The Sword Maiden

Distraction and Trickery

I had to give my brother as much time to escape as possible. I came dangerously close to the Ravager on my supposed flight to the woods. His eyes tracked me as I came nearer and nearer.

Having grabbed his attention I began to angle away from him. My legs pumped fast, but I didn't notice it. My eyes were locked on the Ravager.

But even as I zoomed by him the Ravager didn't move. He didn't try to lunge at me or nothing. He just watched. A sinking feeling developed in my gut.

Suddenly he tore his gaze away from me and turned towards Derrek, who was making a dash for the woods. The sinking feeling solidified. He knew what I was trying to do, and he wasn't falling for it. This wasn't his first raid. He'd tricked me.

Like a blur he was gone, running for Derrek. I dug my heels in, skidding to a halt and turned as fast as I could, nearly falling in the process. "Derrek!" I screamed.

Derrek looked behind himself, saw the blue blur that was heading for him. He turned to keep running, latching his eyes on a tree. I had never seen him run so fast. But I knew it wasn't fast enough. The Ravager would reach him.

I bore down, legs burning, lungs gasping, but totally ignoring all that, focused only on Derrek. The sick feeling grew. If the Ravager reached Derrek, he might use him as a hostage against me. He'd already demonstrated how smart he was.

But Derrek wasn't going to give up just like that. He kept sneaking glances behind himself, watching the Ravager gain. The Ravager didn't seem to notice. He kept barreling down on Derrek.

The Ravager reached out a hand to grab him, but suddenly Derrek fell. Literally, he just let himself fall. The Ravager was off balance and stumbled forward. Derrek's boot came up and kicked him in the stomach. Ravagers don't wear armor.

The Ravager curled over and that's when I hit him. Letting out a scream I rammed into him with my shoulder. He landed face first on the ground. Derrek gave him an extra kick for good measure.

I started to grab Derrek and run but a sudden thought crossed my mind. I reached down and pulled the Ravager's sword out of its sheath. It was somewhat heavier than the swords I was used to, but I didn't care.

With that I whirled and dashed for the woods, Derrek trailing behind me. We were desperate to reach them before the Ravager recovered.

Behind us the Ravager groaned. I looked back and saw him trying to sit up, a fire of revenge burning in his eyes. He'd just been whipped by a couple of kids who didn't even have weapons. His pride had been, to say the least, smashed.

I looked forward and pumped screaming legs as hard as they would go. We had one shot, one chance that we didn't have before. We were going to make the most of it.

The dark trees of the woods looked like paradise. I chanced another look behind and gasped. The Ravager was already on his feet.

Suddenly, just like that we reached the woods and were within their dark trunks. Still Derrek and I ran, determined to put distance between us and the Ravager.

"Ravine, stop!" panted out Derrek. I slowed down to stop, frantically looking behind us. "What Derrek?"

"We're somewhat safe now," he replied quietly.

I took a breath, realizing he was right. I had done it. My brother was safe.

Or was he?

The sounds of clashing swords in the woods seemed too near for my comfort. Ravagers would have a harder time finding us in the woods. But still they would try.

I turned back to my brother. "Somewhat safe. I don't like it," I said to him.

He snorted. "You're such a worry wart. If it'll make you feel better, I'll climb a tree."

"It would make me feel better," I admitted.

"Alright," he said as he reached up and grasped a branch. With ease he pulled himself up. Then he climbed a few more branches until he was well above the ground. I reached up to grab the branch as well, but he called out, "No!"

I stopped. "What?"

He pointed down at the sword in my hand. "You're fourteen Ravine. It's your duty to defend the village. You have to go fight."

I shook my head. "No Derrek. Mother told me to keep you safe, to not let you get captured. I have to stay with you." In truth my motives were rather selfish. I didn't want to fight, wound, or kill with the sword.

This time Derrek played his trump card. "At least go make sure mother and father are okay. Let them know I'm safe for now."

I bit my lip. This he knew I could not resist. "Alright, on one condition. You promise you won't come down from that tree for any reason until I come back, or until mother or father finds you."

"Not unless it's absolutely necessary," he promised.

I snorted, but knew I wasn't going to get anything else from him.

I hefted the sword in my hand. Dried blood edged it. I wrinkled my nose and used the trunk of a tree to scrape it off, wondering who's it was.

With that I turned back towards the direction I had come and began jogging back. I listened to the sounds of battle and determined that the worst of it was to my left. That would probably be where mother or father was.

I should have known better than to do that. I should have. But I didn't , and so I went blundering on, leaving Derrek behind.