The First Kingdom (The Bolaji Kingdoms Prequel)

CHAPTER 10

THE FIGHTING GREW WORSE AS Sanee and the twins traveled along the edge of Karmir lands. Other people from the south were making their way north and setting up along the border. Sanee disguised himself as they traveled. It felt like such a betrayal of all he'd trained to be. If his family saw him now, they'd be shocked and ashamed. Things only got worse that afternoon.

The three of them were talking about what kinds of skills they possessed to survive in the north. Sanee wasn't sure he had any skills other than what would be useful to him in Karmir. He was supposed to be the future chieftain of the hunters of Karmir. He didn't know what he would do for food, shelter, or clothing in the North. 

His title had always been enough. Sanee's travel with the twins showed him how unprepared he'd been to leave his home. He wondered how he'd settle in another place and care for Adera with nothing but the clothes on his back.

"You get used to it," Jiden said. "After a while, it's no big deal. We're all a part of the same system."

"Eating and drinking is a natural-born right, so we only do what we have to do," Neke said.

"What about farming? You could learn to grow your own food. Earn your coins by hard work." Sanee did his best to speak in their way.

"We're not farmers," Neke said and laughed. "Imagine us, growing food someplace." He punched Jiden in the arm and his brother punched back. Soon, the two were throwing punches and dodging them with huge smiles on their faces.

Sanee shook his head as they tumbled around like two yune cubs. He saw the tracks before the first arrow flew.

"To the trees." Sanee pushed the boys apart.

They scrambled up the nearest trees to avoid the fighting below. They'd walked into the middle of another battle. The three sat in the trees for what seemed like hours before he heard Jiden and Neke using their wild animal calls to check on each other. Sanee still didn't understand the patterns well enough to understand what they'd decided, so he slipped down from his own tree and waited. 

The fighting seemed to have stopped. He looked around. Maybe there was a way to avoid this particular road to the east and go around. He wondered about Adera. How could she have avoided all of this fighting? She might have been captured.

A howl to his left put Sanee in motion toward the sound, crouching and running until he reached Neke. Jiden got there at the same time. A Karmirian arrow stuck out of his brother's side.

"Help him," Jiden said looking at Sanee. He had a hand on the arrow.

"No, don't pull it out," Sanee said. "It will only make it worse."

"Can you walk?" Jiden asked Neke.

Neke's face had gone even more white, in Sanee's estimation.

"No, we shouldn't move him yet."

Without any hesitation, Sanee ripped open the boy's shirt to expose the wound. The blood didn't seem too dark, but he wasn't sure. Once removed, the arrow would leave a gaping wound. He'd need something to help stop the bleeding. Neke moaned as Jiden spoke softly to his brother. Sanee foraged through the brush but didn't find what he needed. He would need Jiden's help since he was unfamiliar with the area.

"Find a tree with a large leaf, it will have a naturally rounded edge."

Jiden hesitated, not wanting to leave his brother alone.

"We need to hurry," Sanee said.

Jiden nodded and gave his brother's hand another reassuring squeeze before he dashed off into the forest.

Sanee looked for the purple flower with the yellow center that turned white when made into a paste. It would stop the bleeding. He walked for a while before he found it. He gathered a fistful then ran back to the brothers.

Neke was in poor shape. His breathing was shallow, and he'd sweated through his collar. The color of his face had gone from its pale white to ashen. Jiden still hadn't returned yet.

"I'm going to die. I need my brother." Neke's voice a whisper.

"You're a young warrior. You will not pass on to another life. Your wound is clean through." He pulled a small container of water from Neke's pack and rubbed the petals of the flower in the palm of his own hand. The paste formed, and it was time to remove the arrow.

Jiden came roaring through the trees a moment later.

"This one?"

Sanee inspected the leaf. It was round on the edge with a long stem.

"Yes, he will also need a binding."

Jiden thought for a moment.

"Let's use the shirt he's got on and he can wear my spare shirt."

Sanee prepared the paste and spread some of it onto the leaves Jiden brought with him.

"The arrow didn't pass all the way through. We will have to push it to the other side and then apply pressure. Do you understand?"

Jiden nodded with his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"It will hurt, but it won't kill him."

Sanee pulled out his knife and cut the end off of the arrow. He rolled Neke to one side so they would have easy access to his front and back.

"I'm going to push it through, you need to pull it out. Can you do that?"

Jiden's face went ashen, almost matching his brother's, but he nodded.

"When the arrow is through, we'll put the leaves one on each side of the wound and tie it on with the shirt." Sanee took a deep breath that Jiden imitated.

Then, just as he said, they got the arrow out and the leaves tied to his side within a minute. They let Neke rest again on his back and his color gradually returned to its normal tone. Jiden slumped next to his brother, and the two breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

Sanee looked down at his hands and realized something important. He had the skill to take care of Adera. Sanee was an experienced hunter. He knew how to perform basic medicine. They'd be okay living in the north on their own. He only needed to get to Adera before something horrible happened to her.