Lia

Aftermath

The gunshots rang out simultaneously.  In front of the General's compound witnessed by all, the surviving instructors were executed. Loss was not tolerated by the General and those who led the army paid the ultimate price for the loss against the captains. As Lia watched the executions she felt a sense of irony. Even if Dimitri and her relationship had not been discovered by the General, today he would have been executed. Lia had heard no word on Dimitri and a part of her hoped that he had survived the forest and gone far beyond the city where no one could find him.

Lia knew that her own position in the General's compound was precarious and she had no doubt that one day he would order her own death but she felt a lightness in her heart. The captains had won and there was some hope for the people in the city. Lia hoped that this meant that no more children like her and Dimitri would be removed from the city and trained to be killers in the General's army.

Suddenly the General turned to Lia. She could see that the recent executions had done little to appease the General. His anger was visible on his face.

'Here is my secret weapon,' he stated triumphantly. 'Give her a memory block and then release her. The memory block for Dimitri can be activated with a dart. Arrange an ambush to administer it. Then release her. They will meet someday and they will remember enough of each other to connect. That is when we will strike doubt into him and get our revenge.'

The guard nearest him hesitated. 'It may take years General,' he said.

'Then so be it,' the General smiled bitterly. 'I will hurt Dimitri in a way he will wish he had died.'

It was Autumn. The leaves were turning orange and falling off the trees. Lia wandered on the road leading south. Some instinct told her to move with the road. It had been a few days since Lia had found herself on the road. She had survived eating berries and the water from the stream that ran parallel to the road. Apart from her name Lia couldn't remember anything else about herself. She didn't know who her parents were or if she even had parents. Until a few days ago Lia did not exist.

Sergey's men found Lia first. They were ahead of the rest of the people as they moved south to escape the extreme winter that lay ahead of them. In the next few weeks all the captains would move south. It had been the suggestion of the new captain Dimitri. He had made many suggestions in the captains meetings. Included in those suggestions was the annual migration south to warmer weather. And the annual captains meetings. Sergey respected Dimitri. Although new to the position of captain, he spoke sense. And most importantly he had the well being of his people foremost in his mind. Sergey was happy to adopt this abandoned woman Lia into his people. He favoured a less militant format than the other captains and another hand to work the field would only benefit him. Although she was slight of frame and had no idea who she was, Sergey had no doubt Lia would fit into his compound. She may even make a good wife to one of his men one day.

A few days behind Sergey, Dimitri's people had started their winter migration south. Apart from a strange ambush which had made no sense to anyone, their migration proceeded without incident. Vlad travelled with Dimitri. Their bond had strengthened since the end of the war. It was Vlad's support that had led to the election of Dimitri as the sixth captain. Dimitri's role in the defeat of the General was key and Vlad knew it was the right choice to make him captain. Vlad hoped that after time Dimitri would heal from the loss of his woman. The duties of a captain were such that there would be little time to mourn. As a captain Dimitri could have any woman he wanted and Vlad hoped that perhaps one day Dimitri would find a woman to help him forget the one he had lost.

Vlad had no idea then how his thoughts would come back to haunt him later.