He stomped out his cigarette and started down the hill, leaving his sword in Solomon’s hands. There were a few steps at the bottom of the small hill the compound sat on, and he took them carefully. Stopping a ways back from them, he waited. There was a long pause between him and them, but soon the woman who had seen them this morning stepped out of the group, her son clinging to her leg. “What do you think you’re doing?” She said in a curious tone; Mathieu was surprised that she wasn’t angry, especially since his clothing was still bathed in blood.
He sat down the steps and looked at the woman, “I’m taking Unith from the King.”
“…Why did you kill those men?”
Mathieu ran his fingers through his hair, “You see, it’s not like those soldiers would have let us just march to Ateri and take the King out. They would attack us from behind, and our numbers aren’t strong enough to take their entire army at once.” He said, really hoping that honesty was the best policy in this situation.
The little boy peeked out from around his mother’s leg, “Thank you, mister. They were never very nice to us…”
“They weren’t nice to us either.” Mathieu replied.
“Because you’re from Korinth, aren’t you?” The woman asked.
He nodded and folded his arms over his chest, “I know that…you’re probably going hate us in the end, but you should know that we aren’t trying to hurt you. The King…he killed his daughter to start a fight with us…so he and his men have to go. I can’t tell you what will happen after we take Unith, or how it will all play out…all I know is that it’s stupid for us to be separate countries anymore.” Mathieu got to his feet and dusted his pants off, “We’re going to bury the dead, and then we’ll be moving on. You won’t have to worry about us for long.”
There was some chatter among the people before someone from the back piped up. “We’ll help you. Let us get shovels.”
Surprised, Mathieu nodded and turned away, heading back up the hill.
“Well they didn’t kill you,” Said Solomon as Mathieu approached the other rebels.
He rolled his eyes. “No, they didn’t. Apparently the soldiers didn’t treat them very well. They’re going to come help us bury them.”
Jo, who had been waiting with Solomon, wrinkled his nose, “We have to bury them? This sucks.”
Mathieu swatted the top of his head. “Just do your part, kid.”
~*~
He had thought that maybe a few people would turn up to help them. He’d been wrong. Everyone in the town had come up, bringing shovels and good spirits. Those around him had seemed to have an air of relief around them, happy to put the soldiers in the ground. The woman and her son were in charge of passing out water, except that the young boy kept trying to pet Vincent. The wolf wasn’t being unsocial, but he did give a short growl when the kid pulled his tail.
“Son, you’re going to get bit if you don’t knock that off. And you’ll deserve it.” The woman rolled her eyes at her son’s antics.
Mathieu smiled at her, wiping sweat from his brow, “Vincent is pretty tame. I doubt he’ll hurt the boy.” He dug his shovel into the dirt again, tossing another mound onto the mass grave.
She watched him in a measured way, “I recognize you, you know. I did this morning, too.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I remember when you visited with the Princess a few years ago. Your hair was longer, though. Is…is Avian really dead?” She crossed her arms in an insecure way.
He gave a short nod, blocking out the phantom screams of Avian’s death. “Yeah. She’s buried in Kornith.”
“I’m sorry, Mathieu.” She looked sad.
“You know my name.”
The woman nodded, “You carried me to the hospital when I was pregnant and fell.”
Vaguely, he remembered being here with Avian and a pregnant woman getting pushed down in the crowd. “Oh yeah…I was glad you were okay.” Smiling shyly, the woman went back to distributing water.
Enak, who had finally recovered from the energy he’d exerted, hopped up from where he was sitting on the stairs to the second floor. “This is taking forever. Everyone move.” He crossed over to where the remaining dirt was and took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together quickly.
Erik picked up the Unithian boy and carried him out the way before nodding to Enak. The boy god nodded back and put his hands on