The War Against Aberon (Rough Draft #1)

Chapter Sixteen

    Zaffre could not stop her weeping as she gathered her things. She moved sluggishly about her house as if to prevent the inevitable. The hands of fate, however, had scooped her in its palms. She could not escape their grip. The rucksack in her hands seemed to hold the weight of worlds and she worried she'd even be able to lift it onto her back. With shaking hands she packed her possessions, a sense of dread filling her to the brim.

    Outside, she knew Lenny prepared for their shared fate. After the reveal of being forced to war, there was little choice in their next moves. Zaffre and Lenny had gone into the cottage and barn respectively to grieve their past lives and prepare for their future alone in sorrow. She couldn't help but think the worst. That this was the end of her life as she knew it and nothing would return to what it was. In a way, she almost wished the war never began. Then, she supposed though, she would not exist. Her parents met due to the war. So, no she just wished the war had not come to Westwood, to her. Wishing would not change what had happened, however.

    She was putting her father's sword into its sheath when the door opened. Jahzarni stepped in, every bit as shaken up as her daughter. For a moment they just stared at one another. A silent moment of unsaid words of mourning. Then they were running to each other, tears streaming and wails held back. In her mother's arms, Zaffre felt as if a girl again. Like the time her father was teaching her to ride and she'd been scared because the horses were so big and she was so small. She'd run to her mother, seeking comfort and warmth. A few kind words and she'd gone scampering out to learn something new. Except she was no longer a small girl, and soft words would not fix anything now.

    They simply held one another as the heaviness of the situation created a thick mist in the air around them. Zaffre did not want to leave, she couldn't leave. Yet, there was nothing she could do. Knowing her only option was to go to the Capitol as the elven man had ordered, she gripped her mother in an attempt to show her gratitude and love. How could she say goodbye so quickly? There were so many things she thought needed to be said. Words of hope about the farm and her father. Words of wisdom for her time away. Neither of the women could seem to speak.

    Their moment broke when a solemn Lenny walked into the room, his nose still twitching with sniffles every few seconds. He gazed at them with such wide and sad eyes that Zaffre felt her heartbreak all over again. He was far too young and innocent for this. Sixteen years were far too little to be facing such an issue. Motioning him forward, she pulled him into her arms. The fuzzy Rabineer burrowed into her chest as he silently cried with his shoulders shaking. He was surely saddened over his prospects in the fight. Lenny was such a small thing, and Rabineer were not the most stout of creatures in the first place, his prospects of surviving war were dismal at best. While she knew their grief was different, she knew their comfort was the same.

    "We're going to get through this," Zaffre said just loud enough for Lenny and her mother to hear.

    "How do you know?" The grumble made her feel as if her heart were being torn in two.

    "Because we'll be together." She tried to manage a smile, but it fell before Zaffre could really call it one. It seemed to help Lenny all the same as he pulled back his shoulders and gave a small nod, his facade of believing her words admirable.

    "You're both going to be alright, you're going to be just fine," Jahzarni finally voiced. However, Zaffre was unsure whether she was telling them or herself that their well-being would be alright. In any case, she felt herself nodding as Lenny did the same. With that Zaffre turned and approached her father's bedside. Cylis lay just as pale and unresponsive as he had for the past few weeks, but that didn't stop her from sitting in the chair next to the bed and speaking to him.

    "I love you, Papa, if you can hear me I want you to know that since I may never see you again," she could barely even whisper the words, "I'm going to be gone for a while, I hope to see you when I get back, okay?" When she received no response she sighed and kissed him on his temple. Rising she went back to her dropped bag, the weight still as heavy as before. She looked at her mother and as their eyes met they both smiled sadly. Then she and Lenny were walking out the door. 

Word Count-840

A/N:

Hey guys, sorry for the days between updates. I've been a bit swamped with other priorities. I do still plan to get to chapter twenty by tomorrow so y'all get to look forward to some semi rushed chapters with maybe one or two more today if I can manage it, and more tomorrow!