1 Chapter 1: That's just how life is

-Warning: sensitive content-

A cold, chilling wind blew through the small town of Raniel. Winter had extended it's sharp claws across every street, slipping through the cracks of the shabby wooden houses. Horse hooves were the only sound in the vicinity. Every window was tightly shut.

Turning down the main road, a group of men dressed in polished armors and mantles scrutinized their surroundings. Their hands and faces were clean as they grimaced at the peeks of the townspeople they saw through the dirty windows.

"Captain Webber, please lets make it quick this time. These bastards disgust me."

"Don't worry, the town guards said they were in the alleyway around the corner."

With a grunt, the knight pulled his eyes away from the houses.

"I wish they would last a bit longer, then we wouldn't have to be bringing them so often," he murmured.

A few of the other knights nodded as they finally reached the alleyway.

Between two small buildings a small patch of dirt could be seen. Manure and debris were sprawled all around, along with bundles of dirty cloth.

"There they are."

What were lying on the cold hard ground weren't just clumps of rough fabric. Small, purple toes and wild manes of matted hair peeked from underneath.

They were children. About a dozen of them.

"Alright, let's hurry up. I want a bottle of rum as soon as possible."

The knights got down from the saddles and walked towards the children. Soon enough, the sound of the wind was overcome by the cries that bounced off of the frozen cobblestones of the street.

"Who are you?! Let me go!"

"Please! Please! I don't want to go!"

Tears carved paths on the dirt-stained cheeks as small and scrawny hands tried the best at scratching the metal on their captors.

It was futile resistance. The children were dragged from their arms, legs and hair and tightly bound to rough ropes that scratched their tender flesh.

Captain Webber's voice rose above the screeching.

"Hey, Joey, what's taking you so long?"

Joey was pushing one of the children with his foot, but the body was limp and without reaction. Dazed eyes looked around, but their gaze was blurry by the tears that hadn't yet fallen down.

"Sorry, Sir, I think this one is almost dead. I don't think he'll make it. Should we take him anyway?"

"Are you sure he's not faking it?"

Joey pulled his leg back and landed a strong kick on the boy's small body.

A sharp whimper was all that escaped his lips.

"Hey! Stop acting! Stand up!"

The boy didn't move at Joey's urging. The knight crouched and pulled him up by the elbow, but his head fell limply backwards.

"Ah. He died."

Joey dropped the bony arm he was holding and stood up, brushing his hands on his cape. He then walked back to his horse, not even sparing a glance at the corpse sprawled on the ground.

"Well, it doesn't really matter. We have enough already."

Captain Webber turned his horse, pulling two roped children along.

"Nolan! Nolan, wake up! Please, Nolan!"

A little girl, Neera, thrashed against her binds, trying to reach the child that laid in the alleyway. Her cries grew louder as she was pulled farther and farther away from him.

"Nolan! Wake up! No-"

Slap!

The girl's head sharply turned to the side and the interior of her mouth was filled with blood. She felt dizzy and stumbled as hot tears fell down her face with renewed vigor.

"Shut up! If any one of you yells again I'll cut you in two!"

The cries stopped abruptly, only a couple of hiccups could be sporadically heard. She was pulled forward once more, but she didn't complain this time. Her watery eyes stuck to the body on the ground until they turned a corner and she couldn't see him anymore.

Quiet sobs racked her body while she struggled to walk along with the rest of the children.

They marched down the main road of the now quiet town. The wind was heard once more, whistling through the buildings.

From inside the houses, the citizens stared at the morbid procession in silence, pulling their children away from the windows.

A small toddler clung to his mother's bosom.

"Mommy, where are they taking them?"

The mother frowned and answered in a whisper.

"Somewhere far."

"Why?"

"Because that's just how life is."

----

"Alright, folks, set camp for the night. We leave first thing in the morning so don't fool around too much."

At Captain Webber's orders the knights stepped down from their horses and unsaddled them. The children had been tied to a pole stuck in the ground. They laid on the floor exhausted. Some huddled together while others hugged their knees, shivering from the bitter cold the setting sun brought upon them. Among them, Neera stared at her bleeding toes in a daze. They had walked barefoot on the frozen ground for hours without rest. Her cheek stung, still swollen, but she didn't dare complain. Her eyes poured out a constant stream, but her face was devoid of any emotion.

She felt like sobbing but at the same time she was too tired to do so.

'Nolan.'

The name she couldn't get out of her head.

She had known him for as long as she could remember. Death was nothing new to her, but Nolan had been akin to a younger brother, always pulling at her skirt and showing her simple treasures like a golden autumn leaf, or a shiny pebble he had found on the road. Still, like many, he had left too soon and too unfairly.

Most children living in the alleyway had never known a different life. They were often the offspring of prostitutes from the main city of the fief, left in remote towns by mothers who refused to take care of them but still couldn't bear watching their demise. This was how an orphan community was born in the alleys of Raniel, where the elder children shared whatever food they stole, or were given after begging, with the young that were dropped there every season.

With ages ranging from one to thirteen, they slept together to fight the cold of the night and played during the day. The older children became teachers of odd subjects: how to steal from a pocket without rustling the fabric, how to cry on queue by thinking of sad things, which people were more susceptible to throw a few coins after begging, all of these were passed down as basic skills in order to survive.

The smart children snuck into the merchant grain carriages and left for the city, where bellies and pockets were fuller, and it was rumored that if you washed your face and smiled enough you could even get a job as a hire of an influential family. They said they even fed and clothed you just for moving boxes around.

For the orphans, to whom freezing or starving to death was a cruel reality, one that many often succumbed to, this was de ideal, the dream they all strived for.

'Next spring, when the merchants come, you and me, we'll hop on one of their carts and go to the city.'

Neera had smiled and nodded at the time.

'And once we are rich, we'll come back and buy freshly baked bread for everyone!'

But the illusion quickly shattered when devastating news arrived in Raniel.

'The kingdom is losing the war against the Quantia Empire. All males above the age of ten are conscripted to fight for the glory of Cambria.'

The dukedom, a coastal fief far away from the frontlines, enhanced its military in order to enforce the new law. Children and men alike were dragged away from their homes to fight in the war, and food became scarcer. It was around that time that the knights of the dukedom started marching around the fief, dragging abandoned young girls to the Duke's castle.

The orphans from the alley lost the leadership of their elders and found it increasingly difficult to procure food. More and more of them died from hunger, illness and the cold. Soon enough, the knights started taking even small children, those who didn't have anyone to look for them, resulting in the current situation. A few days before they arrived in Raniel, Nolan became feverish. Neera and the rest of the orphans did the best that they could, but there was simply no way to fight the cold.

The knights set up a fire, but none of the children dared to move closer. They knew that those who were taken never came back, and could only imagine what the future had in store for them.

The men merrily sat close to the flames, drinking and telling stories about great battles happening on the other side of the kingdom.

"We are pretty lucky to have fallen into the reserve, Captain. Apparently, the front is a bloodbath."

The Captain laughed.

"Yes, at first I was quite angry, I thought I could get some amazing achievement or something, but between living in the battlefield day and night and running errands for the Duke, I prefer the latter."

They chatted for hours after sundown. Neera fell asleep listening to the faraway crackling of the fire.

"Neera."

She slowly opened her eyes. Next to her a little girl was tightly clasping her arm as she whispered her name once more.

"Neera, you're not shivering anymore."

She groggily looked down at her legs. It was true. Her body had stopped shaking.

The orphans didn't know much about medicine, but they had watched far too many show the same symptoms before leaving the world with blue lips. The girl next to her anxiously squeezed her arm again.

"Come sleep with us, Neera. You know that once you stop shivering you're gone the next morning. You have to keep warm."

Neera tried to pull herself up with her arms, failing miserably. All strength had left her body. Noticing this, the girl and a couple more children dragged her inside of the human circle they had created. The youngest were at the center since they were more vulnerable. Arms and legs overlapped, and she could feel the small and dirty hands rubbing her skin, keeping her warm.

By the time she came to her senses again, a pale sun was showing its first signs of life over the hills. She slowly sat up, trying to avoid disturbing the young. The clanking of pots could be heard. The knights were making breakfast.

She took her time staring at her surroundings. They had taken camp at the birth of a forest. The branches were dark and barren and the cold air sharply entered her lungs.

To her right two children whispered softly. Small whimpers went out of their chests as they inspected something on the ground next to their knees.

A girl laid there, with closed eyes and blue lips. Her chest wasn't moving.

"She fell asleep next to me I-"

"She rolled to the side away from the circle in her sleep and didn't notice."

They both stared at her, unable to say anything else.

One by one the rest of the children woke up. Seeing the same scene as Neera, their eyes turned grim.

"Agena."

Someone mumbled her name, but she didn't answer.

They stayed like that until a knight came next to the pole.

"Captain! One of them died during the night!"

Captain Webber stepped closer, bringing the tip of his boot to the girl's side. There was no movement.

"Damn it. We can't have many more of them dying or we won't reach the quota."

He scratched his chin.

"Bring them close to the embers of the campfire. That should make them last for a day."

The knight dug up the pole from the ground and dragged the children forward, planting it down once more after a couple of meters. The orphans sat down next to the ashes, stretching their fingers to get even a little bit more warmth from the dead firepit.

Agena laid behind them, discarded.