LEGEND OF DEATH'S ASSASSINS

CHAPTER 19

What else was lacking? A final touch? She deepened the feather into the ink again but paused when the words suddenly disappeared from her mind. It was a concise letter and she seemed to have exhausted everything the general had told her to say. But there was something else, a little piece that seemed to be missing. Standing from the chair, she stretched before picking up the paper. The jiggered handwritten was meant to send a message of its own. According to the general, he wanted the emperor to think they had written the words in a hurry, amid the heat of a battle. That was not a lie, or it appeared not to be. Sixteen domestic wars in the last three years were better than her first twenty years as a soldier. But notwithstanding the minor injuries and the deaths, they indeed were in the heat of battle, even though she had written these words comfortably in her chambers. Plus, there are rumors of wars in Terah, if they would engage the battle, then they needed more supplies and every help they could get.

Dropping the feather, she picked the lantern and frowned when the missing piece was not forthcoming. The words she had written in the letter were: THE ARMIES OF THE THIRD GUARD HAD TAKEN CHARGE OF THE PALOS. THE GATE IS IN DANGER. REINFORCEMENT AND SUPPLIES ARE NEEDED.

She dropped the lantern and the letter and paced the room. The words sounded odd. Everything on them was true, but there was something else, something she should have included to make the emperor know how much they needed help.

“First commander”

Denna turned her attention to the door, just in time to see the bright eyes behind the white helmet. The girl’s uniform was sweeping the floor, proving the fact that she was just another rookie who was naïve about the dealings of the kingdom and the war surrounding them. Anyway, Denna didn’t blame her. After all, they needed all the help they could get, but the emperor should be more realistic and send them skilled soldiers, not some children that could barely hold a kitchen knife. They were in the midst of a battle for heaven’s sake.

“Yes,” Denna muttered and returned her attention to the letter which was now on the table.

“Em…” the girl shifted her weight to the other foot, “The general said I should meet you for instructions.”

Denna’s eyebrow elevated to her skull as she averted her gaze from the letter. How could the general give such orders? Well, unless…

“Hmm, I see, what offense did you commit?” Denna asked, suddenly tired. Somewhere in her heart, she just wished she could just quit the army and retire home. She would spend the rest of her days in a house by the lake, and perhaps, she could find a way to bring back all the lost memories of the past sixty years.

“Couldn’t run up the hill with the others,” The girl said but did not meet Denna’s eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“Bell…Bella, Ma. My name is Bella.”

Bella. The words seemed to echo in Denna’s ears. That was an unusual name for someone within the walls of The Den of thirty. Unless the girl was from Nurum or other villages that were closer to the sea, they were the ones that bear such strange names.

“And what happened, Bella. Why were you unable to join the other recruits?” Denna returned back to her seat, ready to seal the letter and send the message to the emperor. The words were incomplete to her, but what else could she do? She would deliver the letter like that. Maybe if she remembers what she had omitted, she might as well write another letter.

“I am not used to such, commander.” The girl said rather sheepishly.

“And you think that’s a good excuse? You think all these are some kind of play?”

“No,” The chocolate skin girl shook the dark braided hair, “It was a mistake, commander. I am ready to try again if only I would be given the opportunity.”

“You know we don’t tolerate laziness among the thirty,” Denna picked the read wax and placed them on the paper, “There will not be a second chance,” She continued without looking up as she took the candle and melted the wax, keeping care to avoid burning the edges of the paper. “You will be thrown into the pit.”

“By the heavens,” Bella shouted and went on her knees, she was already on the verge of tears by the time Denna lifted her eyes toward her direction.

“I am sorry, commander. It was a mistake and I swear that it wouldn’t happen again.”

“You are dismissed Bella,” Denna said. She took the general’s seal and pressed them on the wax. If the Emperor would not send reinforcement and supplies, maybe she was going to quit the army after all. But for now, she hopes he would read the urgency in the jiggered letters.

“Please, Commander.”

Denna stopped as a flash of anger walked through her eyes. She hated people who would not take direct orders and would rather argue.

“You are still standing there?”

“Mercy, commander. It was not my fault. The truth is that I couldn’t differentiate between reality and dream. It all seemed so real. I am sorry commander, please don’t send me to the pit.”

“Dream and reality, what are you talking about?”

Denna’s question made the girl shift her weight uncomfortably. With the way she avoided eye contact, Denna could tell that the girl had said those words by accident. But what did she mean by a dream?

“That was a mistake, commander.” Bella said as If reading the commander’s mind, “I will take the pit punishment now.”

Interesting, something said in Denna’s head as she folded her hands over her breast and studied the girl who was trying with failed attempts to pull up a salute. The pit was the worst place in the Den of Thirty, and for someone to accept the punishment, that means there was something else more daunting than the pit. Plus, recruits are hardly sent there. The reason was because of their chances of survival. The pit had been built initially to harden the soldiers. That was a long time ago when peace was the order of the day. But because of their few numbers, throwing people into the pit had become less frequent. It was now reserved as a place of punishment.

“Take a seat,” Denna pointed.

Bella’s head snapped upwards from the sudden calmness in the older woman’s voice. She had not expected it, but she did not disobey either. She walked reluctantly and sat quietly like a maltreated child.

“Where are you from, Bella?”

“I hail from the western side of the Kingdom, Alush, to be precise.”

Denna stroked her nose in disbelief. The people of Alush were rather timid and would hardly join the army. They were like the people of Terah, who would barely lift a finger to hurt even a fly. The name Bella was also strange to the people. Denna had dealt a few times with the Alushians. They hardly bear such names.

“Why did you joined the army?”

Bella breathed in this time, and the way her shoulders relaxed, Denna was glad that the girl was not feeling any sense of discomfort. It was a good sign, for Denna at least. If she wanted to get her desired answer, then she would need the girl to calm down to the very least.

“I hate being a lady,” Bella said boldly.

Denna would have laughed, but she restrained herself. The enthusiasm in the girl’s eyes was identical to what she had had some fifty years back. Unlike Bella who came from the village of farmers, Denna had been born and raised in the Den of the Thirty. Her father and mother were both generals and had died fighting. She was a daughter of the sword and was living the legacy of her parents. So she has been there and she could read desperation when she sees one. If someone had told her that fighting would bring nothing but pain and discomfort, she would have given up the sword a long time ago.

“I see.” Denna nodded her head, still trying to conceal the amusement, “And your parents?”

“Dead,” Bella said as if she had expected the question.

The amusement in Denna’s eyes suddenly disappeared. She hadn’t thought of that. If the girl‘s parents were both dead, then it made sense why she wanted to become a soldier. If her guess was correct, then Bella had joined the army just to keep others from the brutal demise of her parents.

“Killed by some bandits,” Bella finished and clutched the edge of the chair.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Denna said and dropped the letter she had written, into the drawer.

“It’s nothing. They are gone and I am here. I will keep pushing until I bring every injustice to order.”

“That’s a big spirit you have there,” Denna nodded, wondering if she should be impressed or have pity on the naïve little girl, who was no older than ten.