Innocence

He had dark hair. I couldn't decide if it was black or dark brown. His eye was brown, the one on the right, and it glistened with fear and determination at the same time.

His left eye was covered. With an eyepatch.

Niri.

My protector stood from the table. He drew his sword. 

I looked to his other side. Someone else was there. 

Then I relized I was looking at myself.

I was sitting next to him. Two plates were infront of me, all but licked clean. 

A few days ago. In the kitchen. When Niri told me about Friden. Being related to me. 

As Niri jumped from the table, a look of confusion appeared on my face. Niri went into position, and I whirled around, my hand on my sword. But I saw nothing then.

I see plenty now. 

The scene slowly changed, as I looked back at Niri. That's when he disapeared on me. But I could still see him as we moved from the dineing hall to somewhere completely different.
Now, we were on a mountain ledge. iI was pretty big, but I would think that if someone got to the very edge, the whole thing would tumble town the mountain. I hugged the wall at the thought of it.

The sky was purple, as if the sun had just set,and the place was covered in shadows. I would swear on my life that I saw some of them move, taking on a humanoid figure, when it was only a boulder that was shielding the light from the other side.

But the shadows were the least of my concern.

Niri had come to this new mysterious and evil-looking world with me. And someone else. By the way he was holding this sword, it looked like he was the enemy that I hadn't seen before. 

Long blond hair. Blue-gray eyes. Tall and muscular. A look of intent on his face, as if he wanted nothing more than to destroy his enemy.

Niri. My gaurdian.

"It's been awhile." the man said. His sinister voice rang in my head, and I could feel his need for power. An actual hunger. It made me feel sick.

"Yes, it has. But not long enough." Niri said.

Then, Niri jabbed his sword at him. An elegant one. Curved at the very end. Thin but sturdy. Flexible, but not fragile. 

Blue eyes stepped to the side, easily dodging the attack. He crossed one foot over the other, and soon they were moving in the circle. I cringed when Niri got close to an edge, and I relized that this would be an excelent opportunity for Blue-eyes to drive him off the cliff. Niri must've noticed to, because he advanced and tried to clip Blue-eyes' him. He blocked, then they moved in a circle again, going the other way. 

It was a slow fight, and they were very caustious with each other. It seemed that they knew each other, fought each other before. And they knew each other's moves.

Blue-eyes advanced, aiming for Niri's shoulder. Niri ducked, went into a squat, then summersaulted to the other side of Blue-eyes and broke out of it, immediatly standing up out of it. He turned with his sword prepared to dark, holding it with the point down and the hilt up, holding it with both hands and his arms over his head. The silver blade hid half of his face.

It was my favorie position.

And that was the first time he seemed to notice me. His eyes widened and he gasped. Apparently I was not supposed to be here.

Blue-eyes followed his gaze. He looked at me with curiousity, tilting his head. Then a low chuckle escaped his lips. "This is your chosen one? The one you think will defeat me? I have to say, I'm dissapointed in you. I thought your common sense was better than this." he eyed me, looking like he was making a plan to cut me up, bit by bit, making it as painful as possible. 

But Niri wouldn't let that happen. Blue-eyes was distracted, moving his sword toward me, taking a step forward. 

And that was when my protector earned his title. He swung his sword at his neck, but Blue-eyes seemed to sense this, and he held his sword up to block it. I lost his attention, and he spun around. "You think you can protect her? You can't even-"
He didn't get to finish. I interuppted.

"Guess what?" I said. I drew my sword. The sound of the metal blade comming out of of it's sheath seemed to energize me. "He's doing a better job of protecting me then you are protecting yourself." I raised Memory over my head, then bright it down and stabbed the back of his shoulder. He screamed in pain, and I had a moment of satisfaction before he brought his unharmed arm around and hit my so hard that  I was thrown against the side of the mountain. "Your going to pay for that one, you little b-"

Niri screamed a battle cry at the top of his lungs and charged. 

But Blue-eyes was ready, and he let Niri run face first into his fist. He stumbled backwards then fell. I winced as his nose spewed out blood. 

"And so this time, I prevail. Add another point to my score on your way down, will you?" and then Blue-eyes kicked Niri, who had just won my complete trust, off of the ledge, and down to certain death. 

In a flash, I was on my feet, sword raised and prepared to strike. A pang of grief hit me as I realized Niri was gone, and I was on my own.  

"We'll see how brave you are when there's no one there to protect you."

I said nothing. I ignored him, really. All but his blade. 

He jabbed at my feet and I jumped. Then I countered with a slash to his cheast. 

And it all went down from there. Blue-eyes slash and stabbed in a fury. He was fast, and it was all I could do to keep up with him, even with my own immpresive speed. I tried blocking his blows, but he was so strong, and I really wish I had him for a friend instead of an enemy. I couldn't block all the blows, and I got really scratched up. 

Then he knocked my sword right out of my hand. The impact knocked my off my feet, and I knew I was done for. He raised his sword to strike me, to finish me.

But he never got the chance.

It came out of nowhere. A bird. A falcon. And it snatched his sword and flew away. Up. It flew up and away from the ledge, and dropped the sword somewhere beyond. 

"Impossible," Blue-eyes whispered harshly. He turned toward me and rage glistened in his eyes. Hand-to-hand combat, here we come. 

I stood, and threw the first punch before he could even blink. He threw one, and I dodged. While his strength was an asset in fighting, his size was not, and I was abled to dodge almost everything. My flexibility was a great help to me, and it helped to wear him out. Like when I kneed him in the kidney and he hunched over. I put my hands on his shoulders and used them to flip over. Once I was on the other side, and he was standing upright again, we exchanged another volly of punches. Then he punched me in the cheast and it threw me back. My breath caught in my throat and I stuggled to breath. 

Then he found my sword.

Then I found my gaurdian.

The falcon had been circleing overhead. When Blue-eyes found my sword, the falcon took it's wings in and fell all the way down. When it landed, it was no longer a falcon. 

It was Niri. 

Blue-eyes turned. "It would seem as though you and your 'chosen one' here have beaten me today. With sheer luck. But you better prepare yourselves for what is to come, because I will only grow stronger with time." Then he seemed to...I don't know. Melt away, I guess. 

Niri looked at me gravely, then he melted away too. The whole scene faded...
 

My eyes opened as I gasped and sat upright. A layer of sweat coated my entire body.

I hade so many questions, but one dominated them all.

"What the f-" I was interuppted by a know at the door. I crossed the room and opened it. 

"Arrabella wants you in the meeting room in twenty minutes." Renethon said.

"Okay," I said as I nodded. Then I shut the door. 

 

Twenty minutes later I was down in the meeting room. Arrabella was there. Along with Paltier, Harab, Seth,  Renethon, Liz, and iZ. I took my seat on the right of Arrabella, and next to Liz. The meeting started, and Arrabella caught my eye. Her amused expression said, 'thank you for being on time for once.' 
I smiled half heartedly, too lost in thought to really  care.

Across from me, Renethon rolled out a map of the land and pointed out specific points where we were pretty sure an Arlem camp was. Then he pointed out our camps, and told me something I didn't know anything about.

"As we have been told, Trebis has been taken by Arlem. It's been a-"

"WHAT!" I stood up from the table, utterly shocked. "What did you say?"

"Umm... That Trebis had been taken. By Arlem. Didn't you know?"

"King Paltier told us this morning. You were there," Seth said. "Werent you?"

"Oh," I said, sitting back down. I felt like a fool. 

"Yes, she was there," Arrabella said. "In body. But I think she was absent in mind and spirit."

Well what do you expect from me at five in the morning?

Across the table, Renethon's eyes asked what he could not. 'Are you okay?'

I looked away. "Alright, I understand now. Please go on." 

Renethon hesitated, then nodded and returned to the map, outlining possiblei battle strategies. 

I tried. I really tried to pay attention. But it was immpossible. Too many thoughts bouncing I'm my mind, too few moments to analyze them.

Trebis was gone. Now it was an Arlem city. If it was a city at all. Could it had been burnt to the ground? Or was Arlem useing it for a headquarters? I didn't feel like asking, didn't feel like looking stupid again. 

"Irin?" someone said.

"What?" I looked up. Everyone was looking at me, expecting something. "what?' I repeated.

"What strategy do you thing we should use?" the usually quiet iZ said. I wondered if Renethon had talked to him yet. 

"Umm..." I hesitated. This would have been so much easier if I was listening. "I think...you know what...let's just attack. We don't have to do any strategizing. A direct approach would be fine. They wouldn't expect it." I said. For the plan being the first thing in my mind, it was pretty darn good.

Silence fell over the room like a thin dusting of snow on a cold winter's night. They were considering my plan. 

The quiet stretched out and the snow got thicker. Then all at once...

The snow stirred as Seth finally nodded in agreement. No leading the soldiers away, no distractions, no complicated war tacticts that were bound to fail anyway. Just swords and spears in the middle of battle.

Then iZ nodded. Then Paltier, followed by murmurs of agreement on how that would work. 

"It's settled then." Arrabella said. "A direct approach."     

 

We were dissmissed shortly after everyone agreed to my idea, but as I got up to leave, Arrabella caught my arm, and motioned for me to sit down. I did so, and we waited for everyone to file out and shut the doors.

Moments ticked by as I waited for her to say something. She sighed, and finially said, "I hope you know what your doing, Irin. For Soroth's sake, I really do." 

I wouldn't have known what she meant by this if it weren't for what she said next. 

"You keep forgetting about my gift."

Crap. I should have relized that Arrabella was distracted dureing the meeting as well. She didn't say much at all. 

"You..." I couldn't finish.

"Yes, Irin. I looked into your deepest secrets, but you left me no choice!" she said as she pounded her fist on the table.

Every muscle in my body tensed up without me telling them to.

"And...and was your search satisfactory?"

"No."

My heart jumped. What did she mean?

"Your magic is strong, and there wasn't a chance that I could get through your defensess without you noticing. I only saw a few flashes of things. Things...that I don't know what to make of. But for goodness sake, Irin, why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I...I just...I don't know."

"And you won't tell me know?" my silence was a good enough answer for her. "I won't force it out of you, not now, anyway. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, my lady." I said. I stood, bowed, and began to walk to the door.

"And Irin?"

I stopped and turned around. "Yes?"

"I feel obligated to tell you that if I find out you are a traitor to Soroth, I will not hesitate to kill you." the words were made from ice, thin and sharp, ready to cut my heart out. They were not her own words, and I couldn't tell why she said them. She stared at the wall, avoiding my gaze. 

"Yes, my lady," I walked out the door and ran for my room.

 It was amazing, really. One day, we were such good friends. Then suddenly, POOF! Now she's the queen and I'm a traitor. 

It wasn't fair at all.  

 

I went down to the kitchen soon after that. My stomach rumbled as I grabed some soup and headed to the dineing hall. 

Renethon was there.

Oh joy. 

I guess I had to see him some time or another. But now?

He looked up and waved. Great. He saw me. I couldn't walk away now.

I painted a smile on my face and sat across from him. We made small talk, and I was relieved when he acted like nothing happened. And then he tensed up as iZ walked through the door. Renethon looked to me. His face said, 'Help me?'

I nodded, yes. It didn't matter what had happened between me and him. I made a promise to Renethon, and I keep my promises.

I waved iZ over. He looked like I felt only a few minutes ago. He wanted to leave but knew I couldn't. He walked slowly then sat down next to Renerthon. An awkward silence followed. 

Renethon looked at me, not knowing where to start. Inside my mind, I sighed.

"I just wanted to congradulate you on your success in training the soldiers." I said to iZ.

He looked up. "Thanks."

"If you don't mind my asking...where did you learn how to fight?"

His answer surprised me. "From my brother." he said simply. He looked at Renethon.

 "So...you know...it's..." Renethon stumbled on his words, so I stepped in.

"You could have told us sooner." I said. I could it see in iZ's face. The little boy he used to be. Gently, I layed a hand on Memory's hilt. 

I had been there for months, training. I had come a long way. It was exciting, all of it. I was happy.

One day, while we were eating, i noticed Renethon wrapping up some of meal. I asked him about it. 

"Its for my brothers. Two of them. Mom left me in charge when the sickness took her." he said. 

The next day I visited his home. Renethon  introduced me to them. "This is my youngest brother, Zendrick. And this is the second youngest, S-"

The memory faded and I was warrped back into the present day. It was curious, how the memory cut off like that. I mustve forggoten.... No matter. I had remembered everything I needed to. The rest was irrelevant.

It was as if no time had passed. The were looking at each other, niether one of them said a word.

"So...it's true. Your back." i said.

Zendrick nodded. "Yeah. I...I finaly got away. With your sword." He was still looking at his brother.

Renethon nodded. "I just...I wish... I can't believe you carried that sword around with you for all this time!" Of all things to say when reuniting with your long lost brother, he said that.

"I couldn't part with it." he said in a whisper. "Renethon...I didn't want to go. But he...he took me Renethon. Said we would go someplace better. Kidnapped me, really. But it wasn't better. Not in Arlem. It was worse. It was only after all these years that I was able to slip away. And that's when you found me, Irin. The very next night. A full moon." iZ sniffed, and I relized he was crying. I looked to Renethon, only to find that he was crying too. He drew Zendrick into a hug, and I tip toed away. The whole experiance made me want to shed a tear as well. But I couldn't help thinking about my brother, and the note he left me. Honostly, I felt like killing him at that point...he never came back for me.

He never came back for me.

 

I was remembering the good times back when mother and father were still alive when his harsh whisper caught me off gaurd. 

"Irin!"

Niri was standing in the doorway to my room, waving me over frantically, telling me to hurry up. I quickened my pace, and once I was inside the door, he closed and locked it.

I shot a questioning glance at him, but he asked me a question before I could ask mine. "How did you learn to do that?" he sounded almost as if he was accusing me of something.

"Do what?"

"Just this morning, you had a dream. You weren't supposed to be there. I can't even imagine how you managed to do that! Dream walking  takes an enormous amount of power!"

"What?"

He cocked his head, and it looked like he just relized I didn't have any idea about  anything he was talking about! "So you honostly don't know?"

"Apparently not. But I'd appreciate it if you'd care to enlighten me." I snapped.

He started to pace back and forth across my room. "I'm short on time, so I'm going to do us both a favor and ignore your rude comment."

"Since when do you care about mannors?" I said bitterly.

He stopped mid-step and looked back, giving me an icey glare that looked really eerie with only one eye. That shut me up real good.

"As I was saying, we don't have much time, and there's far to much to explain. You'll have to sleep on it." he said bluntly, as if this made all the sense in the world.

But nothing ever makes sense with Niri. 

He must have noticed that he sounded crazy, because he said, "Go to sleep!" 

Yeah, that really cleared things up. He's paceing like a mad man and I'm supposed to catch some Z's In the middle of the day.

As I was about to protest, he said, "Just do it, alright! It'll make sense later." he sighed and disappeared, and I was left utterly confused. 

I did what he said anyway, maybe just to see if I was imagining things. Sleep took me soon, and there was little I could do to avaid it.

 

The next thing I saw were trees. Lots and lots of trees. 

Nemeran Forest. I'd know it anywhere. And the roaring of water I heard had to be the Tranquil River.  

I was on my back, gazing up at the cloudy sky. Then a hand came into view. I took it, and Niri helped me up.

"Intresting...," Niri said. 

After a moment I said, "What?" I tilted my head in question. 

"I didn't think...well... Your dream walking."

I nodded my head slowly. "And that means...?"

"It means you can walk in the dream world." Niri finished. 

"And...?"

"And what?"

"I thougt there would be something more to it." I said.

Niro thought for a moment. "Nope. That's about it." he smirked, then chuckled a bit at a joke I didn't understand. "Dream walking is...complicated. Normally takes a few years to learn, though you seem to have picked it up without any training at all."

I nodded and he continued. "it takes a lot of power and concentration. But I'm glad we learned that you can do this, because it saves us a lot of time." 

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Time for what?" 

"Your training. You might be a better fighter than your brother, but you have a long way to go."

"Training for what?" I said, though I knew the answer even as I asked the question. 

"The Stones." he said. And then everything Started to fade and Niri groaned. "Your waking up. We'll continue this later."   

 

Niri. A professional at confuseing me. Maybe one of these days he'll start making actual sence.

I yawned, stretched, and hopped out of bed. I didn't normally sleep this much, and it felt almost strange to be well-rested. 

For a while I just wandered around the palace. It was quiet as the sky started to darken. I didn't know what to make of my dream. And Niri wouldn't visit me again in awhile.

Days passed. Everything was going smoothly. The soldiers were ready for battle. Renethon and Zendrick seemed to be getting along great. Liz had forgiven me for knocking her out with a boot. The dwarves got completely drunk once or twice, got a bit roughty, but nothing the un-intoxication spell couldn't handle. 

Then came that rainy night. There was shouting at the main door, and I went to see what was wrong. I thought the dwarves had just drank too much ale again.

I couldn't be farther from the truth. 

I had arrived at the scene completely clueless as to why Arrabella, Paltier, Liz, Lyn, and a boy on a horse were all standing out in the rain argueing. 

Upon further observation I found out why. The boy, who couldn't have been more than ten in human years, wore the uniform of an Arlem soldier. He looked terrified.

I nudged Lyn and asked her what was going on while Arrabella and Paltier discussed something in hushed tones. They must have relized they were wakeing up all of Erram with thier shouting.

Lyn said nothing. She just looked at me and handed me a piece of parchment with trembling fingers.

I unfolded the note and stared at the warning before me.

There, in crude, sinister handwriting, were five malicious words.

Prepare for death and destruction.

 

I stared at the note, wide-eyed and shocked, for a long time.

Prepare for death and destruction.

I guess that ment we were playing defense again, not the offensive plan for taking Trebis back. 

Without meaning to, I crumbled the paper in my hand. How dare they threaten us? What had we ever done to them? They never gave us a formal declaration of war, never gave us a reason! 

I was shaking. Not with fear, but with anger. I wanted them all dead.

My hand released the note. I stalked away as it floated to the ground. 




It had been an hour since I walked away. The sky was dark, but I wasn't tired. Instead, I was planning. Okay, so we couldn't attack right now, we had to protect the city. But that didn't mean we couldn't pull some tricks of our own. 

My room was a mess. It looked like a hurricane blew through it. Why? 

I couldn't find my good spear. 

I didn't really use it anymore, which was probably why it was lost. I put the silvery-blue spear away after the Red War. Figured I had seen enough blood for awhile. 

Now I was blood hungrey.

There was a soft knock at my open door. "Hey," he said.

I looked over my shoulder, into Renethon's starteling blue eyes. "Hey." I continued rumaging through my weapons chest on the other side of the room, but I already knew my spear wasn't there, but I guess I just wanted something to do with myself. After a shakey breath, I said, "When do you think they'll attack?"

"Could be anytime," He said. "Could be days. Weeks. Months....it could be tomorrow. Or maybe they never planned to attack. Maybe it's intended to scare us away, stop us from attacking, playing the offensive side of the game." 

"Maybe it's working."

He sighed, then looked around the mess that was my room. "What are you looking for?"

"My spear. The old one that I used in the last war."

"The War Rippler?" he asked, speaking the weapon's name. 

"Yeah, that one."

"Found it." 

"What? Where?" I stood and spun around.

"It was mounted on the back of your door." he ran his fingers along the metal handle. "A bit dusty, though."

"Thanks." I crossed the room, reaching out for the spear. Then Renethon did a strange thing. 

Just as I was about to touch the spear, he held it away, then behind his back. But the grace of it left me mezmerized by the elegant twirl he used, one that could only be done with a certain amount of skill. 

I was confused as to why he would do such a thing. "I need that." I said, with a hidden tone of amusement.

The seriousness of his answer caught me off gaurd. "I need you." 

He said it so simply, so easily, and I had no idea how to respond to that. 

I thought he would be over this by now. That he would have moved on and accepted the circumstances. 

But he hadn't.

And there was a flutter in my chest that told me I hadn't either.

I hadn't relized that he had dropped my spear, letting it clatter to the floor. I hadn't relized that he was moving toward me.

I hadn't relized that he was so close, yet so painfully far away. Because it was the middle of a war. We couldn't. We just couldn't.

"I need you," he repeated, as softly as a gentle breeze in the begining of spring, but as strong as the hand in which he now held my hand. 

"Irin, I've-"

I cut him off quickly. "You know we can't be together. Not during a war. We'd more than likely get each other killed. You remember Merlof!" my words were harsh, such a contrast compared to his. 

"And what if one of us dies anyway?" He paused, and a wave of emotions hit me hard. I pushed them away and he continued. "We don't know how long this war will last. And-"

"Renethon-"

"I would die for you." his voice was full of emotion, and the words went straight to my heart, penetrating the walls around it, making me relize how much he loved me.

It was a weak moment, a moment of longing when I said, "And I, you." They were the last words I would say before my lips met his. 

I kissed him. And it felt soo good. Like I was finally complete, not just a broken piece of glass kicked around on the marketplace streets. 

I was wanted.

And I wanted to be with him.

Maybe that's why I pushed him away. "I can't do this. Not right now. I'm sorry. I just..." The pain I saw in his eyes made me stop. I had just given him my heart, then yanked it away from him in a matter of seconds.

"Alright. Fine. You want to wait untill the war ends? Fine. Then I'll be fighting to end this war with every breath of my soul. I'll be fighting for you, Irin. I don't care how much of my blood I need to spill before you accept that there will always be another war to win, another battle to fight." I couldn't breath when he turned around and walked to the door. He turned, then said, "Getting you to train on the first day we met was both the best and the worst choice I ever maid."

It hit me hard when he walked out that door. 

 

So I guess that's the end. The end of the begining, I mean. The end of all the events that led me to this place. And I suppose I should have expected it, but I didn't.

Two days later, Arlem attacked.

And we weren't ready.

Yes, we had out armor on. We had our swords and spears. We were on the backs of our horses. But nothing could have prepared us for the blood. The screams of pain. The anger we saw in each others eyes that we all wore as a mask to hide our aprehension, our uncertainty.

Our fear.

But I was almost eager for battle. I almost wanted to plunge my sword into the enemy that had destroyed my city more than a month ago.

I'm sure they were surprised when they saw the city. It was in good shape. I'm sure that they expected to take Erram today, thought it would be easy. And from there, they'd take over the rest of Sorroth.

Over my dead body.

I stood at the front line as I watched the sun set. My sword was shaking in my hand. A sense of death hung in the air, and I wondered if today would be the day I die. 

"You ready?" Liz asked.

I looked at her, heavily armed and armored. "Depends." I answered. "What are the chances of us comming out of this alive?"

She looked out to the Arlem army, standing there, waiting for us to make the first move. They were at least double our size "Not good." Liz finally answered. 

"Then I'll lie and say i'm ready anyway."

She smiled for a moment.

All of this time, Arrabella had been inspireing the troops, riding back and forth on her horse, saying stuff I had been ignoring. But I listened now.

"...and be ready, because we WILL NOT give up this city without a fight. As long as one of us stands, there is still hope!"

Around me, soldiers yelled and shouted battle cries. I stayed silent, thinking about Arrabella's speech. Honostly, I would hate to be the last one standing against hundreds of Arlem soldiers. I'd do the smart thing and run.

Arrabella. I hated the fact that she was out here, but she had insisted, saying that if the queen would fight, others would too, if for nothing then the sake of honor.

Blah blah blah. 

I assigned a group of soldiers to be by her side as body gaurds. They were to do everything possible to protect her. 

I hoped they'd do a good job.

Arrabella finished her speech. I looked at Liz, then Renethon. "Good luck guys. May the Star Sailors be by your side."

They nodded, said something like that to me. I looked at Renethon again, thinking about two days ago, when he walked out my door.

And then, I left the whole world behind as we ran.

 

Kier, DO NOT POST HERE EVER AGAIN. If you do, I swear I will hunt you down, and when I find you, I will cut your thumbs off.

Sorry for the interruption, guys.

 

It's hard to understand what a battle is like, especially if you've never been through one. It's hard to discrib, I guess. 

Just...picture this. The sky is a blood-red as the sun sets. The ground is all grass and dirt except for the occasional boulder. The enemy is about two hundred yards infront of you, and getting closer, because your running towards them even though your completely terrified of them. You can hear the ever-present clanking of metal ringing in your ears as you and those around you are running with thier swords, spears, and armor. In the corner of your eye you can see hundreds of arrows flying toward thier targets from the archers' first volly.

Finally, the running is over and you clash with your first opponent. Then all that's left is fighting for your life. 

The game is simple really. Take down your opponent before he takes down you. 

And then, just as your first opponent falls, you get the horrifying feeling that this is it.

Today, you are going to die.

Death. I'd never really thought about it before. But you'd think I would, with the job I have. Death is a scary thought. It means that it's the end. But I wouldn't let this nigt be my last night on this earth. I wanted to live. I wanted to see another sunrise, another day.

It's a good thing I know how to fight.

Chaos was all around me. We were at each other's throats, Arlem and Sorroth. We spilled blood like it was nothing. It was enemies we were taking down, not lives. 

Sometimes I try to think that the Arlem elves diddnt want to fight. It was the king that was making them, not themselves. But I was wrong. I was just fooling myself. My sixth sense told me so. I saw thier intentions, thier inner hatred for us.

My sword clashed with another, and I looked into the eyes of my enemy. 

This man was the man who had shot Lyn out of the sky. 

I killed him without a second thought. He would never hurt one of my friends again. 

I would just keep on believing that throughout the battle. Then everything would be okay. When I woke up in the morning, everything would be exactly the same as a year ago.

It's kind of funny, in a twisted sort of way. I can't believe how wrong I was.   

 

First of all, I didn't wake up in the morning, because I never got to sleep. We battled the whole night through. It was long and hard, and at times I wished I was somewhere else, somewhere peaceful. Somewhere withough pain, and sorrow.

And hatred.

I could feel it all around me. From both Sorroth and Arlem. And it only grew stronger as the night wore on. 

And that's when I found him.

I spun around to block a sword that I thought was comming towards me, only to find myself swinging against air.

Before me stood a boy. He wore the Arlem Armor. And he was young, so so young. Maybe only 14 or 15 in human years. Much too young to see this. This hatred. This blood.

This war.

He held his sword awkwardly, scared stiff. He didn't want to be here.

But the real difference? He didn't hate us. He was only scared.

Maybe it was the boy's pure innocence that made me do what I did. And maybe it was because I was tired of all this killing. 

I lowered my sword. "Go." I whispered. 

"Wh-what?" 

"Go. Into the city. Behind the walls. There, it's safe. If anyone stops you, tell them I sent you. My name is Irin."

I turned before he had a chance to say a word. I could have killed him. But he didn't deserve to die. He had his whole life to live.

He was innocent.

 

He was going to wait. He was going to go into battle at the last second when his gaurd was let down. 

He was going to kill the chosen one.

And he was going to enjoy it.

But plans of waiting were all dismissed when the soldier saw his target. He couldn't keep his anger down. He couldn't stop the rage that boiled inside him. 

And so, he ran, with his sword held high.

---

Time is meaningless in battle. 

Especially when every single muscle in your body hurts! Every second is like a million years. My joints ached from overuse, and I knew tomorrow i would have a dozen more bruises.

But hey, I was still alive.

But part of my was dead. The part that hoped for a peacefully solution.

'Oh well. At least there's always next war,' I thought as I heartlessly plunged my sword into the back of an Arlemian soldier. 

I had gotten into a rythm. Block, duck, block, side step, and so on untill my oppenent fell. Then I would help out someone from Sorroth, stabbing an enemy whose back was turned, like I did right now. I'd continuesly turn in a circle every few moments, making sure no one would take me by surprise. I kept doing this untill someone else came to challenge me. At some points, I'd get this burst of speed out of nowhere, and  for no more than a minute, I'd be unstoppable, invulnerable, plowing through enemies. 

It would never last though. The minor cuts on my arms and legs were an ever-present reminder to me that invulnerability didn't last.

But if I concentrated hard enough, I didn't have to think to fight. I know that sounds wierd, and that it doesn't make sense. But...I don't know...it was like if I could feel the movements and make them flow, I didn't have to think about it. It was like instinct, like going on auto pilot. 

And then I could think about other things. This way, most of the battle passed in a blur. I wasn't fighting for my life, I was thinking.

About the sunrise. About tomorrow. About the first thing I'd do when this battle was over.

Right now, it looked like I would eat. I was hungrey, really hungrey. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this up if I didn't eat soon. But what choice did I have?

My thoughts turned to my friends. Liz, Dash, Lyn, Kore, Gavin, Zendrick... I hoped they were alright. The first thing I'd do when this was over would be making sure they weren't hurt.

But no. I was kidding myself. Fooling my thoughts. The first thing I would do when this was over? I would run to Renethon, kiss him, and tell him I was wrong. I was wrong to turn him away.

I guess that moment was a milestone for me. 

It was the first time I admitted to myself that...that I had fallen in love.

 

And it was the first time dureing the entire battle that I saw him. 

Renethon. Standing on a hill a few yards away, fighting with someone. As he battled, he spun and slashed gracefully, and his enemy fell. 

Then his beautiful blue eyes met mine-

Right as the sword went through his stomach.

 

Before that day, I had never thought that fate could be so, so cruel. 

Everything seemed to slow down as I cried out something I can't remember. I slashed through everyone in my way, not bothering to kill them. They didn't matter. Only he mattered. I called out his name, over and over again. I screamed, I yelled, I pushed people out of my way as I climbed the hill.

By the time I got there, his attacker was gone.

Only Renethon was left. Broken, barely breathing. 

"Renethon." I hurried to his side, almost fell as I sank to my hands and knees. "Renethon," I said again.

"Irin." I was so shocked to hear him speak. The puddle of blood he lay in....he should be dead by now. 

He reached up, touched my cheek. "Kiss me," he said. He was so calm...even in the face of death. But I knew he was weak. I knew he wouldn't last longer. 

So I leaned in, met his lips, and kissed him like I planned on kissing him when the battle was over, when everything would be okay. He laced his fingers through mine and broke away.

I rested my forehead on his. "Dont go. Renethon, please don't go. I...I love you." Even though I was whispering, my voice trembled. 

"I won't ever leave. I promise you that. I'll be by your side. Forever."

They were the last words he would ever say. 

I sat up, trying to take in what happened, trying not to cry. But the tears spilled anyway, and I buried my face in my hands. Not even the footsteps running toward me could clear my thoughts. I just knew this.

Renethon was dead. 

And I couldn't save him.

"Irin?" it was a voice, and for a second, a flicker of hope flared in my soul. 

"Rene- Zendrick." I said as I lifted my head. 

"What...is he...is he...?"

I bit my lip and nodded. "He...he...."

I didn't finish. The dagger that whizzed above my head cut my off. I winced as it embedded itself into someone behind me. I relized that if I didn't get up and fight soon, it wouldn't end well for me. I wiped a tear away and stood. "Thanks."

He nodded solomly, trying to hold tears back himself. 

I spent the remainder of the battle with Renethon's brother. Both of us gaurded his lifeless body for the rest of the night. There were times when one of us would break down and sob, and when that happened, the other would fight for both of us, making sure no one harmed us. I almost wish it could have stayed that way. But the sun had to rise, and Arlem had to run, and we had to move on. When the last opponent retreated, we walked wordlessly down the hill, then went our seperate ways for awhile. 

Liz was the first to find me, running happily toward me, feeling victorious, as I should have been. Then she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the blood on my cloths. "Its not mine," I said before she said anything. 

She had but a moment of relief. The look on her face told her something else was wrong. "Who?"

I stared at the ground, examining a blade of crushed grass. I took a deep breath. Then another. And another, before I finaly spit it out. "He's dead, Liz. Renethon is dead."

I don't remember anything after that. I just remembered the blur of my tears. And the last this Renethon said to me.

"I won't ever leave. I promise you that. I'll be by your side. Forever."

 

Epilogue


Here in Sorroth, we have a legend. A legend I actually do believe in.

It's the legend of the Star Sailors, the gaurdians of those left behind. It's said that when a great warrior dies, he joins the ranks of the Star Sailors and watches over the elves that are still alive. 

It was the only thing that could possibly make the experiance bearable. 

Despite the rising sun and the lightening sky, I saw a bright light race across the sky. 

A shooting star.

A star sailor.

Renethon. 

Through a whisper of the wind, I heard his last promise.

 "I won't ever leave. I promise you that. I'll be by your side. Forever."

And through the tears that streamed down my face, the haze of sadness that clouded my mind, and the empty feeling inside my heart, I almost smiled.

Because I knew Renethon would always keep his word.

End of Book One

1/24/10 8:20-1/12/11 10:01

 

You don't have to delete it now that it's finished. Thanks for the bump though. 

Ahhh memories...of when I was a terrible writer. XD