“Lock the doors!”
The guard quickly secured the entrance to the supply warehouse, double padding the handles with chain link steel. Titan watched impatiently as the guard fumbled the keys, slipping between his fingers and finally dropping them to the floor. Frustrated at such incompetence, Titan smacked him across the head and retrieved the keys himself.
“Stop being an idiot, boy!”
“I’m sorry, sir. Forgive my clumsiness.”
Titan struck him again across his helmet. “Get back to your post, boy!” The young soldier ran off as quickly as he could.
Xander leaned against the wall of the warehouse. “Titan, ease up on the new recruits. If you keep treating them like that, they’re bound to run away forever.”
“Xander, you have too much compassion for the young. He’s a stupid boy; he does stupid things. He needs to learn from his mistakes.”
Xander laughed boisterously at Titan’s comments, though Titan did not seem to share in his levity.
“You’re one of a kind, Titan. Truly. Which is why I need you to help me. We’re going to move all of the women, children, and elderly into Castle Raphia. It’s the safest place in the city and the easiest to guard. I need you to ensure that the transition goes smoothly.”
“You want me to babysit a bunch of weaklings? I should be back at base camp, not here. Why don’t you have your baby brother do it? Even he can handle this task.”
Xander initially did think of asking Aric to head up the move, but Aric had been missing the past couple of days. Instead of assisting with operations, Aric had taken off, disappearing into the city. Wandering the city streets, Xander assumed, unsure of what he was searching for. Xander had hoped the recent victory would push Aric to take on his responsibilities more seriously, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect.
Xander watched two young boys play with wooden swords down by the dock. It reminded him so much of when he was young. Aric always the adventurer, wanting to leap off the highest rock, or climb the tallest tree. His fearlessness was something Xander admired about his brother. He had met very few people who were so blindly willing to take risks as Aric did. There was something freeing about not having to consider the consequences of your actions. Whether Aric knew it or not, Xander envied him. Not having to live up to the expectations of their father. Not having to be the older and more responsible son, the role model not only for a little brother, but for the kingdom as well. Aric had always blamed Xander for creating too much of an expectation for him. It wasn’t Aric’s fault that he couldn’t reach the same heights as Xander did, but rather the fact that Xander had made it nigh impossible for him to do so. The sad consequence being that father viewed Aric as a complete failure. Aric had many faults, but somehow Xander couldn’t help but still feel responsible for him.
The two boys blocked and swung at another, landing blows just hard enough to hurt. The younger boy went for a full out attack and swung high. The older boy parried it, using the momentum to send the younger child crashing into the muddy ground, where he instantly began to cry. The older child lifted him out of the mud, wiped his face clean with the sleeve of his shirt, and said something to make them both laugh. Just like that, they were back to playing little warriors.
Xander always tried to be there for his little brother. If only Aric knew of the sacrifices Xander made to protect him. Unable to tell him so, knowing that Aric would react negatively, most likely blame Xander for pampering him and turning him into an embarrassment. To watch Aric throw away his responsibilities only increased the guilt Xander felt. But Aric was a grown man now, capable of making his own choices. Xander couldn’t be there for him the rest of his life, fixing his mistakes, picking him up out of the mud and wiping his face clean. At a certain point, Xander knew, he needed to back off completely.
Titan had already begun the process of relocating the crowds of civilians to Castle Raphia. The only people that weren’t relocated were able-bodied men. They remained with the army, training to become soldiers and assisting with the basic needs of the camp. A good number of men had already volunteered for service. To some, it was simply something new to do, a distraction to break up the monotony. To others, the Vicedonian symbol began to grow on them, proudly bearing the ‘V’ and lambda on their chest, honored by their association with such a mighty kingdom. Even others, though, men such as Georges, did what was required of them; no more, no less. There was no camaraderie, no sense of patriotism or anything uniting them. Men like Georges did what they needed to do in order to survive. It was the one part of war that Xander never could grow numb to. The collateral damage to thousands of innocent people tugged at the strings of guilt within him. He knew it couldn’t be helped. That was the reality of war. War was not planned or executed in an orderly fashion. It was inherently chaotic, even atrocious at times, but a necessary process in order to achieve the greater good. The expansion of the Vicedonian Kingdom guaranteed a better and more fruitful life to anyone fortunate enough to become a part of it. These men, whether they realized it or not, were better off now than before, and in time they would grow loyal to the kingdom, as many other nations had done before them.
Aric was struggling to understand his world. His actions, the war, the aftermath; everything just confused him. The only way to keep his sanity, it seemed, was to distract himself with wine he had confiscated from his own soldiers, threatening them with imprisonment or even execution for defying their prince. He had to numb his body and mind to the pain and uncertainty of it all. But if Aric could only see what Xander saw in him, a courageous and passionate individual who was born to be a leader, life would be different. Despite all of Aric’s mishaps and errors, Xander still knew he could become a powerful figure for the kingdom. He wanted Aric to believe in himself, to prove it on the battlefield, and to believe that he was worthy of his father’s affections.
Xander watched as a solemn figure made his way through the streets of the city. Aric stumbled around, grabbing onto walls, doors, windows, anything to keep his body steady. He tripped over himself, collapsing onto the street with a splash of mud. He lay still for a couple moments before starting the whole routine again. Somehow, though, he managed to traverse the distance across the main square to where Xander stood.
“Hey! Xander! I’m here… ready to work, what do you want me to do, eh? What should the Prince of Vicedonia do?” His words, slurred from inebriation, brought unwanted attention from the men training nearby. They watched Aric make a fool of himself, speaking incoherently and walking about in circles. Aric noticed their unkind expressions, his anger even more volatile in his drunken state.
“What are you staring at, filth?” Aric rushed over to one of the older men, grabbed him by the collar and forced him down to his knees. “You dare laugh at a prince of Vicedonia?” Aric struck him across the face with the back of his hand. “Nobody laughs at me!” Aric reached for his sword when Xander pulled him off.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Those men are training to become Vicedonian soldiers, soldiers who are supposed to be willing to lay down their lives for our great kingdom, even sacrificing themselves for the royal family. This is the kind of example you set for them?”
“Get your hands off me, Xander! Don’t forget, I’m a prince of Vicedonia, too. I don’t need to take this crap from you or anyone else! I know exactly what I’m doing.” In his rage, Aric dropped the flask of wine hidden in his cloak. It shattered as it hit the ground, spilling the contents everywhere.
“No!” Aric dropped to his knees trying to lap up the remains with his tongue.
Xander, embarrassed, but more shamed by Aric’s behavior, picked him up and smacked him across his face. The suddenness of the slap brought Aric’s focus back for a brief moment. He stared at Xander as if seeing him for the first time.
“Xander?”
“I need you to sober up quickly!” Xander let go of Aric, allowing Aric a moment to recompose himself. “I have something to ask of you.??
?
“Ask of me?”
“Brother, I need you to get your head on straight, and you need to do it soon. The Renzai army is going to be back with more soldiers, and we’re not prepared for another attack. We need more troops and we need them now. I’m sending you on a mission. Besides, your presence here lately has been more detrimental than anything. I need you to go to Sargatum and bring back reinforcements from the Seventh Legion.”
“The Seventh Legion? Aren’t those Major Kymon’s forces?”
“Yes, they are.”
“But why are you sending me on this mission?”
“Because… that man despises me. You, on the other hand, you’re the only person he will listen to. You’re the only one who can convince him to send us reinforcements. Truthfully, you’re the only one who can do it, Aric.”
Chapter 40