Violet Orchestra

It happened to be sunset that day when Violet and Elaine found the guillotine.

The guillotine is on the outskirts of the city, close to Sadie Hill, on a high terrain, and behind it is an inaccessible cemetery-many condemned prisoners are executed without claiming their bodies, and they will be abandoned here at will.The shape of Sadie Mountain resembles a bowed old man. According to the legend of Domenoch, it was incarnated from a late warrior who guarded justice, so many people called it "Sadion", and Violet came to Domonoch's original intention was to watch the sunset here.

The setting sun stubbornly revealed a little light from the thick clouds. After struggling for a long time, it finally squeezed out from the clouds and slowly fell on the shoulders of the "old man".It seems to have infinite nostalgia for the shoulder of the mountain. It lingered there for a while, and then gradually disappeared behind the mountain and fell surrounded by cotton-like clouds.

They didn't hurry, they stood still and watched this rare and famous scene, and then walked to the guillotine not far away.

Before coming here, it took Violet a lot of effort to find Gallegon, and finally saw him, but heard more unacceptable news.

"He pleaded guilty by himself. I don't know exactly what happened, but it is absolutely true." Gallegon, still wearing his military uniform, met them in his office—now the poet knows he is Domonoch The captain of the patrol team is not the owner of the tailor shop at all—"As for the time to release you, it is also decided by the adult who is conducting the interrogation, and we have no right to interfere."

He showed such a businesslike attitude, Violet could not blame him, so he could only ask before leaving: "How did Hodge treat you when he was in the army?"

Galegon froze for a moment, as if he didn't expect him to ask such a question suddenly, but this hesitation immediately disappeared from his face, replaced by a determined expression.

"I am a soldier, sir," he said to Violet. "It is my duty to obey orders."

Violet nodded to show that he understood.

"May you live long."

Although he blessed the other party in this way, he couldn't help but think in his heart, how many soldiers in Domonoche can live a long life?Except for exceptions like Hodge, I am afraid that like Gallegon, he lived to be over 40 years old, and the number of people sitting in the position of patrol captain can be counted on one hand.This is why Domonoch depends on the faces of big countries such as Dubonas - their population is getting smaller and smaller, especially the young and middle-aged. Years of wars have made them rely on foreign population and rogues to supplement the number of troops. Even the commander It also gradually began to rely on the military academies of big countries to provide talents.In the long run, Domonoch's prospects are not optimistic.

But that's not something he needs to worry about.Violet sighed, and looked up at the guillotine standing not far away in the setting sun.

The guillotine was hanging high on the shelf, and there were still some wet bloodstains on it, like a grinning murderer, quietly waiting for them there.

He already knew the ending.

Seeing Violet stop, Elaine stretched out a hand to hold his cold right hand, and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

Violet came back to her senses, shook her head, and gave him a surprised look.

"You...why are you so calm?"

In his opinion, with Elaine's character, the current reaction seems a bit over-mature-he is not like someone who can deal with death so calmly, even if Hodge has only been with him for a few months, Elaine will not This should be the reaction.

But the young man actually smiled, shook his hand, and told him: "The teacher died in front of me. Although I have never traveled far before, this is not the first time I have met death."

His palms were warm, in stark contrast to Violet's sweaty and clammy hands, but even though he tried to comfort himself with a calm look, the poet found evidence of his distress.

"Your eyes look like you're going to cry, you don't have to be so strong." Violet wiped the corner of his eyes with his hand and explained, "I'm not very sad, because this is the parting that will come sooner or later."

It's just that I came a little earlier, and there was a small mistake in the person who needed to say goodbye.But for their wandering band, it's not too surprising that anyone is missing at any time, except for Elaine, who is almost like a blank sheet of paper.

And...he thought that he would be the first to say goodbye to everyone, but Hodge actually beat him one step ahead.

"Has it been a while since I sang?" he asked Elaine.

Not understanding why he suddenly mentioned singing, Elaine was a little puzzled, but nodded anyway.

Violet pulled him to find a stone and sat down, facing the guillotine at the top of the steps, and began to sing in the dusk.

This song was taught to him by Hodge one day a few years ago. The soldiers of Domonoch would sing it when they missed their hometown, and their relatives far away in their hometown would also sing it when they missed them. The dusk is especially suitable.A bird flew over the mountains, and only a tiny black silhouette could be seen in the afterglow of the setting sun, but its chirping sound could be heard far away, and could be heard even where they were.

Like the poet's singing, although there is no instrumental accompaniment, it is still beautiful and beautiful.Elaine stood beside him and listened quietly for a long time, until the sunset completely disappeared below the horizon and the night covered the land, only then did she see Violet stop singing and stand up.

"You should listen to Hodge singing this song. I can't sing very well." Violet smiled a little, as if nothing happened, and walked towards the guillotine with him, "But Now, let's get him back first."

They met up with Birkins and Petra who were waiting there, and together they retrieved Hodge's body from a hut bordering the guillotine and the cemetery, and after asking the guards, they chose to buy a good place in the cemetery, and Hodge is buried here.

"Death row prisoners can't be buried in other cemeteries. Even if you take him back, you have to leave Domonoch if you want to bury him." The guard probably rarely saw people who came to claim the corpses of death row prisoners, so he talked more with them After a few words, "This is 'Hodge the Thieves', right? Then I suggest that you keep him here. If you take him to other cemeteries, you will have to hide his name before he can be buried. This is too wronged him."

"..." Petra glanced at him, "You know him?"

"There are not many people in Domonoch who don't know him." The guard smiled, as if he felt that the question she asked was a bit redundant, "He is the only guy who has been guillotined twice, and there are people who still have that incident ten years ago. Tell it as a story, how can you not know it?"

This is a young man who looks to be about the same age as Elaine. He shouldn't be working in such a dead place. Birkins asked him why, but the answer he got was not surprising.

"My father was the warden of the municipal prison, and it took a lot of effort to arrange me to work here." He said, "Both he and my mother didn't want me to go to the front line, and there was no need for other positions without military merit like me. young man, so I can only stay here."

As for why he didn't want him to go to the front line, the reason was clear at a glance.Several people were silent for a moment, and finally Elaine couldn't help but said: "What about you? What do you think?"

Obviously they are about the same age, but neither their tone of speaking nor their expressions are very similar.The guard didn't even look at his appearance carefully, and directly asserted: "You are not from Domonoch, are you? Young people in Domonoch would not ask such questions."

Elaine froze for a while, listening to him continue.

"The war has almost crushed this country, and now we can only rely on the laws and military regulations that are as strong as steel to barely hold on. Most of my peers are fighting the enemy desperately on the front line, because if they lose the battle, they may never return. No home—this is the meaning of their fighting, those iron-like military regulations and the glory of soldiers are all fake." The guard said, looking at the wrapped body of Hodge, as if it was not a An ordinary, detached corpse, but something with special symbolic meaning, "We all know his story, and even admire his courage to escape from the bottom of our hearts. But what's the use? We still have My family members still have a lot of concerns, and they are not as brave as him, so I can only continue to persevere in my own way."

Insist on fighting in this country that is about to collapse, and find a life for yourself and your family.Fighting has become a way for young people to save their lives. Because of Hodge's previous convictions, they all know that the only result of fleeing from the battlefield is being wanted and then sent to the guillotine.

Elaine stopped talking. The guard looked at his changing expression and laughed again: "Why am I telling you this? Let's go and take you to the gatekeeper of the cemetery. Old John hasn't come here to beg for drinks for several days. Yes, Meghan even asked me to bring him some food."

He led several people away from the back door of the hut, and set foot on the cemetery where the corpses of the executed prisoners were piled up.

They couldn't see clearly from the other side before, but now that they came to the cemetery in person, they realized that it was not so much a cemetery as it was a huge open-air cemetery.Unlike the cemetery, this place is like a large dumping ground. The guard explained that this place has a long history. In the past, there were not only death row prisoners, but all soldiers who died in battle would be abandoned here at will if they were not claimed.The battlefield is still the same battlefield, but these dead people can only be piled up in this place forever, like the most worthless fertilizer, which makes the land of the cemetery dark and fertile, and even grows some strange plants.

"Strange, where's Old John?" The young guard looked around, but he didn't see the legendary gatekeeper of the cemetery. He looked back at the entrance of the cemetery suspiciously. Seeing that the lock there was still intact, he felt even more strange. "Can you help me find it? He is old, maybe he has bad legs and feet, and maybe he fell down somewhere."

There can only be such a living person in the cemetery, and it is not difficult to find, Birkins readily agreed.But they searched separately, almost walked through the entire cemetery, and did not find a sixth person other than them in this gloomy place.