Maria had been neglecting her responsibilities. She was supposed to gather berries from the bushes near the river with her cousins, Danny and Ana, who were twins only a year younger than her. However, instead of venturing into the prickly bushes to collect their berries, they decided that playing hide and seek would be more enjoyable.

Lately, Maria had started to enjoy the village dances more. Daydreaming, she wondered Whether it was because of the dancing or spending time with her sweetheart, Stefan, she couldn't tell, as she enjoyed both. Thinking of Stefan, she blushed. At the last dance, while they were near her home, they managed to hide in a shadow, where they began kissing fervently.

But that only lasted a few seconds, as they heard her father muttering about unruly young women and walking towards the village centre, where the headman hosted the bonfire dances. Their passion had been extinguished, and they both crouched down and hid as her father passed by without noticing them. She sighed and gave Stefan one last quick hug before returning home. Paranoia set in while walking the last few dozen steps, and she began checking for other people. She was worried she had been spotted but only saw their neighbour's old sheepdog sleeping.

If her parents found out she was in love with Stefan, there would be a stern talking-to from her father, and she would be barred from the dances for a few weeks. Her father was mainly concerned for her. She knew he meant well, but she was almost a grown woman and could make her own choices. Her father had not gotten along with Stefan's father and had forbidden her from associating with him, but that only made it more exciting. She would be old enough soon to marry Stefan and build their own home with the help of both their families.

Suddenly, Maria was startled from her daydreaming by a loud "Boo" from behind her. The jump scare got her so good that she jumped forward, stumbled, and fell onto her face in the grass.

"What's got you grinning like a goat," said Danny with a knowing smirk.

With a splutter, Maria only managed to mumble a few letters before being cut off by Danny.

"Ohhhh, is it that boy I saw you dancing with? What is his name? Oh yeah, Stefan. Didn't your father forbid you from dancing with him?"

"I was not dancing with Stefan; it was someone else," Maria said in a half-shout.

With a grin, Danny replied, "All that is moot since I saw you kissing him last night. There is no denying that."

With dread building in her gut, all Maria could do was deny, deny, deny. "No, I wasn't! I would never do that!"

"Look, calm down. I won’t tell your father if you put in a good word for me with your friend."

She couldn't believe the nerve of her cousin. The friend he was referring to had already rejected him three times. How could he not get the point?

"No, I'm not doing that," she huffed. "It's useless. Agatha likes someone else already."

Danny deflated visibly. He stood in place, Thinking, before shrugging dispassionately and beginning to speak.

"Okay then, your other friend is also cute. I don't mind either way; just put in a good word for me."

"Fine, but you can't use last night against me again," Maria said Righteously.

"Ok, it's a deal."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Ana, who was jogging towards us from a distance.

"Making a deal," said Danny with a mischievous grin.

"Are you trying to bribe my cousin so you can try to get into the pants of that crybaby Agatha?"

"Maria is my cousin too. And I've decided Agatha isn't worth the trouble anymore."

"Took you long enough."

They bickered for the next few minutes about their love interests. Ripping into each other like only cousins and siblings know how to, eventually, they grew tired and got back to their game.

"Ok, this time, it's Maria's turn to look for us, but we can't go farther than the big oak."

"Sounds good."

They played hide and seek for a few more hours before they had to do some work, so they began picking berries. The hours passed quickly as they made small talk and gossip like good villagers. The bushes were full of thorns and had managed to be stung many times; the wicker baskets were nearly full when the sun approached the horizon. She picked up her basket with a heave and looked enviously at her cousins as they carried their basket together, each holding one handle. They only had a mile or so of walking to get home, but the mile walk took much longer with their burden, and they had to stop every now and then. On one of their stops, while resting on a tree stump, Ana spotted something in the distance and began speaking.

“Are those Horse Riders?” Asked Ana disbelievingly.

“No, they aren't horse riders stupid; the taxmen already passed through last month,” said Danny boredly.

“They look like horse riders. Look over there,” said Ana.

“Yeah, they also look like horse riders to me,” I said curiously.

“That cannot be good,” said Danny as he finally spotted two men on horseback.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“They are coming from the village; maybe they are militiamen from the boyar,” said Ana hopefully.

“Maybe,” I said sceptically. “Looks like they also spotted us. Let's get off the Road so we don't hinder them.”

As the men approached, we only got increasingly worried they didn't look like Maldavian Militia or any other forces familiar to The region. When they had almost closed the gap and we could better see their visage, We could tell they were Tatars by their distinct facial features and unique armaments.

Terror gripped me as Danny and Ana were trying to get me to run. But that was useless as I was frozen in place. Danny and Ana abandoned me as I stood still, holding the basket. As the men got close, I saw them splitting up and going to either side of me. Finally, my terror faded as I tried to run in the opposite direction of my cousins, Just behind the horserider on my left. I made it a few dozen steps before I saw a shadow approaching me quickly as a net entangled me. I fell to the grass, dazzling me as I hit the ground hard on my shoulder.

“Looks like we got a Pretty One Athem.”

“Yeah, agreed,” said Naiz.

“Tie her up. I will go chase the other two.” With a Neigh, the horse reared on the back two legs, turned and began chasing the Twins.

“Pretty one for sure,” muttered Athem as he got off and began approaching with a menacing grin.

The chase for the twins ended similarly; he threw weighted nets over one and then the second one a few seconds later. He got off the horse and tied their hands together. Danny quickly began trying to get his hands out of the rope and struggling while tied to the horse saddle. Annoyed, Naiz gave Danny a few slaps to his Head and a kick to his rear. They began making their way towards Athem and a tied-up Maria. The Twins were taking their time walking, but Danny stopped resisting after the violence.

“Tie Them together and let's make our way back to camp,” said Athem. While tying us together, Danny started struggling again. “Don't resist,” said Athem in an angry shout as he kicked Danny on his calf, eliciting a pained cry.

“We have to get out and run. We can't get caught,” said Danny deliriously after the rough treatment.

“SHUT UP,” said Naiz in the Vlachian language, followed by dead silence from the teens.

“That's better, Athem. Take the front; I'll take the rear,” said Naiz.

While leading us towards the village, Danny began to struggle again. Once Naiz saw it, we suddenly stopped. “Fine, let's have it your way.” Naiz got off his horse and approached Danny. That quickly had Danny cringing, but the strike he anticipated didn't come as the man untied him and gave Danny a Sabre.

Danny looked disbelievingly at his newfound freedom and the Sabre in his hands. Naiz waited for Danny's disbelief to wear off, and once Danny focused on him, he gestured for Danny to come at him. Danny quickly grasped his intentions and started swinging at him. Naiz dodged and deflected all his wild swings with laughable ease while being completely unarmed. The impromptu duel continued as Naiz was toying with Danny, dodging and tripping Danny multiple times. The fight was a blur, but nothing happened as Naiz kept up the pace. After a few minutes, Danny was barely standing while clutching his thigh. He sustained a cut from his sabre when he fell on it the second time.

“See, that suits you better,” said Naiz while laughing and walking around Danny with no apparent fatigue visible. He had sustained no injury from Danny. “Let's end this farce.” With comical ease, Naiz approached Danny, disarmed him, and kicked him down in a second.

“The fight has got me frustrated. I will Hogtie this Rowdy one. Athem, Get the girls ready. I think we should claim our prize now."

In a matter of a minute or so, Danny was tied up and completely helpless. The two men began talking and gesturing wildly. Eventually, Naiz got his way, and they began taking some of their more Bulky armour and setting it on the horses. Maria and Ana were Getting more and more scared by the actions of the two men. They were not naive children and knew what it all meant. Eventually, the two men were in their undergarments and approaching them. The two cousins tried to resist futilely as the men ripped off their clothes and began violating them while in front of a helpless Danny. They initially screamed and tried to stop it, but a few slaps from the Tatars ended that. After that, they just cried silently while wishing they were dead.

The nightmare stopped after what seemed like hours but was at least ten minutes. The men got up and began equipping their armour and weapons; after they were in full kit, they picked up the hysterical Cousins and forced them to walk. The men had ripped their clothes violently, and now what remained of the clothes failed to cover anything, leaving them bare and clear for all to see how they had been abused. Danny was still hogtied but catatonic, doing nothing but silently crying.

“Well, that seems to have broken their spirit,” Said Naiz cheerfully.

“Yeah, I am just worried about what the Chief will say. He doesn't like men dropping their defences. Remember the incident last year with the Russ Heathens,” Said Athem Worriedly

“My uncle gifted the Raiding Party Leader a concubine last month. We should be fine, plus the worst punishment for our breach of discipline is some lighter rations; this is the first raid into Maldavia, and they won't expect us, so No big deal,” said Naiz carelessly.

They Made their way to the village over the next twenty minutes. The men had also tasked the cousins to carry the berries to the village, where they could be spread among the men as a treat. When approaching their homes, all Maria could see was fires many, many fires. As They passed the bonfires, Maria saw the neighbour's sheepdog cut in two beside their burning home. The walk didn't take long as they arrived at the camp. There, the villagers were gathered without the elders anywhere to be seen.

The men were beaten severely, and most of them were still trying to resist. A band of Tatars surrounded them with poles in their hand. Once one of the men tried to get out of the encirclement or got any close, he would be viciously whacked. Some of the village's men had broken arms or legs, and a few lay down lifeless with their heads caved in. The brutality lasted another half an hour before the commander of the raiding party ordered them executed. The executions were swift and merciless. They first decapitated all the standing men one by one, ignoring their pleas for mercy. Once they were done, they went on beheading the rest of the men, dead or alive. Once the gruesome task was done, the Tartar raiders stacked the heads of their victims in a pile, forming a gruesome pyramid.

The women were separated To the side where they were in the process of being assaulted by the Raiders. There was no screaming, just crying, as the men were not happy with the screams of their victims and would beat them into submission.

The children were gathered in one place, all traumatised and crying, but were not beaten or abused as they would fetch a higher price if left unmolested. Once the raiders were done partaking in the bounty, they ate some rations and fed the scraps to the women they had just abused. The raiders also began packing the camp to march through the night to avoid retaliation from the local boyar.

The last thing Maria remembered in the village was seeing her father's head on the second row of the pyramid, along with the heads of her three older brothers. Only she and her mother made it out alive to see another day.

As Cosmin surveyed the desolate sight of the village, he couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. The remains of what used to be homes were smouldering in piles, and some of the walls of the burned-down houses were still standing, creating a maze of destruction.

"Let's wait for the rest of the men," Cosmin said quietly to Ion.

He gave Cosmin a quick nod and resumed staring at the ruins of the raided village.

With a sombre sigh, he asked, "Is it even worth the trouble of going through the ash?"

"There might still be survivors," said Ion neutrally.

Cosmin hummed noncommittally and started giving orders to his men once they were arrayed to his side.

"Gheorghe, can you scout the surroundings of the village? Maybe someone has managed to avoid the tragedy."

"Yes, Lord Cosmin."

"Ion, take half the men and begin searching the right side of the village. I'll take the left side."

The men began to split up into two groups slowly. Once they were done, Cosmin noticed that Ion's half had two more men. He purged the thought out of his mind. It was useless to be jealous as there were countless reasons why the groups would be unequal.

The search of the village didn't take long. There were no survivors. There were bones in most of the burned homes, but apparently, they were most likely the bones of the village elders. They were typically burned alive in their homes, with their descendants watching the burning or burning alongside them. It depended on who set the building on fire, the raiders or the villagers.

My musings at the horrific sight of the bones of an old woman clutching the remains of a baby in her arms were interrupted by a hail from one of the soldiers.

“Lord Cosmin, Gheorghe Found the campsite of the Tatars.” Said The usually cheerful young man, now sporting a disturbed look on his face.

We began making our way towards the campsite. As we got close, we could see Ions group approaching the campsite slightly in front of us. He stopped and waited for me to reach him before we continued walking.

Once at the campsite, one disconcerting feature was visible. It was a pyramid of heads. There was a mass of crows pecking at the flesh. There also was a large ash pile mixed with the bones of the villagers. It seems that they did the courtesy of burning their bodies but not their heads.

I was on my knees, staring in disbelief, as I started silently crying. I couldn't fathom the brutality and violence someone needed to kill so many innocent villagers for no good reason. I suddenly felt Someone hugging me. Deliriously, I opened my eyes, seeing Ion in front of me.

“Lord, you must be strong; the world is full of evil men. It is the job of the few good men to hold them accountable,” Said Ion in a quivering voice.

We stood there for a few minutes before I got up and turned away from the sight.

“Burn the remains and bury them,” I ordered.

I Had found my Calling. An enormous burning righteousness had awakened in me. I would see the men who dealt such death answer for their crimes.