Chapter 8

"Captain Phransa!” he bellowed as he advanced on the man.

The captain spun from his position on the edge of the wrestling ring and snapped to attention. “General!”

“I will speak to each and every Chatra, starting with the youngest. Send him to the quartermaster’s immediately after I leave.”

“Yes, sir, General! It will be done as you say.”

Jarda said not another word but swiftly marched to the quartermaster’s. He told the man that he needed the space, and it was instantly vacated. He positioned himself so that he faced the doorway, and he forced himself to relax. It was the older boys he was angry with, and he did not want the younger ones to be scared to talk to him. Moments later, a small boy walked slowly into the room and stood stiffly, his hand on his heart.

“Chatra Dinton Sekara reporting as ordered, General.”

“At ease, Chatra,” Jarda said softly, and the boy dropped his hand, spread his feet, and placed his hands behind his back.

The general pulled two chairs from behind the counter and sat in one of them. He gestured toward the other. “Sit.”

“Yes, sir.” Dinton sat and placed his hands on his knees.

“Now, I want to ask you a few questions, and I expect honest answers. Do not be afraid to tell me the truth. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Good.” Jarda took a deep breath and leaned close to the boy. “How old are you?”

“I had my tenth naming-day three moons ago, sir.”

“And how long have you been a Chatra?”

“Only a moon, sir.”

“And have you been threatened or hurt by anyone in that time, Chatra Dinton?”

The boy’s eyebrows came together even as his eyes slid away from Jarda. “I am not sure I know what you mean, General.”

“No? Honest answers, remember?”

“Yes, sir, but…”

“But what? You can tell me.”

Dinton glanced over his shoulder as if he were afraid that someone was listening in.

“Boy, look at me.”

Scared eyes snapped back to Jarda, and it took great effort to keep the anger within him off his face.

“Who are you afraid of?”

The boy started to tremble.

“I…I cannot…I mean, I do not want to tell you, General.”

“Why not?”

“Because they will hurt me worse if I do, sir.” The words were barely audible.

Jarda frowned. “Who will? What do you mean worse? Tell me, Chatra. That is an order.”

A tear trickled down the boy’s cheek, and he hastily wiped it away. Fury as he had never known before rose up in Jarda, but he kept it in check and gently placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Listen to me, Chatra. Whatever is happening to you is wrong, and I cannot stop it if I do not know who is behind it. Tell me.”

“You will really make them stop, sir?”

“Of course I will. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Because some of the guardsmen know what is happening, sir, and they have not done anything about it.” The boy’s voice was shaking, and his tears were now flowing freely. He had quit trying to stop them.

Jarda’s voice was hard as steel. “Give me names, Chatra Dinton, all that you know.”

“Yes, sir. The Chatra are Ricard, Domin, Eran, Juston, and Glaucus. The only guardsmen I know are Iskander and Gregers, sir.”

Jarda knew them all. The guardsmen were all several years older than the Chatra, in their early twenties, and it seemed like they had created their own gang within the ranks.

“What are the Chatra doing to you?”

The boy stood up and pulled his shirt out of his breeches. He pulled it up past his ribs, and numerous bruises became visible. Their colors showed that they were anywhere from a few weeks old to a few days. The Chatra slowly turned, and Jarda saw that they extended around the child’s entire torso.

“How did you get those?”

The boy dropped his shirt. “If we do not do what the others say, they hit us with their practice swords. They make us stand with our arms over our heads, and they usually hit us three or four times.” He tucked in his shirt and sat down on the chair again. “They threaten us with worse if we talk.”

Jarda clenched his teeth in anger. “How are the guardsmen involved?”

“They keep a lookout for Captain Phransa while the Chatra hurt us.”

“I see. So, the captain does not know what is going on?”

“No, sir; at least, I do not think so.”

The general thought that was probably the truth. Boys had an uncanny way of keeping things secret from adults.

“Thank you, Chatra Dinton, for telling me the truth. I know it was hard to do, but I promise it was the right thing to do. Now, I want you to stay right here until I come back. Bar the door behind me. Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jarda stood up and walked to the door. Just as he opened it, the boy’s voice stopped him.

“General Mistri, sir?”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say thank you, sir.”

Jarda nodded and walked out the door. He waited until he heard the bar drop down, and then he marched back to the training grounds where Captain Phransa was now watching a group of older Chatra train with wooden practice swords.

“Captain!”

Phransa saluted and stood at attention while the boys lowered their swords and did the same.

“Yes, General?”

“Walk with me. Now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jarda walked past the group and the captain joined him. Jarda waited until they were out of earshot of all the Chatra, and then he stopped and faced his captain. When the latter saw the fury in his general’s eyes, he instantly stood at attention and wondered if he had done something to incur his superior’s wrath.

“I will ask this one time and one time only, Captain, and, with Yisu as my witness, you had better answer me truthfully. Did you know that the younger Chatra were being tortured by some of the older ones?”

The captain’s wide eyes and dropped jaw told Jarda more than his words ever could, but he was glad, nonetheless, when Phransa said, “No, sir, General! If I had, I would have stopped it immediately! Who told you this?”

“Chatra Dinton. I saw the evidence with my own eyes. Apparently, some of the older Chatra and the newer guardsmen are forcing the younger Chatra to be their slaves and are hurting them when they refuse.”

“General, I promise you, sir, I knew nothing about this.”

“I believe you, Captain, but now I need your help to stop it. I need you to talk to the Captain of the Guard and get me ten seasoned guardsmen that he trusts implicitly. Tell them to report to the quartermaster’s immediately. I will tell them what to do when they get there. Then I need you to keep sending Chatra to see me, one at a time, youngest to oldest until I have seen them all. Do not tell anyone what I have told you.”

“Yes, sir. Might I ask what you are going to do?”

“I am going to find out who is involved in this barbarity and deal with them accordingly. It seems that it is time to do some weeding out of the bad seeds in the Guard.”

“Yes, sir. I will get on it right away.”

Jarda nodded his dismissal, and Captain Phransa saluted and hurried away. Jarda went back to where Dinton was waiting and knocked on the door.

“Chatra Dinton, open up. It is General Mistri.”

The bar was released, and the door opened a crack. Jarda entered and knelt down in front of the terrified boy inside.

“Listen to me, Chatra. This abuse is going to stop now. Trusted guardsmen are going to be here soon, and I want you to go with some of them.”

The boy’s eyes went wide with fear.

“Do not be afraid,” Jarda said, placing his hands on the boy’s shoulders, “these guardsmen are nothing like the ones you are used to. I promise.”

“Yes, sir,” the boy whispered. They waited for about fifteen minutes, and Jarda asked the boy more about what the others had been doing. Dinton told him that the younger boys had to wash the older ones’ clothing, polish their boots, and even clean their barracks. The more the boy talked, the more furious Jarda became.

Dinton jumped when the door opened further and he saw nine large men in white jackets and blue breeches standing in a semicircle around a tenth who stood in the doorway. All ten were saluting Jarda, and all ten had swords on their hips.

“General Mistri, sir, Guardsman Tero. My men and I were told to report to you immediately.”

“Yes,” Jarda said, standing up but keeping his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I have a few questions for you.”

“Of course, General.”

“How long have you been in the Guard?”

“Almost ten years, sir. I was a Chatra for five years before that.”

“And these other guardsmen? What about them?”

“Most of us were Chatra together, sir. Those that were not have been in our company for at least five years.”

“Do you trust them?”

“With my life, sir.”

Jarda looked down at the child who was trembling beneath his hand.

“I am going to tell you something, and it must be kept secret. You and the others are to tell no one else.”

“Yes, General!” All ten men spoke at the same time, and the Chatra jumped again.

Jarda told the men what had been going on and had Dinton raise his shirt. Each and every one of the men scowled, and more than a few hands strayed to the hilts of swords. Tero’s eyes were drawn to the child, and he frowned.

“May I, General?”

“Of course.”

The guardsman knelt down and placed his hands on his knees. “What has happened to you is wrong, little one. Do you understand that?” At the boy’s nod, he continued. “We will keep you safe and make sure this never happens again. I give you my word.” Then he stood and saluted the boy.

A tiny hint of a smile was seen on the little face, and the Chatra stood tall and returned the salute.

“All right,” Jarda said sternly. “Three of you will take this child to a safe place. Expect several others to join you, so make sure there is enough room. I am anticipating that up to ten more Chatra will be found with the bruises. Three of you will find another room for the offenders to be held and will wait for them there. The other four will be paired up to accompany the Chatra to one room or the other. Am I clear?”