38- Penitence

After a long walk to the outskirts of the city, Ferzan approaches Emens with some caution.

—Hey Emens, how's everything going? —Ferzan greets—.

—Oh, here you are Ferzan, I thought you would take longer, we have to wait for the other recruit.

-Alright.

-Meanwhile. —Emens says curiously—. We have some time to talk, what about those deserters?

—Emens... Can I trust you?

—Yes, but remember that I won't get into trouble with the crown for you.

—I understand, I just hope that you understand my actions and maintain discretion.

-That's what it will be like.

—These men were not recruits, they were vagabonds, I wanted to save them. That's why I gave them uniforms so that they could be treated at the hospital and get out of Teresville. If I left them in that landfill, they would die in a short time or we would be forced to kill them.

—Wow, you have guts and you also seem to be very noble, unfortunately, as you may have noticed, in the army, things work differently. What do you plan to do now?

—If we catch them, they'll give me away, if we fail the mission, they'll probably penalize us severely, I guess I'll have to desert...

"But if..." Emens says thoughtfully. something forces you to desert?

-What are you talking about?

—That an “accident” occurs that prevents us from capturing these vagabonds.

-What do you have in mind? —says Ferzan thoughtfully—.

—I know which way to go. Your calm

At that moment the other Freos recruit arrives, with the horses for the mission.

—Ferzan and Emens, right?

Yeah. —answers Emens—. Let's ride quickly to take advantage of the sun and finish this before nightfall.

—Perfect, which route will we take first? Freos asks.

—By Shockstel, it is the closest town. —Emens responds firmly.

—Okay, let's go, Hey Ferzan

-Tell me.

—What was the appearance of the deserters? Freos asks.

—Quite worn, they were very dirty, and somewhat weak, not very tall, with worn skin, all with unkempt beards.

—Damn traitors, they were surely infiltrated rebels. —says Freos—.

—Yes, sure… —adds Ferzan—.

They spend some time riding and observing everything around them, attentive to any possible ambush, but finally, they arrive at Shockstel. Upon entering the town, they ask everywhere if anyone has seen these five unkempt and quite peculiar soldiers. Even so, they did not find anyone, it was felt in the town that these people looked at the recruits with some suspicion. There were rebellious airs throughout the area, so they quickly left for the next town, Stela. But before arriving, they realize that Stela had been taken by rebels, and if they entered they would die or be captured, because of this Emens tells a plan: —Well, we have to divide up and be very careful. Freos and I will walk around Stela a couple of times to see if we can spot the traitors. Ferzan, you go very carefully and cautiously to check the roads towards St. Jack. Once you confirm that there is nothing suspicious, we will try to do the same survey around that town.

—But don't you think that being alone is dangerous? —says Freos uncertainly—.

—That's why you and I will check here, which is a riskier area. If Ferzan finds something he simply turns back and that's it, I highly doubt they will chase an explorer, but a group of three is more likely.

Emens winked at Ferzan.

—You're right, I don't think I'll have any problems, this horse is fast, we'll see you here in about thirty or forty minutes, do you think? —says Ferzan—.

-Perfect. If you're not here, I'll assume you had an “accident”,” says Emens, laughing. Okay, okay, see you in a bit

"I don't understand what's so funny about it..." says Freos.

—Come on kid, we have to take things with grace, otherwise, we will be very tense. Let's continue with our thing, see you soon, Ferzan. —Emens says as he starts his steed—.

—Take care of yourselves. —adds Ferzan, saying goodbye—.

Ferzan manages to escape and now only reflects, if he will return to this army one day, or he will simply have to desert forever. His generous actions don't seem to fit his job in any way.

While he wanders thoughtfully next to the steed, without realizing it, he gets closer and closer to St. Jack and just before reaching the entrance he is stopped by a boy who asks him.

—What are you looking for, sir?

—Let's say I'm escaping from something.

—Of rebels?

-No. —says Ferzan between laughs—. From the army, you wouldn't understand since I'm wearing the uniform.

A female voice is heard from behind.

—The child may not understand, but my friends and I do.

Ferzan turns around and realizes that it is Samirse with a group of rebels, aiming at him.

—Put it down! That idiot allowed the prince to rape and hurt me.

-Hey! Hey! I wanted to help you, but I had no choice, my partner appeared and was going to betray me if he betrayed the prince.

-Moron! She was hurt, and you didn't give a shit!

—Per…

-Shut up! —one of the rebels orders him—.

They yank him off his horse, take away his weapons and quickly arrest him. Thus Ferzan is at the mercy of the rebels of St. Jack. While he is chained and gagged, Ferzan only accepts his unfortunate fate, since he understands that he could have saved that woman when he could, but his betrayal of her put him in this very unfavorable situation, escaping from a Prince and army at the same time. who wanted to show him fidelity and trust. But he now realizes that it was a serious mistake that would now cost him his freedom and perhaps even his life. Ferzan's gaze dims as they cover his vision with a dark blindfold. The anguish and fear he felt were similar to or worse than what Samirse had in that tragic situation. But with nothing to do with Ferzan, he takes the consequences from him. Between blows, they push him into the city while with a rope they pull him from one side to the other, and he listens to how they shout insults at him and throw trash or spoiled vegetables at him. They are eternal and humiliating minutes. For someone who left home a few days ago with his head held high and very motivated. Now he was the laughing stock of an entire town.