Rather be a Lover than a Fighter

Chapter 2: The Palace

The footsteps near the Entrance of my tent were what woke me up, and I heard someone clear their throat before asking if I was already awake. A yawn from my end was all they needed to hear before informing me that my ride has arrived and that I should come out as soon as possible. After that, another few footsteps indicated that the person was going away and presumably waited for me at the wagon that came to bring me back. I stretched out my aching limbs, before letting out a final yawn and rising from the flat mat I could have slept on for a little while longer. My clothes suddenly felt very sticky and dirty, which was the reason I decided to quickly change into something cleaner that I brought with me. The dirty clothes were put into the chest, together with my two swords and the cape I covered myself with during the cold night. As a replacement, I took out a much nicer cape that was made out of multiple layers of beautifully woven silk together with a simple but elegant dress. My boots were the only thing I did not have a replacement for, but even if I did, I would not have worn it since I would have made it too dirty on the trip. After I have finally changed enough to feel comfortable showing myself to someone sent by the royal palace, I found the courage to leave my tent. Once outside, I saw all the soldiers from yesterday laying all around the camp, still passed out because of the amount of booze they drank. I thought about waking one of them up, but I quickly decided against it when I realized that I would have to explain myself afterward, which was something I generally tried to avoid. The Coachman saw me standing around from the carriage and called for me to tell me that I should hurry since we were expected to arrive at the palace soon. The ride was not too long, I knew that much, but I still understood the urgency in his voice and hurried towards the elegant looking wagon. A Servant, who was probably around my age, quickly opened the door and helped me to enter, before he went back to my tent and retrieved my precious chest that he secured at the back of the carriage. When he was finished, he sat down next to the coachman, who wasted no time to drive the horse at their maximum speed.

The Roads we crossed were a little bumpy, which made for an uncomfortable ride at that speed, but I would not be the one to complain about that. The Coachman simply did his job after all, since I was very sure the King personally ordered him to hurry up as much as possible. It did not matter how much I talked to him because in the end, he never truly supported my decision to fight for this country. He tried everything to fill my schedule so much that I would not find the time to fight, but that would never be enough to stop me from doing this. When I looked out of the carriage's window thoughtfully, I saw forests and fields passing by as fast as the horses could run. People were out hunting and working diligently to sell their loan in order to feed their families, while the sun was slowly rising in the background. The fact all their hard work was making this beautiful country flourish was simply a byproduct they happily accepted and used while they were on the market. These lovely people, that would do everything for their country, were the reason I went to war in the first place. I would do absolutely everything to protect their families and the homes they have built for themselves over these past years. If a single person like me had to offer their humanity to protect so many smiling faces, it was only a small price to pay. The King would never agree to that statement with me, and I knew that, but I had to ignore his opinion in that department in order to make my dream come true. I was not foolish enough to believe that ultimate peace could ever be possible, but maybe I was one day able to protect everyone, except for myself. My goal was to fight all wars alone and spear every single live in this Kingdom from the burden of killing and being killed. It was an idealistic goal that seemed almost impossible, even so, I was willing to try everything in order to get as close to it as I could in the lifetime I had left in this world. I may very well get killed in one of my next battles, but as long as I protected as many people as possible before that death, it did not matter to me. Fulfilling my dream in its entirety was something I already gave up on after seeing how young a lot of the soldiers were that I have killed. The only thing I asked for, was to die on the battlefield trying to protect what I love, instead of dying in the palace like a coward.