Before we reached the camp, I already heard the loud growl of Shalott. "Guhhhh!" She must know Regalis was close by. I smiled.
"Shalott must've missed you" Brayton said to Regalis, who beamed.
I love the way Regalis returned the love of those who loved him.
And then, suddenly, the horses of Ashton, Brayton, Cederic and Nadia stopped. I stopped too. What were they focused on?
And I looked up at the sky. The direction, their eyes all faced.
Five birds were in the air.
"Those are not normal birds" Brayton said.
Of course, he would know, he was the king of shifters.
"However, in this case, mortals didn't Transform into these birds. The eyes of the birds are being used to watch the camp" he said.
Bird controllers. I thought. They are the ones in control of the minds and eyes of these birds. And right now, I could imagine the birds counting the number of soldiers, food stored, etc. They were definitely from an enemy kingdom.
"How come no one in the camp has noticed the birds?" Ashton said as the gates of the military camp opened, and a young soldier sped out, holding a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
"They were leaving the task for Regalis" Nadia said.
And I wondered why.
She looked at me and said, "Regalis has to prove his identity before entering the camp".
"Why?" I said, baffled.
"He's our head, here. If an enemy could successfully get a sorcerer, or a Gifted person who changes faces, and they take on his appearance. Do you know in a single day, they could wipe out almost half of Armalith's soldiers?"
"So, we've learnt to take caution" she said "whenever he arrives at the camp, before entering, he displays a unique skill, every soldier in Armalith, knows only him has".
And then, as quick as his Gift of lightning struck, Regalis jumped down from his horse. And the soldier who came out from the camp, met him half way. And at once, blindfolded Regalis.
In Regalis's palm, the soldier placed the strong bow. And with his eyes blindfolded, Regalis's fingers set his arrows so swiftly and confidently in the bow. And then, I noticed, his hand touch the arrow tips. He was making sure, each was covered with a cloth. Whatever he intended to hit, he didn't want to hurt it.
He lifted the bow into the air. And then, I watched him listen.
His ear twitched.
What is he listening to? To the sound the birds made?
Blindfolded, could he really hit a target? I watched the birds fly further and further away from him. Further away from where they were, when his eyes were just covered.
His ear twitched for the last time. And with sudden speed, he whirled around, and fired the arrows into the air! Voom!
The arrows sped with full speed. And each, stabbed right at the birds! As they tumbled from the sky.
"Huhh!!" cheers came from inside the camp.
I too, was stunned. The skills one could develop, if intense focus, became one's priority.
Regalis removed his blindfold and climbed back unto his horse, but not before, walking to me, and pushing a stray lock of my hair back to behind my ear, with such gentleness. He never needed to say too many words. With the way he treated me, and gazed at me, I could feel the contents of his heart.
The inner gates of the camp lifted and we all rode into the vast camp. Very vast camp, I must emphasize. And not just that, it was the most orderly camp, anyone could possibly ever imagine.
In front of each of the countless tents, ten or more soldiers stood in front of it, at attention position. And as for the soldiers, there were hundreds and hundreds of them.
Wow! I didn't know Regalis commanded these many men. No wonder, he had to go through that skill test, to prove his identity. If the wrong man dare take control, and impersonate Regalis, who knew what the enemy would command these many men to do? Kill thousands? I shivered.
This had better be the largest army of Armalith, and if it wasn't, then, Armalith, was to be feared by all nations.
A shout of "salute!" rang in the field.
And all the soldiers stamped their right foot, with their right hand, touching their right temple. "Welcome back, Commander-in-Chief!" they roared.
"Thanks" Regalis said softly, in acceptance of their greeting. And along with the rest of us, he dismounted from his horse. Laced his hand with mine, "I had your clothes and belongings in the castle delivered here" he said.
"Thanks" I responded.
He grinned. And led me by the hand, through the camp. We passed the several soldiers, standing in front of their tents.
I tried not to dwell on it, but, I couldn't help it. I was in a military camp. The disregard, soldiers showed women was well known. Or perhaps, could they all be different, like Regalis, and consider both genders as equals?
What's she doing here?
Does this place look like a kitchen, where she should be?
What can she help us with, here? The only weapon, she can probably wield, to look like us, is a kitchen knife.
All these thoughts sped through my mind. Soldiers in the Capital spoke that way. Would those here, see things the same way?
Finally, we reached a huge tent. The biggest tent there. And we entered.
The inside of the tent, was luxurious. Beautiful and well-decorated. It was like a mini-palace was brought in there. Scent of roses and strawberries. Flowers, adding beauty to the space.
"You'll love here" Ashton said to me. Jumping on the bed, and bouncing on it.
Oh no. Ashton sometimes, reminded me of my little brother. Ever happy. Ever full of energy. I laughed. Who above the age of eighteen still considers bouncing on their bed as fun?
"Regalis!" Ashton screamed, jumping on the bed, "why can't I have your tent?" Ashton cried, pretending to weep.
"Perhaps, if you were born a prince, you'd have one" Nadia teased.
"And have King Randall as my father?" He pretended to gag.
And everyone burst into laughter.
Their laughter, and how comfortable they were with each other, was so real. It made me envy Regalis, for after having a good heart, the next thing, one should ask the gods for, is good friends.
A knock sounded from the entrance of the tent.
"Come in" Ashton said, so comfortably. One would think he was the tent's owner.
A soldier entered, holding a wooden board of scrolls. No stars on his uniform. It meant, his rank in the military was low.
He held the wooden board with one hand, and saluted Regalis and others with his right hand. "Commander, this came" the soldier said and left the wooden board on a table in front of Regalis, who was skimming through a book in his hands, and didn't bother to look up.
The soldier left.
And less than a second later, before Ashton could start the gist he was about saying, another knock came. And another low-ranked soldier, entered, holding a wooden board full of scrolls.
"What's going on here?" Nadia said. Ever protective of Regalis. "Why're these scrolls being delivered to the Commander, the moment he arrived? Had he not returned today, won't these scrolls be submitted to the Generals managing the camp in his absence?" She fired.
The soldier didn't reply. And simply sped out of the tent.
"Something is going on" Brayton said.
And Ashton jumped down from the bed.
"They must be letters of complaints" Nadia said.
"Complaining about who?" Cederic said.
And another knock came. And this time, it was a larger board, the soldier who came in, carried. And the amount of scrolls on it, would've made even a scholar weep. Do they really expect Regalis to go through each of the scrolls, reading their reports or complaints?
"Stop!" Ashton snatched one of the scrolls. Opened it and read its contents. He looked shocked. Tossed the scroll to the ground, and picked another from the pile. Read it and tossed it. Then, read and read another, each landing on the floor.
"You all are insane" Ashton said.
And Nadia picked one of the scrolls on the floor. And since, this was a military affair, I wasn't sure if it was okay for me to read the contents of the scrolls.
Nadia clenched her fist, as she finished reading the scroll. And passed it to Regalis.
He looked up from his book, took the scroll and read it. His jaw steeled. And he looked at his table, the floor and the large board the lower-ranked soldier held, to see that, there were more of those same scrolls.
He squeezed the scroll in his hand. Gritted his teeth. What could make Regalis this angry?
Cederic and Brayton picked one of the scrolls and read it.
With his jaw set, Regalis faced the soldier, "if you know what's good for you, return back here with your superiors who gave you this task".
And the trembling soldier, whose skin had already turned pale, since the moment Regalis's countenance changed, said, "they are outside".
Regalis stood up and marched outside. His friends and I came along.
And once I stepped out. I saw them. Twelve more soldiers holding those same wooden boards, full of scrolls. Three soldiers, stood in front of the remaining nine. Two older men and one younger one. The older men were obviously Generals, four stars on their uniform, while the younger one, was a Colonel. Three ranks below the Generals.
To understand what was going on, finally, I picked one of the scrolls and read it. I chuckled inwardly. Not so surprised. This was still Armalith military.
Regalis, now pacing, threw the scroll in his hand to the front of the Generals and Colonel "what was that, you wrote in there?"
"Are we not allowed to speak the truth anymore, Your Highness?" One of the Generals said. His nose, as round as onion.
"The truth?" Brayton sniggered.
"Yes" the other General said "we can not -" his eyes went to me "let her stay here".
Then, Regalis's eyes went to the younger man - the Colonel. And he said, "and you Duncan, was it your father, General Irving, who sent you here?"
"No!" Duncan bellowed "my father is not in the camp right now. But, I know the rules, so, I came along to help remind His Highness, since he has forgotten them".
Since he has forgotten them?
Regalis squeezed his gloved fist. I had no doubt, he was about to explode.
Nadia said, "so, if I was a woman, I wouldn't deserve to stay here too?"
Duncan immediately bowed to Nadia, "General, how can you compare your brave and warrior mind to that of a woman's?"
And the nine soldiers behind Duncan nodded in agreement.
Nadia fumed and stormed back into the tent.
Duncan continued, stating the rules, under the heat of the open sky, as the soldiers behind him continued nodding along, "females are not allowed to be soldiers. They are not permitted into the camp. Can not stay here. Can not live here" he looked at me "she's beneath us, the lowest of the low, the soil we trample on is better than ten times of..."
He didn't get to finish, as bolts of lightning bashed him.
And from the front of the soldiers, where Duncan was standing. He landed against the nine men behind him. The ten of them now lying on the ground. The lightning had not just struck Duncan. It flung him against his men! As though, it wanted to cast him away from Regalis's sight.
I stared at Regalis, and considered going close to him to calm him down. The disrespect, was as I expected after all.
His breaths became heavier. And the sunny sky darkened, like a lightning storm was about to strike. Everyone looked up in fright. And I gazed back at Regalis. His eyes, streaks of lightning danced there, glaring at Duncan, as though they were ready to flash right out of his eyeballs and strike Duncan to a fast, painful death.
Regalis spat, his voice fierce, "you dare, in front of me, compare my woman to the soil you walk on?"
"But, Your Highness, she..."
His eyes turned to the Generals and what they saw there, must've sealed their lips.
The skies rumbled. And I watched as Nadia return, and snap an arrow into a bow, and aim it at Duncan's lips.
While Regalis's eyes went to each of the twelve men present, and he said, "do you have anything else to say, Generals, Lieutenants and Colonels?" His unspoken message, as clear as day. One more trash from their mouths, and it wouldn't end well for them.
"We..." they stuttered in fright. They had obviously not expected such an intense reaction from a usually calm Regalis. They had thought it was just about coming here, like they often did, and stating their request. Well, this time, they got it wrong. Everyone had that boundary, that they would never let even a mountain lion cross.
And suddenly, the high-ranked soldiers, all fell on their knees, facing me, as they said, "so many exciting places in the camp to see, our lady. Where would you like to start from?"
And Ashton being the silly child that he was, burst into a roar of laughter.
****
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