The stay in Chroma was a longer one than was originally intended. The group stayed for a little over a week in order to handle everything that needed to be done. Everyone in the group, except for Jehrth, spent the time there helping clean up the rubble and ashes. The archer had to deal with family issues.
"Are you sure you are alright to press on?" the general asked the distraught soldier as they packed up the horses for Garn, "I know how painful and disheartening it can be to lose a father."
"I'll be fine," Jehrth said, looking away from Zayn, "If I don't come and help you, how will I avenge his death? I just hope that when my father died... he died with pride in his heart. I always wanted him to be proud of me."
After that, Zayn said nothing, just gave Jehrth a pat on the back. In fact, it was a very long time before anyone spoke at all. The rest of time they spent making preparations to leave, they did so wordlessly. Even as they rode, it was silent. Iris kept her eyes to the scenery. Honestly, it wasn't much... mostly what you would expect. Iris had seen the likes of it before. Even so, she thought keeping her eyes and mind focused on the sparse trees and worn trail would be better than accepting death. Even though it wasn't her family, she knew what the archer must be feeling right now. After all, she had lost a mother.
"Something wrong, Ingred?" she heard Kayde whisper from beside her. She turned to look back at him.
"No. Everything's alright," she whispered back, "I just feel horrible for Jehrth. I can only imagine the pain of losing someone so important. I just hope that he doesn't make himself sick thinking about it. I know that I did that... when my mother passed away. It took a long time for me to recover. I could never continue fighting this war had I just found out that my parent had died. Death is a hard thing to accept."
Kayde nodded in agreement. "But something we all must come to terms with, unfortunately. Everybody dies eventually. I will. You will. And if we deserve it, we rejoin our makers. That's how things are," he added, "That's how it always has been. I trust you know that, though."
It was Iris's turn to nod.
A few hours later, the group was still on the road... but they decided to stop for a little bit and take a break. They all tied their horses to trees and some took the opportunity to eat. Everyone sat about and relaxed... all except for General Zayn. He paced like a madman, staring out into the road as if he were waiting for someone.
"Why don't you rest, general?" Iris called out to him. His head snapped to her for a second, but then his eyes found the road again.
"I'm watching the road. There's someone that is going to meet with me today," he said, not looking at her. Iris stood up, stretched her body, and then walked over to where he was walking. She put a hand on his shoulder. This made him look back at her, and she could tell that he was slightly confused.
"If you want," she started in a deep voice, "I could watch for you. You need to take a break for a minute. We need you to be alert."
"I won't ask that of you."
His voice was simple. She almost wanted to laugh at him, because while he looked completely stoic... she could tell by his eyes that he really did want a break. A chance to rest his body and his thoughts. She didn't blame him. Riding a horse in heavy armor was no easy feat. She chuckled.
"Good thing you don't have to," she told him, "Go. Have a seat, Zayn. Riding isn't as hard for me as it is for you. I'm wearing thick leather... you're in metal plate. I imagine it is very heavy."
The general sighed and nodded.
"Thank you, Ingred. I appreciate it," he said with gratitude. He began to walk away, but not before he gave her a rough pat on the shoulder. She flinched a little, but didn't say anything.
She did, however, call out to him as he was making his way toward the other soldiers. He turned at the sound of her voice.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Who exactly am I looking for?"
"You'll be looking for a messenger. He's tall, lanky, and has dark brown hair. You will know him when you see him," he answered, and then began walking again. Iris nodded, even though he wasn't looking at her, and turned her eyes to the road. She didn't see anyone yet. As she kept an eye out, her thoughts wandered away from her.
What flashed in her head was mostly miniscule. In fact, if you interrupted her to ask her what she was thinking about, she wouldn't have been able to tell you. However, she did think about the group a little. She thought about Kayde and Zayn. It felt weird to be honored and appreciated by such strong people, especially because they were men. She felt this way not only because women were generally considered weak and fragile in their country, but because of the way Shad had treated her.
Saying this, it wasn't necessarily bad treatment. Well, not until the end, obviously. It had torn her apart to watch him leave her. When they were together, he never hit her. He never yelled or cursed at her. Yet, he treated her as if she was inferior to him. There were some things that he would keep from her and others that he wouldn't talk about simply because he didn't believe she, or any other woman, could understand such matters.
But here, she was treated as an equal. Here, she was treated just like a man would be treated. Of course... there was a reason. But still. It was nice to walk among people who knew that she was neither insubstantial nor ignorant. Here, she had actually made friends with people. She had never been good at that. In her mind, Iris wondered if she would have an easier time now making friends in Eda.
Maybe, she decided.
Before she could think any more, a figure came into view on the road. Iris couldn't distinguish features at the distance the person was at, but that didn't stop her from squinting her eyes. The person seemed to be walking at a quick pace, as if he had a purpose to his steps, and he was walking directly toward the camp.
Iris waited for him to get closer before saying anything to the general.
It didn't take long with how fast the person was going for Iris to be able to make out whether or not he was who the general was looking for. He fit Zayn's description quite nicely... so she called out for him.
"Hey, come on. I think this is him!"
A few seconds later, Zayn appeared at her side.
"You are right," he told her and walked forward to meet with the man. Iris, ever the curious one, stepped a little closer in order to hear what they were saying.
"Sir, I have news from the assault on Eda," the other man spoke quickly, and handed the general a document of some sort.
"What news do you bring?"
Iris was hanging on the words.
"The attack was unsuccessful on the Token side. The soldiers sent from Alabast did well to defend against the men that were sent to destroy the village," the messenger paused for a moment, "However, there were a few villagers who were unlucky enough to find the Tokens before the Eldian soldiers could, and they were killed instantly. And... the Tokens took a prisoner this time."
"A hostage? Who?" Zayn asked.
"I didn't get any names, sir. I have told you all that I know."
"Very well. Thank you for the word," Zayn said with a nod, "You are dismissed. If anything new is to come up... we will pass through Garn for a small while and then stay in Wallfront for a few days. Past that, we will be making straight for the fortress. Then, I would ask you to stay here unless it is something of dire importance. I would hate for you to risk your life needlessly."
"Very well, general. Have a good day."
"You as well," the general replied, and the messenger turned back in the other direction.
After a few moments, Zayn walked back over to Iris.
"I figure you heard what the messenger had to say about your village," he said, "What do you think of it?"
Iris was surprised at his word choice. In fact, she turned to him with a raised eyebrow. Yet, he didn't see it... probably because he wasn't looking at her, but rather, staring off in the direction that the man had retreated.
"You care what I think?" she asked.
Now he turned to her.
"Good leaders care about their people, Ingred. Good captains and commanders care about their men. I don't earn respect simply by swinging my sword, but by relating to my fighters. So, to answer your question... of course I care," he told her, "What are your thoughts of what happened in Eda?"
"Well," she began, "It's good that the attack failed. So at least my home is still there when I'm ready to return to it. However, I do worry about my father and my aunt. There is always a chance that they were the ones killed. Not to mention the person taken hostage... who knows what they'll do to them?"
The general agreed with a shake of his head.
"General?" Iris asked, "Have the Tokens ever taken a captive?"
"Not that I am aware of," he told her, "As far as I know... they slaughter our people and then move on. I wonder what gave them incentive to take someone this time. Hopefully whoever it is remains safe. Perhaps, if they take them to their headquarters, we can rescue that person before it is too late."
"Hopefully so," Iris sighed, "I don't doubt that torture may be in store for whoever it is. And, in my opinion, that is worse than death itself. Because at least death is quick."
"You talk as if you know a lot about torture..."
"I know some from experience," she admitted, "While it was never physical torment... it was still terrible. I, for a long time, got to feel heavy burdens dropped on my soul. It all started with the death of my mother. She grew ill with blood-lung for a small while before she passed. There was nothing the medic could do. Even in the sickness, I knew her time was running out. I tried to make every moment of hers worth living until the end. I tried my damnedest to make sure she didn't see me cry. I wanted her to feel as if everything was going to be alright. Looking back on it now, I realize it probably didn't help much. And then... she died. I was hurt for years until I found someone else to care for me. But I've told you how that worked out in the end. I was betrayed for another... and since then, well, I was the village joke. There wasn't a soul in the village, besides my family, who didn't snicker and whisper as I walked by. And for the last few years, I was alone. Besides my father and aunt, I was left to my own devices. Besides the necessary trips to the market, I locked myself away at home, feeling the sickness of loneliness. That is, until my father got the letter sentencing him to fight. I didn't even tell him I was going in his place. It was a split decision. Then, I didn't feel as if I had much of a chance. I felt as if coming here was nothing but a death sentence. I never imagined I could become strong. But still, I wish I had gotten to tell him goodbye," she finished. Then she took a deep breath and spoke again. "I'm rambling. I apologize."
"Nothing to apologize for," the general said, "I would apologize to you. I really did hate having to send those letters out. But... there was no way I could fight the war without more people."
"Ah, don't worry about it. I didn't necessarily have a great life there, as I told you. Here, I learned to be strong. And I have people that I can call friends, now. Plus, maybe the villagers will have forgotten about all of the mess with my old fiancé by the time I return."
"Perhaps they will respect you."
With this, Iris snorted, letting a small smile grace her lips.
"Ah, well maybe. But you know what they say... can't get your hopes too high."
Now it was the general's turn to snort. With a small smile of his own, he looked back at her. She observed him as he did so. In her mind, she wanted to tell him that he should smile more. Even the little ones seemed to make the hard-wearing and stalwart general beautiful... and approachable.
But of course... it would definitely set something off if a soldier were to say that to his commander. In fact, even thinking the words themselves did a well enough job at setting something off inside of Iris... something she didn't even mean to set off. Therefore, she kept it to herself, trying to shrug off the sudden feeling that warmed the center of her chest.
"Don't they also say 'hope for the best'?"
She wanted to smile.
"Yes... they say that too."