Crowns and Guns.

Stew (part 3)

I scrub at the fabric of the green dress, that is draped over the sink. June is standing next to me, wearing her grey fleece pyjamas. I grab the bottle of soap and stare at it for a while. How much soap would I use? The dress needs quite a bit if I am ever gonna get it remotely clean. On the other hand, how long will it be until I can acquire another bottle of soap? Will there be a moment in the future when I need it more? And should I save it for harsher times?

Then again, no matter how harsh the times, there always might be harsher times. If I save all my resources in case things get worse, I will never use them. Who knows, another need for soap might just, not come up in the future, and maybe I am stupid for wanting to save it for an imagined scenario that will never happen.

Then again, maybe I should just rinse it with water. Lots of people wear their clothes with stains on them. Like, Katie usually stains both her nightgown and her dress the day after laundry day. Laundry is a privilege after all, with long waiting times. Most people get them washed every two months or so. Which I think is stupid too. ORCHID has several washing machines in its warehouse but doesn't use them all. They do state that this is to conserve clean water and soap, but I wonder how true that is. Then again, ORCHID's rules are assuming we have to stretch our resources for hundreds of years. Which is stupid. If we are living in these dire circumstances in a hundred years, soap will be the least of our worries.

I sigh. May always made sure June looked, as was, well-groomed and clean. She would turn in her grave if she knew I even considered letting June run around with a giant stain on her dress. She scraped by on whatever hygiene products she could acquire, and always spent them on June first and herself second. With that though, I poor a large amount of soap on the dress.

The sound of the mist horn breaks my train of thought. The deafening sound is soon followed by the voice of Commander Lawrence, sounding through the speakers.

"Good morning soldiers and citizens. Can everyone gather in the dining hall, I have an announcement to make. Kind regards, Commander Lawrence."

I just stare at the dress while processing the message. What the hell? Did the commander just, announce that there is going to be an announcement? Also, what idiot ends an announcement with 'Kind regards'? He is not writing a formal letter. Dude has been a commander for one day, and it already got to his head.

June turns around and starts walking to the door. I grab her. "June, stay here please, your dress is almost clean.

She looks up to me, raising her eyebrow. "Shouldn't we go to the dining hall?"

I shrug. "I already know what the announcement is. I don't need to hear it. I will focus on more important stuff, like making sure your dress is clean." I pour some clean water on the dress and start scrubbing.

June looks up at me and pulls on the collar of her pyjamas. "Are you mad at me, Skye?"

I sigh and put my hand on her shoulder. "Of course not. I am just frustrated with something else."

She looks down again. "May would have been very angry with me spilling food on my dress."

I shrug, "I am sure you didn't do it on purpose."

She looks up again with tears in her eyes. "Does that mean you don't love me?"

I take a step back and stop scrubbing. "No, of course, I love you! Why do you say that."

June looks to the ground. "May always told me that she sometimes gets angry with me 'cause she loves me."

I let go of the dress and put my hand on her shoulder. "She did love you, and so do I."

June embraces me and presses her head into my dress. "I just miss her so much."

I put my arms around her, and carefully tap her back. "I miss her too."

I pick her up, and put her on a broken sink, next to the sink the dress is soaking in.

After scrubbing for a while, I hear a large number of people running up the stairs. I suppose Commander Lawrence's speech is over, and people are getting ready.

I see Commander Lawrence come in, in big paces.

"Lieutenant Riley, there you are. You didn't show up at the announcement."

I ignore him and continue scrubbing the almost clean dress.

He walks to me in large paces. "Lieutenant, I know you are not going to join us, unlike all the other Lieutenants, but for the time being, you can make yourself useful." He tosses the book about elven history to me, and the whispering stone. "Please find out if the late commander was a spy."

I reluctantly grab the stone and book. "I will, Sir."

"Thank you." He pats June on the head and then walks out.

I pick up the dress and take a long look at it. It looks clean. I carefully fold it and hang it over one of the old doors of the shower stall to dry.

"Ok, almost done, now we just have to wait."

I grab June's hand and we walk out of the bathroom. In the barracks, dozens of people are getting ready for their combat gear. Or makeshift combat gear. Most people do own a leather jacket that they rarely wear, and it looks strange seeing so many people sport a brown jacket over dark blue pants and skirts.

I try to ignore them, balling my fists. So many people just, are willing to go into the woods, without any protection or training. Armed with a gun that will break if you miss. And kill you if handled incorrectly. I walk past the lockers and stop when I see Katie, smashing the door of her locker with force.

She looks over when she spots me, wearing nothing but her green dress. She is crossing her arms, and I can see a vein pounding in her temple.

"Have you heard the announcement the commander made?" Katie scoffs. "He is going to hunt down the elves. With not soldiers, but a bunch of volunteers! This is gonna get people killed you have to do something."

I look down at my feet. "I tried to reason with the commander, but he has made his choice. We have to respect it."

Katie gestures at the people changing. "Look at these people. They don't know what dangers they face. Most of them don't even own shoes."

"They'll be fine. They probably won't even find the elves."

Katie stamps her feet "Even if they don't meet the elves, they could slice their feet open on a sharp rock and it could get infected and they'll die anyway."

I sigh. "I tried to stop the commander, Katie. But he made up his mind."

Katie shakes her head. "There has to be something you can do. People are gonna die."

I sigh. "I know Katie, but my hands are tied."

"Ugh, you are no help." She pushes me aside. "Come with me June." She grabs June's hand and walks away.

"Wait, Katie," I say, as my heart drops.

She turns around and gives me an eye roll. "Yeah, yeah I know, go get June's dress when it has dried."

She turns around and June and her walk away.