A DRINK BEFORE BATTLE (MxM)

At the side of the courtyard, a crowd of soldiers had formed, setting up a cacophony of raised voices and the sounds of a struggle. Sevei pulled Yanek along to see what the fuss was about, and to make sure none of their own were involved. Upon seeing both Generals approaching, the crowd opened to make way for them, all standing to attention in salute.

In the crowd’s center, a man in threadbare clothing and a soldier’s baldric bearing the insignia of the Fourth Martial Line was held down on his knees by two men. Some distance away, another soldier who seemed far too early in adolescence for the army was wiping his tear-stained face while another man tried to comfort him.

“What’s happening here?” Urskatha asked sharply. The crowd fell into silence at once.

“This man has been accused of being a bandit,” said one of the guards holding the kneeling man.

“He killed my family!” the weeping youth shouted. “Murderer!”

The captive man struggled in the grasp of the guards as Urskatha approached the youth.

“What happened?” he asked mildly.

The young man just broke apart into tears again. His companion pulled him closer and patted his back, giving General Urskatha a regretful frown.

“Nal came from a family of traveling merchants. Their caravan was ambushed in Devratha Principality last summer. His family was killed, and he and some others were taken.”

“How did you escape them?” Urskatha questioned him, his voice kept low and gentle.

“Some soldiers rescued us...” the boy mumbled.

“And you think he was one of the bandits?”

“I know... he... my father... right in front of me...” The boy set to uncontrollable crying again and buried his face in his friend’s shoulder.

“Nal confronted him today, and the bastard tried to strangle him behind the mess,” Nal’s friend said. “I saw that myself.”

Sevei suddenly strode across the clearing to the bound man, gesturing to the guards.

“Haul him up,” he ordered.

When they complied, Sevei quickly unlaced the neck of the man’s tunic and pulled the opening aside to reveal a large tattoo in the shape of a bird on his chest. Sevei looked at Urskatha with a grim nod.

“The Cliff Eagle Gang,” he said. “We routed them last summer in Devratha. Killed most of them. I guess this fish slipped the net.”

“You!” the man snarled, struggling again. He spit in Sevei’s direction, but Sevei dodged the worst of it as the guards pulled him back.

With a few swift steps, Urskatha pushed Sevei out of his way. His sword flew out with a grating of steel against the scabbard, and he ran it to the hilt through the man’s gut.

Sevei jolted at the suddenness of the act, glancing at Yanek, who returned his expression of surprise.

The former bandit had no time for surprise. Urskatha withdrew his sword halfway, then forced it in again with an upward jerk. The man’s throat gurgled as blood poured out of his mouth and down his beard, and as the light left his eyes, Urskatha pushed him off of his blade, letting the corpse fall to the ground like a bag of turnips.

“We don’t take bandits in this army,” he stated flatly to all those surrounding him.

Then, dangling his bloody sword toward the ground, he looked down at himself with a grimace of distaste. His right hand and sleeve, and the front of his clothes, were soaked in blood, not that it showed on the black fabric clearly. He handed his sword off to another soldier and wiped his hand on a dry spot of his tunic while wandering back over to the young man.

“We also don’t take anyone under the age of eighteen,” he said firmly. “How old are you?”

Through a variety of sniffles and catches of the throat, the boy murmured, “I’m eigh... “

“Hmm?”

“...fifteen...”

“Shhh...” Urskatha hissed. “What are you doing here?”

“I... didn’t have anything else... after...” Nal whimpered.

Urskatha nodded thoughtfully.

“Sergeant!” he called, turning as Sergeant Kahan stepped to his side. “Take him to the medics. When he’s fit, send him to me.”

“Yes, General,” Kahan answered, laying a hand on Nal’s shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked her warmly.

“I am,” she replied. Her face was taut with strain, but she smiled gently.

“Someone, take care of that,” he said, waving his red-stained hand at the bandit’s body on the ground. “You’re all dismissed.”

Urskatha made for his tent hurriedly, but Sevei stepped into his path.

“What are you going to do with that boy?” he questioned.

Urskatha gave him a look up and down.

“Nothing you would think of,” he sneered, pushing past Sevei to go on his way.

“What do you think...?!” Sevei called after him. As he was ignored, he muttered to himself, “What... the fuck?”

Yanek came up from behind him.

“What’s his problem?” he asked. “Earlier, too... do you actually know him?”

Sevei’s narrowed eyes were still on Urskatha, watching the man trail blood behind him all the way to his tent.

“No...” he said with slow deliberation. “No, I don’t know him.”

He shook his head in derision, giving Yanek a sour smile.

“Fucking Alchemists.”

“You’ve got that right,” Yanek agreed.

“General?" a timid voice came from behind them. They both turned to find Nal and Sergeant Kahan standing there. Sevei gave the boy a tense smile.

“That’s all over now,” Sevei said, nodding his head in the direction of the corpse being carried away. “You going to be alright?”

“You saved me, back then?” Nal said, still sniffling a bit, but much calmer than he’d been before. “Thank you. I can’t...”

“Don’t thank me,” Sevei said said shortly. He fixed the boy with a sorrowful gaze. “If I’d caught them sooner, your family might still be alive.”

Nal began to shake his head in protest to this, but Sevei turned his attention to Kahan.

“What will you do with him?” he asked.

Kahan lifted her shoulders. “We’ll have to find somewhere to send him. Tharlburg, maybe, or one of these villages. Until then, the General will probably put him to work on light errands.”

“I can work!” Nal asserted eagerly. “Do you need a valet, General?”

“Not me,” Sevei responded. “However you managed to enlist, it’s under General Urskatha’s banner. Are you unfaithful to your General?”

Nal’s face flushed with shame. “No, Sir,” he answered. “But he’s... a little scary....”

Sevei grinned while Yanek stifled a snicker, both of them suddenly clearing their throats and straightening themselves out as they caught Kahan’s amused scowl.

“You both should go get settled,” she said curtly. “Bathing is in the river, but it’s too close to nightfall. I’ll send some warm water to your tents for tonight.”

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Yanek said as Kahan patted Nal’s shoulder and began to pull him away.

As they passed by Sevei, she paused. Catching his eye with a meaningful expression, she spoke in a hushed tone.

“Have patience,” she whispered. “If you want the pearl, you must wait for the oyster to open.”

As she led Nal out of the courtyard toward the infirmary, Yanek elbowed Sevei.

“What the hell did that mean?” he asked.

“No idea,” Sevei muttered. He glanced at Yanek to find his Second staring after Sergeant Kahan with stars in his eyes. His brows furrowed in annoyance. “There’s something a little odd about her, don’t you think?”

“Oddly fascinating...” Yanek said with a light sigh.

“She’s your colleague, First Constable,” Sevei warned, inwardly fully aware of the irony.

Yanek snapped to attention.

“Yes,” he said quickly, “yes, she is. Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Good. Let’s go find some dinner.”