The Union

Leopold was watching the busy soldiers while leaning against a wooden wall of a house. Beside him was Rupert who had just woken up albeit with fewer fingers and one less ear.

Leopold eyed the bandage that wrapped around Rupert"s head. There were also bandages on Rupert"s hands.

"Does it look ugly? Please tell me it doesn"t look ugly" Rupert asked with a grin. It was as if the royal guard wasn"t aware of what he lost.

Leopold slumped and sighed. "After this. After we fix this problem we have in the east" He looked at Rupert in the eye "You should retire"

"Is that a command?"

"It isn"t" Leopold said "You know only the King could force a royal guard to abandon his post. And I am no King. It was merely a suggestion. From an old friend"

Rupert lowered his head.

"I am touched sire. Calling me a friend fills my remaining ear with a ringing joy. But I can"t. Being a royal guard has been my life. I think I"ll die a royal guard. If I quit then I wouldn"t know what to do after"

"Grow some plants" Leopold leaned a bit towards Rupert "Or travel around the world. Or maybe you could go back to your village. Don"t you want to meet the grandchildren of your siblings?"

Rupert"s face contorted. He ma.s.saged his jaw.

"Growing plants and running around like a foolish bachelor. What do you take me for? Are you are saying that I"m useless now? I"m losing four fingers. Five if my left thumb croaks. I"m old. So I"m useless. Is that it? Is that what you"re saying? That I can"t defend royals anymore?"

"I.." Leopold squinted "You know that"s not what I meant. I"m sorry. I just feel bad. They told me what you did for me. And you suffered"

"Don"t worry about it. I just did my job" Rupert said.

"Are you still mad?"

"I wasn"t mad. I was just scared. I cannot imagine myself not holding a sword. You may be right. I may be forced to retire soon" Rupert looked at his bandaged hands "A royal guard with only six whole fingers. What a joke"

"Can you still hold a sword?"

"With my right. Yes. I can"

"Then you can still defend me. You are not useless"

"Thank you" Rupert said. His grat.i.tude felt real. "So may I join you tonight? I"ve heard about the raid"

"Of course. Just don"t overdo it" Leopold said.

**********

The moment a person takes up a sword, that person has already washed the sin of murder from the hands of his killer. Killing is a sin. The Omniscient detest murderers. But killing another person with a sword is not murder.

The Order of the Knights had put a great emphasis in this idea. This was one of the first lessons Henry had learned. He was less than ten summers old when the Grandmaster himself taught him of this. Killing unarmed civilians is a sin but killing a soldier is an honor.

Henry had killed both civilians and soldiers before. Thirty-six souls he took from this world. And he must say... it all felt similar. Civilians or not, unarmed or armored, they all die the same- with a shaky crunch and a last croak. Henry doesn"t feel honored whenever he kills a soldier. Not once did he felt honored. All felt was a slight relief that he was still alive and little regret that the world needs violence.

Henry"s breath fogged. His horse was, just like the others, trudging in the snow. His left hand was gripping the reins while his right was holding the lance.

At the distance he saw lights- campfires of their enemies. The mercenaries didn"t even bother to circle their wagons. It was a foolish mistake. Doing so could have deterred a charge.

He raised his left hand and signalled to attack. The soldiers behind him kicked into a charge. When they were just about hundred paces from the camp they divided into three groups, each went to attack different sides.

Henry led one of the groups. He was at the very front. He saw the surprised faces of their enemies. The mercenaries were all wearing coats so he cannot determine what armor they wear.

He prepared his right arm for the strike. With a quick stab he plunged his lance into the chest of a mercenary. The lance encountered resistance but it went through. From experience Henry determined that the mercenary was wearing poorly-made mail. Definitely not a Castonian one as Castonian mail armor were the toughest.

Henry let go of the lance. He pa.s.sed the mercenary and looked behind. The tip of the lance portruded from his opponent"s back. The mercenary fell. His body twitched.

Thirty-seven, Henry counted. The mercenary was the thirty-seventh person he killed. He still didn"t feel honored by the kill.

He took a reserve javelin slung on his back. The javelin was shorter than the lance. It was lighter too and less penetrating. But the javelin could be thrown.

He held the shaft of the javelin level to his head. He aimed at another mercenary. The man was running towards him with spear in hand. Henry threw the javelin. It was dark but his trained eyes adjusted his aim.

The javelin whistled in the air. It hit the mercenary"s belly. The man slouched and fell forward. Thirty-eight, Henry again counted.

The battle was over in a short while. The mercenaries were new recruits- probably bandits and serfs who took the sellsword profession. The n.o.bles must have never expected that Leopold Castonia was crazy enough to trek the Meander Plains in the snow season.

In the end Henry"s number rose to forty. The last one almost had him with a spear stab to the chest. Lucky for Henry his breatplate absorbed the blow.

After commanding his host to clean up and secure the wagons, Henry dismounted. He knelt and unsheathed his unused sword. He stabbed the tip of the sword into the snow. He then rested his forehead on the pommel amd closed his eyes.

Henry mumbled a prayer to the Omniscient.

"Oh eternal light above forgive me for I have bathed my hands with blood once more. Your philosophy is peace. Your command is to love. And yet I, Henry Molt, brought death to four of your creations today. May their consciousness be brought to peace, may their memories be remembered. Lead them to the light. Wrap them in your merciful embrace. As for me, give me your forgiveness oh Omniscient above. The shedding of blood wasn"t without reason. This is not the first and this might not be the last for I have taken the oath of a Knight and I will shed blood to protect the innocents until my last day"

**********

"What is he doing?" Rupert asked Leopold

"Praying. I think for the ones he killed. Knights are like that." Leopold said, looking at Henry. He turned his head towards Rupert "What about you? Are you the same? Do you also count the number of enemies fallen by your own hands?"

"I don"t even remember how many" Rupert smiled "All I remember is that two of them are in duels. What about you sire?"

Leopold didn"t answer and just smiled. He again looked at the remnants of the battle. Most of the mercenaries had fled. Some surrendered. Leopold doesn"t care about them. All he cared about was the contents of the wagons.

"By the way" He tilted his head towards Rupert a little "I"m surprised you didn"t join the battle"

"What? You thought that I would charge with them? I am a royal guard, not a common soldier. My place is by the side of royals. I am your shield"

Leopold gave a small chuckle. He was both pleased and relieved after he discovered that Rupert wasn"t joining the attack. But he did not underestimate Rupert"s abilities. He was just a little concerned as battles were known to be unpredictable. He doesn"t want to lose the royal guard who had been with him for decades.

All of a sudden, Rupert unsheathed his sword in a hurry and turned around. It happened so fast that Leopold flinched.

"We are under attack!" Rupert shouted while holding his sword high. He sneered at the darkness "Reveal yourself! I know you have been watching us"

Rupert shifted his body to cover Leopold. The other soldiers and even Henry were already running towards them.

Leopold stared at the darkness. He couldn"t see anyone. But if Rupert say so, then he should trust the instincts of a royal guard.

"There"s no need for violence" A voice from the darkness said. After a while a figure of a man with a hat was revealed. The man took his hat and bowed.

"Please be calm for am not an enemy. I am a friend"