Richard put his spoon down and gave her a slight smile. "When I was young, I went to a military high school and no, it wasn't so I would become a soldier.
"You know how most parents value discipline so much that they're willing to do anything to set their children's path right? Well, my father is one of those parents and back then he felt that the High school with army staff was the best tool for discipline.
"At the school, the soldiers were very brutal and would always have a reason to punish you no matter how good you behaved. They wouldn't allow you eat to your fill, you can't sleep with both eyes closed, you had to be on alert and perform two hours of exercises.
"It was brutal and you just had to keep standing straight no matter what. When the s****y treatment got too much, I made up my mind that when I grew up, I wanted to do the same things to other children.
"So, I worked harder and became a soldier."
Priscilla arched her eyebrows at him and with an amused look she teased; "now I'm really starting to doubt your patriotic reasons for joining the army."
"Don't get me wrong. That event was the basic trigger but as I trained and got enlisted, I realised that there was more to being a soldier than to treat people like crap, civilian or not."
She nodded, "I'm guessing your mother didn't take this with smiles."
Richard nodded, "in fact, she was pretty pissed at my father and did everything to ensure that I was brought back but my father was just as stiff back then so she gave up and focused on trying to make my stay in the academy manageable.
"You could almost imagine the horror in her eyes when I came home for a brief break looking like a child suffering from kwashiorkor."
Priscilla chuckled as she couldn't help but envision Richard looking so skinny and malnourished. The sight in her head was funny enough though she knew that he would never guess what she was laughing about. She had after all, never seen him without clothes on.
"And you decided to piss her off again by deciding to join the army of your own volition." She added matter of fact.
"She was furious but not at me. She turned her resentment to my father and blamed him for making me experience such things so much so that my mind became made up. My father on the hand was all smiles." Richard shared. He even questioned himself as to why he was sharing too much with her, he didn't really know her that much and not many people knew of his family situation.
The only answer he could come up with was that it was only justifiable since she had spent almost three days at his house and got to witness her mother's overprotectiveness first hand despite all the years that had passed.
"It's nice that you had someone who would go to any length to ensure that your stay in boot camp was blissful. Not many recruits get that treatment." She sighed inwardly. She was almost envious after hearing of this tale about a mother doting on her child; she on the other hand didn't really have any memory of a mother figure.
Richard agreed, "She had pulled a few strings and got me to go to Gavdos to train until I came back."
"Gavdos?" she furrowed her brows. "Aren't they like hostile to outsiders and tourists?"
"The people of Gavdos aren't really hostile to outsiders or tourists for that matter. In fact, they are willing to share their rich cultural practices and the only time they become unfriendly is if you go there in uniform no matter which country you come from."
Priscilla nodded thoughtfully. She had a vague understanding of what the situation was at Gavdos. The island shared its boundaries in the waters of Crevania and Cruderia. The two countries sought to lay claims over the island but no agreement was reached.
War finally broke out between the two countries over who would claim the island. The islanders were infuriated as waves and waves of soldiers kept pouring in and out of their holy sanctuary. The air raids and guerrilla attacks were getting too much.
Power struggle almost destroyed the island; it did destroy most temples and holy artefacts in the island. The people of Gavdos were known to be very spiritual and they had a few temples and ruins scattered across the island.
The war brought the intervention of another powerhouse country, Losnia, and this intervention forced the two warring countries to reach a treaty and leave Gavdos alone.
Gavdos became autonomous and had its own local ruler. To this day, any soldier of military operative seen on the island would be treated as an invitation to war.
The reason she held the view that the islanders were hostile was because of the stories most travellers brought back claiming that they had been mistreated. Maybe those were just a calculated attempt to cause a fall out between the mainland and the island.
They talked for a while longer before deciding to head back to the HQ. It was slightly closer to five so Richard decided he needed to get home. Official duty was not until the next day.
"I'll drop you off at the HQ but I can't go any further, I have some things to take care of." He informed.
She nodded glad that he had not offered to drop her off at Donald's condominium. She had some business to take care of as well. "It's fine, I'll see you tomorrow for the medical then."
"When's the medical again?" he asked and started the car.
"Noon so I won't be here till that time." She informed and took out her phone to see that she had a few missed calls. She put it back and leaned against the back rest as he drove her back to the Headquarters.