The Dragon's Kiss

"Aaarrrgh! My aching legs!"

Matty sank to the ground, his curls flopping wildly.

"Calm down," Severin, the squad leader, rolled his eyes. "You aren't the newbie anymore, remember?

"Ah," Matty paused in the middle of melting in pain, cracking an eye open. "I forgot."

"Unless…" Severin squatted down next to him, "you want me to assign you to patrol duty, Mateus?"

This was the first time Kel had heard anyone use Matty's full name, and she immediately guessed why it wasn't used more often. For some reason, 'Mateus' didn't seem to fit the boy's big nose, messy curls and featherbrained personality the way 'Matty' did.

"N-no, Sir!" the featherbrained boy gulped, jumping to his feet. "Kel can have it. It's all his."

Severin scoffed and rolled his eyes again before turning to Kel.

"You heard me, right, Kid?" he demanded. "You'll report to the western edge of camp at exactly 3 A.M."

Minutes earlier, Severin had returned from a meeting and informed the men that their squad had been selected to participate in morning patrols for the next three days. Alongside a handful of members from other infantry squads and (usually) a single cavalry member, one of them would have to rise in the unholy hours of night to join the patrol.

All squads were usually assigned to a patrol whenever the army stopped to make camp, but the morning patrol was the most dreaded of them all. While the dawn patrol got an extra two hours of sleep and returned from their rounds at just the right time to avoid helping in moving preparations, the poor morning patrol participants were expected to participate in their regular duties on top of being sleep deprived.

Hence, this abhorrent patrol was mostly given to the youngest soldiers--the ones deemed to have the energy to survive such a strain.

"Yes, Sir," Kel agreed, giving her patrol leader a nod.

Three days of the cursed morning patrol was enough to drain even the most spirited soldiers, as Kel would soon discover. Just as she returned from the first round, yawning widely enough to bring tears to her eyes, she was immediately put to work packing up the tent with Matty.

"It's rough, isn't it?" the curly-haired boy shook his head. "I can't believe they've assigned three days in a row to the same squads."

"I imagine the idea was for members to trade off with each other," Kel murmured, rubbing her forehead. "Then it wouldn't be so 'unbelievably' rough."

While usually, Kel carefully observed her words and actions to avoid drawing any unwanted attention, she was too tired to bother with what her comrade would think of her criticism.

Besides, it was just Matty.

The only person in the squad who was less respected than she was.

Predictably, Matty took no offense to her words. Instead, he put a hand on her shoulder and nodded knowingly.

"You won't be the newbie forever," he comforted.

When the evening, and end of the day's march, finally came, Kel slumped blissfully in her bed.

Another squad member, Maxim, had graciously offered to do the squirrel and rabbit skinning for her so she could retire early. He was by far the most quiet and unremarkable of the squad but  seemed a bit more observant and considerate than the rest.

While Alaric was hot headed and almost always shouting, Otto was always calm and usually laughing heartily.

Severin was callous and logical, while Matty was gentle and emotional.

But Maxim…

He was just there.

If the whole situation had been a story, Maxim wouldn't even be considered a side character. He'd just be another soldier blurred in the background.

Still, Kel was grateful for his help.

In all her bustling about, she hadn't forgotten to fret over the Dragon Emperor, which had left her all the more exhausted.

Both physically and mentally, she was starting to approach her limit.

It's funny, Kel thought to herself as her eyelids began to droop.

When it came to physical limits, the more a person reached theirs, the higher the limit became. Pushing themselves to the very edge only made them stronger.

But mentally, no matter how many times she'd reached her limit, it never seemed to go any higher. The same things that once broke her could break her again.

Again and again, the same worries and fears.

They could break her.

Without realizing she'd fallen asleep, Kel awoke to Matty's groggy hand landing against her cheek.

"Kellll," he grumbled. "They're calling for morning patrol."

Kel smirked as she noticed the rest of the tent sleeping soundly, undisturbed by the faint calls. How many times Matty must have pitifully been stuck in Kel's position if he was so accustomed to listening for the morning patrol's wake up call.

As Kel jogged up to the small group gathering on the west side of camp, she noticed a new face among the members.

"Well, look at this!" One of the other soldiers chuckled to the newcomer. "Did that big guy give up already?"

The 'big guy' he was referring to was a massive, gorilla-like swordsman who had kept the group thoroughly entertained during the last patrol.

In the gorilla's place, now stood a small silver-haired boy with flashing golden eyes.

"I volunteered to switch," Taegus grinned. "He looked tired."

"Well, aren't you a good newbie," the soldier nodded. "Though.. I'll miss that big guy."

"Let's go!" called the single cavalryman, the unofficial leader among all the infantry members.

Falling into line, the group set off immediately toward the forest.

As they pushed through the trees, the rustling of leaves and cracking of sticks were the only sounds that accompanied them. Just as the soldier had predicted, the atmosphere was entirely different without the gorilla.

Eventually, Taegus fell in step next to Kel, bringing up the rear of the group.

"Kel!" he whispered with a smile.

"Why are you here?" Kel sighed.

And why are you making the both of us look suspicious with your whispers?! she added mentally.

"I wanted to tell you something, but it would draw too much attention to approach you at camp," the boy replied.

Oh, and volunteering for the worst patrol in this whole place is less conspicuous? Kel scoffed to herself.

"What did you want to tell me?" she sighed, trying to suppress her exhaustion-induced irritation.

"There's a river near here," Taegus explained quietly. "I heard they would assign washing schedules tomorrow by squad."

"... And?" Kel swallowed, finally understanding why the boy wanted to talk to her.

There was no way she could wash up with a bunch of men around without being exposed, and refusing would make her seem even more strange. Plus, then she'd have to go without a bath which her tent mates would likely complain heavily about.

Taegus glanced around and leaned closer to Kel.

"If you want to sneak away tonight when we pass by the water, I'll cover for you."