The run soon ended, and everyone got a much-needed respite, sitting on the open field; not many realized they were back where the run started.
Callum, along with many others, lay on the bare grass under the cool evening breeze.
"Congratulations, for enduring to this point you have all qualified to be trained as retainers, as for making it into the Imperial Guards. . . We'll see," the First Captain announced, still sitting on the horse.
The horse looked completely unaffected by the entire day of jogging. Even the First Captain had some weariness in his eyes, but not the horse.
"You will receive the sign up reward of two gold coins. By accepting this reward you have offered yourself up to serve the Empire for a minimum of five years. Of course, during those five years, you will receive the standard salary due your rank and position. Rest here for a while, eat, and go home to get your affairs in order. Return to the Palace tomorrow at first light." After he finished, he rode away, leaving the recruiters burned out.
A few minutes later, servants came around with small parcels of food for each of them.
Callum accepted his graciously and opened it. Inside were four slices of bread and two boiled eggs.
A moment later, he also received a skin jug from another servant. Taking a whiff of its content, his eyes widened. Truly the Imperial Palace was a place of wealth to give our wine like this.
After resting for a bit and before the heat in his lower body even cooled down, Callum rose and started out.
At the Palace gates, a woman in armor stood with some guards and he swiftly approached her.
"You can either claim your reward now or tomorrow when you return" she reminded.
Callum knew why; some might not want to return after that hellish jogging, so they would forfeit the rewards.
"I'll claim it now" he replied immediately. His sister needed it. For Alina, he was content to condemn himself to this training.
"Very well" the female guard replied and gestured towards another behind her.
A pouch was handed over and Callum accepted it with a small bow. Legs trembling, he headed out of the Palace.
Before the rule of Emperor Gaius II, Altbourg was a slow jog, an empire at the brink of fragmentation. The eight Kingdoms under the Empire remained loyal only due to their inability to put aside their differences and unite against the Empire's forces. The ambitious princes did not make things easier either; they made alliances and promises left and right, almost dividing the Empire into fragments.
Then, out of nowhere, Gaius I announced the Crown Prince, the last son born to him by a concubine of low birth. Second of his name, Gaius II.
Fearing what his furious brothers would do to him after the death of their father, Gaius II sought to rid the Empire of the Influence of all other Princes. Having studied under renowned scholars from childhood, he was looked down on by the military and locked out.
But then he established the House of Oversight and the Hand of the Emperor. Two factions that to this day brought terror to officials, nobles, and Royalty alike.
The effect of Emperor Gaius's efforts began to show. Through his eighty years of reign, the Empire not only united but also grew stronger. So much so that their neighbors felt threatened.
For the civilians, the laws enforced by the Enforcement Office under the House of Oversight were a blessing.
The Capital of Altbourg prospered, and with it, the surrounding cities.
Being the family of a soldier, Callum and his sister lived in the Mid city, a region of the Capital. If it wasn't for the expenses of their mother's funeral and Alina's treatment, the brother and sister would have been able to live comfortably for years under their father's compensation allowance.
Arriving home, Callum was surprised to see the Doctor still in the living room.
"Doctor Barbara," he called out gently, and the middle-aged woman slowly raised her head. Her brows were creased with wariness, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"No" Callum shook his head slowly, his voice deep and desolate.
"No, no, no, no," Callum continued to repeat, each time his voice turning deeper. Turning around, he made to leave but a hand grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.
Suddenly, his tear banks opened, and he began wailing uncontrollably.
"Why?"
Why was death so persistent in making him lonely? For what reason was his family singled out and tormented by one tragedy after another?
The fourteen-year-old boy could not understand, nor did he want to. He had failed his sister, betrayed his father's teachings, and disappointed his mother. He was a traitor to his household. And worse still, he was still alive.
He continued to cry in Doctor Barbara's arms, his wails echoing through the walls. Passersby shook their heads at the fate of this small lovely family. They didn't need to ask to know that little Alina was gone.
Hours passed and it was now deep into the dark. Callum sat on the bare wooden floor, and beside him, Doctor Barbara.
He was calm now and had long stopped crying.
"I got the money" he reported, turning over the pouch and letting two coins bounce off the wooden floor.
"I told you I would cover the cost of the medicine; I already got it and gave her to drink." Doctor Barbara shook her head.
This boy had a hero complex, certainly due to the influence of his father. How he got so influenced by the man who was barely around was a mystery to her.
"I should have stayed here with her, I should have held her hand. I felt helpless. I wanted to do something, but now I couldn't even say goodbye. She must have felt so lonely"
"Shhhh, don't, don't think like that. It is the God of Light that gives life, and you are not God, Cal." Doctor Barbara put a hand over his mouth to stop him as she comforted him gently.
"God of light" Callum scoffed derisively.
Doctor Barbara sighed at his disrespect but she said nothing. To say the God he believed in refused to give life to his ailing sister was just too hurtful. And to say the God of Light was incapable of saving Alina would be sacrilegious.
"She knew you loved her" she muttered in a low voice.
"And yet I left her when she needed me most"
Doctor Barbara was out of words once again. Usually a talkative person, she found herself with nothing to say many times that night.
"You are starting to sound like her" she warned after a while.
Callum froze, and then a smile spread through his face as he looked up at Doctor Barbara.
"Don't worry, I will never give up on my life. Alina was weak and selfish" he spat. His grief turned quickly into anger.
"What are you saying? How could you say that?" Doctor Barbara exclaimed in shock as she recoiled, her eyes fixed on Callum in disbelief.
"I will never give up on my life. I am not weak!" Callum exclaimed. He rose suddenly and started for the door.
"Callum, where are you going?"
"Out" Callum replied dryly without pausing.
"Get back here, do you know what time it is?" Doctor Barbara exploded feeling a rush of irritation.
"You can't tell me what to do barren! You are not my mother!"
The air in the room froze as soon as those words left his lips.
Callum's eyes turned panicked as he saw the flash of horror and pain in Doctor Barbara's eyes. Overwhelmed with guilt and shame, he opened the door and ran out of the house, slamming it quickly behind him.
Standing in front of the closed door, he closed his eyes as sounds of weeping reached his ears.
He could hear her shuddering breath and could almost see her trembling figure. He had said something he never should have and crossed a line he could not walk back through.
The woman who gave everything to take care of them, the woman who made so many sacrifices for Alina. The last person close to him and the only one left in the world who cared about him.
Feeling disgusted with himself, he set out into the night even as fierce winds blew. By the time he got back to the majestic Palace gates, it was raining quite heavily.
Knowing that he would not be let in by this time of night, he simply plopped himself down on the gravel floor, unminding the water flowing beneath him and pouring from above. His heart was desolate and frozen.