It was the twenty-third hour of that day. The squad finally seemed more optimistic of their future, having made some progress in their concerns that inflamed them just minutes ago. There was direction, a plan, and a strategy. Most of their problems appeared to have already been dispelled, and its execution remained. However, with their optimism, they have forgotten that they had missed a major component that, without this machine, would not work, which even the less strategically inclined could tell.
Their archer, still holding Siegfried in his arms, raised his hand. “Armin…” Hesitating over whether he should speak up, he drew the attention of his comrades. “Who was supposed to be negotiating all this?” Asked Károly, assuming that he came prepared.
The squad righted themselves and looked at each other, wondering if they indeed had a negotiator. But the brief brightness on their faces faded upon seeing the cluelessness that had taken hold of all around the fire. The glimmer in their eyes became lost, and they turned to the lieutenant for leadership, but neither was he so sure anymore.
Arminius heard their silence and lowered his head, dismayed by the fact that he had forgotten about the keys to this lock. “The mayor…” He mumbled.
“Great, and now he’s where?” Gin interrupted him with nothing better to say.
Equally troubled by the late mayor’s premature departure, one urged them to find an answer. “That’s a valid question.” Arber acknowledged. “Even if we do have a draft of the treaty, not even a footman would want to hear out a foreign child.” He imagined the strife that would come from the eyes of the locals.
“And so we return to our original problem.” Arnau added.
Sitting up, the Rus shuffled closer to the fire, as if he had something productive to contribute, but his comrades thought too much of him out of their urgency. “If we don’t manage to find us a new negotiator, we might as well just open the gates.” Lev suggested with a smirk. “At least they’ll treat me well.” He joked.
“I also heard that they’d hang traitors by the dick to dry in the wind.” Colt sat forward and threw a stick over the fire, which struck Lev. However, his tone seemed to entertain his humour. “But, you might not be the only one with that idea.” Leaning into the couch again, the sergeant warned his comrades.
Those who perceived the situation as less serious were unable to offer any real advice, while those who had considered their comrades’ plight had exhausted all their ideas. The unserious still understood that their predicament was no joke. However, their air of usual youthful vigour had since grown frail. The house was in unease again, and it felt as though their progress had been erased. Without another opinion, they could get nowhere, and it was clear by some of their faces that few had surrendered to fate before the fight had even come.
Arnau stuck his hands in his pockets and pushed himself away from the pillar, pacing away from the fire that had been refuelled by Miklós’s bundle of firewood. Poking around the coal with a stick, Siegfried was still in Károly’s arms, but the archer was falling asleep. Lev slouched on his seat, picking at his fingers, waiting for someone to say anything. Even if it was apparent that he had a plan from the beginning, he could have been waiting for his comrades to become completely sapped of ideas, or perhaps he simply desisted from speaking. Given false hope, the prominent voices of their band had been hushed, but it gave space for another to enter the stage.
“I wouldn’t want to speak against the laws of your kingdom, Carlstadt, but wasn’t Rantzau a baron?” Alexandria calmly stirred their thoughts.
Surprised that she, of all people, would interject, the Danner turned to her for an answer. “Yeah… but what has that got to do with anything?” He wondered about her approach.
Their comrades’ eyes flickered back and forth between the two, searching for hints in their words, if there were any, but Alexandria and Julien were like light and a mirror, rebounding their individual wordlessness. It was not them, but a third speaker who answered their question, having realised what she insinuated.
Bringing his hand away from his face, the seed of an idea had been planted in his head. “The rule of succession…” Arminius surmised. “He has a wife, does he not?” He skipped to the conclusion, but his friend understood him perfectly.
Straightening his back, he felt his hairs stand up as an unlikely hope washed over him. “You’re not suggesting to—” Julien began but was stopped.
“Quick, come with me, Julien.” Arminius promptly stood up, his sense of direction having returned.
He grabbed Julien by his arm and dragged him out of his chair, and, taken by surprise, a yelp escaped him. His feet moved before he could think. As they hurried towards the door, Arminius let Julien free of his grasp and hastily pulled on his boots. Alerted by the lieutenant’s erratic behaviour that seemingly came out of nowhere, the squad stared at him. Only one other comrade recognised his reaction.
The sergeant rose from his seat and stretched his arms, reaching for the ceiling. “Before anyone gets the funny idea to do otherwise, ain’t that right?” Colt gathered. His words spread to his comrades like wildfire.
“In that case, at the very least, we should stand guard for you.” Arnau returned to the light of the hearth and unsheathed his knife, showing its blade that he forged. “If anything happens, we’ll be there for you.” The lancer made a promise to the two that he fully intended to keep.
Julien faced his comrades, not thinking that they would join them too, but after an evening of despair, his eyes were finally able to brighten up from the faith his squad demonstrated. Although it required some convincing to drag their sluggish member off his couch. Arminius returned them an assured nod as they marched for the door, their weapons at hand, dressing themselves with coats and caps. Their elected lieutenant led on as it had always been and opened their way to the path outside, for the sake of his friends, into the midnight cold.247Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvyXTcaMfAK
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