Yeni Bir Kavga- A New Fight - Aylah's story

Chapter Seven

(There are some funny incorrect quotes at the end of the chapter)

Aylah was terrified, to say the least. They were pulled out of the cage, and into the clearing where they found the source of the smoke.  As they were pulled apart, Orhan quickly mouthed a couple of words, "On Three."

Aylah managed to nod, forcing down her fear. They had hidden the dagger in their boots, making them easy to reach. Aylah looked around carefully, trying to spot the man who had helped them. Considering all the soldiers were wearing the same clothing, it was quite difficult, but Aylah was able to find him. He stood slightly straighter than the rest and his hand opened and closed around his sword nervously. 

Her arms were forced back in an uncomfortable position and Aylah bit down on her bottom lip, trying to focus her mind. The heavy stench of the smoke came closer almost right to her face and Aylah held her breath. The smoke started to sting her eyes but she kept her eyes open, looking at Orhan who held his hands in fists by his sides. 

He held up a finger. 

One

Aylah fumbled around her fingers just about reaching the rim of her boot. Orhan held up another finger.

Two

Aylah hooked her fingers into her boot trying to grasp the handle of the dagger. She kept her mouth shut, holding off her breathing for as long as she could. The hilt of the dagger was in her palm, all she had to was pull it out. 

Three

"Haydi!" Orhan yelled out and Aylah yanked out her dagger, thrusting it into the soldier behind her, loosening his grip on her. Aylah ducked, knocking the bowl of smoke to the ground. Finally, she took a deep breath, standing defensively. 

The four tried fighting to the center, so they could have each other's backs. However, there were far too many soldiers. Aylah swung her dagger at the soldier, who moved faster, grabbing her small wrist and twisting, forcing her to drop the dagger. 

He swung again, knocking the small girl to the ground mercilessly.  Aylah tried to get out of the way, but nothing worked. Thoughts flew through her head faster than her brain could process them. But, one thing was common, 'I want to go home.'

Aylah clenched her eyes shut, but before anything could happen a sharp whistle of an arrow cut through the air, piercing the soldier above Aylah right through the throat. Aylah opened her eyes quickly, swiftly moving away. She looked in the direction the arrow came from, to see her father alongside Osman Bey and the others, swords in hand. 

Aylah exhaled in relief, a spark of hope reigniting as her father rushed towards her. Boran flipped out his dagger handing it to Aylah and one by one all the soldiers went down. Boran knelt down, hugging his daughter tight. Aylah hid her face into her father's armor, breathing his familiar and comforting scent as she felt her father kiss her head. 

"Are you okay, did anyone hurt you?" Boran asks worriedly, sighing in relief as Aylah shook her head. The man who had helped them, stepped out of the bushes, still wearing Mongolian clothes. Boran stood up quickly, drawing an arrow in apprehension as the other alps hand went to their swords. 

"Wait! Don't shoot me, please," The man held his hands up, and pulled off the cloth covering his face. He shook his head, pushing his sweat-matted curls to the side. Boran slowly lowered his aim as Gunduz called out, "Aktemur?"

"You don't recognize your son, Baba?" Aktemur called back, flashing a bright grin.

As Gunduz rushed over to his son, pulling him into a hug, the kids shared looks of confusion. Even the rest of the adults were slightly in confusion, of course, they knew who Aktemur was. But, Aktemur hadn't been in the tribe in ages and had matured much since they last saw him.