Chapter 71: You Can’t Hurt Me
The troops sat outside the restaurant along a bench, with some sitting on the dirt path as they rubbed their full stomachs and readjusted to being on land.
"That was the best cod I’ve ever had!" Prav said, his mouth watering at the lingering flavors in his mouth.
"I wish my wife were here so I could have her get the recipe. I’d ask her to make that for me all the time." Nascor said with a laugh.
"Hey, Nascor, I have a question for you." Prav said, whispering as he leaned in.
"What is it? Just ask." He said, leaning towards Prav in a hushed tone.
"How did General Marix become the General so quickly? I mean.....it was what? A month?"
Nascor pulled back and stared at him with furrowed eyebrows.
"What are you talking about? He’s always been the General."
Prav looked around in the air with his lips parted as his tongue darted out to drag along the corner of his mouth before he looked back at Nascor.
"No, you must be mistaken. I was a recruit with him. Vos even called him Recruit L’adore."
Nascor nudged Prav’s head with his knuckles, "Are you dumb, kid? Marix L’adore. L’adore, as in the royal family. He’s the 2nd prince and has been the General for a long time."
Prav covered his mouth as he gasped, "Then what was he a Recruit for?"
"General Marix was punished because he disobeyed the King to go after Miss Eilownia. She’s from Sola, the daughter of a very high ranking noble. King Solus and her father demanded that she be returned to Sola but General Marix refused to let her go. He fought them all and he was stripped of his General position. Then he was sent to train as a Recruit for a month as punishment."
Prav’s eyes widened as he looked over at Eilownia and Marix. She was sitting on the bench, looking much better than when they had first come ashore. Marix was kneeling in front of her with one hand on her knee. They were chit chatting about something that Prav couldn’t hear, but Marix had a soft smile spread across his face as he stared up at her.
"So he’s a romantic, huh?" Prav asked with a smirk as he examined the two.
"I wouldn’t say that. Maybe just in terms of Miss Eilownia. He’s never cared for a woman like he has her." Nascor began picking at his teeth with a toothpick as he leaned against the wall of the restaurant.
"Oh, so it’s just because he got her pregnant that he’s caring for her."
Nascor shook his head, "No. Miss Eilownia being pregnant just allowed him to go after her without repercussions. He was punished before he found out she was carrying their child."
Prav wanted to pry more. He was so fascinated by General Marix and even more so by the Prince who defied his father for a woman, but just as he was going to ask more, Marix stood and took Eilownia’s hand.
Marix approached the group with Eilownia following closely behind him.
"Now that everyone has had some rest and a break from their sea sickness, it’s time to stock up on our supplies. From here to Norain with our kind of ship, it will take about a month. That’s if the weather is all clear."
He and Eilownia pulled out bags of coins and passed them out.
"Reminder to prioritize drinking water and to get foods that will last a long time."
The men nodded as they took the coins, counting out what was in the bags to see their budget.
"Make sure you haggle and purchase things wisely. Pay attention to prices and don’t let anyone charge you extra just because you’re not a Vasis native."
"Yes sir!" They said in unison before splitting up on who would buy what.
Marix and Eilownia headed into the market. As Marix haggled for a large net of coconuts, Eilownia browsed a nearby stall full of baby supplies.
They had onesies and blankets, rattles and plush toys, everything you would need for a baby.
She smiled as she picked up one of the onesies and held it up.
"How far along are you?" The female shopkeep asked.
"I think about four months?" Eilownia said, rubbing her barely there bump.
"You’ve still got a ways to go. Is there anything you’d like to purchase? It’s good to be prepared beforehand."
Eilownia shook her head with a smile and placed the onesie back.
"I can’t right now. We are here to get supplies for our trip."
The woman nodded as she pursed her lips, "I see. Have a safe trip. I hope you’ll come back and buy some baby supplies from me when you can."
As Eilownia turned, she felt something sharp across her face. She winced and touched her cheek where she’d felt the sensation.
On her fingertips was bright red blood.
Her eyes widened as a pit in her stomach formed.
A little boy stood in the walkway with a slingshot in his hand. He stuck his tongue out and burst into laughter.
"I got you! I got you!"
Her breathing started to pick up as she began to gasp for air. Sweat beaded down the sides of her face and back as memories of her past flooded her mind while she stared at the blood on her fingers. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Then, the memory of Marix killing her father flooded in. How he’d hugged her and told her "You’re free, no one will ever hurt you again." as he was covered in her father’s blood.
Those words echoed over and over again as she blinked away the dizzy haze that was overcoming her vision.
She stared at the little boy who was continuing to laugh and lining up another shot with his slingshot.
She grabbed Marix’s sword and yanked it from its scabbard.
"Wha-" Marix, whose arms were busy holding up a net full of coconuts, stared at Eilownia in surprise, completely confused at what was occurring.
She raised the sword at the little boy, "You will not hurt me again!"
The little boy fell back on his butt and burst into tears as he screamed.
Marix dropped the net of coconuts and ran to grab Eilownia from behind before she was able to bring the sword down on him.
"Whin, stop!"
"What are you doing?!" She asked, turning her head at Marix, "Let me go!"
"You! Get out of here, now!" Marix yelled at the little boy who then didn’t hesitate to scrambled away, leaving his slingshot behind.
"I said, let me go!" Eilownia shouted, fighting against Marix’s grasp.
He reached up and grabbed his sword, prying it out of her hands.
"Don’t EVER take my blade and threaten someone with it again!" Marix’s tone was sharp as he stared at her with furrowed eyebrows, placing his sword back in its scabbard.
Eilownia stared at him like he had just slapped her in the face.
"He hurt me!" She protested, pointing at her cut cheek, "I was just making sure that he would never do it again, just like you did!"
Marix sighed and checked her cheek, "It’s just a light cut. You’ll live."
He took her hand and stared into her eyes, "Never take my blade. Never wield it against anyone, leave that to me. Your father was an evil man whose wrongdoings knew no bounds. That was just a little boy who is being stupid. Let me handle it next time."
Eilownia let out a shaky breath and nodded slowly. "I don’t really get it."
"That’s alright, that’s why you tell me and let me handle it."
She nodded reluctantly and kept her head lowered as Marix picked up the net of coconuts.
As he and Eilownia met up with Etil and a few other soldiers, they spotted Solan soldiers walking through the pathways.
"Hide!" He said in a shouted whisper, nodding towards one of the buildings. The group hid alongside the wall and peeked out to see what was going on.
"Attention people of Vasis! Viraaz has declared war against us and infiltrated our capitol! We request your aid immediately! Any able-bodied man, please sign up at the church! We will compensate you greatly!"
The soldiers marched through the streets, repeating the advertisement over and over again.
"What are they talking about? We didn’t infiltrate! It was the other way around!" Etil said quietly, his eyebrows furrowing as he continued to peek out from behind the wall.
Marix leaned back with his arms crossed, "Interesting. How did they get here so fast? They must’ve left shortly after they infiltrated Viraaz. They don’t need aid against us when Viraaz’s General and more than half of the army is gone."
"Sir, I believe you’re right. There is a conspiracy afoot." Etil said, shaking his head, "They set this up beforehand."
"Arlon is probably setting up a smear campaign against me. He’ll pin the blame on me to get Vasis on his side."
