Tainted Scars

Chapter Five: Ten Years Later

"Ow!" 

"I told you not to move," Leyna scolded Kaleb, hitting him lightly on the shoulder, which resulted in him glaring at her.

"Well, it's kind of hard not to," Kaleb said, wincing as she disinfected the cut on his temple.

"And stop acting like a child. I've seen patients with worse wounds than this and they barely flinch."

"I am not acting like a child!" he said as something like a mix of shock and mock hurt crossed his facial expressions.

"Would you care to enlighten me on what exactly happened."

"I got in a fight. End of story," he said, seeming rather determined not to tell her anything.

"I assume it didn't go well for you," she said with a small smile, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to resist countering and defending his ego.

"Oh, no. Not at all. It went along wonderfully. I knocked the guy out in less than a minute. It was a completely fair match until he whipped out a dagger and nearly took my eye out," he said.

"And where is he now?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"How should I know?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that having unauthorized fights outside of training are against the ru―"

"And how do you know it wasn't unauthorized?" he asked interrupting her. She gave him a look and he gave her the smirk that maybe would've made all the ladies flock toward him if it weren't for the fact that their were barely any woman in the camp to begin with. 

"I believe the only reason why you aren't getting promoted is because of your lack of ability to follow orders," she said not even fazed by his attempts to charm her. 

"And I suppose you know so much about how to get promoted from your many, many experiences in getting promotions," he said sarcastically.

She allowed the comment to slide as she finished taping his wound. She learned to let him have the last word. If she didn't, they would be arguing for days. Kaleb wasn't someone that would willingly back down from a fight unless he emerged victorious, both on and off the battlefield. It worked, for he didn't say anything else and watched her work.

When she finished he stood up. He was almost a foot taller than her and while he always seemed to keep growing, she reached her adult height at fifteen.

"Will I see you later at dinner?" Kaleb asked.

"No," she said, "I have to finish taking stock of supplies. I'm only halfway done, so it's going to take a while."

"You are eating, though. Right?"

"Yes, I am," she sighed. Although it was sweet when he worried, she often got annoyed with his protective instincts.

Years before, he had told her that she had reminded him of his little sister. To which she replied that she never had a brother and she would be glad if he would like to be that person for her. She had been 8 and he was 14. Ever since then, he had been family to her. Though they rarely saw each other during the day, they still saw each other during most of their breaks.

While he trained to be a soldier she trained in the infirmary to be a healer. Seraphina became a mentor of sorts to her. Teaching her all the basics of healing and began to teach her more in depth as she got older.

There were some instances when she would be sent to the kitchens to help prepare meals or she was sent elsewhere to clean, but those days, fortunately, rarely came around. She had gotten better at cooking over the years and was accustomed to cleaning, but it didn't necessarily mean that she enjoyed doing it.