All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 227: They Grow Up So Fast

Bee leaned forward and stroked the mane of her horse, rolling with its gait as it moved. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the long train of small children pulling each other's reins in a slow walk as they made their way back to the castle. Overall, she thought the operation had gone rather well. It had taken her a lot of effort, but she had managed to move the Knights’ plans and attention towards a less risky target and one that she honestly thought might have a longer-lasting effect on the army. That first night, they had gone after several different targets at once and had been rather effective. But as she watched the enemy camp in the morning, she realized that they wouldn't have the same luck again. Even if they were closer to the forest entrance.

They were too prepared. There needed to be a concentrated strike in one area for them to have the numbers to actually pull anything off. And while hitting something flammable like food would’ve been a very effective target, it wouldn't actually make that much of a difference. The army was so large that they couldn’t possibly sabotage enough food in one night to truly make a difference. At most, they might manage to slightly reduce the army's food intake for a few days until they were able to be resupplied. No, the planned attacks on supply lines by Susan’s scouts would be better in that area.

What was going to be more effective though, was if they hit the horses. Largely, the horses that had been released on the previous raid had been all rounded up. All the replacement mounts and horses for pulling wagons were relatively easily tracked down and well-trained enough that they were captured. The Nighty Knights didn't know enough about horses to really use them as more than a distraction. Even with all their efforts, the horses had simply run in fright for a few minutes and then were found grazing not that far away.

This time though, they had struck with more force. Bee had gone in first and taken out several of the guards quietly in such a way that the children did not have to dirty their hands. After that, she simply tasked them with cutting a lot of the leads. And then, when they were ready to leave, they herded all the horses together and pushed them several hours south away from the castle. Away from the direction the enemy was marching. Once they scattered them, Bee and her team broke off and went around the army to slip back into the forest.

They had been chased, of course, but they had left the pursuers far behind. This time, she was sure the horses would be harder to collect, if the kingdom’s army could manage it at all. At least 15% of the mounts, maybe even 25%, were ripped away in one fell swoop Even better, they’d kept some for themselves. Each Nighty Knight had taken about two horses on average. The children were far too small to properly ride a horse, so they had to improvise.

One child would sit holding the reins and using his heels to guide the horse from the front, whereas the other one sat backward and held three long ropes, pulling another three horses behind them. This allowed them to bring almost 150 horses with the group, though little children were the ones usually sitting behind. Unfortunately, the saddle situation left something to be desired. The stirrups just didn't tighten enough for them, so many of these children had to ride bareback. Though riding in pairs also helped the children mount their steeds, as they had to boost each other up and then pull up the other rider behind.

It was quite a hilarious process to watch, but with a little bit of practicing, they managed to do it efficiently. As they had returned from their long ride in the wee hours of the morning, they had run into a set of Susan's men coming through the forest. When they had spotted Bee, they had left their cover and flagged her down.

“High Priestess Bee!” One of the scouts called out to her as she neared.

“Mat. Good to see you.” She waved a greeting. “I’ve found the Nighty Knights. We’ll be heading back with news on the enemy.”

Mat frowned. “The mothers will be relieved to hear it. They’ve been worried sick. But… where did the horses come from?”

She smiled. “We had a few successful operations of our own.”

He blinked. “You did?”

“Of course.”

The scout mulled the words over for a moment. Eventually, he seemed to decide on how to respond. “I… don’t know if they’ll like that. Especially Arthur. The commander was pretty unhappy about the Knights going off. With this…” He shrugged. “Far be it from me to say it, but I dunno if you’ll be getting a hero’s welcome here.”

After exchanging some additional information, they parted ways. Fortunately, with the professionals showing up, she was able to hold the Nighty Knights to their bargain and send them home without having to commit to additional sabotage operations and put them further at risk.. Hopefully the good news of their successes would help to temper everyone’s displeasure. She somehow doubted it though.

At the very least, Arthur might appreciate the mounts. Arthur's army hadn't kept horses for the most part. The vast majority of the men were infantry. Horses didn't do well in long sieges, from what she understood. They tended to be expensive to feed and difficult to exercise, and if pressed they often became the meals that people so needed.

Of course, having a small cavalry of 150 units wouldn't be game-changing. But when it came to running down open infantry, it was something that Arthur had lamented losing. Perhaps this would make a difference. The horse she had found for herself was quite impressive, at least.

Her Scan indicated that it was a level 30 destrier, and she honestly wasn’t sure how a horse had managed to gain so many levels. She had no idea about its skills or what skills a horse might even have. Regardless, she could feel the power and speed of the mount. This walk that they were maintaining to keep everyone together and in their saddles was nothing compared to what this horse was capable of. Of course, her carpet would be far more efficient for her to fight from in both speed and maneuverability. But the horse was pretty.

When Bee finally made it through the castle gate, she emerged into a beehive of activity. All around, preparations were underway, people running around to attend to their tasks. Standing among it all were the mothers of the Nighty Knights. The fretting women waited nearby, evidently warned by a scout traveling ahead.

As soon as they saw Bee’s party, they quickly called their children over with a mixture of concern, relief, and absolute rage. The children were quickly dragged off by their ears to a cacophony of lectures and scolding about running off and getting into danger. The children complained loudly and tried to tell stories about their accomplishments, but the mothers were in no mood to hear. In a moment, Bee was left alone with all the horses. A few of Trent's workers came up and started to lead them away towards the stables, which would soon be overflowing. Perhaps she would need to talk to some of the engineers to get them to expand that.

A few moments later, Arthur appeared. Evidently a runner had been dispatched to find her when she arrived. The man came marching up to her and gave a crisp salute. "Welcome back, Miss Bee."

She nodded and returned the greeting without too much comment. She followed Arthur into a private meeting room in the castle for a debrief. "Thanks for going after them. I'm glad you caught up to them before they managed to do any harm.”

Bee flinched slightly. "I… didn't really. They were already in the middle of their first operation when I reached them."

Arthur's face froze. His expression was one of cold granite. Seeing his concern, Bee tried to reassure him. "Uh, no one was hurt! But by the time I found them, they were rather insistent on helping."

"First operation, you said?” The words came out quietly. “Does that mean there was a second?”

Bee looked up and found Arthur slowly turning red. "I managed to talk them into doing something relatively safe, like stealing some horses while we waited for the professionals to show up. Susan and Captain Major’s people, I mean. They got there earlier than we expected, so only one more night passed before I managed to lead them all back."

Despite her words, Arthur didn’t seem to be calming down at all. Rather, at this point, it seemed like steam was blowing out of the man’s ears.

"WHAT?" He barely restrained himself from shouting the word. Suddenly, Bee felt a lot less certain about this interaction.

"What do you mean? Managed to talk them into coming back?! They are children, Bee! This is not something to compromise on. You just tell them that they’re coming home and that’s final. Instead, you led them on another raid?! What the hell were you thinking? Irene is FOUR!" His volume steadily increased until he was shouting in his parade voice. Bee flinched back and wiped a little bit of spittle off of her shoulder.

"They have every right to protect their home," she said, not willing to back down.

Arthur repeated himself. "She. Is. four. She has no right to protect her home. She has the right to be protected and safe and grow up and be a child. I know that Void has been paying them special attention, and I dare not question what he is doing with them. But we will not have them grow up any faster than they have to. They need to be children. Children are supposed to be innocent at their age. Maybe, maybe if they were teenagers, this might be a different conversation. But right now? If we use them like men, we are no better than the demons!"

Bee blinked at the venom in the general's words as he continued on his tirade about the children. He argued that the whole point of the army protecting the castle was so that these children could live in peace. Arthur didn’t want them to grow up too quickly and face horrors they didn’t need to. He didn’t want them involved in any part of the war, not in the slightest.

Bee, though, couldn't help but disagree. This was their home. These were their families. They had been training so that they’d never have to worry about losing anyone ever again. How could they simply throw that aside? She agreed that there should be limits on what they could ask of them, but to have them do nothing?Whether the Knights, children that they were, actually acted like children or not was in many ways besides the point. At the very least, they had to respect their desire to help.

They made no progress for nearly a dozen minutes. Eventually, she stormed out of the room, unwilling to look Arthur in the face any longer. Furious, she ignored a requested meeting with Mary and dodged Tony in the halls before she eventually went looking for somewhere to be alone.

Soon she found herself on the castle roof, leaning against the tallest spire with her carpet rolled up next to her. It took a while for someone to find her. By that point, the sun was setting again, and she watched the moon rise into the field of stars above her.

A panting, sweating form of Susan grabbed the lip of the roof and hauled herself over. She flopped onto the roof and rolled, bringing the rest of her body up after her. She then scooted next to Bee, leaning against the same spire a few feet away, and breathed heavily for a few minutes before she said anything. Bee didn't look at her, instead fixing her attention on the moon.

"You know why Arthur is mad at you, right?" The woman eventually said. Bee felt her anger flare up.

"He made it very clear. He thinks I put the children in more danger than was necessary. Because I’m also an irrational child who can’t make decisions." Bee spat, Well, Arthur hadn't said that directly. But it became very clear what he had thought of her judgment during their argument.

Susan looked over at Bee and, in a more gentle tone, spoke again.. "How old are you, Bee?"

"14. We just celebrated it. You know that."

"Right. And you understand that a 14 year old is still considered a child, right?"

Bee snorted. "I haven't been a child for a very long time, Susan."