The start was pretty rough. We concocted all these heinous pranks to pull on Ghala. Everything we did to him just made him meaner. Nothing broke his spirit. We made him wet the bed by putting his fingers in water and he made us all sleep with our pants equally drenched. I tried to give him the cold but he got better instantly. Claimed he hardly ever got sick and when he did it passed quickly. Ooh how I wanted to tell this rat bastard all about the immune system, but I doubt he would care. We got a bunch of crickets together and tried to unleash them in his bed. That was our worst idea. They got everywhere and all of us had to spend the day chasing them down.

Kaavi and I were getting desperate. I had an ace up my sleeve. It involved sidestepping Ghala and going straight to the top. We were all running drills, preparing for the Duchess escort mission. Ghala was ordering us around, we were all practicing our swordplay with each other. Then, Kaavi and I got paired up.

“You ready?” I asked.

“Yeah. Give it your best shot.”

“Okay. Just… promise me you’ll be okay.”

“I promise.”

He dropped his wooden sword, exposing his head. I reeled my weapon back, turned it to the broadside, and gave Kaavi a whack on the head.

“Ahh!” Kaavi doubled over and grabbed his head.

“Are you okay, Kaavi? Remember, you promised.”

“I’m okay. I’m okay.” His hands kept pressure on his head. Tears started to streak down his eyes and drip on the dust below. Then his sniffles got worse.

“I broke my promise,” Kaavi muttered.

“What was that?”

“I said I’m NOT OKAYYYYYY!!!!!” Kaavi started scream-crying and I didn’t even need to get Ghala’s attention, Kaavi did that all on his own. Ghala approached us.

“What the Duat happened here?” He demanded.

“Kaavi’s hurt! This is your chance, Ghala. Make him feel better. Just like a leader would do.” I said.

Ghala stared at Kaavi crying and attempted to put a loveless arm around him. Kaavi bucked Ghala’s arm off. As more boys gathered around, I snuck off.

I entered Sergeant Bhufo’s office to find him napping. I cleared my throat but he didn’t wake up. I cleared my throat again. He finally shot up, his strand of drool that hung from his mouth falling onto his tunic.

“Cadet Eres,” Bhufo said, “Are you all done with the drills?”

“Uhm,” I said, “No sir. You see, it’s about the escort mission.”

“What about it?”

“I want to be placed in charge of that mission. I think that Ghala’s been slipping. Wetting his pants? I don’t think so.”

Bhufo blew air out of his nose and closed his eyes again, “Ghala’s the head cadet. If he resigns or I feel you have elevated past him, then you’ll become head cadet. That’ll be all.”

That was it? Over before it started? I looked out the open door at the boys huddled around Kaavi. Think. There had to be something.

“It’s simply that…” I remembered what my brother taught me when he took his lessons in negotiation. It wasn’t about what I could do. It wasn’t about what Ghala couldn’t. I had to play the man right in front of me. Bhufo. What did Sergeant Bhufo want? For that, I had to find out.

“Sir,” I turned around again, “May I ask you something?”

“What did I just tell you?,” Bhufo spoke.

“I know sir.. It’s about my career.”

“What about it?”

“Well…” What did he want? How could I find it out? “I’m thinking about becoming a drill sergeant.”

Bhufo opened his eyes, “What? A drill sergeant?”

“Like you, sir.”

“Like me?”

“Yes, sir. Do you think that sounds like a good idea?”

He studied me, I held firm. His look of confusion slowly gave way to a rueful snort, “You want to do what I do?”

“Is it difficult?” My expression twinkling.

“Is it difficult?!” Bufo repeated, laughing harder to himself, “Yeah! Babysitting a bunch of brats is so hard! I hate when I have to leave you all alone for hours to take a nap! It’s the hardest thing in the world.”

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“I see. So you like your job?”

Bhufo laughed the hardest he’d laughed yet, “Like it?! Like it! Haha! Let me tell you something, kid. When I got into this job… I was about your age. I worked my way up the ranks over the next fifteen years, eventually climbing my way to being one of the top soldiers in Skorwind. Almost joined a special operations unit!”

I made my eyes get wide the way an eight year old does when he’s impressed, “You’re for real?!”

“Yeah, and don’t ask me which becauseI couldn't tell you. Top secret.”

“Pleeeease!” I begged.

Bhufo looked around, suddenly the malicious laughter he’d espoused gave way to a glittering smile. It was the look of excitement for life that you let slip from your fingers until you talk to a child who’s still in the throes of it. “Okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

I stuck my pinky up. He looked at it confused, “What is that?”

“Pinky promise!” I said, “Wrap your pinky around mine.”

He did so, a bemused look on his face. We shook on it, “I was up for being one of the Jade Spiders.”

“You were!?” I yelled, earnestly amazed.

“That’s right!” Bhufo leaned back in his chair, “An elite group that specialized in recon, retrieval, and assasinnnnnn…” Bhufo took a look at me, my boyish face probably giving him pause, “Taking care of people.”

“Like killing them?!”

Bhufo sighed, “Yes. Yes. Like killing them,.”

“So, Sergeant Bhufo… if you don’t mind me asking.. How’d you end up here?”

His present reality creeped back into his thoughts and dribbled into his expression. He looked out the open door of his office tent, the heat from inside was unbearable. He looked at all the boys out there. Ghala leading them. Kaavi desperately tried to keep him from looking at Bhufo and I in the room talking. He even went so far as to throw himself on the ground and slammed his fists on the floor.

“It was down to me and a prince. The twentieth son of Khufu. Khufutu’s father.”

“And what happened?”

“What do you think happened? Let me tell you something about the world, kid.” Bhufo bent forward, drawing his face closer to mine, “Things aren’t fair in this world. Do you know what fighting against that fact gets you? Gets you so tired you break. The prince was good. Don’t get me wrong. We were both good. But what team would turn down a prince? No. Having Khufu’s ear so close by was way more important.”

Holy shit. This was an in. That was THE in. He was always annoyed by Ghala, but I thought it was because Ghala was annoying. But no, he hated that Ghala was a miniature version of this prince. I could use that. First, I needed for us to be on the same page.

“My dad told me I was going to be a porter.” I said.

“It’s a good job. Meet interesting people. Blah blah.”

“I think I’m good as a junior paladin, right? I can run as fast as the bigger kids… and I’m better at swordplay. I also have my junior pact already. None of the other kids have them.”

“Yeah, but Ghala’s good too.”

“Ghala’s good too.” I said. “He’s good. He’s good but I’m better.”

This was it. I’d cast the line. I needed him to take the bait before I reeled him in. Bhufo contemplated what I was saying. I wasn’t asking directly. What was going through his mind? There was a little look that I didn’t know how to place. Was he on to me? Was he onto me but didn’t want to reckon that a child would have such an adept mind for manipulation? He let out a deep breath of air and drank from his now cold barley tea.

“You are good, kid,” Bhufo said, “I think you’ll be great but… I just told you. That’s not how the world works.”

Fuck. Think. I was making sense… my plan was logical.. But it wasn’t bringing value to his life. What did he just tell me? He used to be somebody. If I could help him be someone again then I had a shot.

“I know,” I said, slumping my head down and putting on a pouty face for the ages, “I guess I just thought that if the best paladin led this important mission, it would make us look really good.”

Bhufo was twisting his cup of cold barley tea, his gears starting to turn.

“Because if you did such a good job, maybe the duke or the princep will want to put you in charge of bigger teams. Maybe they’ll move you out of here and you could keep doing good work for bigger and stronger teams.”

“The princep would like it if his nephew led a successful victory.”

“The princep probably wouldn’t like it if his nephew died though. That would make you look really bad. Right?”

Bhufo stopped twirling his cup. I wanted this. I fit into his values. And I could help him. It was the trifecta. The plan sunk into him like he came up with it on his own. I had reeled him in. He got up and grabbed my collar, pulling me out of the door.

“Hey!” I squealed.

“Come here kid!” Bhufo said, dragging me.

Sergeant Bhufo was pulling me outside! Ghala and the other kids looked as Bhufo yanked me by the collar. He tossed me down and all the kids looked at me. As soon as Ghala noticed me, his face scrunched up and he looked at Kaavi. He pointed his wooden sword at me.

“Where have you been?!”

“He’s been with me.” Bhufo said.

What the hell?! I thought, Why the sudden betrayal?! What had I done wrong?!

“You’re good, Ghala. But we need the best to lead this team for the mission. I think Egen here’s got a shot. What say you?”

“What?! No! I disagree!”

“I was hoping you would say that! That means that the best way to settle this is for you and Egen to have a little competition. Winner takes all.”

A fight for leadership?!