32- FERZAN MARRINS

It was a cloudy April day when a determined young man, inspired by his father, made a brave decision to join the royal army. Always from his house, I heard the march in unison of soldiers wearing shiny light blue uniforms that combined with the decorations of the entire city. He admired these men, their countenance, their firmness, and what they represented for the inhabitants of the kingdom, and since that tragedy that he experienced with his late mother, he only wanted to reach the necessary age to be part of the ranks. of the Terevillian Crown.

While Ferzan was excitedly observing the glow of dawn through the window of his house, he heard the front door open. —Good morning Father, how was the hunt?

—Pretty good, I got some rabbits in the forest

—Be careful in those forests father, I have heard that many rebels usually hide to assault innocent people.

—Don't worry Ferzan, I know how to avoid them, go and eat a little today will be an important day for you.

Ferzan excitedly prepares his rabbit and in his head he only visualizes himself marching in the streets of Tereville wearing these elegant uniforms and defending the city from any enemy, making his father and his city proud. —Are you sure about this son? Life as a soldier is not easy and our king can be somewhat harsh with his orders.

-Father! Today is the day I've been looking forward to more than ever! I have been waiting for this moment for years, I am stubborn to continue here as a messenger for merchants, it will be a comfortable life with all the luxuries that a nobleman could want but it does not satisfy me, I do not need money or fame. I am a Marrins!

—Don't shout that reputation too much, remember that we have hidden enemies.

"I know," Ferzan admits smiling, "and with the military power that the crown will give me, you will see that I will eliminate them all."

—Ha! That's only if you manage to be a commander.

—I hope to achieve that and more, you will see that I will give my all, Father.

—Well, it seems like you have a lot of determination, that's important. Finish eating, we'll be late.

Hazgor leaves with Ferzan from his residence towards the royal palace to deliver his son to the forces of King Toslan XI. On the way with some nostalgia, Hazgor tells Ferzan some memories from when he was a child.

—When you were afraid of my sword, you hid behind your mother when she took it out to clean it.

-Yeah. —Ferzan responds between laughs—. I thought you were going to turn bad when you took out your weapon, Mother always told me that bad guys used swords and good guys used flowers.

—Now flowers are more dangerous than weapons.

—What do you say, father? Now you seem rebellious, only our light blue flowers give clarity to the world.

—Of course, son... Of course.

Once they arrive at the royal palace, two guards approach and ask both of them why they are visiting the palace.

—I come to be part of your ranks. —says Ferzan excitedly—. I'm old enough now.

—If so, it is time to say goodbye to your father, he cannot enter the palace armed.

—Well son, it seems it's time, you know that for nothing in the world I will let go of my weapons. I hope you write, huh?

—Whenever I can, I will do it, Father, come here. —Ferzan says as he pulls him by the arm—.

A quite moving hug in which Hazgor sheds a small tear, although he wants to avoid it, he does not know if he will see his son again. The guards take Ferzan away and Hazgor says goodbye.

Once inside, Ferzan is dazzled by the luxuries of the palace and excited because he is going to see the king. He goes with the guards to a room where there are several young men training, and they leave him with Commander Octavio. The guards tell the commander that he has a recruit, the commander makes him sit down and tells him that he should observe a little of the fighting. As a few hours pass, Ferzan begins to get impatient since he is super eager to train with them. He comments to the commander.

—Excuse me, Mr. Octavio, when can I train with them?

All the soldiers look at Ferzan strangely and some even mock him.

—When you are silent! —The commander shouts, quite upset, as he slaps him so hard that he makes him fall back to where he was sitting—. Ferzan gets up and remains silent. A little disappointed, he begins to realize that he had very childish expectations and that it would be very difficult for him to see the king, who was one of his dreams in this process. Several hours pass and it begins to get dark, all the soldiers leave and Ferzan is left alone, half asleep on the bench where he was watching, a soldier notices. —Hey idiot, wake up if you don't want them to clean shit.

—Oh it's already night. —says Ferzan sleepily—. Do you know where I should go?

—Go and look for the commander, when he sees you he will surely give you an order, by the way, I am Emens.

—Well, thanks Emens, we'll see you later.

—Avoid doing anything reckless or they will throw you out of the palace and I think you know what that means.

They say goodbye and Ferzan begins to tour the palace to find the commander, he knows that if by order In reality, a soldier was expelled from the palace and was automatically declared a traitor and the penalty for treason was death, he had to do his best not to disappoint any high military commander.

After several laps around the palace looking for the commander in a room, he hears a woman's scream and after a minute, a naked girl comes out bleeding and behind her, Prince Toslan XII, successor to the crown, was also naked, He saw Ferzan and threatened him.

—What the hell are you doing here!?

—Excuse Your Highness, I was looking for Commander Octavio.

—Now find that bitch, and bring her here.

-Immediately Mr.

Ferzan starts running to find the woman, he follows the trail of blood and sees that there is some blood in some sacks next to the kitchen. He looks through the sacks and finds the girl.

-Leave me alone! Get away!

—Calm down, let me help you.

-No! You do not want to help me! Do you want to take me to that bastard?

—Calm down, I'm a recruit, I just want to help you.

At that moment Ferzan gives her a tunic that was between the cooks' counters and tries to tie the wound on her leg to prevent her from bleeding. The girl calms down and begs him not to take her to the prince, since he only wants to hurt her to satisfy himself.

—Where can I take you?

—Outside the palace, quickly! I know how to get past the guards.

—Okay, come carefully. —Ferzan says while he helped him get up and supported him to walk—

Ferzan had a conflict in his head, on the one hand, he could not disappoint the prince, much less as a recruit. But he saw this girl so vulnerable and hurt, that he can‘t think of harming her, he remembers what her father once told him. “Sometimes the rules are the rules but if you are going to break one, make sure it does not harm you in any way”

They leave the kitchen and Ferzan carries the girl limping down the hallway. In the distance, he sees that Emens is watching him. He waves to him as he hides.

—I am Samirse, the prince paid for my services, but I don't think that he was a sick man who likes to hurt the women he sleeps with.

—Working with royalty can be complicated. —Feren comments nervously—.

—I understand, and although it was a fairly high payment, I am not prepared for these things.

—Stop there, where do you think you can take this woman to?—Emens says as he comes out of his hiding place—.

—I'm sorry Samirse. —Ferzan responds with a lot of frustration for betraying her—. She was escaping from the prince, but he's already given me the order to take her to her bedroom.

—Come this way. —Emens answers as he guides them—.