"I don't GET it, Finn. We brought you all this way to get you healthy, and now you're going off with the doctor to investigate something that has nothing to do with you?" Riley was frustrated out of his mind.
He was promised a year to get Finn's attention, but apparently she wasn't going to allow him the luxury. She was running off straight to Roland, despite him leaving her without a word. What was that??
Mayra took Riley's arm. "It's ok. She said it would only be a few days. We didn't expect her to heal nearly this quickly, so it won't seem like a delay. Besides, I want to explore the city while she's gone. There's so much here! And it'll give us a chance to go get Peach and our cart."
"We're supposed to look after Finn. We can't--" Riley was interrupted.
"We did look after her! She's so much better! And we'll take her home soon." Mayra argued back. "We both know why you're really arguing about this and you need to hush before it gets ugly."
Riley was stunned by his sister's blunt attack. He snapped his mouth shut and glared at her heartlessness.
"Stop you two, please." Finn soothed. "I'll be back soon, I'm just going with the Doctor for a couple of days."
"And we can't go with you because...?"
"Because a military doctor gets one assistant for this journey, and the General in his eccentricity appointed Finn to that position." Dr. Sherman was not entirely thrilled about this development, but the General was adamant once he got the idea into his head. It seemed to amuse him.
"Darling boy," Inserted Mrs. Sherman to Riley, "Even if you try to convince Serafina to stay, the official pass has already been drawn up. It would be disobeying the law to go against it now."
Riley sighed a deep, disapproving sigh. "Your city has terrible rules and an awful bureaucracy. Maybe Jimmy is on to something."
"Hush, now," The matron scolded, "Don't you go agreeing with that strange man. He's not one to trifle around with."
"We'll leave in the morning and be back the next day." Dr. Sherman directed the conversation back to its topic. "I will try to learn more about Roland's strange message, and Serafina will..." He paused, not familiar enough yet with the young woman to know her talents.
"I will take notes for you and do any small tasks that need doing." She put in. She was perplexed at the General's assignment, but was determined to make herself useful no matter the circumstance.
Dr. Sherman nodded, but inwardly wondered if his new assistant was in far over her head.
_________________
It was nightfall now, and the marching continued. The group plodded on, each in their new military-issued boots that by now were causing blisters on every foot.
Roland's water was getting low. He'd eaten only half his ration of food an hour before, but it was harder to keep himself from drinking. At least it was beginning to cool down, but now that the sun was almost gone the ground was harder to see and it became easier to trip.
The other recruits were suffering. The youngest few boys had run out of water hours ago. Sharing was permissible, but Roland preferred to wait until someone was in dire need of his. He didn't want to waste it on a petulant teenager who was simply whiny and thirsty.
The mounted officer at the back of the little troupe urged them onward again.
"Are we almost there?" One foolhardy tired soul chirped.
In the near-darkness, it was impossible to pin down who had spoken. The officer glared into the darkness.
"Eager to arrive? All right. Everyone will run for the next klick."
The group groaned but picked up the pace as much as they were able.
Blessedly, thankfully, they could see torches in the distance. They would make it to the camp soon.
He tried to focus. There was no guarantee that rest would await them on arrival.
________________________
Morning saw Finn up bright and early. She felt better than she had in a long time. She flexed and extended her foot on her injured leg. Formerly injured leg? She barely felt a twinge. She picked up her travel bag and headed toward the front of the doctor's home, eager to be off.
Adventure didn't seem quite so bad when you were starting it off feeling well!
The General had provided official horses for them to ride to the encampment. She tied her bag to the saddle and patted the docile animal. The seemingly gentle mare wasn't exactly what she expected a military man to own, but then again, had she expected him to send a war horse for a doctor's assistant to borrow?
Dr. Sherman finished his own preparations and kissed his wife goodbye. Finn Hugged Mayra tightly. Riley stood next to his sister, and the two awkwardly stared a moment before Finn impulsively hugged him as well.
Shocked as still as a statue for a moment, he quickly wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head for a brief moment before she pulled away. Maybe he should say goodbye to her more often.
"Be good, you two." Finn echoed the instructions she'd given her brother and father when she left him. She felt a pang of guilt for delaying her return to them. Amelia would be taking good care of them, she comforted herself, and she'd be back home soon enough.
Although the thought wasn't quite as strong of a pull on her as it once was.
Finn and Dr. Sherman mounted their horses, and Finn arranged her full skirt modestly. He nodded to her to confirm she was ready and they rode out.
This was Finn's second time to see the city in daylight, since she'd gone with Dr. Sherman to see the General. She loved the high buildings, seeming to defy the wind and the earth as they stood proudly towering over the streets. Yet, despite the buildings' height, large gardens graced the ground between them, and boxes of dirt with growing plants in them were perched on most windowsills.
The hilly city had cobblestone streets rising and falling like waves over the terrain. The horses' hooves made a delightfully sharp clip-clop sound as they walked. Though it was early, Klain's gates had already opened, and merchants roamed with their wares. Finn made a note of a few shops she wanted to visit on her return to find something for her brother.
Passing out of the city was easier than coming in. There was no line, only a few questions by the guards at the gate, and they were on their way out onto a large road.
"How far is it?" Finn asked. The doctor had a map from the General, but she hadn't had the chance to look at it. She wondered if she would understand it even if she had.
"We'll be there before lunch time. The recruits will have had to march the whole way yesterday. To avoid wasting the Military Doctor's time, he doesn't leave until the next day." Dr. Sherman explained.
"If they don't want to waste the doctor's time, why wouldn't he just examine them all before they leave?"
"They put them through a series of rigorous physical tests, the first of which is the long march. Depending on when they arrived, they'll have been put to work doing heavy labor. Maybe cleaning the stables or building their barracks or something. Once they go through all that, they have their physical examination. It's important to see how well their bodies stand up to the physical exertion that will be required during their year of service. Anyone who, in the doctor's expert medical opinion, would either die or be permanently affected by the intensive physical labor is excused. Of course, anyone with an obvious serious infirmity such as blindness, lameness, or deafness is excused from the outset and never has to begin service at all."
Finn nodded, understanding the process a little but also feeling terrible. Poor Roland! Marching all day yesterday and then possibly laboring all night? He must be completely exhausted. What a trial for him to endure on behalf of his city.
During planting and harvest seasons, everyone she knew worked from dawn until dusk in backbreaking labor, but once the sun went down and the light was gone, everyone rested. To stay up all night laboring was not a common thing at all in her village.
"Will Roland be all right?" She asked. The doctor certainly knew him better than she did.
"Oh, of course, you don't need to worry a jot about him," Dr. Sherman said this while giving her a sly look indicating he thought she would worry anyway, "He's always been the healthiest of boys, ever since he came to me. It's part of why I chose him."
"Chose him?" Finn hadn't heard this part of Roland's past.
"He was an urchin, an orphan running the streets. There aren't many in Klain; we try to find all of them homes. But, some do not like the orphanage and are too quick and crafty to be kept there by the Peacekeeper's forces. Roland was among the cleverer, if the smaller, boys. Mrs. Sherman used to set out bread and cookies for them once a week."
Finn smiled. She could picture the softhearted but stern woman doing just that.
"One winter, a terrible disease came across the land. Most people recovered, but endured serious symptoms. High fevers, chills, even body spasms. It was incredibly contagious and almost everyone in the city caught it as it swept through. I was run nearly ragged trying to keep up with all the patients and house visits.
"I got home particularly late one night, and in front of my door, there were two boys. One was holding the older up on his shoulder despite the other's larger size. Roland's friend was sick and he had brought him for help. As soon as I lifted the boy, Roland ran off into the night. Soon, he came back with another, until he had brought me every sick urchin he'd found.
"Only then would he stay in our warm kitchen with a cup of tea. He never caught the fever, but helped nurse each and every other urchin back to health. Of course, most ran off as soon as they were better, but Roland had done such a job helping that I offered him an official role as my apprentice."
Finn marveled at the bravery of a child risking his own health to help the other homeless children around him. She turned the story over in her mind and ached for the hurt of the little ones who ran the streets without a home. There were no orphans in her village; if a family experienced tragedy, everyone came together to help.
She pondered all this for a long while as they rode onward. Eventually, the camp came into view as they passed over a small hill. Dr. Sherman rode confidently into it, showing his pass to the guard at the perimeter. Finn followed, taking in the sights of the tents and temporary buildings. A woman being present was unusual, especially one young and prettily dressed, and she earned a few stares as she rode behind the doctor.
As they came to the center of the camp where they were to report for examinations, they passed a group of incredibly dirty soldiers digging what seemed to be a drainage or irrigation ditch of some kind. Their faces were so dirty that it was hard to discern one from another.
Except for one. Even through the dirt, the girl's long golden hair was something like a fairy spun on a magic spinning wheel. Finn was a bit shocked by the sight of a girl about her own age engaging in such hard labor alongside the men. With her brow furrowed in concentration, the blond lifted a shovelful of dirt again to throw out of the ditch. She overcompensated and lost her balance, falling backwards into the blue-eyed man behind her.
Roland dropped his shovel and caught the girl before she could hit the ground, his face concerned. The girl smiled in apology at him, and he smiled back down at her in acceptance as he helped her stand again.
The sound of horse hooves then caused him to look up, up, and up, straight into Finn's face towering above him.