It was a short night with little sleep, but Elena was quite capable of dealing with these. Maru, Ergin had once explained, gave a being vitality, and the greater the maru one possessed, the greater the vitality. Elena missed Ergin, for he had stayed behind to provide Joran with counsel in Liran's absence. She would have liked to continue her lessons with him.
After gathering up the children of the Gelhirinim and bringing them into the camp, Elena made sure they were well fed and washed. According to Maranus, they had bathed in the rank waters of lake on the previous day. She worried that they might have contracted an illness from this, so she asked the Marulan check them over.
The clothing the children wore were shredded to rags. Elena had difficulty locating replacements. She could only find spare pants and shirts surrendered by the shorter soldiers, mostly Hilliri, which had to be belted to stay around the childrens' slender waists and the sleeves had to be rolled up numerous times until they were bulky. They wore no coats either, so a number of blankets were cut down to size for them to wrap up in.
Children could soften the heart of even the most hardened soldiers, and First Commander Alkema was no exception. The little girl leader took a liking to him right away and leaped into his lap where she curled up while Adina checked her over. Alkema continued to bark orders to his commanders and listened to reports. The child smiled up at him and beamed at Adina as the healer laid her warm hands on the child's cheeks, listening to the workings of her body.
The children slept soundly in a pile on the floor of a large tent, generously vacated by several officers. Guards were posted outside both for their protection and for the army's. Their presence was an unknown, and it made Elena nervous.
From in front of her pavilion, Elena looked out over the camp. Carsini had placed a few chairs under a sheet of canvas for shelter. A small fire kept her feet warm. She preferred to be outside and listen to the bustle of the camp, which had finally settled into slumber as it was well after midnight. First Commander Alkema joined her to discuss their day.
"The children are harmless, Field Marshall. I doubt they even know why we are here. You saw how sweetly that little girl curled up in my lap? Besides, they have all been vetted by the Marulan, haven't they?"
Elena wasn't quite sure what this new turn of events really meant for their cause.
"We don't really know why they're here. We must be cautious, not to be beguiled by their sweetness. We don't know what has happened to their parents either. Be on your guard, First Commander. I'm making that an order."
The Commander saluted and left for his own tent. He appeared to accept Elena's orders with better grace than he had initially, but there were times when she didn't see eye to eye with him. Elena didn't expect blind obedience from senior officers. Still, he was an old and respected leader, and there was no doubt that she needed him.
A while later, a runner came breathlessly up the slope and saluted Elena as he caught his breath.
"Field Marshall, there is a problem at the tent where the children are sleeping. It seems they woke during the guards' change of shift. They all started pointing at one of the newly arrived guards. They won't move."
Elena rose from her chair. "Go find Commander Maranus and ask him to join me." The runner saluted and took off down the slope toward Maranus' tent. Elena headed downhill in the opposite direction toward the children's tent without delay. At the bottom of the hill, a group of guards were posted along the perimeter of the hill. She waved over a half dozen to join her and headed on.
As she approached she saw the guards, and one Hilliri man in particular, being pointed at by all of the children. The other guards didn't seem to know what to do and were waiting around. Elena approached.
"What seems to be the problem, sentry?"
"I don't know, Field Marshall. They all woke up and just started pointing at me." Elena took a good look at the man. While he did not look particularly special in any way, he did look nervous. She wondered what were these children trying to say.
Maranus arrived then, still working to don his jacket as he ran.
"Field Marshall? I was summoned. Is there a problem?"
"Commander Maranus, the children seem to think there is a problem with this sentry. Can you ask them why they are pointing at him?"
Maranus nodded and turned to the children. He pointed and waved his arms about, but Elena couldn't decipher any meaning from the gestures, yet the children looked intent. After a few silent exchanges Maranus turned to Elena.
"They don't seem to be able to explain in a way that makes sense. They just keep saying he's been touched and must be cleansed." He shrugged.
Elena looked at the children, Maranus and the Sentry. It wasn't much to go on, yet everyone was expecting her to make a decision. Her best instinct told her she needed help, and the most likely to be useful were the Marulan.
"Come with me, Sentry. The rest of you remain and take your posts. Thank you Commander Maranus, I apologize for disturbing your sleep." It may have sounded a little official, spoken to one who had once been on the most intimate of terms with her, but they were both used to speaking formally in front of others, only dropping the pretence as soon it wasn't necessary.
Elena beckoned the one man who followed her as she left the area along with the guards she had brought. The leader girl latched on to Elena's arm and refused to budge, but the others, all looking dreadfully sleepy, drifted back into their tent.
She led the sentry further toward the centre of the encampment until they reached the large tent that served as an infirmary. The Marulan camped in this area, including the Prince who had a large tent not far from the infirmary. The infirmary was surrounded by guards, which meant that Liran was inside.
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I hope you enjoyed this instalment of Unsheathed. If you did, please consider voting so that it has a chance to receive some more attention by rising up the ranks in the Fantasy category. I also enjoy comments, so please feel free to let me know what you thought.
Cheers!
Rebecca