At this a blood-curdling scream erupted across the field. Birds flew, animals scurried away and half-a-mile away their enemies looked in their direction with worried looks in their eyes. The battle doesn’t commence for an entire day, that night, two hundred or more opposing soldiers broke for the woods, leaving behind honour and, in some cases, respect but taking with them their free will and life.

In the morning, General Argath surveyed his troops, thinking how scraggly this troop looks. Many can’t wield a sword and shield at the same time, some can’t see out of a helmet! Half of these troops are illegitimate, bastard sang discarded as the years wore on. This “Holy Crusade” seems to be a simple way to dispose of a large number of orphans without arising suspicion or persecution. How many of these orphans have been discarded in this manner? Maybe three- no, four-thousand? Why didn’t we just use them as cota-

A noise behind him alerts him to someone’s presence. In one move, the General whips out his sword and makes an overhand slash at the location of the noise.

“Geez, sorry boss, didn’t mean to scar you!” said a voice which the general immediately recognised as his lieutenant, Lady Karel Lorsenee.

“Sorry, milady,” Argath said immediately.

“Boss,” said Karel, “I’ve told you call me Karel,” –as she steps out, clad in naught but underwear. “I’m technically your lesser.”

“Karel!” Argath exclaimed, looking away. “Cover yourself!”

“Well, Boss, I was covered, until your blade sliced my shirt in two.”

“I’m sorry, Karel!”

“It’s alright, Bo-”

“No one move!” said a voice as an arm wrapped a gag around Karel’s mouth. “If you call out, General, you get three arrows in the chest and we take her with us.”

“Do you think she matters to me? She is not one-of-a-kind. Do what you will.” As Argath said these things, Karel’s eyes got wider and the hand moved down to tie the hands.

“Then we’ll be taking our prize, if she is meaningless to you... we will leave you a token of hers so you remember her, though.”

The hand snapped fingers and soldier men came out of the bushes and stood in front of Karel. Argath saw her eyes grow wide with terror, then a cutting sound. The man half turned, just enough to let Argath see Karel being violated by the men, and handed the General Karel’s underwear. Then they left.

“How many times does that happen? Isn’t that my fourth, maybe fifth lieutenant this month...”