sighed and shook his head.
"These are no longer times of war, my lady." he said.
"The War goes on." Ash responded coldly and walked towards the elderly couple, but stumbled and fell along the way.
Fernando walked towards her.
"My lady-"
"Shut it." Ash raised her hand and panted. "I do not need your help..." she murmured and looked at the couple.
"Please, I need food and water..."
"I'm sorry, they destroyed all we had..." the old man shook his head and looked at his wife.
"I wish we could help but we lost everything." the old woman cried. She pointed to her broken home and her dead animals.
"What will we do now?"
Fernando looked at the situation in pity and started to walk towards his horse.
"Done so soon?" Ash growled, "Are you going to leave and then tell everyone how you saved two old people!? You disgust me, you pig! I should have hanged you instead!" she yelled at him.
Fernando reached his horse and brought it forward.
"Here, have this." he pulled out the red sack of muffins and jam and handed it to the old woman, "It is not much, but it will last you a day or two."
The old woman gasped and let out a soft smile.
"Worry not, all is not lost, amigos." Fernando turned to his horse and led it to the old man. "Servando is a strong animal... he will take you to the village and work your fields until you can buy oxen."
Both the elders gasped.
"I... I cannot accept this!" the old man shook his head, "I-"
"Do not mention it." Fernando grinned and handed the horse over to him, "I can manage the travel to the next village. Here, he is yours."
The old man grabbed the horse's bridle.
"May the gods bless you!" he was overcome with joy and hugged his wife.
"I am here to protect the people of the realm!" Fernando raised his lance, "It is the least I can do for you all!" he bowed.
The two elders bowed as well.
Ash stood silent.
"Apologies, but I must take something from here," Fernando told the two as he grabbed a brown sack and one of the canteens from the saddle.
"My lady." He turned to face Ash, "Hardtacks and water."
Ash's eyes opened in surprise as the man walked toward her.
"You are very tired." Fernando told her as he handed her one of the hardtacks, "You must eat before we head to the next village."
"We?" Ash scoffed.
Fernando nodded.
"It will be against my Chivalric code to allow you to go alone." he said, "And... I promise that ones we get to the town, I will leave you be forever."
"Very well." Ash swiped the hardtack and ate it, "That is an oath I will take." she extended her arm.
Fernando shook it and felt that her grip was very tight.
"Are you trying to prove a point, my lady?" he asked.
"Are you man enough to understan-" Ash was taken back when Fernando came back with twice the power.
"Hmm... Impressive." she murmured and pulled away.
"A Knight's oath is true." Fernando bowed.
00000000
The two walked down the road alone with the sun setting behind them,
Fernando was eating one of the hardtacks nonchalantly and whistling a soft tune.
"I would have left you at the farmhouse." Ash crossed her arms as she walked next to the knight, "But the questions I have for you will take some time."
"Right... Questions." Fernando told her with disbelief.
"Face it, my lady, you are clearly fallen for Fernando's charms." he rubbed his strong chin.
Ash scoffed.
"You may deny it, but it is true." Fernando wiggled his eyebrows and looked at her face.
Neutral all around.
"At least I am the one with the courage to come out and say that you are very beautiful." Fernando chuckled, "I love the hair."
"You know nothing of courage." Ash shrugged it off.
Fernando sighed.
"One day, my lady, one day." he bit his hardtack again and looked at her.
Ash was a hand shorter than him but that did not make her less intimidating.
She had a strong and stocky build, suitable for a warrior.
"Hey." Fernando's eyes opened, "You never told me your name, my lady." he looked at her again. "It would break my heart to lose you without knowing it."
"I am Ash." Ash responded coldly, "I was the part of the 4th Siege Cohort of the Mazonian Legion."
Fernando paused.
He knew what she was talking about, but decided to ignore it and focus on something else.
"Ash is a beautiful name." he chuckled.
Ash rolled her eyes.
"Will your flattery only end when you die?" she asked.
"Absolutely. Damsels are my everything." Fernando responded, "You are no different, my lady."
"I guess I'll have to kill you to shut you up!" Ash balled up her fist, but stopped and dismissed herself. It wasn't worth her time.
None of this was worth her time.
Why was she even suffering this man any longer?
Fortunately, she knew the answer.
"Where are you from, Ash?" Fernando asked her, "I am from Sun Spire."
"I am from the Magistrate." Ash responded and wiped some dust off her pauldron. It was this action that made her notice the bandage around her arm.
"I guess I should thank you for this." she told him.
Fernando saw the woman's arm and nodded.
"Worry not, it is the least I can do." he bowed and smiled.
"It was done well..." Ash looked at the tied cloth, "Something you would see on the battlefield."
"Had to do it all the time." Fernando responded, "You are surprised how much more you get injured on horseback." he looked at her.
The woman stopped and looked at him.
"Fernando, were you truly a soldier?" she asked, but this time more sincere than hostile.
This question was now eating at her mind.
Ash didn't want to know the answer, she needed to.
"I have told you since the beginning of our relationship. Yes." Fernando nodded, "I was a Knight of the Helios Legion." he answered and stopped.
"If you wish to talk about it let us do it as we set camp." he pointed to a small creek to his right.
Ash had barely noticed the stream and its gushing water.
"How did I miss that?" she asked as they walked under a tree right next to the banks.
Fernando set down his backpack and looked at the surroundings.
He turned to face the sky and looked at the stars that were barely starting to appear above them. "Your mind must have been on the heavens, my lady." he told her, "They are very beautiful. Not like you, of course."
Ash grunted and set her pack down next to the tree.
"Are you still going on with that?" she growled and sat down, leaning on the trunk.
Fernando sat next to her and nodded.
"Ah, so sorry." he put his hand on his chest, "You wanted to talk about me and the army." he started to take off his boots.
Ash saw the knight was very calm on such a subject. Unlike her, who would become increasingly angrier the deeper she talked about the War, Fernando was very open about it.
"I trained in Sun Spire since I was 10 years old." Fernando spoke, "My father, Hernando, was a knight of Sun Spire and wanted me to follow in his footsteps." he started to look up to the stars.
"So I trained the best I could with my father's lance and was finally knighted by the Lord of Sun Spire at 18. From there I served in tours all over the Realm, and since Sun Spire was a vassal of the Magistrate... Well, I stuck with them too." he chuckled.
Ash nodded.
"They say the Sun Spirian cavalry is the best in the Realm." Fernando looked at her, "I tried my best to make my part of the claim." he smiled and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Ash asked.
"Getting firewood." Fernando responded as he started to pick up some branches from the ground. "Luckily for me, I do not have to go far." he looked up at the tree above them.
Ash sighed and started to take off her armor.
The time it took her to do so was the same amount of time it took her companion to gather enough wood for a fire.
"And there it is." Fernando dusted off his hands and set the wood down in an area free of grass. "Stand back, my lady." he said and aimed his lance.
A stream of fire shot out and ignited the wood.
Fernando nodded in approval and sat down next to Ash.
"I guess it is my turn to take off my armor, huh?" he chortled and did as he said.
Ash's eyes stared into the fire and she felt its warmth touch her skin.
"Now we won't be cold at night." Fernando responded as he set his armor aside and looked at her.
"Though there are other ways of warming up." he wiggled his eyebrows.
Ash shook her head and laid on the ground.
Fernando sighed and did the same.
"Not the first time I get rejected." he chuckled.
"It won't be the last either." Ash surprisingly responded.
The knight gave out a small grin.