Cassandra chuckled a bit, but before she could protest, she was gently pushed out of the room and the men started cleaning despite the horrid task. She sighed.
“I feel a bit bad leaving them to do this…”
“Don’t be. They were right about probably losing their heads,” said Evin, very calmly.
The Imperial Servant was the only one who hadn’t helped at all. Actually, he had spent all day following Cassandra like a shadow, making sure she didn’t injure herself or got her dress dirty. It was too much for her at times, but neither her attempts to have him stop or the glares from the men could stop Evin.
“Madam, you should have lunch now. His Highness won’t like it if you skip meals.”
“Yes, yes…”
“Madam, come and eat with us!”
Several of the men now started bickering about which unit she should have lunch with, surprising Cassandra. When had things become like this? She thought they were merely following her directions, not that she had gained popularity!
“Which is the closest?” She asked, hoping to put an end to the argument before it turned into a fight.
It was then decided that she would eat with the nearby third unit of charioteers. To her surprise, Evin had someone bring lunch for her, with the usual cheese, fruits and meat. It was different from the vegetables and meat the men were having, though. None of them seemed too bothered, which surprised Cassandra at first. But thinking about it, she was having a meal befitting a member of the Imperial Entourage, while those men were soldiers, and supposed to eat what they were given by the army. Eating such luxury foods next to them was making her a bit uncomfortable.
“My Lady, how long will you stay with us?” asked one of the men as they were all sitting in a circle.
“I don’t know. My Lord hasn’t said anything about my stay here.”
“Probably only a few days. The Commander-in-Chief comes and goes back pretty often. You won’t like it, Madam. As soon as the barbarian’s attack, it can be up to a week of fighting and it gets nasty!”
“Do you still get attacks?” Cassandra asked, worried.
The men shrugged.
“It happens. We don’t really know where they come from because no matter how many times we push them back into the mountain, they eventually come back.”
“When it’s been quiet like this for a few weeks, the next strike is usually stronger. Nothing to worry about, though.”
Cassandra nodded. She was a bit surprised how calm the men were about this. But it did appear true. There were very few injuries actually, compared to the size of the Camp. The men, thinking she was impressed, went on to talk about their accomplishments within the camps or in battle, and Cassandra listened for the rest of the lunch.
She kept it short, however, as she wanted to get as much as she could done before sunset. Hence, they all returned to the mountain soon after. Now that the injured and sick were properly sorted, and she had men cleaning the bigger room, Cassandra started sorting the herbs she had at her disposal. It was no use treating people if she didn’t have the resources. Six men helped her count the quantities, but they were still confused.
“Are you sure, Madam? Most of those are just wild herbs and weeds.”
“No plant is useless. We just don’t know all their properties yet.”
To be precise, the Dragon Empire’s people didn’t. They had gathered everything they could, but the men were totally clueless about what those weeds were good for. Yet, the Prince’s Concubine started sorting them under their eyes and showed them how to wash the plants without wasting any of them. Soon, they started repeating her moves, sorting, and cleaning all of the green mess.
“Can we get more?” asked Cassandra.
“We need to ask the accountants to buy more, or have more men gather them from the nearby mountains… Don’t you have enough, Madam?”
She sighed.
“Certainly not, if I hope to treat as many as I can…can I let you handle these? I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, Madam!”
With that, Cassandra left the premises, still followed by Evin, who looked unhappy.
“They won’t appreciate it.”
“I just need to ask for herbs.”
