Chapter Fifty Three
1264 Words
He wiped the drops of sweat that had formed on his forehead with the back of his right hand while tightly gripping his vessel draped sword on the left. He swung ferociously, slicing the cold night air with all his might. The Captain before him had taught him an important lesson before he died; when you are angry, fight invisible forces. This way, you don’t have to deal with irrational consequences later.
The thing was, the Captain had been angry for a very long while.
He launched his right fist at nothing, plunging the air aggressively while painting the image of his greatest foe. The behemoth snarled at him, mocking him for letting him live all this time. The Captain managed a smirk; very soon, the two of them would meet again. This time, however, the Captain will not have anything to lose. This time, the Captain would either kill the behemoth or die trying.
Exhausted, spent, angry, the Captain took in large lunges of air. His throat was scratchy, and he could smell blood; yes, that was good training. No, it had been impeccable. The Captain had dedicated himself to learning the art of war after his encounter with the behemoth. He had held a candle over scrolls, visited the enchanted woods for practice, and trained in the dark, mercilessly cutting through the air as he dreamt of his vengeance.
“Soon, son, soon…I will make him pay then join you…”
“Is everything okay, Captain?”
The Captain swirled around swiftly, a bit startled by the unwelcomed presence. He had always trained alone; he had always chosen discrete locations. How had one of his men located him? Was the King having him followed?
“What do you need?”
“Ummmh, there is a discord at the square, Captain…”
The Captain sheathed his sword slowly while examining the soldier before him. He was about his late son’s age; they even shared the same hair color. The only distinct difference between the two of them was that his son had been no boy; he had been a man. The soldier before him was no man; he was a spineless boy.
“Since when is the Captain summoned to settle common folk disputes?”
“Well…ummmh…well…”
“Boy, you better speak up, or you will be on vessel watch duty for a fortnight…”
The soldier tried to mask his fear, but he couldn’t. He shivered audibly as he thought of the vessel’s ability to cause blindness. At least that is what he had heard from the night guards.
“The dispute was caused by a royal matter. The people are retaliating against the King’s decree…”
The Captain chuckled briefly before disguising his burst of amusement with an unnecessarily loud cough.
“What is the palace saying?”
“Nothing, Captain. The King is taking his royal bath. The servants and guards are under strict orders not to disturb him…”
The Captain cussed under his breath. The King knew. He knew the people would not agree to give their children to war. He knew that the Captain would be summoned in his absence. The new King of Chi knew that the Captain would be heard by the people but he wouldn’t. Dawson might be the most powerful man in Chi, but he was just that, one man. If the people, especially the warriors, turned against him, he did not stand a chance.
“I want you to call my second in command. Tell him to meet me at the tavern right now…”
“But Captain the people-“
“What about them?”
“There is unrest; they might-“
“Might what?”
“Start a coup?”
“Do you honestly think that the people currently spewing at the square will start a coup?”
The soldier opened and closed his mouth successively. The Captain was right. The people had no combat training; without the kingdom’s warriors on their side, they would not try to actually do anything. The only reason they had gathered at the square is that they were terrified for their children. Why would they risk their children being slaughtered in the crossfire between common folk and warriors?
“What should I tell the announcer?”
The Captain glared at the soldier, who responded by yelping and scrambling off. He almost smiled; the boy was not as foolish as he had thought. The Captain sighed heavily before lifting his head up to gaze at the cloudless sky. He had been afraid of all this chaos when Prince Luke left. Yes, King Matthias had been alive then, but the truth was, King Matthias had not been acting as Chi’s leader long before his death. Luke had been handling everything. He had personally seen to the needs of the people. The prince had even seen to the warrior recruitments. It was Luke who had been leading, and truthfully, it did not matter whether this was under the guidance of his father or not. Luke had been a phenomenal leader for the past years. It was a tad sad that the young man was not aware of this.
The Captain made his way to the tavern and was surprised to see Gamma, his second in command, already there. As expected, Gamma had chased everyone out of the tavern and poured gin into two metallic cups. Upon spotting him, Gamma raised one of the cups, gobbled its contents, and handed the Captain the remaining one.
“You couldn’t have waited for me to settle down first?”
“What? You wanted to dedicate a toast to something?”
The two men sniggered and shook their heads simultaneously; they had been friends for a long time. The same Captain had trained them; they had even undergone the manhood ritual together. Gamma had always treated the Captain like a brother, and when his son had been alive, Gamma had treated him like his own offspring as well. If anyone understood the Captain, it was Gamma.
“He is hiding in the palace…”
“He is a coward…”
“He is also Chi’s King, and when a royal decree is issued, it is our job to make sure everything is followed…”
The Captain downed his drink. He flinched as the scorching liquid attacked the lining if his throat.
“Don’t you think I know that Gamma? I bloody hell know what our job is! That does not mean I have to like it…”
Gamma bobbed his head. For a long time, his friend had adamantly stated that he did not care for anything or anyone else apart from his vengeance. Well, the Captain of Chi was full of horseshit; he cared about the people.
“What if we also stood down?”
The Captain lifted his head swiftly, was his friend suggesting treason?
“You do know that whoever leads this will hang, right?”
“What will Dawson do? Hang every soldier in Chi?”
The Captain’s face remained impassive as he contemplated his friend’s words. Gamma had a point; the King would be forced to retract his decree once he discovered he had no soldiers to fight the war at all.
“Well then, shall we head to the square?”
- Writer
