Morning came, and I immediately knew the day was going to be beautiful. The sky was clear, and the breeze wasn’t harsh. The soldiers of Armas were already up and getting ready for the march to Forez, and the Fort was filled to brim with activities.

Amidst all the noises, Anna kept sleeping, for it was still a couple of hours earlier than her usual wake up time. ‘Really, if you are going to play a soldier at least be diligent about it.’ I shook my head as I crawled into the tent with a portable potty, a simple fishbowl-shaped pot. I pat my own back for having thought of bringing it.

It took me a considerable effort to wake her up, but she eventually opened her eyes. Yawning and stretching, she squatted down on the pot and filled it with the wastewater accumulated during her sleep. I half crouched, and half stood blocking the tent’s low entrance so nobody could peek in. Once she was done, I let out a sigh of relief, for she did not discharge anything else, making it easier for me to get rid of the potty’s content.

Anna noticed my bedroll was not in the tent and sulked, complaining about how I had left her all alone.

‘What if I had a nightmare?’

“Come. You are not a child anymore.”

I turned her around and combed her hair, which was matted and greasy from not having been washed past several days. I did my best and pulled the hair, which wasn’t that long, just shoulder-length, into a ponytail tied up with a strip of silk ribbon I carried for this purpose. Now she looked somewhat presentable, so I ushered her outside. I had prepared a pot of lukewarm water and used it to wash her face. Now she looked better.

I was helping Anna put on her armor when the Vicomte came by.

“The Seigneur’s messenger came; they are already on the move.”

“Very well, milord.”

“The Comte wishes to leave shortly, so I urge you to haste.”

I quickly finished up on Anna and disassembled our tent. Anna helped me gather our things, and we threw them into the large sack on Slinky’s back. Soon we were off to Forez.

###

The second day of marching was even sunnier than the previous day, and everyone was in a good mood. We were making our way along a stream of water that glistened brightly under the sun.

The night before had been uneventful, although we had seen the light of a lone campfire in the far distance ahead of us. The next day we reached the spot and found footprints of half a dozen men and the equal number of horses on the muddy bank of the stream. We suspected it was Baron Hugo and his entourage making their way to Bourg, traveling along the water as we were doing.

“Hugo must have seen our campfires, too,” the Comte speculated. The wise old man thought there wouldn’t be much point going after them as the sight of our fires would have encouraged them to gallop as fast as they could.

Anna and I rode our mounts, Lilly and Slinky, somewhat in the back of the marching progression. The Comte was leading his men from the very front, closely followed by Victor. Sieur Henry was also up ahead, and it seemed he had already made friends among the Comte’s knights.

I had not noticed the scenery changing, but a foot soldier tapped on Slinky’s shoulder and motioned for me to look around.

“We are in Forez.”

Anna and I must have looked like clueless children as we were turning our heads this and that way taking in the scenery. Every step further the two of us took we were breaking our records in how far away from home we had ever been. I noticed the subtle difference. Trees in the woods were taller and denser. The soil was somewhat darker than in Montclam, coated with moist grass rich in green. The soldier pointed his finger on some animal footprints on the ground.

“Those are elks. “

I studied the footprints. Judging by the size, they must have been fairly big ones, even bigger than Lilly. We had elks in the Roseland, too. Mostly in the southern part near the forest. But those few I had the chance to see were about the same size as my Slinky. I got excited and hoped to see the massive beasts with my own eyes.

The stream curved southward, but there was a small wooden bridge, beyond which a presentable trail led to the southwest through a small wood, a sign of settlement not too far away. From the very front came a barking order, and the whole progression came to a full stop. Anna and I craned our necks to see what the hold up was about. A group of riders, who had gone ahead as scouts, had returned and was talking to the Comte of Armas. They occasionally pointed to the southwest, beyond the wood, as they spoke, and then for some reason, the knights turned around to face us. Anna in particular. After some more inaudible discussion, Sieur Henry came to us with a grim face.

“Milady, His Lordship insists the young Lady Anna and her servant stay here while the men clear what lies ahead.”

‘What has the Comte found ahead?’ asked Anna.

“It seems the Baron had passed a village not too far from here.”

‘Does the good Sieur imply I shall not see dead villagers?’ Anna’s nostrils flared as she moved her hands.

“Your Ladyship,” he looked at me briefly as if to tell me I should help convince Anna to stay put. He continued, “What lies ahead is a disgrace to the Codes of noble hommes. Comte d’Armas, and also I, would fall dead in shame if Your Ladyship laid her young eyes on the despicable deed the Baron, a fellow noble homme, had done.”

I got it. He worded it tacitly, but simply put; they didn’t want the noble young lady to see the horrible scene that was up ahead. Sure she had seen dead soldiers. She had even contributed so there be dead soldiers in the mud. But those in the village down the trail were not soldiers. They were the people of the land. From the look on Henry’s face, I figured the scouts had seen something really really horrible. The men were going out of their way to make sure Anna didn’t see it. They just could not allow themselves to let a young girl walk into that.

I dismounted from Slinky and took Lilly’s lead in my hand.

“His Lordship the Comte and the good Sieur are too kind. We thank you for taking Lady Anna’s tenderness in consideration. Her Ladyship will wait here.”

Henry sighed in relief and gave me a nod of appreciation.

‘What? No-,’ Anna protested silently, but I deliberately looked away. She tapped on my shoulder, but I played dumb, whistling. 

###

I sat on the bank of the stream, watching Anna. Lilly and Slinky were resting in the shadow cast by a tree nearby, but I had decided I wanted some sun, so I sat there bare-chested with my leather trousers rolled up to the knees. Victor the Vicomte was with us, staying behind as per the Comte's advice, for he was a man of pen and papers and could not handle blood and gore very well. Lying on his back with a handkerchief on his eyes to block the sun, Victor was sleeping after having stayed up all night getting things ready for the road.

Anna had returned from behind some shrubs that I had never seen before. The leaves were large and star-shaped with a fine coat of transparent furs, and small berry-like red fruits were hanging down the twigs. I had to tell Anna not to eat them as we did not know if they were edible, but I was quite certain she ate some while squatting down behind the shrubs hidden from my view.

Feeling lighter, she wanted to get in the water. I had already helped her out of the armor, so all I needed to do was to roll up her trousers legs and shirt sleeves. Barefooted and knee-deep in the stream, she waded up and down, with a bow drawn ready to fire an arrow with a long string tied at the tail. She was bow-fishing and was on an impressive streak. There were already some dozen fish by my feet. I was deeply in a thought; whether to grill them or boil them, when Anna called me out.

"Né!"

That was all she could manage with my name. Given her condition, it was the only way for her to get my attention when I wasn't looking or within arms reach. I looked up and saw Anna was pointing at the fish on the bank.

'Skewer them with an arrow, perhaps?'

"Good idea."

I started by gutting and cleaning the fish first. My voice must have woken up Victor. He half sat up and watched me working on the fish.

"She caught all of those?"

"Yes, milord."

"My! What a resourceful young lady!"

He watched in fascination as Anna threw one more fish, freshly caught. It landed near my feet.

"I think, with a bit more, we could make some good soup for everyone. Do you eat fish, milord Vicomte?"

"Yes. But seawater fish mostly, what with Armas being at the coast."

I looked up from the fish.

"Oh, the sea. Her Ladyship and I have never been to the sea."

"Aha, yes, I see." Victor nodded as he studied the map of the kingdom in his head. "Roseland... is a bit remote, do you not agree?"

"Indeed, milord."

Another fish landed on the bank. I got back to working on the fish. Glancing sideways, I saw the Vicomte's fascinated eyes following Anna's movement. He sighed after a while.

"This looks too tranquil and beautiful."

I knew what he meant. Down the trail through the wood was a remnant of the bloody carnage that was ravaging across the kingdom. Yet here we were, a tired nobleman and two young country bumpkins fishing and basking in the sunlight.

"What do they call you, my lad?" Victor asked, breaking the silence once again.

"René, milord. René of the Tavern."

He patted on my shoulder.

"René. Of the Tavern. I wish to apologize for my rudeness on the first day."

"Milord, you do not need to-"

"And," he cut me off, "for the state you found the kingdom in. It is not an ideal time for the young ones of the Roseland to come out adventuring."

Anna and I weren't exactly going on an adventure; we came out of the Roseland precisely because there was trouble brewing in the kingdom. But I kept my mouth shut. This Vicomte was feeling responsible and sad, for it was the grown-ups, the men of the power of this kingdom, that brought whatever the mess the kingdom was in. He sounded so sincere I did not wish to ruin the mood. Needless to say, my impression of the Vicomte improved a lot.

"Maybe someday... if we are still alive after all this, come visit Armas. I will most certainly take the lady and you, my lad, to the sea."

Another fish landed near my feet.