No Hero: Lost Among the Flame

Can't you see that I'm still left here and holding on to needing you

Lexa

"The trade from Broadleaf will arrive day after tomorrow" Titus said finishing sharing the last of his report.

"Good" I acknowledged. Although I was listening I was focusing more of my attention on Polis as we walked. My people smiled seeing me outside of the tower. I gave them each a slight nod.

The flamekeeper continued to walk with me around the tower. My training time with my night bloods would be soon. My ears perked up at the sound of someone already on the field training. As we neared closer I saw that it was Aden with Freya. "What is she doing? Heda, this is a disgrace! No outsider should be working with a natbleda" Titus grumbled angrily.

I stopped to stand far enough from the training pair as to not disturb them. "Quiet yourself, Titus" I said. My expression remained neutral as I watched them. Despite what the flamekeeper thinks Aden could learn much from Freya.

"Commander, she will derail the boys training. He must learn from you. Or have you forgotten?" he raised his voice.

My posture steeled and I set my hand on my sword. "I am the commander or have you forgotten that? I will not speak on this further, now leave!" I spat. My blood boiled the longer the flamekeeper stayed.

Finally, he took a step back. "Yes, Heda" he huffed and walked away.

Now that I was alone I took a deep breath to get rid of the tension in my shoulders. I set my hands behind my back in a relaxed position. Freya had her back to me as she observed Aden practicing with the bow staff. He ended in a stable stance and held the staff with both hands so it was aimed at his imaginary opponent. My lips twitched into a small smile. Freya stepped forward to give him some direction.

It was quiet but I could hear Aden say, "Mochof, I'll do it again." He stepped back a few paces to start over.

Freya walked around to stand on the other side of him. Almost immediately she caught sight of me. She spared me a glance with a sly smile before focusing on her trainee. I believe if my expression were different she would have stopped Aden. However, I quite enjoy seeing her take an interest in our ways. It's nice to see her settling into life in Polis. I'll test Aden later today on what he's learned. Until then I decided to stroll around the market so Freya could finish her session with the natbleda.

Knock knock

I exhaled opening my eyes. Reality began to set in and my smile slowly faded away. It feels like mere days ago that I would catch a glimpse of Freya. The way she would look at me only made my heart ache. The not knowing when she'll look at me like that again was getting harder to deal with. I know she's alive but it feels like she's barely out of reach.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

There aren't many people who know where I am. The tension between Trikovakru and Wonkru needed attention. But if that is what's knocking on my door I'm unsure if I can give it my attention. I can only think about seeing Freya and trying to make progress. She gained an inch of progress yesterday.

Sitting on the edge of the bed I rubbed my face tiredly. Shaking the sleep from my system I managed to stand. The door opened with a squeak. "You take a long time to answer your door, Aunt Lexa" Andi said playfully. She held up a bowl to me.

"I was asleep" I told her.

Andi pushed the bowl into my hand until I took it from her. "You didn't come up for breakfast" she shrugged.

"Mochof" I thanked her.

Something lit up in her eyes hearing the trigedasleng word. "My dad taught me that word. Who taught you?" she asked curiously.