Back in the village of Ashenfield, you could smell the scent of rain and feel the mud under your feet. It had been 3 days since Toya left the village. News had spread fast and everyone in the village knew what had happened to Toya's family. But what they didn't know was that Toya was still out there alive. It didn't take the news fast to travel around. It only took about a day before everyone knew what had happened. Some of the villagers were filled with sadness, some with denial but most were filled with anger. They had never been fond of soldiers and especially not now. A hole had been made by their deaths and rage had filled it. Everyone knew their family, but they had no clue why this had happened to them. They had no idea why they died. Most believed it was because Toya picked a fight with them others that they were planning on annihilating the whole village but just started at the wrong house. But in the end, it was nothing more than spiculations.
It was like a dark fog had entered the village. A fog of death. A fog of sorrow. After a while when the village had recovered a little, they decided to make a funeral. It was to be held a little away from the houses. Everyone in the village showed up, they couldn't bring themselves not to. The major was the one who spoke on behalf of all of them.
"We owe a debt to them. A debt we will never be able to fulfill. We owe a debt to Theia for always helping around the town. For working so hard on our behalf. We owe a debt to Kenzo for always help train the youngsters. And for always standing up for this village. We owe Yuki for always smiling even in the darkest times. For brining happiness and light to the days. And we owe Toya, even if he was a troublemaker, he never backed down. He helped when people needed it, and just like his father he stood up to the soldiers." He paused for a moment, looking over the villagers. Some were holding in their tears, but you could see their eyes watering.
"They may be dead, but they will always be part of this village and its people." He paused again his eyes too about to send tears streaming.
"Please pay your respect to them."
One after one they came up to their grave laid a flower and paid their respect. But right in the middle of it they were interrupted.
Loud steps roamed trough the silence like an arrow. The villagers looked up still tears flowing down. They could the steps come closer kicking up dust on the way. And there besides them stood a group of people. They were wearing shining armor, swords by their hips. Every villager had their eyes on them, and they knew who they were. They knew all too well. As the soldiers got closer, tension filled the air. The villagers didn't speak, they just stared. The soldier's eyes seemed to question the silence. Then a voice was heard echoing from among the crowd.
"Why did you kill them?" It was quiet, shaky. A young boy couldn't be more than 10, stepped forward. He clenched his fist, his eyes red, tears still rolling down his chins. He looked up at the soldiers, his voice louder than before.
"Why did you kill them?" One of the soldiers frowned. "Kid, we don't know what you're talking about."
"They didn't do anything" he shouted, his voice cracking "they didn't deserve it."
At this two villagers stepped forward, men who had trained besides Kenzo. They grabbed whatever was in range. One picked up a rusty ax. The other clenched his fist.
"The kid is right" the man growled. "You think we are just going to stand here, while you pretend to know nothing?" The other villagers agreed to this as their voices rose. They began to switch from sadness to pure hatred, anger. But then the major stepped forward.
"Enough!" he roared. Everyone froze, they had never heard the major like this. The major stood tall, his eyes wet, but his voice calm. "Do you think this is what them would have wanted? You think Kenzo would've drawn his sword over a grave?" The air filled with silence. He switched his gaze to every single one of the soldier.
"I don't know why your men did what they did. And I don't know what you're here to do. But this village had already buried enough blood. We won't spill more."