Mercy & Fire

6. A Cruel Consideration

I wasn't sure I believed those words as much as I feared the words of the homeless man. But now... any doubt I had was swallowed by force. I never expected the land I grew up on to become the enemy territory that white-cloaked person was speaking of, and I had the unsettling feeling that I needed to get used to the feeling now.

The sound of a door opening sent my heart into a frenzy, and I defensively sunk lower into the water, leaving only my nose and eyes exposed. My back dug into the edge of the wood, and my bottom burned a bit from my skin dragging across the wet wood.

My arms crossed over my chest as I heard footsteps near the open entrance of the bathroom.

I thought whoever it was would cross into the bathroom, but they stopped at the edge of the doorway, their back turned toward the entrance.

"I had one of the women downstairs give me some fresh clothing for you. It's on the bed." It was the Commander again, and he sounded uncomfortable. I rose from the water, exposing my mouth.

"O-okay." My voice was as stiff as his back in the doorway.

"Hurry along, I don't plan on staying here any longer than I have to."

I nodded, which made the water stir a bit.

Before he could go, I decided to test the waters between us.

"Why are you being so considerate toward me?" I asked curiously.

There was silence for a moment before he cleared his throat, "Don't mistake my behavior for consideration, little rabbit. Even pets have basic needs."

That response was not comforting at all. I've seen three extremes with pet owners. Those who dote and love their pets, those who only care to feed them, and those who abuse and neglect them. I could only hope he wasn't the latter, but I suppose the greatest mercy a man like that could have was not to kill me... I could truly only hope that death wouldn't become his greatest mercy.

After he left and shut the door, I submerged my head again and quickly finished washing up before standing, letting the water drip back into the tub for a second, as I dried off. I washed my under clothes quickly and winced as I slid it back on against my skin, hoping I wouldn't chafe.

I wrapped the towel around me and walked to the bed where, as promised, a change of clothes lay on the bed. It was a plain green dress with a brown cloak. I quickly changed into it, finding it difficult to tighten the corset style of it.

Stepping in front of the mirror, I felt relief that the corset strings weren't on the back. I fixed it and made a face when I realized how the dress pushed my breasts up, exposing the skin that hadn't seen much sun. This style of neckline wasn't considered proper for the average young unmarried girl. Mostly married women wore things like this... Or women in prostitution.

I had an inkling of where he had gotten this dress from.

I sighed, deciding I couldn't be picky. I quickly grabbed the light weight cloak and tied it around my neck, satisfied with how it covered most everything.

Gathering my white dress and slipping on my shoes, I opened the door to see Commander Rovan had removed his armor, leaving him in bloodstained clothing.

The horsemen stood to the side with his arms crossed. He seemed to perk up when he saw me, which made me uneasy. I didn't miss the way he watched me before, and it made my skin crawl.

The Commander glanced at the horsemen, "Take her to get some food while I wash up."

He moved to walk toward the room, and I jumped.

"Sir, that water is dirty." I informed him.

He looked me over and raised an eyebrow, "Not as filthy as I am."

I flushed at the thought of him bathing in the same bath water I had vigorously scrubbed myself in.

"Sir, please, just -" the horsemen interrupted me by nudging my shoulder forward.

"Let it be, lass." I was forced to walk forward, glancing back over my shoulder to see the commander shutting the door.

Revulsion and embarrassment at sharing bathwater with someone filled me from within. It was quite unclean. I suppose Sir Henry saw my expression and felt pity for me, because he tried to comfort me.

"He'll clean the water with magic, so don't worry." He offered some peace of mind as he led me down the stairs into the crowd of men. Some had left to my relief, but there were still quite a few loitering around.

Sir Henry looked at my discomfort and smiled, "How about you step out for some fresh air while I get us some food? Everyone here knows you're property of the Commander, so they won't bug you."

I looked around and saw that they indeed didn't glance my way, so I took his offer. It was rather insulting in some aspects though... Even though I knew I would be an idiot to run away from the Commanding Officer of such an army, it would've saved whatever pride I had left had he at least shown concern about my running away.

I limped out onto the porch-like area and leaned against the wooden structure as I looked out onto the scene. Soldiers and citizens alike were busy cleaning up the aftermath of the invasion. Some soldiers merely stood and ordered people around, but... the scene was quite cruel.

Citizens cried for their fellow townspeople even as they cleaned up their blood and flesh. I shielded my eyes away and chose to look at the sky instead.

The sun was barely exposed as heavy clouds rolled in. They didn't look waterlogged, but it seemed like the sky was in dry mourning for the land below.

The images of the captive and dead Templemen in DuPont flashed through my mind.

"What kind of god would let this happen to his faithful people?"

Some things just weren't for me to understand.