Six months prior to the news Vul’Goth received from Gorag, the royal training grounds were slowly winding down for the day. It was dusk as the sun was beginning to set over the lands. Sir Desmond Rollo was given orders to head out towards his new barracks and meet his new squad.

  A few days had passed since the ceremony. He was eager to get back to soldiering. He was slightly annoyed by having to lug around his gear in two large bags, which reminded him a lot of his early days as a private. He figured this was because he was the “new guy.”

  He noted to himself how he was given a standard issue long sword instead of Light Wielder. Something about Eluthar and Royal Command having to do a last minute meeting over the use of it was all Desmond was told. Either way, he knew that he would eventually be granted permission to use Light Wielder during training.

  He was wearing a brown, military leather jacket with his lieutenant rank sewn into the collar and epaulettes, a sleeveless tunic shirt, and a pair olive green trousers with his ankles and shins wrapped in puttees. His hair was tied back into a loose, top knot with just a bit of hair dangling over his scarred eye. He looked rugged and refined mixed with nervous eagerness.

  The barracks were simple structures of beige and grey bricks. Looked more like fancy, two-story horse stables converted into living quarters. Desmond’s barracks was the farthest away from the main training grounds, the other barracks, the fortress, the fortress headquarters, and the fortress gates. There were fifty similar barracks buildings. All of which housed either knights in training or royal guardsmen in training. Some of the knights and guardsmen were lounging outside their barracks watching Desmond walk by with curiosity.

  He felt annoyed by their stares. He could feel the murmurs about him crawl along his skin like spiders as he passed by them. The feeling reminded him of the ceremony he was just at. He wanted to go back to being an unknown footman. He also wondered if they were going to look down on him for not being of noble lineage. He rationalized to himself to stop his anxious thoughts and to stop complaining.

  He stopped for a moment gawking at the absurdly, colorful building he was to stay in. Unlike the other barracks buildings, this one had multi-colored walls with lots of art and graffiti on it. The flat, west side had an intricate mural of knights and footmen in battle formations marching forth into a setting sun in surprisingly intricate detail and eye-popping colors. The rest of the sides from top to bottom were a mix of graffiti and random military insignias with splotches of abstract colors that somehow worked in harmony together. The most prominent symbol was on the entirety of the front door showcasing a grinning, horned devil skull emerging from a red rose. Desmond thought the overall artwork was frantically sporadic and absurd; however, he was overall impressed by the designs despite how gawdy it all was.

  He noticed a worn out, wooden target nailed to an oak tree with multiple, rusted throwing knives and arrows embedded in the center of it. Next to the tree was a pile of split logs and one giant wood axe that seemed to be meant for a giant. There was also a flower garden of roses, daisies, tulips, and lilies just off to right, front side of the porch. Next to it was a small box of tomato plants covered in burlap. He noticed a set of rusty kettle bells of varying sizes and weight next to a wooden pull up bar and rusted squatting rack with a bar with calibrated, stone plates on it. There was lastly a leaf-covered wrestling mat tucked just around the right corner. On the side of the mat was a large, chalkboard sign with a score of 30-12 in victory for a poorly drawn lizard figure over a poorly drawn, pissed-off elf with a tiny ref in glasses laughing.

  Desmond thought this was odd, but overall made sense weirdly enough.

  He said to himself, “Bunch of rowdy guys I’m commanding over, I guess? We’ll see I can lead them.”

  He walked into the barracks and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. The first floor was a large kitchen and lounge area that was well maintained. Though simple, he did enjoy the aesthetic of how coastal it felt with the hanging plants and seaside paintings. There were also several recently made abstract paintings from what he could tell. Looked like a colorful mess of dots and slashes that somehow worked in harmony despite the chaotic nature of them.

  He noticed how spartan the first floor was overall. One large leather couch, a few love seats, one large hammock in the corner, a short podium with an arcane fire being shot through a large display crystal that would project any news, shows, or updates in the kingdom on a canvas curtain hanging just behind it, and an old coffee table was all that was in the first floor outside the kitchen area. There was also a large fire place just behind the couch just opposite of the front door.

  On the west side of the first floor there was a downstairs entrance to a basement, which was used for storage, heating, and makeshift private quarters. The door to the basement also had a wooden sign on it that said, “The Love Room.” Just outside were four lines of hanging clothes of varying sizes and styles.

  He walked upstairs hearing some faint chatter. The entire second floor opened into a large, open floor with ten cots and ten tall, wooden dressers lining both sides of the walls. At the far end was a shared washroom with eight individual showers and eight individual toilets and sinks. There were also four large wash tubs for clothes. He also noticed how only five of the cots were occupied while the other fifteen were empty.

  He decided to choose the cot that was closes to the stairs. It was just far enough away to remain “distant” from the occupied cots by about three cots length. He did not want to become too close to anyone especially now as an officer in charge. However, he felt bad for doing this. He sighed anxiously as he chose his cot.

  He threw his bags and gear onto his cot as five other soldiers in training were sitting on their cots talking with each other. One male Skarin, two half elves, (twin brother and sister), and three humans (two males, one female). All of them were in their night clothes.

  The lean Skarin turned around noticing Desmond’s lieutenant rank on his jacket and immediately stood up yelling, “Attention! Officer present!”

  The rest stood to attention with a salute.

  Desmond was little confused for a moment, but realized the situation. He gave a salute back saying, “At ease? Y’all can relax.”

  Everyone sat back down and immediately went back to what they were doing.

  The Skarin walked over to Desmond and introduced himself with a slight whistle to his voice. “Sorry sir, we weren’t expecting you this late. We heard that the ‘hero’ of the Southern Plains was joining our group and that he was a newly appointed knight.”

  “Yeah, here I am, I guess?”

  “Never thought someone that highly decorated and famous would be assigned to our group. Forgive the rest of the squad for not introducing themselves. Most of them are in their own worlds.”

  The Skarin had a soft and gentle sounding voice, which surprised Desmond. Most Skarins were deep voiced and harsh sounding from his experience. The Skarin was a light green, lizard humanoid that was slightly taller than Desmond. He had a mostly reptilian-like face, but relatively looked human-like from the neck down with micro, scaly skin. He had very pronounced, sharp angular features, a flat barely protruding, blade-like nose with two thin nostrils, and razor sharp teeth. His closed-mouth smile had a few teeth stick out from his thin lips. His kind, yellow eyes were nearly human like; however, his pupils were a thin, vertical line instead of circles. He had a flowy, white mohawk that ran all the way to the end of his long neck looking like a horse’s mane. He was wide shouldered, broad chested, and lean muscled with some lankiness. Desmond also noticed a brand on his left forearm showing the insignia for the Light Swords (Two crossed scimitars over a flame). He was wearing an oversized night shirt and sweat pants cropped messily at the tops of his ankles. His large, clawed feet tapped the ground nervously.

  Desmond responded, “Yeah… Name is Sir Desmond Rollo. Lieutenant. I’m with y’all. I’m still trying to get used to being called ‘sir’ let alone ‘hero.’ I’d rather not be called a ‘hero.’ Sir is fine for now.”

  “I understand, sir. Will do, sir. Everyone calls me Skivvy or Sarge or First Sergeant Skivvy or Skivs.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m the squad leader for this lot… Or really the only leader for this lot left alive - reluctantly of course.”

  “I understand,” Desmond replied. “Nice to meet you Skivvy."

  “Likewise, sir.”

  “So tell me, what do I need to know about everyone else here,” asked Desmond as he was taking off his jacket and unloading his bags.

  Skivvy noticed Desmond’s scars and quickly turned around. Skivvy was scratching the back of his head as he changed into a slight pink color.

  The one human female cartwheeled over noticing Skivvy’s nervousness. She introduced herself with theatrical flair shooting out arcane sparks from her fingers, “Sorry sir, he gets nervous and tongue-tied sometimes. That’s where I come in. Hi! I’m Corporal Audra.”

  There was a slight twang to her voice as she spoke sweetly and directly to Desmond. Both were surprised by her cartwheeled entrance and Skivvy nearly fell backwards. She had strawberry blonde hair that flowed majestically to the tops of her shoulders. She had powerful looking legs that were barely being contained in her navy blue short shorts. Her white, crop-top tunic was a little baggy, but it revealed well-defined abs and the oversized sleeves hid some well-muscled, strong arms and shoulders. Her tunic had a cartoon drawing of a fat dragon printed on it.

  Desmond was a little thrown back by her directness, general cuteness, athleticism, and bubbly personality. He shook her firm hand feeling some hardened callouses and what appeared to be trace amounts of chalk residue. He introduced himself formally trying his best to seem like an officer. He also tried his best hide the initial discomfort from Audra’s strong handshake.

  Audra asked enthusiastically, “Sorry if this is prying and asking too much too soon sir, but what was it like? The battle? Don’t mind me asking all these questions? Cause I don’t want to overload you with a bunch of frass, you know?"

  “No. It’s fine… The battle… It was…”

  Desmond wasn’t sure how to explain it. He did not want to upset her with the truth of how brutal it was. He said, “A lot… It was a lot to deal with. Not at all what’s in the papers.”

  “I see,” she replied a bit deflated still masked by her bubbliness.

  Desmond wanted to reassure her, but he stopped himself.

  She continued, “Anyway… So sir, what’s it like being in the castle and meeting the royal family? I hear it’s magical in there!”

  She pulled out a newspaper showing a highly detailed photo-etching of Desmond in his armor staring across the battlefield as he touched Light Wielder. There was a second photo-etching of Desmond holding the dead Prince’s hand with alterations to make the Prince’s face seem cleaner than it was. Lastly, there was a third photo- etching of Desmond standing next to the king and the royal family wearing his medal looking uncomfortable and jaded at the bottom of the page. The headline read: Lone Survivor and Hero of The Southern Plains.

  She flipped a page over showing more photo-etchings of the ballroom and the opulent decor and fashion. In the collection of photo-etchings was Alvara and Aurora talking with Desmond and Eluthar. That one was there specifically because of Alvara’s dress and status in high court.

  “Of course,” Desmond thought funnily to himself.

  There was lastly a photo-etching of Desmond with the royal family including all of Prince Albert’s younger siblings after he received his medal and knighthood. Desmond stared empathetically at the kids and the eldest son who was only twelve. The son looked at Desmond deflated, but holding a mask of forced pride like the king.

  “So that’s what the orange crystal was for,” Desmond thought to himself. “Oh no. It’s coming back.”

  Desmond stayed silent for a moment as his face and scarred eye twitched subtly. His fist tightened and his right arm shuddered slightly.

  Audra sensed what was happening said profusely upon realization, “Oh, I’m so sorry sir if that’s bringing up any bad memories! Just never got to meet a hero or anyone famous before. So, SOOO sorry!”

  Skivvy’s face turned hot pink for a moment while his white, under-chin turned red and then back to white. He said quietly, “Audra… Corporal! Please not now!”

  “I apologized, Skivs… Sarge over here is not the best talker, but he tries. He changes color depending on his feelings because he’s ‘so in touch’ with them. I think it’s cute!”

  “Audra please! Let me tell him about the rest of the squad? Okay? Without interruptions and a million questions? Go practice magic over in your corner or go help Keely with another abstract poster or something. Just go!”

  “Okay, sarge. No need to get testy. Still find it cute… Sir, just holler if you need me to help clarify or heal any wounds,” she said smiling at Desmond.

  Skivvy retorted back to her, “Yeah, yeah. Remember why you were demoted back to corporal and why I’m still a sergeant.”

  “Low blow, Skivs… Nice meeting you sir,” she said as she strutted away swaying her hips sassily and making a quick snap of her fingers producing a mini spark of violet magic.

  She hopped onto the cot immediately into lotus position and began reading the newspaper. She leaned forward over her legs like a folded book and started humming a song to herself. Desmond was a little jealous of her flexibility.

  Skivvy covered his face and eyes for moment. He sighed out, “She’s very upfront and filled with unhinged energy, sir.”

  “I see that.”

  “She was a professional acrobat before joining the army. Discovered her arcane powers one day in high school and felt compelled to do something with it. Has aspirations to become a medical cleric.”

  “Not a doctor or nurse or war mage perhaps?”

  “Can’t afford medical school. Army will pay the way. Too afraid to become a certified war mage because of… Reasons, if you catch my drift?”

  “Ah.”

  “She’s the emotional heart of this squad. She’s also the lone medic and magic wielder. We had another one, but he was killed on our last assignment before we were reassigned here… Just making sure, you are aware there used to be more of us in this barracks right?”

  “Yes, I was made aware of that before I got here.” Desmond responded. He asked curiously, “What about you? What makes them listen to you?”

  “I don’t know honestly… I guess because I take responsibility and I care too much. No one here gives a damn about the sergeant rank. No one else wanted to take charge after our last mission resulted in our only officer dead. Captain Arn made sure that I was put in charge after that mission. Then again, Audra was a sergeant before, but she was demoted for… Well, she was made an example of,” Skivvy said with some remorse and embarrassment.

  Desmond’s eyebrow raised in intrigue, but figured he will find out later.

  Skivvy continued, “I’m the second strongest here, physically. I can at least blend into the background.” His scales changed color to that of the beige walls blending in perfectly minus the night clothes and then immediately back to his normal light green. “And yes, she is correct on me changing color sometimes because of my feelings or mood. It’s annoying.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I guess I understand.”

  “Well besides us two. There are the twins. Privates Kale and Keely. Kale’s the archer and expert marksman. Also pompous and selfish at times. Truly believes he’s better than everyone. However, he won’t hesitate to help out. He does care, but will never admit it. Really keeps to himself. Lots of past trauma of course.”

  “Noted,” Desmond said feeling relatability to Kale.

  Skivvy continued, “Keely is the one covered in tattoos and in all black with that colorful paint splatter. She is an excellent knife fighter and gunner. Brilliant marksmen as well. Has an affinity to fire and explosives… Beware of that. Also, she is the opposite of Kale in every way imaginable. Likes to joke and is a social butterfly with no filter. Sometimes, she is good at gaining information if needed. Keep that in mind.”

  The twins were playing cards as Keely was winning and bragging. Kale nonchalantly shoved her in the face as she laughed. He looked annoyed, but was hiding a smile. Kale looked refined, clean shaven, and had long, silky brown hair tied neatly into a pony tail. His grey night clothes were form fitting and well maintained on his slim frame. He had lean muscle, but was overall athletic in appearance; looked like a muscular runner with very strong forearms. He also had a faint scar on his right cheek that was not noticeable at first until he tilted his head a certain way in the light showing the faded outline. It appeared to be a deep gash that was healed by arcane magic.

  Keely was wearing a black, crop top shirt that was made sloppily with scissors whilst being covered in a myriad of bright paint colors splattered sporadically on her clothes. Her black leggings were slightly ripped hiding intricate tattoos. To Desmond, he could’ve sworn he saw green dragon scales in those rips. Her entire upper half was covered in a plethora of interesting tattoos; kind of like an adult coloring book of sailor and Elvan tattoos. He also noticed a highly detailed design of what he thought were kraken tentacles bursting out from her sternum, which had a heart design in it, with four of the tentacles enveloping a sword that was pointed down towards her crotch region. Two of the tentacles stopped just at her neck in which the rest of her neck was covered in intricate tattoos of snakes wrapping around knives. She had short, dark brown hair in a messy bob. Multiple black earrings dotted along her short, pointed ears along with an obsidian, septum ring piercing on her tiny, pointed nose highlighted by a shiny, white nose stud.

  Skivvy pointed to the last two. One was a hulking, muscle bound, giant of a man with long blue-black hair covering half of his face with the light of the fire lamps highlighting his toned, olive skin. He had autumn brown eyes and a thin, black-stubbled beard along his granite, square chin. He also had a decent amount of old battle wounds on him, though a lot less than what Desmond has. He was reading a holy book ignoring the stupidity around him and occasionally glancing over at Keely with a hidden smile.

  “The big shirtless one in the baggy sweats is Ator… He doesn’t talk a lot and he is our resident holy person. Wants to be a monk… Yeah, I know. He doesn’t fit the description.”

  “Interesting… Why is that you think?”

  “He was originally part of an infamous raiding recon force before ending up here.”

  “Oh, those guys?”

  “Yeah sadly… There’s a lot of mystery to him and his past time with the recon folks. Then again, he is the only ‘legit’ special forces guy here despite the fact he’s only twenty. Something about regrets he has during his brief time with them. Prays a lot as penance. Only talked about it once; though, only to Keely and Audra.”

  “Mm-hmm?”

  “He’s the strongest of the group. We call him Ox. Will break down anything or destroy a large group of enemies if needed. Tends to go berserk if angered enough mid-fight. Best to keep him on your side and watch yourself when he’s in the zone. Trust me!”

  “Noted,” Desmond curiously said.

  Skivvy pointed to the smaller one. He was very skinny and meek looking. He had shaggy, white hair that he brushed back as he took off his round glasses. His tunic shirt was swallowing his upper half. His checkered pants were very loose on him as well making him look even smaller than he actually was. He was in the middle of sketching out improvements to the armor they were provided. He was currently designing improvements to Audra’s light armor to be more flexible with her movements. He was also constantly looking back at another sketch book of the armor pieces he drew himself.

  Skivvy sighed for moment and then smiled. He said, “And the small one is Nikolai… What he lacks in physicality he makes up for in brains and hard work. He’s our tactician, tinkerer, and strategist. Resident know-it-all. Tends to ramble on without meaning to. Ator ensures he shuts up when needed. He’s also the youngest amongst all of us. No outstanding physical talents whatsoever."

  “He made it into the army and he’s here for SF training so there has to be something physical about him,” Desmond pondered to himself.

  “He is the hardest worker overall. Trains with the standard-issued gladius every day. Someday, he’ll become a great warrior. But he’s still young. He's very quick reacting… He’ll grow.”

  “Interesting."

  “Anyway, I train him often when I can. Need everyone to be capable."

  “You train him sometimes? Like, outside of normal training movements amongst the instructors?”

  “He asks for help when he knows he’s weak at it,” Skivvy proudly said. “Can’t exactly say no to those puppy-dog eyes.”

  Nikolai was in the middle of sketching a design when Ator decided to push him slightly with his foot making Nikolai screw up his drawing. Ator chuckled as Nikolai threw a wadded up paper at him. Ator then threw a pillow at him and Nikolai dodged it whilst smirking. Ator then proceeded to playfully tackle him starting a mini-wrestling match. Audra sighed and sat on the floor away from the two idiots knocking over cots and dressers. Keely handed her a flask, which she happily accepted.

  Desmond sat down and asked, “Are all of you knights in training or former squires or nobles of sorts? I ask because everyone here I’ve met has been of some nobility or squire program so… Like, what’s up?”

  Skivvy looked puzzled at Desmond for a moment. Audra overheard and walked over blowing some of her hair away from her eyes. She replied, “No sir? We’re not knights or squires. Didn’t anyone tell you who we were and what this squad is exactly?”

  “No. Not really. Only made aware there used to be more members and this is a special unit of sorts. Recon-adjacent or similar I’m guessing?”

  “Okay. Uh… Close, but no… We’re a special task force made up of guys who made mistakes or trouble. No real nobility here, except," Audra explained whilst pointing her eyes at the twins.

  “Interesting,” said Desmond curiously.

  Skivvy chimed in, “What she is also leaving out is that… Well, how should I explain this?”

  Audra pushed Skivvy to the side and decided to take over in explaining. She plainly explained, “We were originally placed into a penal force used for suicidal and high probability of death type missions in which we were to literally fight our way to being free from that. A way for the army to ‘get rid’ of problem troops.”

  Skivvy tried to intervene, but was immediately met by Audra’s hand smushing his face.

  She sighed brushing her hair from her eyes and continued, “We survived those missions and are now in our own special forces squad because command, mostly Captain Arn and a few other higher ups, sought fit for us to be in one since no one else survived that many missions in a penal battalion in army history. We’re more of a ‘hit and run’ type of unit.”

  “We did get lucky on occasion,” Skivvy quietly said. “Still a miracle nonetheless.”

  “Plus our success rate was rather astounding all things considered,” Audra said with enthusiasm and pride. “Still I wonder. If someone like you is our new officer then... Does that mean..."

  "Audra," Skivvy cut in tersely. "Now's not the time!"

  Desmond cut in with an annoyed voice, “Okay! I need clarification here! Understood?”

  “Sir,” both said in unison like scared children. Everyone else in the room stopped and looked up at the three of them now.

  Desmond asked calmly once he composed himself, “Sorry for the yell… How experienced are all of you and how long have y’all been in the army?”

  Skivvy whistled loudly and everyone came forward towards Desmond’s cot. Kale looked unimpressed and annoyed, but had curious eyes. Ator gave a nod and flared his nostrils as his chest muscles flexed. Nikolai went to shake Desmond’s hand only to trip on himself making a pathetic thud into an empty cot. Keely picked him up and winked at Desmond suggestively with a foxy look. Kale knocked her on the shoulder and she ignored it. Ator gave a no-look fist bump to Skivvy with Nikolai shooting up proudly.

  Desmond thought to himself, “Oh gods… They really did give me a bunch of headcases to command over.”

  Skivvy answered bluntly in the nicest way he could muster, “We have been together for a little over five months. Been on several penal missions and we’re the ones that survived for now. We were just recently told that we are no longer in a penal battalion and are now a specialized task force of sorts as a ‘reward,’ I guess? Been like that for the past month and a half… I’ve been in this army for two years. Only here because I was trying to help Audra and Nikolai from…” Skivvy scratched his head nervously. “Helped them from… How do I word this delicately?”

  “By the fucking gods you stuttering sassafras! I got this,” Audra said cutting him off. “He was with us when we were caught stealing rations during hell week of training and deviating from the training mission because hunger and Nikolai being sick as hell. Mixed unit training with the Light Swords hence Skivs here. Our PL was an asshole who didn’t care so we ignored him. Broke into the base kitchen and medical depot during a week-long exercise of pretending to be behind enemy lines. Got caught on our way out from the depot. Also didn’t help that we decided to fight the MPs and training officers over it. Thus being in the penal battalion and ending up here,”

  There was no shame in her as she said it. Skivvy turned hot pink and then deep red as he slowly dipped his head down for a moment hiding behind his frustrated hand. Everyone else was stifling their laughter. Desmond was even more curious and was also battling a sudden laugh.

  Nikolai sheepishly confirmed, “Yes – Yes. We were not good listeners, but we completed the task of survival by any means with the help of sarge. He knew of Audra beforehand because the light swords were training in conjunction with us and they both were friendly to one another because she was the cleric fixing minor injuries and was very glowing whenever Skivs’ would talk to her and… OW!”

  Ator lightly smacked the back of Nikolai for rambling almost sending him flying across the room only for Keely to grab Nikolai’s falling body and standing him back up in one motion. Skivvy gave a fist bump to Ator. Nikolai stuck his tongue out in response. Ator responded with a middle finger and a grin. Keely smacked Ator on the arm and shook her head. Audra face-palmed at this and Kale rolled his eyes. Skivvy finally realized why Audra was upset and followed suit.

  Nikolai then said, “Sorry. Anyway, Audra and I have been in the army for about a year now.”

  Skivvy pinched his eyes annoyed at how unprofessional they were coming across. Audra glared at Nikolai for a second and then immediately hid her annoyance behind a forced smile towards Desmond. Nikolai silently mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

  Keely chuckled at this and gave a reassuring pat on Audra’s ass. Audra turned bright red. Ator gave a joking nudge to Kale who was trying to hide his laugh.

  Kale chimed in rather poshly, “They are fools in comparison, sir. Pleasure meeting you, sir. Kale is the name. Marksmanship is my game.”

  Keely rolled her eyes and said in a less refined posh voice, “Don’t mind his brown-nosing and selfishness. His eyes are brown so he’s full of it. Nice to meet you, sir… Name’s Keely. Knife expert and explosives expert. Some gunning on the side too. No big deal.”

  Ator gave a fist bump to Keely as Kale stuck his tongue out to her. Ator and Keely did the fake explosion with their hands after the fist-bump.

  Keely went on, “Year and a half for my brother and I being in this army. We blew up a bar and burnt half a block down during a night of… Well, ‘poor choices’ some would say. I say they were justified. Kale tried to help me put it out along with Ator. He was just a nice big man who happened to be from recon and at the bar standing up for us because some MPs and recon dicks are truly sexists shits… Not Ator of course, he’s the exception. Ox also punched out multiple MPs. The sweetheart!”

  Desmond looked at Ator for confirmation. Ator dipped his head down and looked away for a moment. His eyes said, “All is true.”

  Desmond nodded in response to Ator, which made him give a microscopic smirk.

  Keely then said while tapping Ator’s massive forearm, “He may not admit it out of embarrassment, but he means well. He also helped to cover for us when we tried running away.”

  “Foolishly and we didn’t get far,” Kale said tersely. “You just had to antagonize those MPs didn’t you?”

  “Shut it,” she yelled back. “You act like you didn’t help you fawk. You also argued with them as well taking the pisser. Stop acting all ‘high and mighty’ like when you and I clearly are not that!”

  Desmond raised his voice, “ALRIGHT! Thank you! All of you for letting me know! That’s enough of that!”

  Desmond felt weird for speaking up as if he was an annoyed teacher trying to silence his classroom. Everyone stepped back slightly and stood at parade rest silently and anxiously.

  He continued after he calmed his voice a bit, “Okay… Let me just get this out of the way because all of you have questions, I believe?”

  Everyone leaned in with curious excitement.

  “Yes. I was there when the Prince died. It was a lot more bloody and messy and fucked up than what’s written… I don’t want to speak further than that… Understood?”

  Everyone nodded in grim understanding.

  He continued, “Yes, I have been in three major battles and a good amount of raids…Yes, meeting the royal family is something else entirely… And yes, the inside of that castle is beautiful and makes my home look like a shack in comparison… Now! I’m here simply because I was assigned here for future specialized training under Captain Arn who was specifically chosen for this along with me, and I now assume, all of you per Royal Command’s orders.”

  Everyone froze at the mention of Arn’s name and hearing Royal Command. Skivvy turned light blue and then back to light green as his yellow eyes widened. Audra gulped loudly in fear. Everyone else looked scared. Desmond noticed this and had the same sinking feeling of what hard training was to come and what the future mission, or missions, would come.

  “I was told that I was to be in charge of a small squad shortly after I was given my commission and knighthood. Reason for all of this will be explained later… That is all I can say for now,” Desmond said hating the last bit.

  He felt like all the other officers before him who would force everyone to work off of vague and “need to know” orders. He also was wondering what the training would entail, but he wanted to keep it to himself.

  He finished, “Training will begin tomorrow morning. That is all I have… Thank you for introducing yourselves and inviting me to this squad… Um… Do y’all have a group name per chance?”

  Ator spoke up in a deep and creaky voice. “The Cursed Devils… Sir.”

  Everyone else nodded proudly. Audra sheepishly added, “It’s because we’re a bunch of ‘devils’ who have a habit of getting in trouble all the time and we tend to cause chaos hence the name and all that… sir.”

  Audra glared at Keely for help and Keely whispered back, “I’m sorry! I got nothing.”

  Kale, Nikolai, Skivvy and Ator did the same as Keely. No response out of fear and embarrassment. Audra let out a defeated breath despite smiling through the awkwardness.

  Desmond gave a slight grin. Audra perked up a bit noticing his grin. He said confidently, “Dismissed. Best to get some rest. I pray we all make it through this upcoming training. Night.”

  “Night sir,” everyone replied.

  Nikolai grimaced and cursed to himself as Ator picked him up and carried him back to his cot. Skivvy turned to Audra with a half-hearted smile while he scratched his head nervously. Audra made a concerned look in response to Skivvy whilst hiding behind her forced optimism. The twins stayed silent in fear, but both went back to their cots not saying a word. Keely leaned into Kale for a brief moment of comfort and Kale lightly patted her head.

  Desmond walked away with some pain into the washroom and turned a shower on. He was twiddling Johnathan’s locket from around his neck as he was undressing to get into it. He ultimately felt bad for his last comments and slight anger. However, he reminded himself that he had to stay slightly distant and tough as any leader should. But he knew deep down he was not that type of leader. He stood under the shower head as the warm water cascaded over him as he tried his best to relax.

  Audra noticed the slight pain in Desmond’s walk as he went away and felt empathy for him. She also noticed the locket that was around his neck and wondered who was in it. She was trying to understand him the whole time he was talking and what he was possibly thinking. She deeply hoped that he would be a good and fair leader overall.

  Skivvy walked with her back to their cots and he quietly asked her, “What do you make of him?”

  “He’s an experienced young man with a lot hidden pain. Fuck, only twenty two and he’s in charge? I mean, did you notice the scar on his face and his healed wounds on his arms? I couldn’t help to notice the large one across his chest just barely peeking out of his tunic. He’s barely older than all of us and he’s the ‘hero’ the kingdom chose… Twenty freakin two… Damn.”

  “Hmm?”

  “I’m only one year younger than him… And he’s in charge and a hero? I wouldn’t want to be him.”

  “I feel that… I guess you’re no longer the oldest one here, eh?”

  “We’re the same age, Skivs. I’m just older by a month.”

  “Whatever… What else you think of him?”

  “I have to admit, he is very cute and very fit.”

  “Agreed,” Keely chimed loudly in response to Audra from a distance.

  Skivvy shooed her away with his hand and asked, “Okay, that’s not… Anything else you picked up on?”

  “For a brand new officer and knight, he at least isn’t a stuck up asshole who looks down on others. Guess it helps that he comes from a working class background like us.”

  “I guess it helps?”

  “He appears to listen to everyone and deeply cares, which is a first for us… Besides… He’s handling it better than I thought,” she said laying down “He was specifically chosen to be our new leader. Has to mean something important.”

  “But why us though? He’s a hero to the kingdom and we’re far from it. Why?”

  “That’s the real question.”