Canorous

Twenty

Severino's eyes watered when he felt the weapon smash and crush his ribs to a thousand pieces. He thought being shot at the side was bad enough but boy he was wrong.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm done for! He exclaimed in his mind as his vision turned into the night sky. His eyes were fading in and out into a vignette. All he could hear was voices. All he could feel was the sharp pain and the grass underneath him. Scared, he felt the urge to dig deep down into the soil and hide there until he decayed there.

He heard Jean's voice. In response, he just begged Jean to take him out of the place.

Damn it! He thought as his consciousness slipped him away from the nightmare of a reality that he lives and exists in.

—

The foliage of trees were an umbrella against the intense heat during that summer day. Sasha squinted her eyes, placed her hand over them to see better. Her bow was slung over her shoulder and she clutched three arrows tightly in her hand. She was tense, lost in the forest.

Her father's voice rung in her head so she made the decision to go find the highest tree and climbed it. She grunted with effort as she stretched her limbs to grab the arms of the tree. She felt sweat pouring out of her temples as she exerted herself more.

The sun seemed to be boiling her until she was turned into human jerky. She panted heavily as she neared the highest point of the tree, only to get hit by a cloud.

She screamed aloud as she plummeted down to the cliff filled with pine trees made of steel. They looked like the things they use for jousting, she noted as she panickedly looked behind her back.

Crunch.

—

Severino opened his eyes weakly to meet a beige colored ceiling. His eyes adjusted, discerning that the ceiling was made of cloth. Confused, he scrunched up his eyebrows and turned to his side. He tried rising up and hissed when he felt searing pain on his abdomen.

"You're awake." She heard a chilling and authoritative voice to her side. "Do you not know how much trouble you are in, miss?"

They know.

Sasha flinched and pulled the sheet over her body closer to her chest. She felt naked. Metaphorically. Her identity has been uncovered. No one will respect her anymore like they did with Severino. Her father was right. She should not have impersonated a man and joined the squires.

Her thoughts jumbled and crumbled. Her eyes watered in fear. Her lips trembled. She was done for.

"Y-Yes, Sir." She shakily replied, her eyes fixed to the canvas. "But I can explain, I just wanted to help—" She rushed for words.

"Enough of this." The voice boomed and she looked to the side to see one of the respectable knights, Keith Shadis. "This is a shame. This is a sin. Take your things and leave now."

Her lip quivered and she bit back a sob. "Yes, Sir." She replied firmly. She propped herself up with an elbow, still covering her upper body. She winced at the pain but she rose, like a gallant knight would.