The Sword Maiden

Not Today

Soon after the sun had finished rising, and Terreth was stirring, Derrek came up to join me on the roof.  We'd barely seen each other yesterday, in fact, he hadn't been able to join us for the late night dinner.  

"Morning, Ravine."  His face was haggard, and his hair mussed up in some places.  

I patted the place beside me for him to come sit.  "Morning, Derrek."  

He lowered himself down beside me.  After a moment of silence, he spoke. "What're you thinking about?"  

I sighed and tugged my blanket closer.  "Isn't it obvious?"  

He rubbed his forehead.  "I suppose so.  I've... been thinking about it too."  He looked up at the risen sun.  "Before the raid, I never knew so much could change in a day."  His voice cracked.  

My heart broke for him, as it had a hundred times over, and I unfolded my blanket cocoon to wrap him in.  "Neither did I."  

We were silent for awhile longer.  

"I feel so bad for them, you know?"  Derrek finally spoke.  "I mean, I know what's it like to...  Loose so much.  So quickly and frightfully."  

I nodded, my chin rubbing his head and mussing his hair further.  "Me too.  It makes me angry all over again."  

He swallowed hard and bit his lip.  "I dreamed about...  About mother and father last night.  They were so real, you know?  I could almost taste mother's cooking.  But all the while I knew they weren't really there.  I kept trying to tell them of the coming danger, but they just smiled at me."  

I squeezed him a little harder.  "I dreamed too.  About the times we'd go the Farm Show in-" my voice caught on the name.  "Ladris.  I kept trying to tell them as well...  and I was trying to tell the people of Ladris.  I saw all the faces that are down below us and I tried to tell them..."  

"But no one listened," he finished for me.  

I closed my eyes.  "If you think about it, we didn't listen either.  I mean, we just...  Well, we were so naive.  All those years we'd lived in peace, we just assumed that it would remain that way."

He nodded.   "Yeah.  We assumed that our war with the Ravagers was over.  Or that if they did resume, they wouldn't in our lifetime."  

"Exactly."  

More silence.  Derrek's voice was thoughtful when he spoke.  "But isn't that how evil prevails?  I mean, you look through history and well, it always seems that after a period of peace comes evil.  While most everyone enjoyed peace, there was always someone else who didn't, and used the time of peace to break it."  

I thought about it.  "I think...  You're right.  People aren't viligant during times of peace.  They become lax."  

Derrek nodded.  "Yeah-"  His voice broke off and he sat up.  "Look straight across and to your right."  

I followed his gaze, which led me to a dark alley that had yet to be lit by the rays of morning sun.  I could barely see the outline of-

The outline moved.  I sat up.  Now the outline was distinctly human as it slipped sneakily down the alley.  

"Wonder what he's doing..."  I got down on my knees and hands to creep to the edge of the roof.  Derrek followed my lead.  I sat up on knees and rested my arms on the railing.    

Suddenly, I realized there were more outlines behind him, and in the other alleyways between the houses.  And they were all headed towards the Finnley tavern.