Ilona breathes and frowns. The military camp is in front of her. Soldiers are training while other talented people watch over them. The tents are spread on the right side of the camp.
Nyx steps with pride as he closes the distance between his owner and the boys training that already are glancing at the person on top of the horse.
"Who is the boy …..?" The question is in their minds as they stop for a moment.
Everyone is gathering to see who is the boy that dares to come to the camp after the recruitment. The captain already got a few boys this year. And they know that not just anybody could come to the camp.
A tall boy that seemed to be one of the camp's leaders comes straight to Ilona and grabs the reins of the horse. She watches with calm waiting for a question.
"Why did you come here?" The man in his thirties frowns." No one is welcome if they don't have a recruitment file. Go home!" He glares at Ilona and turns to go.
"I see that old Gray is still annoying. How are you guys dealing with him?" She frowns and smirks as the man turns his face to her. He sighs while the entire camp burst into laughter.
The atmosphere is lit up when she dismounts and punches Grey gently in the chest out of nowhere.
"I see you still have the same habits …..I would rather you go home than be here." The man is the only one that knows she is a girl. He took care of her well in the past. Now he just wants her to leave the cursed place. He frowns but inside he is happy to see her.
"Lead the way to the commander. I will not turn back." She looks straight into his eyes and her serious gaze makes Grey wonder what got her to make such a dangerous decision.
Leaving the boys behind as they seem to have a crush on the red-head boy, Ilona, and Grey walk together to the biggest tents.
Grey loses his pace and now he walks next to her.
"What happened?" His voice expresses his worry as his eyes scan her face from time to time.
"Can't find work in the village. "She looks ahead and her frown comes over her face. He was a trustworthy man. She can tell him.
"Is Anise fine? Heard that is a beauty .." He smiles like a parent as he glances at the girl. Ilona smiles faintly as she nods.
"She is indeed a beauty …..she is a good girl."
The man is interrupted by a boy running to him with sweat dripping from his face. He looks panicked. He must be the one bringing the news, a runner.
"Captain Grey, this letter is from the village across the river in the south."
Grey unwraps the letter and frowns as his eyes look over the paper. No way! Again ….
"Team number one! Go get them. We need to hurry." He puts the letter in his pocket and wants to go to the stable.
"I will come with you." Ilona remains in her position and yells at him as he is walking towards the stable.
"Better not do something stupid like always! "Grey approves in a hurry knowing that she will come anyways.
The boys are dressed in their fight garments as they are aligned in front of Grey.
"Sarif village is under the attack of the enemy. We need to eliminate them fast and precisely. Follow my commands and everything will be fine. On the horses!" Grey mounts as his team does the same.
In a mad gallop, everyone follows Grey.
"Who was the red-head?" In the door of his tent, commander Baron asks his guards.
"Sir the boy arrived this morning. Capitan Grey seems to know him." One of the soldiers explains the mystery of the red-head.
The commander gets inside and sits on his chair thinking of the pretty boy with red hair.
After two hours, the team is in a close forest to the village of Sarif. They are dismounting and tying the horses.
Grey is looking in the distance as he thinks of a solution. His hand grabs the sword he has on his hip and with a fast movement he reveals a shiny blade.
Ilona approaches him and frowns. Her steps make a crunching sound. The other soldiers are still not yet done with their horses.
The forest gives a somber feeling as if they will go there to die. The king would never give Grey more soldiers for this type of work. People from the small villages that were attacked by the enemy were always a minor issue in the king's eyes. Peace needs to reign no matter what.
"Why are we not going? The enemy will destroy the village. "She is gripping her sword handle as she looks at his back.
The soldiers seem to be fairly calm and Grey looks like he drags time. She never saw the man being like this. He was a strong warrior that lead them well in war. Why is he like this now?
Grey sighs and puts his sword back in the scabbard.
"We will wait for 30 min." He turns his back to the girl and the team. His gaze is focused on a path that stays before him. His forehead forms creases when he hears a sword getting out of the scabbard violently.
Ilona grits her teeth as her sword is pointing at the ground. She gives off an ominous feeling as her eyes give off no emotion.
The soldiers look at the scene happening right before their eyes. What is going to happen?
Grey opens his mouth as he still has his back to the girl.
"The orders are orders. Don't give me more work to do. You know it will have the same consequences as that time."
Ilona is thinking of a similar experience. They were like this waiting to save a village when a messenger came telling them to kill the villagers too. She ended up killing the soldiers that were on her team when they tried to kill the villagers. After the enemies were laying down dead, the villagers were still alive thanks to her.
But not long after she saved the village the people from there spread the story in the other regions of the kingdom and the war escalated even more as the people were enraged to take revenge even more.
That was the time when she left the army. Grey took the blame.
"Did they put you to do this as a punishment?" Ilona's voice is echoing as she has a hint of sadness and anger.
The man is silent.
Ilona drops her head as she stares at the leaves on the ground. The man did it for her. She needs to repay him.
"Should I keep my sword in the scabbard? "Her anger vanishes as she realized that she doesn't care about anything but her being able to work in peace.
'…. Like it will change if few people die ….'
Her leather glove that is on the sword loses its grip.
Grey turns towards her.
"You should have stayed home …..Everyone! Group! We are going."
The soldiers are confused and a little disappointed that there was no fight between the two. How cool would it be to see Grey display his skills with the red-head that seemed to have a strong fighting spirit!
Ilona follows the team from the back and they have less and less distance from the village.
'I will do the job…..my moral doesn't matter now ….as long as I keep my composure …'
She tries to convince herself that she will not go on a rampage if a villager is killed by one of the soldiers from her team. But, she knows that that is almost impossible.
The village welcomes them with a burning smell and screams as the enemy soldiers are in full destruction mode. Girls are dragged by the hair around and put in carriages. Old people are killed and the men that knew how to fight are giving their souls trying to protect their homes.
As they watch the image behind a little hill, Ilona sees a woman taken by a soldier. He intends to rape her. She hears the women screaming but not because she knows what is going to happen to her. A child is a few steps away in a blood bath.
Ilona feels a rage growing inside her as she has her eyes on the scene. Her mind is replaying her mother's death as she had the same scream. The voice is making her go crazy.
Grey looks at her. Her unmoving stance is a sign of a future disaster. The man frowns and tries to crawl toward her but is too late.
The man knows that the river keeping the village apart from them will not stop her.