Dralin

Chapter 8

“Pelya is the most wonderful baby I’ve ever seen,” Private Malwy told Frath.  He was short, stocky and had a jolly manner that made people smile.  His green eyes lit up whenever he came around the baby and he was always one of the first in line to take care of her.  “I only wish you were behaving as well as her,” he told Frath with crossed arms and lowered brow.

They were in the barracks a week after Sheela’s death.  Malwy had just put Pelya to bed and was standing in front of Frath along with Bobbell and another private named Herman.  Frath glared at them, annoyed that they had cornered him.

“You can glare at us all you like, Frath,” Herman said in irritation.  Average height with brown hair and eyes, he was unremarkable in most ways, which made him dangerous because his opponents tended to dismiss or underestimate him.  Added to that, he fought dirty.  “You’re not eating, you’re hardly sleeping, you have bags under your eyes and you’re angry all the time.  You take good care of Pelya, but not yourself.”

“What’s going on here?” Gorman asked, coming up behind the men.

“It’s Frath, Sergeant,” Bobbell said with a gesture of disgust at their friend.  “He’s acting like a petulant child.  I know he’s still upset, but at some point he’s going to have to figure out how to rejoin the squad and we’ve all been helping with the baby.”

Gorman folded his arms and studied Frath for a moment.  Frath stared back sullenly.  He couldn’t stop being angry.  It was eating away at him from the inside out.  Taking care of Pelya was the only thing he wanted to do, but he was starting to resent the child for causing her mother’s death and it was a dangerous feeling that frightened him to no end.

“You have one day to get your head on straight, Private.”  It was a command that brooked no disobedience.  “Take this day off and go wherever it is you always disappear to.  I expect you to come back here first thing in the morning with a healthy appetite and a positive attitude.”

Frath looked at him incredulously, wondering how in the world his sergeant could think it to be that easy.  He then glared at each of the privates, but they didn’t budge a bit.  Herman jabbed a finger in his face.  “It’s for your own good.  You have things to figure out and not a lot of time to do it, so I suggest you get started.”

“What about Pelya?” Frath demanded stubbornly as he stood.

“You know she’s fine here.  We’ll take good care of her,” Malwy stated firmly.  “We’re her family too.”

Frath knew it was true and nodded slowly.  Everyone in the squad loved Pelya.  There was something about her that made them fall in love right away.  She cried only when she needed something like a bottle or a diaper change.  Her tiny grip was strong and she loved to gnaw on people’s fingers.  She inherited black hair from her father and it looked like her eyes would remain just as brilliantly blue.  Luckily, she received her mother’s pretty nose and face.

“Go, Private,” Gorman ordered.

Frath looked back toward his room where Pelya was sleeping quietly, and then he left the barracks.

***

Frath stood in front of the Shining Shield Inn, staring at it blankly.  He didn’t remember walking there or know why he had come.  Sheela wasn’t there anymore.  Albert and Purla had brought the ashes to Lady Pallon’s estate the day after her death.  Sergeant Gorman and Private Bava had come with Frath and Pelya as they spread the ashes in the vast backyard.  It was a small service that included some of the servants and guards from the inn.