Welcome back to Sweet Pea!
Recap: Major Stolz drove the werewolf pack away with a torch. Adelinde was impressed with Major Stolz’s heroism, and began to wonder if the brave soldier might be her true love…
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Sunbeam
episode seven
Wilhelm
Reginald is badly scratched, with a huge chunk torn out of one ear, but otherwise, the werewolf is mostly unharmed. I don’t have much in the way of medical supplies on me, but I do my best to patch him up with the little I do have. Reginald moans and whines as I pat his wounds. Adelinde sits on the damp ground, knees hugged close to her chest, watching. Her face is deathly pale, her eyes growing wider and wider as I tend to Reginald’s wounds.
“Owwww!” Reginald moans, covering his face with his paw as I clean a long scratch on his back leg. “Just cut off my leg and be done with it, will you?”
“A scratch like this, deep as it is, shouldn’t cause you to lose your leg,” I inform the werewolf stiffly. “Provided that it’s properly cleaned and taken care of.”
“Great,” grumbles the werewolf. “I’m going to die here in the forest. There’s no good medical care out here, you know.”
Adelinde sucks in a sharp breath.
I shoot the werewolf a vicious glare. “You’re not going to die. Once we’re back in Waltzberg—”
“We’ll never make it there! I can’t walk!”
I highly doubt that all the scratches, numerous as they are, will prevent Reginad from walking. But as much as the werewolf’s whining annoys me, a sinking feeling in my stomach tells me he’s right. We’ll never make it there if Reginald insists on playing the victim, and Adelinde’s blank eyes and pale face are all too familiar. We need to rest before we can move on.
I build a fire, and Reginald starts snoring almost immediately.
“Wonderful.” I stare at the wolf’s snoring face. “I’ll take the first watch. Thanks for asking.”
Adelinde curls up by the fire, eyes open. I poke the flames, listening to the crackling sparks and the rustling of small animals in the bushes.
Adelinde sits up, tucking her knees under her. “I can’t sleep.” She shivers a little, wrapping her arms around herself despite the warmth of the fire, and all of sudden, I’m filled with the overwhelming urge to pull her into my arms and stroke her hair until she falls asleep. Deep purple shadows her eyes, and her lips are chapped. She looks nothing like the cheerful girl I met only a few hours ago, and everything in me longs to bring that girl back.
But I hardly know the young lady. Such thoughts, as per Chapter 22 of The Soldier’s Handbook, are highly inappropriate.
I clear my throat. “Sleep is vital. It will help you recover,” I tell her. Chapter 2 of The Soldier’s Handbook discusses proper habits to ensure good health and physical fitness. “If you don’t sleep…” I trail off at the glazed look in her eyes.
Adelinde rocks back and forth, arms still wrapped tight around her small frame. She’s staring off into the darkness, but I know in my heart she’s not seeing the forest. She’s lost in memories. Terrible memories of all she’s seen.
“I…I saw my first skirmish when I was ten,” I say softly. “My father insisted I go out with the patrol on the Periclase border.”
She frowns, tiny creases appearing between her fair brows. “You were ten?”
I nod. “It’s…expected in my family to serve in the military. My father was the same age when he was made an ensign, and my grandfather was even younger.”
“What happened?” Adelinde asks softly.
I shrug, trying to keep the memories from becoming too vivid in my head. “We ran into a group of Periclasian rebels.”
I’ve sat next to many young, green soldiers, who’ve seen their first action. But never once have I told this story. I can’t appear weak before my men.
But Adelinde is so open. So trusting. I detest seeing her like this. Quiet. Withdrawn.
Broken.
I know the feeling all too well. I swallow, continuing my story. “They must have had some kind of muskets smuggled in from Carnelian. We’d never seen anything like it before. Two of the men fell instantly, and the….”
I don’t want to tell her about the way the blood pooled in the fresh spring grass, spatters marring the vibrant petals of crocuses and daffodils. She’d seen enough blood today. I’m thankful that Reginald’s wounds were minor. I’m thankful that we couldn’t see the werewolf fight from where we sat in the tree. No young lady should have to see that.
No person should have to see it. No one should ever witness the bloody destruction of bodies, of souls stolen too soon.
But someone has to. Someone has to keep everyone safe. At least, that’s what Father always told me.
“What did you do?” Adelinde asks.
I chuckle a little. “Me? I ran. I took cover in a bush. My father berated me when he heard.”
But Mother….
I’ll never forget the way Mother held me tight after Father’s lecture, the strain in her voice as she whispered in my ear. “You stay alive, Willie. I don’t care how many times you have to run and hide. You come home to me.”
Adelinde bites her lip, turning her huge blue eyes on me. The reflection of the flames dance within her eyes. “I’m sorry that happened to you. It never should have. Not at ten.”
Something breaks inside my chest, filling my heart with an ache so deep, I wonder if I’ve carried it around ever since that fateful skirmish when I was ten. I shove the hurt down. “It doesn’t matter. In fact, I admit that I am grateful it happened, in some respects. It—prepared me for—for—” I stop again, not wanting to tell her of the things I’ve witnessed since. The things I’ve done. The things I will continue to do, as long as I wear this uniform.
She uncurls her legs, moving her feet closer to the fire. “I suppose I should prepare myself for what’s to come, too.”
“What’s to come?” Nothing else will happen to her. She’ll find her way safely to Waltzberg. Settle in with her family, or whoever it is who waits there in the capitol for her. Marry some nice young man and raise a family.
No, nothing else will happen to Adelinde. A sense of protection ignites in my stomach. I won’t allow it.
She smiles sadly. “I have something I have to do. Something very difficult. And dangerous.”
I shake my head. “Absolutely not. Whatever it is, surely you can request help from your father, or your brothers.”
She releases a sigh. “I can’t. My father—my brothers–they’re…indisposed.”
“Well, why not go to the authorities? I’m sure they can help.”
She nods, offering me a tight smile. “That’s what I plan to do. Once I reach Waltzberg. I have to get there.”
I nod back, gravely. “And I will assist you, in whatever manner I can.”
“Thank you, Major Stolz.” She settles down on the hard ground. “I think I might try to sleep now.” Her silky blonde hair swirls around her head. I wish I had a pillow to offer her. Or, better yet, a proper bed.
“That’s excellent. You will feel much better after sleep, I can assure you.” I settle back against the tree. “I’ll keep watch. No harm will come to you.”
Her breathing slows, the soft sound even and steady among the crackling flames. That ache in my chest starts to loosen a bit as I watch her. Even at the darkest hour of night, Adelinde reminds me of a sunbeam: bright, golden, direct, warming all it shines upon.
“No harm will come to you,” I repeat, even though I know she won’t hear me. “I promise.”
Author’s Note: I’ll admit I got a little teary writing this one. Poor Wilhelm! Adelinde is so good for him…I love to see him melting under her sunshiney goodness. And I suspect Wilhelm might be just what Adelinde needs, too….
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May your all your curses transform into charms! 💖✨👛💍👑
