Two months passed, and I stopped singing. I paid my taxes and helped the others with whatever I could. I even took the time to search for Muku and Lake, who were living their own lives in the other region. They were even getting ready for the birth of their son. I returned before starting my training so I could say my goodbyes.
I had already signed up to be a beginning soldier and packed up everything I had. I was going to be leaving tomorrow.
When I told the girls, tears were shed, but they accepted my decision.
"Are you sure you can't stay a little longer?" Helda asked
"I'm sorry…" I said
She huffed, "Don't. I'm just being whiny." and gave me another hug.
"This is your last chance, Pad!" Rose said. "Stay with us, and you get to marry this beauty!" She motioned to herself.
I laughed, and Lavigne clasped her hand over her shoulder.
"Don't even try. He's off our market." She said
"I'm single. You guys know that," I said
"I said OUR market. Not THE market." She explained
I didn't understand, but she didn't say anything else.
"We're going to miss you," Azule said beside me.
"I'll miss you all as well," I told them
We said our goodbyes, and I left for the soldiers' compound.
When I arrived, I was told to leave my things outside. It wasn't much. I collected just a couple of books and some trinkets from the girls. I also brought hair dye to hide my original hair color. I left everything else by the tree for others to have.
They measured everything from my height to the size of my feet. They gave me weird glances but let me through.
It was odd that they didn't give me any sort of test to determine whether I was prepared.
*They must be desperate for soldiers if they let anyone just walk in.*
"Name?" An older man asked me
"Pad," I answered
"Last?"
"Um…Fleurir?"
"Was that question?" He asked and finally got a good look at me. His eyes widened, but he stopped himself from speaking.
"Eh…Pad Fleurir, was it?" He asked
"Yes, sir," I answered
He motioned me inside the room and watched as I walked in.
*Oops. I guess he recognized me. Hopefully, he keeps quiet.*
I walked in with the rest of the new soldiers. Some were thin, and others were bigger. Many were tall, and few were short. Was I in the shorter category? I would say in between, leaning towards short.
They gave us clothes to change into, which were dark red.
*They used to be light grey. I guess they changed it after I died*
After we finished, they took us to our designated rooms, where they left our bags. It was a room filled with ten people.
The rooms weren't very big, but I guess they thought that since we would only be sleeping, we didn't need anything bigger.
We got ourselves ready for the next day since we would be up before sunrise.
One of the guys peered down at me and laughed.
"I guess they let anyone in now! I actually thought they let a chick in! He's so feminine!" He laughed as he brushed his teeth.
"What's wrong with looking feminine? I can't help that this is how I was born." I said before brushing my teeth.
"Nothing! But be careful. Us guys can't help ourselves around pretty women." He smirked
I glowered at him and spit out the toothpaste. "So you're saying that if I were a woman, you'd pull a move on me?"
"Yep. And more!" He laughed, thinking I had taken it as a compliment. I didn't.
I placed one hand around his head and used the other to shove his own toothbrush down his gross throat.
He gagged and was flailing around until I let him go. He ran towards the only toilet we had and threw up. Everyone grimaced and left the small bathroom which now smelled like puke.
He glared at me and tried to get back up. I walked over to him and kicked him back down.
"Gah! My shoulder! I think it's dislocated!" He cried
"Pathetic," I muttered
Sure, it's dislocated but that's because he tensed up too much. It's honestly his own fault.
I left him wailing next to the toilet and finished getting ready for bed.