Arcanum

Chapter 10: Aiyana

The pain was unbearable when I awoke, and I examined my bruised and injuried body. Then I noticed a few patches covering some of my cuts, and I blinked in confusion. After thinking, I decided it was probably just one of the guards who was healing me just so I could get hurt again. A human guard walked into my cell, and I barred my teeth, as he examined me,

"Come look at this!" He called out, and another guard appeared beside him,

"Somebody's looking after her." The other said,

"It must be one of the Knights then. I highly doubt the King would help her. Or maybe the princess did this." The two nodded to each other and pulled me onto my feet. I hissed out in pain as the men dug their hands into my arms, covered in wounds. They just ignored me as they unclipped the chains from the wall, and to themselves. The two tugged me out of the jail cell, and I wandered down the hallway, cringing when humans in cells laughed at me. A man with a crooked smile and missing teeth grinned at me through the bars,

"Such a gorgeous girl. Too bad you won't be like that for long." He snickered, and I tensed, but just ignored him as we continued down the hallway. The guards brought me out of the jail, and we walked down the streets. Many people hissed and shot horrible insults, and I tried my best to block on their comments, and stay strong. The guards led me toward a man with an axe in the centre of town, and I suddenly knew all too well of what was to happen. They stood me in front of the man, and I tried to take deep breaths as the man stood, axe ready. Many people gathered around me, and I heard some cheering him on and telling him to kill me. The King, his right hand man, the Queen and the Princess suddenly appeared and took seats on the chairs to the left of me. I could see a faint smile on the King's face as he stared at me. The General then appeared from behind them, and stood in front of them. Our eyes locked for a second, and I noticed within his emotionless eyes he was hiding an emotion. The odd thing was, it seemed like sadness. The man beside me was about to bring his axe down, and I noticed the General was opening his mouth to say something,

"Princess!" Someone came rushing in, and they pulled me out of the way. I looked up to see Kyrin carrying me, and the boy used his wings to get us off the ground and fly us back to the Catori.

"Thank you, Kyrin." I smiled at him, and leaned my head against the boy's shoulder. Kyrin smiled back at me, as we flew toward the village. As we headed back, I started to wonder about what the General was going to say. Then I remembered the bandages, and this was all starting to fit together. Did the General care about me?

---

We arrived back at the village, and Kyrin gently laid me on the ground,

"Here, Aiyana." He said, and I thanked him, "she's injuried!" He called out, and I watched a few Catori picked me up and brought me into a village hut. Then, they were putting cloth and liquids on my body. I bit my lip to try and subside the pain. The whole time though, I was thinking about the General. He could have just been trying to repay me for when I saved him or maybe I was just assuming this whole time, but something deep in my bones told me he cared about me.

My wounds were cleaned, and a Catori villager told me to rest. I nodded to their advice, and stayed on the bed, feeling helpless. I couldn't sit here and think when there was constant danger from the humans. Anca walked into my room,

"I was so worried about you." He said, and clutched my hand. I looked up at my brother,

"I'm okay now, right?" I smiled, and he sighed,

"I know, but you almost died! You're the only family I have. We need each other."

"Alright, I'll try not to die from now on." I grinned, and Anca punched me in the arm,

"You're such a weirdo." A snicker escaped my lips,

"I totally am.".

---

The days past, and my wounds were healing, but I still felt quite weak. Although, after about the third day, I was able to go hunting and gathering food. I just prayed they would have healed by the time the humans came. Fortunately though, it seemed they still haven't found this village. I knew they'd eventually be here sometime though, so we needed to be prepared. Because of this, I got my brother to train the Catori Knights. We were going to be stronger than ever before for this battle.