Atlas shifted his eye away from her, he couldn't gaze at her face which reminded him of the young soldier.
The guilt he had been feeling before hit him again, truthfully, he couldn't sleep, the remorse had kept him awake, depriving him of the right to sleep, it continued to hunt him like a nightmare, and every single experience replayed in his mind. He had been so reckless and it lead to the death of a very promising soldier.
Damn it! he had miscalculated, which was something he never did, he underestimated the enemy.
He could still recall the first time he met the young soldier.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
(Eight years ago: Northern Military Boot Camp).
He had just been coming back from an intense training session with one of his mates and was passing by the Cafeteria for the new Soldiers in the boot camp, it had not been a long time since he left the boot camp but he noticed a lot of things had changed.
The Northern Empire is the best of the four lands. None could compete with it in any sector whether it be in military strength, Industrialization, technological infrastructure, Economic or financial qualifications.
This is because they valued their time and effort and always ensured that it is put to productive use, and that was how it was in the military, the empire would choose to train soldiers from a much younger age as compared to the other lands, and though this was disapproving it did help to strengthen their borders.
When he walked past the cafeteria he caught sight of a young soldier being bullied, he had wanted to gaze away as it wasn't his business, it wasn't a new sight in there, in the military people were bullied day in and day out regardless of social status and upbringing.
He could still recall how he had also been bullied during his trainee days in the boot camp, after the day was done he would come back with swollen eyes and some bruises all over his body, that was the kind of life they lived in the military, people bullied for many reasons which most of the times were not justifiable and in the end, the official really couldn't do much about it. In the military, it is a man on his own, It is a competitive ground after all, and where ever there are competition things of such are bound to happen.
The only way to survive is to climb the ladder and become stronger and better than your mates, So no one would dare to oppose you. and that was what he did, he had to work harder and became the best among his mates, and along the line, he gained their respect.
He moved his gaze forward deciding not to draw attention to himself by walking past the cafeteria but something made him stop in his tracks, he didn't know why, but he just decided to stand by the door and watch the interaction.
There were four boys in total and they seemed to be hanging up again a younger boy, probably a new Recruit he deduced.
Unlike the bunch of boys who looked tough, the young lad was almost delicate to him. He had light blonde hair with hazel eyes, which wasn't a feature that was commonly seen in the military normally a majority of them had black hair and a few other colors like brunette, red, and sometimes dirty blonde but rarely light blonde and even so probably not as light as the lad's hair, it almost appeared to be platinum blonde.
When he moved his eye over the younger boy's features, he could tell he was part of an affluent family, with his delicate and porcelain white skin and features, he could also notice some baby fat on his face. He guessed the boy was probably eight or nine but not ten.
After adequately scrutinizing the boy's facial features the first thing that came to his mind was why the four boys would want to bully a
boy with such a fragile appearance. Again he reminded himself that some people don't need a tenable reason to bully others.
Aside from the young lad's fragile frame, there was just something about the boy that he couldn't place his hand on but it gave him a lethal aura, was it his emotionless eye? or how indifferent he seemed to the situation
The young bullies on the other hand looked a few years older, he didn't know why but their stature looked familiar.
He leaned against the wall of the cafeteria with folded arms as he watched the scene before him.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here if it isn't prince charming". One of the boys mocked as they cornered the younger fellow.
" Seems like you're right man, almost mistook him for a girl, who had probably lost her way". Another one voiced with a chuckle.
Rome kept his gaze forward with an expressionless face.
He decided to take a different route toward a vacant table in the cafeteria when someone obstructed his way, causing him to spill some of his food on the tray it was placed in.
"Oops, my bad".The third one said with a smile on his face while still standing in his way.
" Yo blake, you'd want to stop bullying the kid, I bet he is frightened by now, just look at those cheeks, he is already trembling and those eyes, I bet he would be in tears any moment from now". The fourth one conveyed with a scornful modulation and aspect.
The four of them burst into laughter with their eye fixed on Rome to see his reaction.
Rome's face remained phlegmatic, he ignored their presence and chose to take another different route to his table when the same guy from before blocked his part again.
"Oops, my bad again". He uttered while stressing the last parts.
They burst into laughter again but this time their laughter died down quicker when they noticed they weren't getting a reaction from Rome and this infuriated them, they needed to get a response from him as that would give them a reason to beat the hell out of him.
Annoyed by Rome's unresponsive attitude, The leader blocked his part after which he sent the tray of food flying to the side.
" Tsk".The leader uttered, licking his upper tooth, after which he asked with mockery evident in his voice."What is the rush mate? the party is just getting started."
"Damn, you're so mean man,". The third fellow expressed with a chuckle.
Rome remained silent while gazing at his hand where the tray of food had been moments ago. He couldn't say he felt anything, he felt almost numb to the experience. It was very clear to him what they were doing, they need a reaction from him to fill their egos.
They were merely nongraduates, after all, being placed in the same class with new recruits could be frustrating but that still didn't change the fact that they were trash.
" Scum". Rome muttered with his gaze still fixed on his hands.
"What did you say, mate?" The leader asked angrily even though he knew he had the words.
"Did you all become deaf or do you still need me to elaborate on the term?" Rome relayed with an indifferent aspect, if anything he was almost irritated at being reminded of how much he hated to repeat himself.
Their hand balled into fists, at this point they were sure every person in the Cafeteria must have heard his words. No recruits in the boot camp ever cross their part for two reasons, firstly because their reputation proceeds them, and secondly, they were older than the recruits which meant that they were bigger.
" What did you say you little...". The leader used his hand to push Rome by the shoulders to the ground.