The two soldiers had silently watched the rest of their platoon march away toward possible war. They were all too aware that this assignment likely meant the Captain thought of them as the least useful for such a scenario; Ashley, because as the only female soldier she might be a liability in battle, and Peter, likely for his very young age and diminutive size.
He hadn't considered that volunteering on his sixteenth birthday would make him among the smallest of the soldiers he would encounter. He had felt the call of being a defender of others since his young childhood. There was some measure of resentment in him that less talented and dedicated soldiers were apparently considered more suited than he was. Still, he had an assignment and would see it through.
He struggled with Peach. The horse did not like Peter or Ashley. She resisted them both, not knowing them or trusting them. Eventually Mayra took the driver's seat of the cart and the horse reluctantly walked onward. She was more Riley's horse than anyone's and resistant to leaving him behind like this. Finn began the journey in the back of the cart, deciding to read the first of Roland's letters in private. She broke the seal with shaking hands.
"Dearest Serafina,
You left my sight but a few hours ago. It seems overeager to write to you already; a quick delivery if I get the opportunity to send it could mean this letter would be waiting for you at your destination. I wish I were waiting for you there instead. I apologize for being so forward; perhaps the heavy labor of the camp has eroded my good manners. I am overjoyed to have your permission to write to you. I will endeavor not to abuse it and forfeit the privilege in the future.
Safely, I will confine my remarks to a recounting of my day. Following your departure, I was dispatched to a formation wherein we were taught basic motions for sparring. The practice wooden swords are sufficient to cause significant bruising when applied with any manner of force. I seem to lack a natural talent for this combat, and thus was invited (ordered) to perform 200 extra repetitions of the positions.
I wonder what your day is like. Have you safely returned to Klain? Will you immediately leave for your village, or will you tarry to keep company with Dr. Sherman? I confess Dr. and Mrs. Sherman are the dearest people in the world to me, and it comforts me to think of you staying with them. Please be safe.
Yours,
Roland"
Finn decided one letter was emotionally enough for the day, and climbed up beside Mayra on the bench. The two soldiers walked on either side of the cart, deciding that the mission of 'escorting' was best served in that formation.
Unwilling or unable to think through all the things that had happened, Finn decided conversation on an unrelated topic might distract her.
"Nice to see you again, Ashley. How has training been going?" She asked.
The younger woman looked up in mild confusion. Were soldiers supposed to chat with the subjects of their protection? She hadn't been told otherwise, as far as she could remember.
"It's different than I expected." Admitted Ashley. The comment caught Peter's attention, though his eyes remained forward.
"Oh?" Finn prompted. She needed more to work with if she were going to get her mind off her own troubles.
"Well, I was under the impression that female soldiers were mostly trained separately from the men. So far, other than having my own sleeping place, I've done all the same training as the others. I'm not sure what to make of that, since I don't think women would be used as front line combat."
"That was my impression as well, though I've only met one woman soldier before." Finn admitted.
"Why do you ask? Are you thinking of volunteering?" Ashley asked.
"Oh, I don't think so. Although the General said something about making me an honorary soldier, I'm not sure how that works. To be honest, I'm only passingly familiar with the workings of Klain. The city was rarely mentioned in my village, we kept to ourselves other than selling to the merchants who visited." The mention of her village made Finn cringe. This was not meeting the desired goal of distracting her from present circumstances.
"You mean your villagers don't volunteer for service?" Peter queried, disapproval clear in his voice.
"None of us even knew that it was required until we met Roland and he explained." Mayra defended her friends and brothers. "Besides, why should our men give a year of their lives to an army that can't even protect our village from being burnt to ashes?" Her voice trembled.
"I'm sorry about your village." Peter felt like a cad for his judgmental tone. "Our platoon will do what they can."
"I'm sure that doesn't include rebuilding our houses and barns and replacing our animals and possessions." The girl wasn't going to back off so easily.
"Mayra, it's not his fault." Finn said softly. The minor rebuke released the tears Mayra had been holding back. Finn put her arm around the girl and held her. Peach nickered, sensing the mood had changed among the group.
"Is it mine?" The younger girl asked miserably. "I always wanted to get away, go somewhere and have adventures. Then you got injured, and now everyone from home is in danger. Maybe my wishing made this happen."
"I didn't realize you'd organized an army to train vicious wolves to bite me just so you could get out of the village for a while." Finn reflected back to Mayra, showing her how ridiculous the feeling was on the face of it. "None of this is your fault. You are not in control here. We can only do what is best within our abilities, and leave the rest to others." She cringed at her own hypocrisy. She was trying to help Mayra overcome struggles that she was dealing with in her own heart.
"I still don't feel any better." Mayra cried.
"Me neither," confessed Finn, "and I'm not sure we will until everyone is safe. But I know that self-blame doesn't help them."
"What CAN we do to help?" The younger girl pressed.
"Let's think on that." Finn gritted her teeth. She would be worse than useless in a fight. Her main talents were cooking, caring for a home, and helping raise the village's children, but what good was that right now? She could garden well, and mend clothes. All the daily tasks of life were where her skills rested, nothing great or helpful in the face of such evil and war. Mayra at least had her bow and fantastic aim.
The two soldiers kept their silence during this exchange. Both more or less knew their roles, or at least knew they would be given tasks to be helpful. Trying to think of ways to help was outside their purview. Peter mostly felt awkwardness watching the women cry, while Ashley was filled with compassion.
"It will be all right," She assured, "Although you're without a home for the moment, the people you love are more important than that, and Klain will welcome you as long as you want to stay."
"What is your home like?" Asked Mayra innocently. Finn realized the girl may have missed out on the details of Ashley's past, or at least forgotten.
"My home," Ashley paused, "was once filled with love. I don't know when exactly that changed. Father became increasingly stressed and distant, prone to outbursts of anger, but only in private. Mother was worried about him, but he brushed her off. It got worse from there. The past year or so Mother sleeps most of the day and seems distant, and Father works almost all the time. I was confined to the house unless escorted by someone. It took a lot to sneak away and volunteer for the military before I was found."
Finn felt deeply for the girl. Although the loss of her mother had hurt their family deeply, there had always been love. Maybe every family was a little bit broken, just all in different ways. What could have been an idyllic life in a rich household was instead more like a lonely prison for Ashley.
"I'm sorry." Finn said. She didn't have anything else to offer the girl.
"You don't have to be; I'm happier, if more tired, now. Though I don't know what I'll do when my year is up, I've got plenty of time to think it over." Ashley's tone was subdued yet hopeful.
"You could always come stay with us when we get our village rebuilt," Mayra generously offered, with a bit of wistfulness in her voice. "If Finn leaves me to live in Klain I'll need a new substitute-sister. It's lonely in my sea of brothers."
"Why would I--" Finn began, but caught Mayra's sly look and softly hit her up the back of the head. "Brat."
Ashley and Peter stared at the two in confusion.
"Ignore Mayra. She thinks she's smarter than she is and it's really going to get her into trouble one of these days." Finn offered as an explanation.
"Maybe you don't think I'm as smart as I am." Mayra turned her nose up with a haughty air.
Finn chuckled, "Maybe. We'll see."
____________
Per orders, Riley and Roland marched next to each other to exchange intelligence. Riley filled in the other man on everything that he had seen. Comparing it to his own experiences, Roland thought that the wolves must be better controlled now, since they were unconfined but seemed to be serving the soldiers instead of escaping.
"I've never heard of the Rhone before." Said Roland. "I didn't think there were any nations or people groups in the West." He tried to think back to his geography lessons from the school he began attending under Dr. Sherman's care.
"There was nothing on my map except scrubland and desert," agreed Riley, "but he distinctly said they were driven out long ago."
"History was not my strong suit," shrugged Roland, wishing now he'd paid more attention. It hadn't seemed like the most important subject for a medical apprentice to learn.
"Mine either," smirked Riley, remembering his mother attempting to drill all kinds of information into him. He was a fantastic student when he was interested in a topic. Amelia had always said that she might as well try to teach a cow as him when it was something he didn't want to learn.
Roland cleared his throat. "Thank you, by the way, for keeping Serafina safe." The mental image of the woman throwing herself towards a raging fire was an unpleasant one, and he had seen enough burn patients to form an extremely graphic mental picture. He shuddered lightly as he tried to push it away.
"I didn't do it for you." Riley responded bluntly.
"I know, but you deserve my thanks all the same." Roland wondered if the harrowing event had driven Riley closer to his goal of capturing Finn's heart, but he knew that the other man's answer to such a question wouldn't be impartially given.
Riley nodded. "I'd expect you to do the same." Roland smiled briefly before shifting back to the focus of their discussion.
"You said the leader threatened the village's people if the men didn't join their army. How likely is it that the men of your village would do it?" Roland hated to ask, but it was something that would affect how things would go when they arrived.
Riley pursed his lips. "I've been asking myself the same thing. I want to say there's no chance, but our families are threatened. They will do what they can to keep the women and children safe. I think it comes down to whether they think joining up will buy their families time to escape and get to safety. I hope they choose to try and delay until we get there. In short, I just don't know. My village is not full of fighters. As far as I know, this is the only sword from there." Riley glanced down at the sword tied onto his hip.
"I didn't realize what it was until Captain Grayson noticed," Roland commented. "Do you know exactly what that sword is?"
"I assume you're going to tell me," Riley hedged. He didn't want to outright admit his lack of knowledge on the heirloom.
"Well, no. Everyone that completes their year of military service is issued a sword, as you probably know." Roland said. "Special ceremonial swords are given to the top recruit of each year, called the Annual Sword. There are also swords that are given out once every ten years to the winner of a tournament, called the Trial Sword. I've never heard of what the captain called yours."