The Empire
8 June, Unified Year 1921
It was now three days after our little misadventure in Berun. It was a sunny and bright day, of the kind that makes people optimistic and light-hearted.
Still, we were not in the mood for being happy.
The memory of the punishment aside, Tanya and I were still concerned about our future in the orphanage. We still did not have a clear idea of which path to take and how we could take revenge on Being X.
However, this would change very soon.
The sun had just risen in the sky when a small convoy of military trucks entered the orphanage and parked in the courtyard. I know it because Tanya and I were there when the trucks arrived. We saw with our own eyes the vehicles stop, and armed men in uniforms descend from large lorries.
The first thought I had when I saw the soldiers was to wonder why they were there. It took Tanya to tell me why:
"They're probably looking for potential soldiers. After all, the orphans are young men and women without family and joining the army is a good way for them to gain board, lodging and some money to start a life" she said.
I nodded. Still, her words were full of fear. Their meaning was hidden, but evident: the war was getting closer. Fortunately, we were still young children. Unthinkable to give a child a rifle and send him to fight on the front line! Granted, child welfare services did not exist yet in this strange world, but sending children to war... would have been irresponsible. Right!
Right?
"Brr… it's cold," I said, rubbing my hands in a desperate attempt to produce heat.
Tanya and I were now in a row with all the others children of the orphanage. We were all in our undies, and for this reason, I was not the only one who was cold. Here and there along the line I was aware of other children who, like me, had chattering teeth and were trying to produce heat by means of rubbing themselves.
The reason for this was that, apparently, the military had the order to subject all children to the orphanage to the same medical checkup. At the end of the long line, each of us would be analyzed by a military doctor who, after having noted the data of each of us, would have sent the analyzed children away so they could clothe again.
"Frederick" said Tanya behind me "We are all in your condition. You are not the only one who is cold"
I nodded, before tilting my head to the side trying to see what was happening a few meters further. Apparently, another child had just finished his exam. Nothing strange to report. One more, and then my turn would come.
"I wonder what kind of exam we will have to face," I asked curious.
"Nothing strange, I believe" said Tanya in an unimpressed tone "At best? They will do a blood test ..."
"A blood test?" I panicked.
"Relax. You are an adult inside that. Do not tell me you're afraid of a little needle," she almost mocked.
"Well, now that you mention it … YES!" I said looking directly at her.
I know it may seem ridiculous, but I am belenophobic. I am afraid of any kind of puncture involving a needle inserted under my skin and in the vein, in order to take blood.
She looked amused "Really?"
"Yeah! Why did you tell me that..."
"Frederick König!" said a female voice I did not recognized.
I stopped paying attention to Tanya and looked again in front of me. In front of me was a brown-haired woman dressed in a nurse's gown.
"It's your turn," she said gravely.
I gulped, before following her to the point where the doctor would inspect me.
Luckily for me, the exam did not include a stinging needle anywhere. First, the doctor asked me my name and other small details. Then he began to check my physical attributes, like my weight, my height and my reflexes. Nothing for the moment seemed to indicate differences with our previous world
Then came what would determine my and Tanya's future.
The nurse picked up a strange metal helmet, connected it to a kind of portable scooter and told me to wear it. After that, she told me to focus on it.
At first, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the objects on the table in front of me began to move and float around me.
I was amazed. I was stunned. I was seeing objects flying around me, just as they were weightless. I looked forward: the doctor had stopped taking notes and was looking at me, eyes wide open.
"He…he has the magic aptitude" the nurse said, quite shocked.
Magic? That was magic? I thought, amazed.
I possessed magic. That was something I was new. Moreover, judging from the doctor's expression, it was not common or frequent.
With a smile, I lingered my mind in a thousand of pleasant eye-opened dreams. I had magic. I could anything I want. I would have been cool, I would have been rich, and I would have been famous. For a strange second, I wondered if there was some kind of Hogwarts in this universe. Maybe I could enroll there.
"That's not normal," said the doctor looking at my parameters "A kid so young should not have such a high attitude!"
This means I am special? I assumed with an internal smile.
"The data is accurate" the doctor spoke again in an elated tone, "It seems we have found an excellent mage for our Empire."
Already those words should have been an alarm bell for me, but I was too elated to care.
I had magic. I had real magic. I was special, above special, I was unique!
The doctor said something in the nurse's ear, who nodded firmly before leaving. She returned not even a minute later, accompanied by a man in an officer's uniform. The doctor showed the officer my data, and then the officer told me to take off the helmet and follow him.
The amazement was still strong; therefore, I did not questioned him. I was too busy dreaming about my magic and me.
The officer took me in a closed room, and told me to wait there. Then, he closed the door.
I should have been worried; instead, I was thrilled. In the great game of life, fate had just given me one great ace-in-a-hole.
Magic. I never understood how beautiful this word was until now.
I was still there shivering with joy when the door opened again and Tanya came in, accompanied by the first officer. The officer said to her the same thing he already said to me before leaving.
"Tanya? You…"
"Yes, me too!" she said with a grin.
"And…"
"Yes. Magic aptitude A, just like you."
My enthusiasm jumped to a thousand. I was so excited that I started doing a ballet, under the unimpressed gaze of Tanya.
"Do you believe in magic in a young girl's heart
How the music can free her, whenever it…"
"Frederick, Stop that!"
I stopped and looked Tanya in a dismayed way.
"Why? We have magic, we are cool, we are going to make a mint!"
She looked at me with ice eyes "We also are going to be in serious trouble"
Before I could ask what she meant, the door opened again. I was expecting some other young recruit from the "Club of the Magicians", but instead it was a nun. A nun we both know very well.
"Oh, children" said Sister Greta warmly "I'm very sorry for what happened. If I had known..."
"But… we have magic" I said once again "That's a good thing, right?"
"Unfortunately, no" said Sister Greta in a very worried way.
She then started to explain to Tanya and me that the military were there not only to scout for potential recruits for the army, but for mages as well. Apparently, mages were so rare that made up not even one percent of the population. And all of them at a certain age were enrolled in the army to serve their country.
We had no choice. It could take months, or maybe years, but it would certainly come the day the army would return, and Tanya and I would be drafted. All because, apparently, a mage with an "A" magical aptitude is too precious to be left out, let alone two!
"It's Ok, children" said Sister Greta trying to warm up with her words "We'll try and talk to them. We will tell them that you are not good for the Army, and convince them to forget about you. You are good children, you do not deserve this!"
Then she walked out, leaving us once again alone.
I was no more in the mood to doing a ballet. I was not in the mood even to smile.
Our destiny was marked. Although they did not lack good will, it was impossible for the nuns to convince the soldiers, men who generally do not get bent out of shape by things like "family affections", to let go of two recruits. Especially if such recruits have magic and are very powerful.
Magic. I never understood how bad this word was until now.
What could we do? The only option that came to my mind was to run away at night, before the military came to pick us up, and flee to some nation where they live under a false name. All of this without ever using magic again, so as not to be traced. It would have been a life of fugitives, but it would have been a life. In short, what other option we had?
"Tanya, maybe we have to…"
"Indeed we have" she said grinning. I never saw her grinning like that. She did no more looked like a child, she looked more like a demon "We have to volunteer right now!"
What?
"What?"
I could not believe my ears.
"Hurry up!" she said walking in direction of the door "We have to catch up those officers before the nuns manages to drive them away!"
"Why?" I asked, horrified
"To tell them we want to volunteer. How much we want to serve the Empire and its Emperor, for the glory of…"
"No, no, no, no!" I said putting myself between her and the door "How can you say that you want to volunteer when a war is going to break out soon? Are you crazy?"
"Tell me Fredrick: do you prefer to stay here until you're forcibly drafted?"
I thought about it "No?"
"Or to try and escape like a coward and keep hiding for the rest of your life?"
"Well, actually…"
"Listen to me, you dumb idiot: what do you think happens to conscripts?"
I thought about it "Well, they are assumed to be cowards, and used as cannon fodder?"
"Exactly! The upper military chain of command is composed moreover by volunteer, by people who choose to be in the army. And they tend to favor people like them!"
I assimilated these information, starting to understand her mind.
"So, you want to volunteer for better treatment?"
"Yes. If we volunteer, we also have the chance to get officer training!"
Officer training?
"You mean like to start up as…"
"Yes, as officers, instead that as lowly soldiers. We would have better chances of being promoted, and this way we could find a safe place where to live an easy life!"
"Where? In the front line, as prisoners?"
"No, in the rear! If we manage to focus on getting a peaceful place in the rear of the front, we would be more likely to survive the war!"
I thought about it. Tanya's word were full of truth: if we could find a place to be safe from the battles, bombing and hunger, we could have reached the end of the war without too much trouble. Moreover, being an officer was certainly better than being an infantryman.
"OK then" I sighed "I'm with you."
"Great! But we need to move, right now" she said running on the corridor, looking for the officers.
I shrugged and followed her.
When we finally managed to find the offices, they were sitting at one of the tables in the refectory, with the Sister Helene and Sister Greta. Of the two groups, the nuns were the most vocals: their tone of voice was much higher, and they kept clapping their hands unconsciously on the table.
It reminded me of a scene I had seen happening often in my previous life: the last time it was when I had passed the complaints office. There I had witnessed the pitiful show composed of two elderly women, one of whom was devoid of any logic, willing to do anything to get a refund. They had tried to involve me too, so that in the end it took the security to get them to go away.
And now, I had to witness again to such a scene, which was invariably repeated when the hot emotions clashed with the cold of bureaucracy and laws. Only this time I could not turn away and leave, because I was directly involved: I was the object of contention.
"Listen, ma'am" the oldest officer, the only one with a mustache said "I realize about your situation, but we have our orders to follow. We cannot turn a blind eye on such a thing."
"But they're just children!" said Sister Greta joining hands almost as a sign of prayer "And the Empire can get hold of its own without..."
"Sorry?" said Tanya at my right.
Hearing her voice, both the officers turned their heads to look at us. My gaze met again with that of Sister Greta, who looked at my sadly. However, I did not returned her affection to me: my time here was over.
"Children, please go to play on the outside. Surely..."
"No" said Tanya again.
The monosyllabic pronounced by Tanya caused, for a few moments, a wave of confusion among those present. The two nuns widened their eyes and looked at us with stunned expressions on their faces, while the two officers simply raised theirs eyebrows.
"We won't go to play outside. In fact, we think that this isn't the right place for us anymore," said Tanya in an adult tone she never showed anyone "These men say that it's our duty to serve in the army, and we want to volunteer right now!"
As we should have foreseen, those words caused confusion in those present. The officers looked at us as we were crazy. And the nuns, they were horrified by our decision.
"Tanya, Frederick. How can you say this? Why do you want to join the army? You are very talented kids; your paths for the future are endless. Why sacrifice yourself like this?" said Sister Greta
"We...talked about it," I said, no longer disguising my adult tone with childish words and mannerisms "We have decided that, since the Empire needs us, we should start immediate service"
I walked to the officers and stood at attention "I want to volunteer to defend the Fatherland from all of its enemies, Sir!"
"Me too!" said Tanya right behind me "If the Empire want us, we are here!"
Everybody (except Tanya and me, of course) stood still, quite shocked from our behavior. Especially the nuns.
"But, children" said the youngest officer "While we agree that's your duty to defend the fatherland, you are very young..."
"You have doubts about me, sir?" I asked "About us?"
"No, absolutely not. However, we were expecting you would have waited a little more."
"Sir, the Fatherland is threatened. Its enemies are massing at the borders, and we should ignore the call of our duty just because of our age? I will repeat myself: I want to volunteer, right now!" I said, my eyes full with determination.
"I want to volunteer right now too, sir. When the country calls, age does not count" said Tanya "This is the only path we have... Our only choice!"
I looked around me, to see the effects that my words had caused: The officers kept looking at Tanya and me, and they exchanged opinions in a low voice. Sister Helene spoke with Sister Greta, who was slumped in her chair and looked sadly at the floor.
What did she think? Was she sad at the thought that we left the orphanage forever, or that we had decided to embark on a military career?
I did not know, and I did not care. I had spent too much time in those walls, and I remembered her slap too well to sympathize with her.
"We..." said the youngest officer "...we have to contact the commander and ask for his orders. Please, wait for us here."
Then they left, leaving us alone with the nuns. It was a moment of tension: it was evident that they would do everything possible to change our mind.
And predictably enough, they did it.
"Tanya, Frederick" said Sister Helene looking at us "How could you do this? The war is not a game!"
"We know, and this is why we want to join right now!" we said almost in unison.
Surprised by our prompt response, Sister Helene froze in surprise. I knew that if I continued, without waiting for new arguments to form in her mouth, I had a chance to «win» the argument.
"The Fatherland is asking for us to go and fight to defend it from its enemies! It's our duty as soldiers to answer to its call!" I kept up, my words filled with determination.
It was apparent that Sister's Greta resoluteness to keep us away from the military life was beginning to crumble. Besides, what is the point of «protect» someone if the one at issue did not wanted to be protected?
"But… you're too young" she kept saying like a broken record.
"So?" this time was Tanya's turn to speak "You want us to duck as cowards and wait for the war to arrive here? For Berun to burn? No, we want to do our duty right now!"
Sister Helene stopped talking and sat near Sister Greta, speechless. It was clear that she was in shock.
But not even her tears would have not made us desist.
It was then that the officers returned. As they were close enough, Tanya and I both saluted them in a very military way.
"At rest, youngsters" said the oldest officer with a smirk "Well, we have contacted our superior officer and asked his orders about the fact, and he said that it does not matter the size or the age, if wannabe-soldiers wants to volunteer himself for a one-way travel to Hell, then it's up to them. Therefore, your request of join the Army cannot be refused, for now at least"
Behind us, Sister Greta and Helene started crying softly. They were crying for us, for our choice and for what we would have to face.
But I could not care less.