The Alternative Ending

The Alternative Ending

May 2,2021

By

Marianne Lamb

Chapter One: "Imagined Love the beginning"

He crawled out of the fold wounded and bleeding followed by his creations. Rage filled his heart and flowed through his veins. He would make them all pay for what they had done to him. Where would he start, who would he start with.

He had emerged back in Ravka with the beginnings of a plan. He would return to OsAlta and gather as many Grisha as he could summon. He would hunt down his Sun Sommoner and her tracker and make them pay for their treachery.

First he need to find a place to stanch his founds and rest a bit. Maybe find a horse to get him to Os Alta.

Alta. He looked around trying to get a bearing as to where he was. He had no idea how far North or South that he had travelled. During the fight he had gotten turned around.

He scanned the scenery around him, one direction there was only remnants of what was a town, buildings now crumbled to sand. The other direction was a road and just beyond a small forest of thick dark leaved trees. His cool gray eyes focused on a thin trail of smoke just above the trees in the midst of the forest far off the road. Perhaps a campfire or if he was lucky a cabin and if he was very lucky maybe he'd find a heart render healer tending the fire.

Wincing and gripping his right side with his left hand he took a tentative step and winced as pain racked his body. Thankfully it did not look far even though it would be dark soon he always had his Nichevo'ya to watch over him should he encounter trouble. Being injured he had been weakened he was not sure he had enough strength to fight anyone off but he would fight to his last breath. Too much to do still ahead, plans within plans.

It took him it seemed like forever to follow the direction of the smoke. As he got into the forest and drew closer to the location of the smoke he could see light a dark structure. A house, good he thought shelter, warmth possible a bed to lay his head down for a bit. Recover his strength then find his Grisha and hunt for his Sun Sommoner.

Drawing near to the house he saw beside the house a small barn. He followed a small path and as he got closer he saw a figure move from the barn and walk towards the house carrying what looked like a bucket from the way the person was walking the bucket was filled with something heavy. When he got closer he could see that it was a woman. She had not seen him yet he tried his best to not make any sound in case she was not alone and others might be aggressive his only chance was a surprise approach. He sent his nichevo'ya around the backside and commanded them to wait for a signal. He watched the woman for any sign that she would turn. There was a slight wind that blew in his direction.

The woman had reached her porch and sat down the bucket and had her back turned to him looking toward the barn. He was just about 20 feet or so from her and his heart beat with his exhaustion and the anticipation of another fight so soon. Just a few more steps and he would be within reach of her but one more step and he had been so focused on the woman that he did not see the bunch of dried sticks at his feet in his path, "SNAP" to late to recover he looked down distracted by the sound and he knew this was his critical error.

He looked up just in time to see she had turned around, too late she had her hands together already and with one flick of her wrist he felt a constriction in his chest then fell to one knee. Clutching his chest with his right hand he lifted his head and looked up in earnest at the last person he thought he would ever see. The woman was walking towards him, her red hair blowing in the wind he could see that she walked with a limp and just as he thought he would see no more the pressure on his heart stopped and he fell forward both his hands on the ground head down.