Chapter 3
Away in a Manger
Near the LeBlanc, St. Denis Province, Elba
Toma cradled the bayonet in his hand while keeping an eye on the barn door. He traded the rifle with a farmer a few kilometers down the road so they could use his barn to hide out and rest before continuing on their way. Without any shot or powder, the rifle amounted to little more than an expensive club and it was bound to draw unwanted attention. The bayonet was bound to draw attention too, being more of a sword than a knife, but Toma wasn't going to leave himself completely unarmed. He just needed to come up with a way to conceal it.
He used some straw to wipe away most of the blood, but there were still some flecks of red that looked black in the dim predawn light. He couldn't do anything about the blood on his clothes except try to cover it up by rubbing dirt on it. No amount of dirt was going to cover up all the holes from bullets that just barely missed him.
He had killed four men. It still didn't feel real, but neither did the fact that his mother and Dino were dead or that his home had burned to the ground. For now, he could only think about getting away from the foreign troops, but what would he do after that?
"Toma, why don't you get some sleep? I'll keep watch if you're worried."
It was the girl. Her hair was a little disheveled and she had some straw sticking out of it, which was quite the contrast with her fancy dress with its gold embroidery and pearls. Though in many ways she acted as you'd expect a girl to react to everything that happened, she also showed another side to her that almost seemed capable of dealing with it, unlike the boy with her who was still sleeping fitfully and moaning every now and again.
"How do you know my name?" Toma asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I heard your friend call you that."
Toma had risked his neck for these two and they hadn't even introduced themselves yet. Honestly, this was the most they had spoken to each other until now.
"Tomasino Marisco," he said, extending his hand to her. "Toma's fine."
The girl accepted his hand, but her touch was so soft he could barely feel it.
"Call me Dru," she said. She glanced over to where the boy was sleeping and added, "I'll let him introduce himself when he wakes up. Thank you for saving us. I don't know what would've happened to us if you hadn't come along. I, I'm sorry about your friend..."
Dru looked like she was about to say something, but she stopped herself, looking pensive for a moment before changing the subject.
"How about getting a little sleep?" she suggested. "You haven't slept yet at all, have you?"
Toma shook his head.
"Sun's almost up. These farmers get an early start on their day and we'll have worn out our welcome. I'll sleep when we get to our next stop."
"And where's that going to be?"
"That's what I want to talk to you two about."
The barn door creaked and Toma turned quickly, positioning himself to spring up and attack, but it was just the farmer's wife, precariously balancing three shallow bowls while carrying a bottle of milk. Toma lowered his bayonet while Dru went over to try to help her with what she was carrying.
"That's breakfast," the farmer's wife said. "Leave the bowls when you're done, then you go."
"I don't suppose you could spare us a little food for the road," Toma said, "a canteen for water, maybe a fresh set of clothes?"
"You can keep the bottle," the farmer's wife said. "The pump's out front. Now get to eatin'. I don't want you in the way of our chores an' I don't reckon you want me gettin' a better look at your faces."
"Thank you, ma'am," Dru said.
The farmer's wife said nothing. She just turned and left. Toma didn't blame her for being standoffish. Most people don't want to get involved in other people's troubles and if she knew what happened in LeBlanc, they wouldn't have even gotten this much.
"Better wake Goldilocks," Toma told Dru.
While Dru was doing that, Toma took up his bowl. It was just plain porridge, with no raisins or nuts to give it some flavor. It was warm at least, and having something on your stomach was better than nothing. It wouldn't have killed the farmer's wife to part with a slice of bread, though.
He was almost done by the time Dru returned with the boy in tow.
"Morning," Toma said.
"Good... morning," the boy replied awkwardly.
Toma motioned to the bowls of porridge and said, "Eat up. This is all we're getting for a while."
Dru and the boy both sat of their knees in front of their bowls. Dru bowed her head, folded her hands and prayed silently while the boy followed suit. Toma glumly thought about how his mother would've gotten onto him for not saying grace before eating.
While Dru was taking demure little spoonfuls of the porridge and eating them quietly, the boy took one tentative bite and spat it back out.
"This is disgusting," he complained. "This flavorless mush is not fit for swine."
"The pigs'll eat it if you won't, Goldie," Toma said, "but I don't know when our next meal will be. A few hours on the road and you'll regret not taking what you've got."
"Try pouring some milk over it," Dru suggested.
"Don't get too carried away," Toma said. "That bottle's gotta split three ways."
The boy—who Toma had started to think of as 'Goldie' on account of his rather distinctive blond hair—tried pouring some milk over the porridge and took another bite, but seemed no happier for it.
"You must bear with it," Dru said. "You need to keep up your strength."
"I don't plan on carrying you, Goldie," Toma said, "so you'd do well to take her advice."
"Who do you think you— Ah!"
As he was talking, Toma took the bottle of milk and drank his third. This seemed to throw Goldie from one offense to another.
"We still haven't had our portion!"
"I left enough for you," Toma said. "Maybe even a little more 'cause you already used some of yours."
"That is not the point! You expect us to drink after you? It is unhygienic!"
Dru took the bottle and said, "We can't expect any luxuries. While we're among the commoners, we must live as commoners."
She took a drink from the bottle to make her point, then offered it to him. Goldie blushed as he accepted the bottle and took a drink himself.
When Goldie was done drinking, Toma said, "Dru said you'd introduce yourself, so let's hear it. I'm Toma Marisco."
Goldie and Dru exchanged glances and then he replied, "My name is Aurelius. If you can help me get back to Aurea, my father will reward you well for your trouble."
Something about the way he said that rubbed Toma the wrong way.
"My trouble?"
To the surprise of everyone, including Toma himself, his hand shot out and grabbed Goldie by the collar.
"My mother is dead! My best friend is dead! Everyone I ever knew is dead! My home, my town, burnt to the ground! All because of you!"
"Toma, please!"
The sound of Dru's voice helped snap him out of it. Goldie just started at him in wide-eyed terror.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Dru said, "You're right. It's all our fault. All those people... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Having come back to his senses, Toma's anger cooled to a simmer and he was able to be a little more rational about things.
"No, you weren't the ones who did it," he admitted. He balled up his fists and said, "It was them. Those bastards... Who the hell were they?"
"It was Zadok," Dru replied. "Someone must have betrayed our meeting."
"Why my town?" Toma asked. "Why LeBlanc?"
"It was small and close to the border," Dru said. "There are fewer eyes looking to Elba. We thought it would be safer. I'm afraid your town was made to suffer because we underestimated Zadok."
"What, are they trying to start another war?"
"It was only a matter of time. I don't think they're ready for all-out war yet or there would've been more of them."
Toma's hand rested on the bayonet.
"I'll make them pay."
"The best way you can Zadok is to help us get to Tiberia," Dru said. "If we can inform the Emperor, he can deploy the army before Zadok can launch an invasion. If they lose the initiative, they could lose the war. We could see an end to their reign of tyranny and bring them to justice for their crimes."
Toma had his doubts about all that, but he didn't have a better plan.
"So we go south then?"
"Actually, it would be better to go north, to the Tri-Border Region and across into Greland."
"Why Greland?"
"Greland has a stronger military. Zadok could invade Elba to pursue us and they would catch up with us in no time. They won't be as quick to invade Greland."
Toma didn't like the idea of more of his countrymen suffering and dying on account of these two, but handing them over to Zadok wasn't a better option. Dru was right. The best way for him to hurt Zadok was to help them, so that was what he was going to do.
"But why the Tri-Border Region? We could cross over at Merice instead. It's only about another day farther."
"We don't have the papers to cross the border," Dru said. "The Tri-Border Region has more... flexible characters who can help us. It's more dangerous, but it's our best bet."
"What're you gonna do for money?" Toma asked. "Things like forged papers cost money."
"We will have to trade with what we have."
"You don't mean..."
Realizing what Toma was implying, Dru turned beet-red.
"No! Not that! I meant things like my jewelry, this dress. Even the most crooked pawnbroker should give us a decent price, at least what we need. Once we're across the border, we just need to find the nearest garrison town and contact the Capital. The Grelanders should give us an escort to the Aurean border and after that we should be home free."
"You really think it'll be that easy?" Toma asked skeptically.
"Probably not," Dru admitted, "but we have to try. For now, let's focus on getting to the Tri-Border Region."
"Well, I guess that settles it," Toma said. "All in favor?"
He raised his hand like it was a vote in the town assembly. Dru and Goldie gave him a confused look before raising their hands as well.
"The motion passes," Toma said. "Finish up and let's hit the road."