by RG Long
Where would they be getting out?
And what future lay waiting for them?
Her answers weren't far off.
After some time of darkness, which Blume guessed to be nighttime, the light shone through their small window once more.
And then the cart lurched to a halt.
There was a lot more commotion going on outside than Blume had heard in a long time.
It sounded like hammers and saws. It also sounded like three times as many people as who walked along the road with them.
Suddenly, the door of their cart shuddered and shook. The sound of metal clanking on metal. Then Blume heard a single click and something slide.
Then she was blinded.
Light poured into their cart from the twin suns as they began their climb over the horizon. It took several moments for her eyes to get adjusted.
When she could finally perceive what was going on outside the door, her breath was stolen from her.
What must have been a once mighty forest now stood the large stumps of giant trees. For as far as her eyes could see, axe and saw had claimed every available piece of wood.
Her heart ached for the trees and their beauty.
Then a shadow of a figure stood in front of her view and shouted in a familiar tone.
"Come, you lazy ingrates," said the voice of The Boss, the one who worked for Miss Greer. "We've got a schedule to keep to."
The hands of various soldiers reached in and grabbed everyone inside, pulling them out into the light of both suns and enabling them to stand up straight for the first time in weeks.
Blume tried to take a moment to stretch, but was interrupted by a shove from a soldier.
"Move along, orphan," he said in a sneer. "You'll have plenty of time to work those sore muscles."
Even though Blume wanted to tackle him, she thought better of it. There was no good way to interpret his threat to her, either. Countless soldiers of the Southern Republic and the Mercs of Androlion surrounded her.
Men were everywhere.
Most in her general area were the soldiers who must have marched here alongside their wooden prison. Men of all ages and backgrounds milled about. All were dressed in the green and white of Androlion. Blume didn't see a single man wearing the colors of the Southern Republic.
Only the colors of hate and bigotry were seen in this camp.
The children were marched along.
They weren't chained together, or even tied. A sword tip kept them in line.
Once or twice, Blume thought she would have had the chance to flee, but with Jeremy still gaining back his strength, there was no way he could come with her. In addition to her own weakened state from the terrible conditions she had just come from.
Perhaps that was why they weren't even tied up.
Even though she had wanted to get some space between her and Jeremy, she would feel awful if she left him behind in his current state.
Their opportunities to escape were dwindling anyways.
Through what was left of the forest they walked, until they came to the remnants of a wall and a city Blume didn't recognize at first. Then she saw markings in the stone that could only be the doing of elves.
This used to be an elvish city, Blume thought. Whether it was Ingur or Talgel, she didn't know. But as they marched on, the telltale signs of an elvish settlement became more obvious. Tall towers of white stone shot into the air. What was left of them did anyways.
The ravages of war had ruined the city. Some buildings were left standing and men walked in and out of them. Others had been reduced to rubble and their stones repurposed.
Blume could feel the heat of a forge as they walked by. The black smoke that billowed from it was such a contrast to the once shimmering white stones.
And then the boats came into view.
Huge vessels floated in the harbor. Some reached higher than a three-story building before their masts even began to rise into the sky. Each boat looked like a small city, capable of carrying hundreds of men. There were more boats than Blume could count as they were prodded along.
This was an armada.
Men walked all over the boats. They climbed on the rigging. They tied off ropes. Some carried supplies onto the ships by way of walkways. Others inspected goods in crates and barrels. Blume saw some Speakers lift cargo onto a boat with great care.
A man sat at a desk covered in papers and various tools. Most of the equipment was used to weigh down the stacks of parchment that threatened to blow away in the wind.
“Ah!” he said, looking up from his work. “Miss Greer has delivered not only sails to drive our ships, but workers to feed our troops as well.”
Blume now understood what they had been making in the Home for the Helpless.
She couldn't help but feel remorse for helping this fleet set sail.
“Now let's see,” he continued as he looked down at his papers, taking them in one hand.
“The Good Fortune needs two. The Hope of Ruyn needs one. And the Pride of Men needs three.”
As he spoke, he pointed to various ships along the harbor with his free hand. The soldiers began to divide them up and the children began to shriek as they were pulled away from Rose and the others.
“No! No! Miss Rose! I don't want to leave Miss Rose!”
“Thomas! Thomas, be brave!” Rose was shouting back to him. For someone with such a quiet disposition, she was quite loud.
One soldier was tugging Blume on as she watched Thomas be taken by another. He covered her mouth as she tried to call out to Thomas. A third soldier pushed Jeremy to the ground in a different direction.
“Filthy dwarf. You'll serve me my supper the whole journey long,” a skinny man with a spear sneered. He pointed the weapon at him still on the ground.
Blume could see the rage in her friend's face. She tried to catch his gaze. She wanted him to see that she cared.
But before Jeremy could look her way, a voice rang out.
“Put that on my ship.”
They all turned to see a man riding his horse, dressed in a fine uniform and armor.
Blume recognized him, but wasn't sure from where.
He looked down on them with an air of importance. That they all stopped to consider him while this chaotic scene played out spoke of his rank.
“Ah,” said the man at the table, rummaging through his papers again. “It seems you have the last three needed for your boat, Master...”
“Then trade one of them,” he said, cutting him off.
Rose, Blume, and a little girl named Anne had been grouped together. A soldier grabbed Anne by the arm and traded her for Jeremy.
“Put them with the others,” the man said. Then he turned his horse and trotted off in a different direction.
Blume caught his eye for a just a moment. There was something about this man she wasn't sure of. Was it something good or something to be more fearful of? She couldn't tell.
Jeremy, Anne, and Blume were marched off to the ship that was called the Pride of Men.
Blume thought the irony of that name couldn't have been lost on everyone who saw what men had done.
As they passed by the ramps that led to the other boats, soldiers led children from the caravan up to the decks of the ships. Some went willingly, as if they marched to their deaths. Other struggled against their captors. They bit, scratched, and fought all while being dragged to the ship. One actually got free from one soldier, only to be hit over the head by another. The boy fell unconscious. The one who hit him picked him up, threw him over his shoulder, and took him on board.
Blume wasn't certain if she should struggle against her own soldier or willingly submit herself to whatever fate lay ahead of her. For the sake of staying conscious, she decided not to fight.
Yet.
The harbor was a combination of both old and new docks. Blume walked on what must have been ancient stones. The craftsmanship was a beautiful thing to behold. Only, some of it now was added to and built
on top of. Blume tried to imagine the docks without the piles of wood and additional crude bridges, walkways, and extensions.
Currently, they walked over new construction. Wooden planks were evenly spaced but quickly laid. So many ships lined the docks that Blume was quickly losing count.
Several ships were still lacking sails. Sailors and soldiers were now carrying large bundles of white material onto each ship that was not yet ready. On the vessel they were being led up to, the large main sail was being unfurled.
Blume felt awful knowing that she had helped Androlion by making the sails for his ships. She made a mental note to burn them as soon as she got her hands on some Rimstone.
She felt the spot where her necklace normally hung and her heart sank.
There was so much lost with that single piece of jewelry.
The sound of their footsteps echoed beneath them as they climbed the wooden ramp. Blume looked down and saw her reflection in the water below. She was hardly recognizable. Her hair was matted and shaggy. Her skin was dirty and cracked.
She was thinner than she'd ever been. The Blume that had left Thoran wasn't the one boarding this ship. This girl was someone new. Someone who had seen even more hardships.
And had more to face up ahead.
“Come on, you,” said a soldier who put the end of his spear into her back.
Blume glared at him, wishing she could put a bolt of magic through his chest, but kept walking up the ramp.
After walking more than a mile, Blume finally stood on the deck of the Pride of Men. She resented it now more than before.
The ship was beautifully crafted. Its railings were polished and its deck floor was pristine. Men ran about everywhere, tying down this rope, hauling up a small rowboat, and even scaling the mast to the crow's nest above.
“It's about time our cabin boys and girls reported,” said a man in a green and white uniform. His hair was combed and trimmed. Not a single strand was out of place. His shoes were shined and spotless.
He lacked armor, but had a hard expression on his face nonetheless.
“I am the first mate aboard this vessel, Mister Stanton. You need only address me as, Sir. Understood?”
They stood quiet and still, looking up at him. Blume saw a sneer form on his face.
“Yes,” Jeremy replied, looking at him defiantly. Blume looked to her side to see the dwarf staring up at the man with an equally hard expression.
He grabbed the dwarf by the throat and brought his own face up to his. Jeremy made gurgling choking noises as he struggled to breath.
“You will learn respect aboard my ship, dwarf,” he said in a threatening whisper. “That, or learn to swim.”
He released Jeremy and he collapsed onto the floor. Blume rushed to help him stand to his feet.
“You will address me as Sir. Understood?”
In unison, Jeremy, Blume, and Rose all said, “Yes, Sir.”
“Take them below with the others,” he said as he turned, stalking away.
Jeremy looked at Blume, who gave him a questioning look.
He shook his head and looked down as they followed the soldier in front and were goaded by another behind.
An opening in the deck revealed a set of stairs that led into the bowels of the ship. Blume glanced down the hallway the stairs met. The first level was relatively bright, as windows on the walls allowed the sunlight in. Other men in clean uniforms hurried this way and that, through polished wood doors and passing paintings hung on the walls.
But this was not where they stopped.
The second level was darker and was filled with more men without shirts who were rolling barrels down the hallway or carrying large ropes. The smell of food being cooked permeated the stairs and Blume realized how hungry she was.
The third level was the darkest of all and had very little activity going on.
One man held a sword and paced around the hall. No windows were found here. Two small torches lit the way, their smoke rose up through the stairwell. Several barrels were stacked on top of one another and strapped down with ropes. A set of iron cages was next to them along the wall: the ship's prison.
Blume feared she had just seen her new home.
“Cabin boys and girls,” said the soldier in front. The one who was pacing the halls turned and looked them up and down.
“A dwarf, too, eh?” he said with a smirk. “Won't last long here if Androlion comes aboard.”
He chuckled darkly.
A set of keys was produced and a door opposite the prison bars was unlocked. The three were unceremoniously pushed inside and told, “Stay here until you're called for. You'll be instructed later.”
The door was closed behind them and locked.
“Stay here,” Blume repeated. “Like we have a choice.”
Their quarters were dark. A single candle sat on a small table that was built into the floor. A bench on either side completed the only furniture in the room. Four bunked hammocks hung from the walls, two on each side. One of them was occupied.
“Blume?” a voice said from the swinging bed.
“Abi!?”
Blume rushed over and saw in the bottom hammock a sight that both lifted her spirits immensely and made her want to cry at the same time.
Abigail's face was bruised and cut in several places. One of her eyes was so swollen with black and blue bruises that she could hardly open it.
"What have they done to you?" Blume asked as she began to cry tears of sadness and joy.
Abigail gave a weak, half smile.
"Nothing that can make me any less sad to see both of your faces," she replied as Jeremy also came over to her hammock.
Blume was struggling to keep her tears in check. She didn't realize how much she had missed Abigail until she saw her face again.
"You know we won't quit bothering you until you give us the whole story," she said as she took her friend’s hand in her own.
Abigail sighed.
"The night that they came and got us from Ms. Greer was terrible. Many of the girls were hysterical. They were snatched out of their beds and thrown into those awful carts. I saw them carrying you, Blume. I was afraid you were dead. Then Miss Greer came through the door and started pointing out whom the soldiers should take. In all the confusion, Katie ran right up to Ms. Greer and snatched your necklace off her neck."
Blume gasped.
"She stole it back?" She asked.
Abigail's voice began to tremble.
"After Katy got it, she ran over to her bed and made to hide it. Ms. Greer came over and just started hitting her again and again. She asked her where she hid the necklace. Katy didn't say a word. By the time someone grabbed me, Katy was bleeding and hardly moving. Miss Greer just kept hitting her though."
Abigail was hardly able to keep talking. She was near sobbing.
"I don't know if she killed her or what. She didn't get out of the carts. Not any of the ones I saw at least. Oh Blume, I don't know what I'll do if she's dead."
Blume squeezed her hand and patted her head. She tried not to brush any of Abigail's own injuries. She shook her head as she thought about little, street smart, brave Katy.
What had become of her?
"But Abi," Blume asked after Abigail began to calm down from crying. "What about you? How did you get so beat up?"
Abigail sniffed loudly and her expression changed.
"I was put in a cart with some older boys," she explained. "They weren't very nice at all."
That was all she could say before she burst into tears again.
Blume was ready to sob along with her. Before now, she had thought her own cart ride had been horrible.
What terrible things had Abigail had to endure?
Jeremy's fists were balled. He looked furious.
"What did they do to you?" he asked, his voice shaking and his fists clenched.
Blume shook her head.
"Don't make her say right now, Jeremy," she said.
They stood t
here for a moment. Blume looked over her shoulder to see Rose sit at the bench and just stare at the candle. She put her hands in her lap and sat quietly.
After some time, Abigail moved to sit up in her hammock. Jeremy and Blume backed away to give her space.
"I'll be fine," she said in a still trembling voice. "I've just been so worried over Katy that I haven't thought much about myself and what I was going through. Besides, I knew I had to get it to you."
Jeremy and Blume exchanged looks.
"Get what to me?" Blume asked, confused.
"Katy only pretended to hide the necklace under her bed," Abigail said. "Miss Greer didn't even pay attention to her passing by me."
Abigail opened up her other hand to reveal a glint of green: Blume's necklace.
She was shocked. She had given up on ever seeing her necklace again.
Blume held her father's gift to her chest as it gave off familiar warmth.
As she clutched it in her hand, she looked up at her friends with a renewed passion.
"We're getting out of here as soon as we can," she said, as she began to fasten the necklace around her neck.
"I don't think you'll be going anywhere," said a voice from the frame of the door.
The same man who had stopped the men from tearing apart Blume's cart stood in their room. He must have silently entered while everyone's attention was on the necklace.
He deftly snatched away Blume's necklace. Though she tried to pull it back from him, he proved too strong.
The ship gave a lurch and everyone in the cabin, save for the man who was braced against the door, rocked and swayed. Blume fell into Abigail's hammock. Jeremy hit the small bench and Rose tried to catch the candle, which had nearly fallen.
The general held the necklace up and smiled at it.
Blume looked straight at his face for the first time. She finally she recognized him.
"You're..."
"Cory Greenwall," he interrupted. "General of Androlion and commanding officer on this vessel."
He pocketed the necklace and smiled at them in a way that reminded Blume of someone just finding out they had stumbled upon a great treasure.
"Welcome aboard."
31: Civil War
Tory hated walking. He hated marching. He hated eating small meals.
