My face broke into a smile as I read Leyla's letter. Leaning against the tree I sat under, I snuggled deeper into the cocoon of leaves and branches that drooped from the canopy. Creating my own little world where Leyla's words and I were the only inhabitants.
On top of a hill, the lone, weeping tree had become a peaceful refuge for me these last few days. A sanctum where I recite to the wind Leyla's uplifting words.
The crunching of grass broke my concentration as I read Leyla's letter for the fourth time. I folded the paper with great care and waited for the man about to disturb my peace.
"What are you doing?" Calim's head poked out from my side.
Shrugging my shoulders, I responded, "Reading."
"Another letter from the missus, eh?" A toothy grin broke across his face, only to falter and drop in seconds. "I still haven't forgiven you for not inviting me to your wedding."
"I already said I was sorry. I didn't think it was that important. Since, you know, it was a marriage of convenience. I didn't plan to get married. It was something done at the last minute."
"You also didn't tell me afterward. I remember I specifically asked you if you had a lady friend, and you said no. If the courier boy hadn't asked me to bring you your mail last month, I wouldn't have found out." He scoffed. "Imagine my shock when you told me you got married four years ago. How can you do that to your brother in arms?" He frowned, and his lower lip jutted out, the expression making him look very much like a petulant child.
"I'm sorry, sometimes I forget, you know, that I shouldn't keep everything close to my chest, that I should share things about my life with the people that care about me." It's hard to break old habits. "Please, don't throw a tantrum again." I pleaded, recalling his foot-stomping, curse threatening outburst several mornings ago. "If it makes you feel any better, she sent you her greetings."
"You wrote to her about me?" He dropped to my side. "Did she say anything else?" He peered at the folded paper tucked in my hand under my crossed arms.
"She thinks you're a fun guy, and she's happy that you're here to pester me," I smirked.
He nudged my arm. "Hey, I'm the only thing that keeps you sane in this hell hole." He smiled. "I'm so jealous. I wish I received letters from my sweet baking angel."
"Well, if you write her a letter, she is bound to respond."
"Nah, I can't. I don't want to be a creep. She doesn't even remember me."
"You don't know that, and the only way to find out if that's the case is to write to her."
"Nah, my only talent is warfare, not writing letters, so I'll pass. Speaking of warfare, the generals are requesting your presence at the operations tent. They want to go over the details again before we attack tonight." He stood up and offered me his hand.
"Tell them I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"Alright." He patted my shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "Take all the time you need."
Stretching my legs, I leaned my head back against the tree. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air, willing it to soothe my tired, aching bones. The rustle of grass and leaves reached my ears, and, for a brief moment, I was back at the manor. Laying on the grass in the yard as I often did. I tried to picture it as best as I could and wondered what changes had passing time brought to my home. I spent a couple of minutes in that state until the pull of my duty compelled me to stand up and head back to the campsite.
My boots crunched on the soil as I trudged down the narrow dirt path that connected the small hill to the town. The pleasant scent of wildflowers wafted through the field. Hundreds skirted the trail, sticking out in splashes of pinks, blues, yellows, and reds. A long forgotten impulse to pluck some of the blooms overwhelmed my senses. Should I? Should I not? As she said, it is our anniversary; and she does like flowers. It won't mean anything special. It's only to show her my appreciation for all she has done. My feet skidded to a stop at the end of the trail. Wait, what am I doing? I'm a grown man. Why would I want to pick flowers like some child?
The surprised face of a woman crept out of the deep recesses of my mind. A big smile lights her pretty features as she takes the flowers from a boy's waiting hands. Will she react the same way? My teeth worried at my lower lip while I debated what I should do. I hope no one's looking. After glancing around the field two times making sure no one was around, I plucked some wildflowers and placed them in my pocket.
⚜⚜⚜
"So, going through it again. We will wait in the furthermost orchard until nightfall to attack the encampment. They have set up their temporary base inside the village, so we will come in from this side." I pointed at a spot on the map. "And fight our way here, to the place identified as the center of operations by our reconnaissance group. Gentlemen, I cannot stress this enough. We need to capture their general. We need to know who is giving them information."
"We have been able to keep them from getting further into our territory. But to push the Wallerian troops out of our country, we need to catch that traitor." Calim added.
"So as a precautionary measure. We will, once again, ask you to not speak of this to anyone until I say so. You will also be accompanied at all times until it's time to leave," I commanded with a severe look.
They scrunched up their faces and nodded their heads.
"That's all for now. We'll meet here again in four hours."
When the generals left. Calim uttered, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on them too. We can't afford to mess this up." His words trailed after him as he walked through the tent flaps.
I rolled the maps laid on the table, stored them in a cylinder case, and took them back to my tent. After tucking them under my cot for safekeeping, I walked to my desk. Placing my least used book, two blank sheets of paper, and the wildflowers in my pocket on the wooden surface. I was ready to start with my small project.
The canvas of the tent rustled as a knight barged inside. "Your Grace, the supplies sent by the capital arrived." His eyes zeroed in on the colorful flowers lying on my table.
"Yes?" I scratched my left eyebrow, wishing the earth would open up and swallow me whole.
His mouth opened a couple of times before the words came through his lips. "Uh, where should we store them?"
"There's some space in the medical tent and in the mess hall. You can store them there."
"Yes, sir, and sorry for the intrusion." He responded and rushed out of my tent.
Footsteps came from outside, and he passed my orders to the other soldiers.
"Hey, you'll never guess what I just saw." He loudly whispered to someone else with a voice full of mirth. "I saw the Supreme Commander arranging some pretty flowers on his desk."
"It's that his new hobby or something?" whispered another.
"No, wait, he has been acting somewhat strange for these past couple of years. He has been receiving letters from someone every one or two months. Some think it's from a lady. Maybe he plans to send those to her." A third suggested.
I pursed my lips and raised one disapproving eyebrow. I hope these knights aren't part of the group sent out on reconnaissance missions. "Gentlemen," I called in a stern matter, and they instantly went silent. "Go assist your comrades with the supplies. That is an order."
"Y-Yes, sir!" they stuttered in unison and scattered.
⚜⚜⚜
The crisp smell of coffee swirled in the air as I downed my fifth shot for the day.
"Will you stop doing that? You're going to give yourself a heart attack." Calim chastised, sounding like a concerned parent as we prepared to head out to battle.
"I need the boost. I haven't slept well in weeks."
"You don't have to come with us, you know. I'll make sure everything goes according to plan."
"No, I have to go. I can't take any chances." Throwing the metal cup into a bucket, I rushed out of the tent. "It's time for us to go." I jogged towards the waiting battalion and mounted my horse.
Calim stared at me for a couple of seconds, his eyes begging me to reconsider.
"Shout the order" My eyes moved to stare ahead.
He sighed and did as commanded.
The events that followed were a blur to me.
My ears rang, my palms were sticky, and my heart felt like it would burst out of my ribcage. I tried to steady my breathing as I looked around. Injured soldiers groaned and whimpered. The pungent metallic stench of blood wafted from their wounds. My hands shook as I raised them to wipe off the sweat on my forehead. My heart sunk. A red stain covered the palm of my hands. A stark reminder of what had transpired.
"We apprehended their general; we are holding him at their center of operations." Calim jogged to my side." He's pretty banged up, but he can still talk." He added as he blotted out the blood trickling down his face from a cut on his eyebrow. He offered me a clean piece of cloth.
Remember, breathe in and out. I mentally recited my mantra to calm my nerves while wiping my hands clean. "Lead me to them, please."
We plodded through the destroyed campgrounds. A canvas tent at the far end of the camp glowed from within. Inside, various silhouettes stood around a dark lump on the ground.
Walking inside, a bruised, bleeding, tied-up man lifted his eyes and glared. "Supreme Commander Nubilus, I should have known this was your doing," the man spat out.
"Who's informing your military?" I asked stone-faced.
He rolled his eyes. "Straight to the point. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not telling you anything. So do me a favor, and let's get this over with."
"Who's helping your country with our military Intel?" I stood over him, casting a shadow that engulfed his whole body.
He looked me straight in the eye. "As I said, even if you torture me, I will not speak."
"Suit yourself. I'll find out anyway, sooner or later." I sniffed, my face passive. A facade. Masking an erratic heartbeat and shaking hands. "Take me to his quarters," I commanded to a soldier holding a lantern.
On an adjacent tent, the smell of smoke permeated the air. Ribbons of smoke rose and swirled out of a metal bowl that rested on top of a dark wooden desk. Some bits and pieces of paper remained intact inside, but nothing of use.
I opened the drawers, looked under his cot, everywhere I could think of but found nothing. I dropped onto the chair next to the desk. There has to be something. They weren't expecting the attack, so it's not possible that he got rid of everything in time.
"Show me their operations tent." I rose out of the seat and grabbed the lantern.
Its light illuminated the table with its orange glow, casting odd shadows on the objects on the table.
As we walked, the gleam swept across the table. What is that? Placing the lantern on the table, I inched my face closer to some strange indentations on the corner of the desk.
Different individual shapes went right after the other in a straight line. I strained my eyes and brushed my fingers against it. What is this? Some kind of relief? No, the dents are not that deep. It's something else. I tried to make sense of the alternating linear and circular patterns. There was something familiar in the shapes and in the alignments of the dents. "Is that a letter P?" I mumbled and went on, "And an A. They're sentences." I plunged my hand into the metal bowl and grabbed a fistful of ash.
Spreading it over the marks with the palm of my hand. The fine dust seeped into the small crevices, revealing the general's scrawls. "How lucky for us that the general is a heavy-handed writer," I uttered.
"He seemed to be in quite a hurry. He didn't sit down." The soldier commented.
"Good observation." Ripping a piece of paper from a notebook. I jotted down the general's hurried message. "Surprise attack on the base. Destroyed all evidence. Alert Holy man." Holy man. Hmm. Who is this Holy man? "Let's go back."
At the Wallerian general's tent, Calim's silhouette paced back and forth. His voice was harsh as he tried to coax the general to speak.
I pushed the tent flap out of my way, and the soldiers stood at attention as I approached the wounded man again. "Who's the holy man? Is that your informant?"
The general's calm mask faltered. His eyebrows twitched, and his lips pressed together in a thin line as he tried to keep something hidden. A feigned calmness relaxed his face in a fraction of a second. "I'm not speaking."
'So, that's your informant." I trailed off. Holy man, holy man, wait, could it be?
"Are you alright?" Calim whispered in my ear.
"Meet me outside."
"You know who it is, don't you?" Calim asked outside of the tent.
"I have my suspicions. Some time ago, His Majesty, the King, mentioned he wasn't on good terms with our high priest."
"High priest Gustav, are you sure?"
"Who else could be this holy man? He has enough power and influence." I stared at the piece of paper, hoping it wasn't true. "Round up the generals. We need to talk."
⚜⚜⚜
"No, that's not possible," Cried the grand general as murmurs erupted all around.
"How can that be? The High Priest is in the temple in Vria. He's not aware of the things that are going on here." Another general spoke.
The small space hummed with their mumbles and whispers as I swept my eyes around the room. Wild gestures and incredulous glances came at me left and right.
One general stood in the corner with a clenched jaw amidst the chaos. With hands balled into fists, he stared at his feet. "The supreme commander is right. I also think it's the High Priest." His sudden comment turned the heads of everyone in the room.
"I would like to apologize, Supreme Commander. I was the one that kept the High Priest up to date with our operation." The hum of murmurs erupted once more. "One of High Priest Gustav's attendants gave me a sealed order before we set off to the border. He had to assess the performance of our troops and the efficacy of His Majesty's ruling. So he requested my help. I've been sending him reports every two weeks since then." His trembling eyes dropped to the floor. "I-I've never would have guessed that he was the cause of all our problems. That he would betray our kingdom this way." He scowled. "He is the citizen's advocate. There's no one in this kingdom who loves the citizens more than him. Or at least that's what I thought."
"I can't believe this! We have to do something. Immediately!" The Grand General pleaded with eyes full of fire.
"No, we will keep this quiet. This war has gone on for too long." I grabbed a piece of paper from the table. "General, will you write another report for me? I would like to inform our dear High Priest about our next move."
The man's brow lifted when he caught sight of the wicked gleam in my eyes.