3.1 Picking up the Pieces

199 F.Y.

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"Ughh..."

A dull pain from my stomach woke me up from my slumber. I was on my back in what seemed to be a bed of straw as every feeling in my body slowly started to make itself known to me. I winced as I struggled to even begin to sit up from my position.

"Are you okay?" I heard a voice call out to me, a woman. "You need to rest, sir."

My everything hurts...

Using my arms as leverage, I ignored the call for rest as I slowly and agonizingly sat back up. A shot of pain sprang forth from my stomach as I blearily opened my eyes, the dim sight of cobblestone and darkness greeting me. It didn't help that the only source of light seemed to be a torch burning just above me, but it was at least enough to show the sight of a worried, albeit childish face hovering just a few centimeters away from where I laid.

"That looked like it hurt," the woman- no... girl spoke with worry. "What happened to you?"

"Just got my parents killed right in front of me," I answered back, sarcasm masking my grief as my tone came off a bit standoffish. "How 'bout you?"

"Oh!- Uhm... I'm sorry..."

My annoyance deflated as the girl shrunk into herself at my flippant tone. I sighed as I pushed the grief out of my mind in favor of at least trying to converse with the poor girl.

"It's alright," I reassured with a small wave. "You don't get to meet fresh orphans every day after all."

I mentally cringed at my tone again. That came out a bit too strong.

"I-I'm an orphan too," the girl meekly shared, her hands using her brown locks to hide her own face. "I mean- I was raised in the orphanage."

"Huh." What a riveting conversationalist you are, Rouge. I didn't think I'd act like this in the face of certain doom. "Do you know where we are currently?"

"Uhm... We're in the Imperial Barracks... I think," the girl replied to the best of her ability. "I just got here. Sorry."

In a habit ingrained into me even after years of not living in the modern world, a hand found its way to my chin as I mulled over the information currently available to me while ignoring the dull pain shooting from my still-injured stomach. From what I could recall, fvcker number one that I now know to be Jay mentioned that I was bound to be sent to the capital, and that I was either a Zahler or a Nenner.

Kind of alarming, to be honest. And the kid in front of me had all but confirmed that I was in the capital of the Empire right now. So I guess I've been forcibly drafted to the military.

Could they even do that? Draft me while I was still unconscious? Then again, they did get my parents killed... I'll have to start planning for that sooner or later...

"Did you get drafted too?" the girl innocently asked.

"I guess so," I absently replied.

That was pretty much a forgone conclusion. The next question would then be if they already knew that I was a Nenner. Mother never told me how they checked for potential when the Imperials drafted from the civilians though. Was there some kind of magical item that just told them that? Or was it simply a case of 'show them what we've got' and then they'll sort us out?

"Uhmm..."

Highly unlikely. It was possible then that they already know, and that the girl I'm with now was also a Nenner. If so-

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?" I distractedly responded, my mind still on a train of thought that I couldn't derail at the moment.

"What's your name?"

My name...

Nobody could possibly know my name here, now that I thought about it. Only my parents called me Rouge, and I never really found the need to introduce myself beyond the occasional 'blacksmith's son' shtick that I used to tell the store owners during my brief trips to the nearest town square. I don't think even think my parents' killers knew my name beyond me being 'Flamme's son' to them. If I really wanted to, I could use my original name. A name that I was honestly very fond of back then. Or maybe I could use my old moniker for the hell of it.

But then again, did I really want to do that?

"It's Rouge."

No, not really. That was my old life. While it had been occasionally fun, it had no place in this new world beyond acting as a memento of times past. Besides, my parents gave me this name. I'll honor their wishes. It's the least I could do after I failed to protect them.

...

...

I failed... Fvck... Why is it only now starting to hit me?

"I-I'm Lise..."

I failed...

"Uhm... Rouge?"

I couldn't stop them... What was I supposed to do? All of that training for nothing... And it wasn't like I wasn't well equipped for it too. Damn... Why couldn't I stop them?! And even if some could say that they weren't really my parents, they still were and I loved them and they gave me everythingandtaughtmeevenafterInaggedthembuttheystilllovedmeandIletthemdieohmygoditsallmyfaultallmyfaultallmyfaultallmyfault-

"D-don't cry..."

A small hand placed itself on top of my head. Who even-

"I-It's gonna be all right."

Was it?

"It'll be fine."

I highly doubt it. After all, I didn't even have the power to fight those people on even ground.

"I don't know who you want to fight, but I'm sure you'll do fine, sir."

I guess I voiced that last thought out loud...

I raised my head back up, my teary eyes greeted by the purest sight I've ever seen since I got into this hellhole. The girl beamed at me, an innocent smile on her face as she flashed her crooked teeth. Her hand never left my head, my hair surely ruffled into disarray from all of her admittedly soothing headpats.

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