Crows circled above a caravan busy tending to their wounded, the birds’ dark silhouettes a stark contrast to the clear sky above. Aegon stood amidst this subdued chaos with equally chaotic thoughts, flashing back to his trauma from killing a man to the myriad questions the attack had left behind.

[Who were these attackers?]

[What did they want?]

His eyes focused on the unharmed wagons nearby.

Aegon’s expression hardened.

[What could be worth so much death?]

His fists tightened.

[So much misery…]

There was no answer and no time to search for one as the dead needed to be tended to, several bodies littered the road all along the caravan, mostly black clothed bandits but also some youths.

His mind inadvertently focused on one body in particular.

Walking towards it, Aegon stood still with an unreadable expression, his mind kept replaying that moment as he looked down at its aftermath.

The man laid on the ground with one hand around his neck in a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable.

His face still portrayed the immense pain he was feeling in his final moments, the agony and desperation.

[If I hadn't faltered…]

A tear slid down the young man’s face.

[I could have made it cleaner, easier…]

The guilt he felt for his own fear, for his own incompetence had made a person suffer far more than necessary.

[I can't do that to anyone else…]

As the single tear turned into several, Percy silently approached with two shovels in hand but, noticing his friend’s emotional state, he gave him a minute before offering one of the shovels.

They worked in silence with only the sound of the shovels digging into the earth and the fatigue they felt keeping them company.

Soon a shallow grave had been dug by the side of the road with many others like it around.

With a heavy expression and a heavier heart, Aegon moved to lift the bandit by his arms while Percy moved towards his legs.

Squatting towards the dead man he was now even closer to his face, blankly staring back at him.

*Gulp*

A stream of tears streamed down Aegon’s face as the silent Percy lifted the man’s legs and they made their way towards the hole.

That short distance seemed to stretch out eternally and the corpse felt as if it weighed a thousand times more than it should..

[Why am I here?]

The pair threw the body into the grave before covering it, once more in silence.

[Maybe I should just go home…] That was all Aegon thought about in those minutes, in the end he simply stood still once again, looking down at the stirred earth…

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A firm hand grabbed his shoulder making him turn to face Percy.

His friend’s face was all too similar to his, trails of tears moved through the dirt and blood smeared all over, his eyes were still red but they looked resigned and at the same time desperate, desperate for help.

“Aegon… I know this is tough on you but I also need your help.”

Without breaking eye contact he raised his shaking arm and pointed towards a body bisected at the waist.

[Shit.]

[Where the hell are we? We are just kids.]

Closing his eyes in resignation for a moment he looked towards the sunny sky above.

Those moments under the sun gave him an idea.

[Let’s just pretend this isn’t happening, fake it till you make it right? Maybe that will help…]

“It’s a beautiful day isn't it?”

Still looking at his friend, Percy noticed a fake smile appearing on Aegon’s face.

“It would be a shame to leave such a mess laying around on a day like this, let’s clean it up!”

[This mess? Is he really treating these people like dust?] Percy was shocked by Aegon’s words but that fake smile and shaky voice made his friend’s intention clear.

[He is just dealing with it.]

Wiping his own tears with his arm he moved towards the man he had killed.

“I guess you're right.” An equally forced smile appeared on his dirty face.

From behind a bush nearby, Anna watched as both men dug another grave, threw both pieces of the body in and then covered it back up.

The apathetic eyes, the robotic movements and the forced smiles…it was all too fake.

[Did I look like that too?]

A memory of her recent past flashed through her mind.

An inn on a pitch black night and the cold touch of a dagger…

She shook her head trying to chase away the thought.

[I probably did…] Sighing with dejection, she made her way towards the makeshift camp where the injured like Roy were and promptly laid down and fell asleep.

And as if led by her, soon most of the camp gathered around the campfire in complete silence and slept, some got there by silently sobbing until exhausted while others instantly collapsed, either way peace had returned to the caravan.

…

The very next day with the dead having been laid to rest and the wounded recovering under the effect of the healing shards the caravan roared back to life once more, yet this time it felt different, a somber feeling plagued the survivors.

Aegon looked around him and although no one from the Sacred Bond Martial House had died the same couldn't be said for their Sword Island counterparts.

The young man that had been teasing Percy over his crush on Linda, Peter, had perished covering his fellow disciples from the initial barrage of arrows that began the attack.

His fellow disciples, Marcus and the two other youths were particularly somber as they quietly mourned.

Lifting his gaze and continuing forward with an even worse mood than before he kept going, walking forward side by side with his companions taking solace in the fact that…

[At least it wasn't one of us…] He immediately felt guilty for that thought.

Meanwhile, inside one of the bigger wagons further ahead an old man sat comfortably on his own sofa while 8 cloaked figures knelt in front of him.

“How many died?” The old man asked casually.

“Nineteen.” One of the kneeling men answered.

The old man’s brows furrowed as he envisioned the multiple headaches he would have in the near future.

Still massaging his wrinkled forehead he continued. “How many did we kill?”

“Thirty seven.” Another man promptly answered.

He slowly reclined into his chair with surprise.

“Really? A lot more than I thought, You must have killed most of them but still, those kids didn't do all that bad, it might have actually been worth the price.”

“And did they reach any of the wagons?” He asked more seriously.

This time an answer didn't come immediately.

The eight men looked to one another as if silently shooing away that burden to each other.

The old man’s eyebrow twitched. clearly annoyed at the display, and when, even after a few more painfully slow seconds, no one answered he slammed his cane on the ground.

*Bam*

It wasn’t a loud sound, the blow wasn't too hard and yet, for those kneeling men, it felt like the world was crashing onto their backs.

“Talk, now!”

Immediately, as if jolted by his words, they answered in unisson.

“We are sorry sir!”

Then one of them added in a weak voice that grew weaker still as he spoke.

“We don’t know if they reached any of them or not…”

Silence, absolute silence, was the answer.