Saudade (Published under Indie Pop)

Chapter 66: Trampled Flowers in the Dead Field

Chapter 66: Trampled Flowers on the Dead Field

The Eastern woods was silent. There were no birds on the trees; no noises on the ground. It was like the wood was scared to make a sound – as if by doing so would attract the destructive monster rampaging on the other side of it. The woods, no matter how scary they were as told by the stories, were being tamed by the monstrosity of the men. Indeed, we were one of the villains we fear the most.

Argos' pace was quick; the beast was quiet but swift. I wondered if it knew where I was taking us. Did it know that we are going to a war? Did it understand that I was taking us to the edge where we might be able to have a glimpse of death?

It was a tensed ride. It was when we were getting nearer to a clearing when I hear the sound. That only meant that we were closer to the border between the Borgian Castle and the West Land than we thought. I slowed Argos down and the sound became louder. There were explosions; it almost shattered the Earth with its every blast. Arrows were flying and the clangs of armours and shields and the clashes of swords were deafening. There were shouts of courage and screams of pain. And amidst all of these sounds, there was an almost inaudible silence – and that stillness only meant one thing: death.

Argos was becoming agitated. And I, too, wanted to drop on my knees on the ground and cover my ears. I almost didn't want to go. But I had to – for the sake of all these noises; for all the unbearable silence.

When we finally reached the edge of the clearing that was when I saw the immense chaos that was destroying the land. Pirates and soldiers were clashing against each other; both were determined to make their opponents fall to the ground. Those who were fallen were either fatally wounded or dead.

From where I was, I could see the Borgian Castle in the distance. I urged Argos to run discreetly towards it, careful not to get any attention on our way. Fortunately, we did it successfully. I decided to dismount the stallion before reaching the castle and touched it with my palm.

"Run to your safety. If this battle decides that I must live until its end then come back to me," I whispered and patted its hind. I watched it as it ran back to the woods. When it disappeared from my sight, I turned towards the castle and headed to its entrance. I hadn't even reached it yet when a couple of pirates cried out for help. I saw that one of them was heavily injured in his leg and shoulder while the other one was trying to help him up.

"Please help us, he wouldn't stop bleeding!" the pirate cried.

I immediately helped them get inside the castle's infirmary where lots of wounded pirates and allied soldiers were being treated. We put the injured pirate on one of the vacant beds and I started gathering medicines and bandages to treat him.

"I have to go back to the battlefield now. I'm entrusting him to you," the pirate said after realizing that I knew what I was doing.

I nodded. "Be safe," I muttered and went back to my patient. I thought that I was already seeing the worst scenario of the infirmary at that moment. But hours passed by and the arrival of wounded fighters didn't stop. Those who weren't fatally injured and recovered fast decided to go back to the battlefield. Some of them made it back to the infirmary for having another injury while most of them didn't.