Grieve Him

Chapter 9

My body was in shock. The sight before me, the sound of his voice, the feeling of the hilt of my sword in my hand. It's cold blade to his back. The whole bar fell into a moment of silence. The bartender in shock and fear, the people around at high alert of each other but curious of the exchange happening amongst the three of us.

It too much time and silance had passed. Except the man crying over his hand. It felt too quiet for me. My body screamed at me.

In a second, time had sped up very quickly. The man infront of me turned, hitting the tip of my blade from his back. As I returned to my stance, I was comfirmed. The one who I had sat right beside was him.

"Good to see you again, Princess." He said calmly, his voice laid soft on the deafening sound of the blood ripping through the big man's arm, his voice still echoing through the bar.

"I found you." I said shakingly. Unbelievably.

"Trust, I am just as surprised as you are. Especially that it was this fast,quite quick for a girl." He said mockingly.
"It'd be wise for you to watch your tongue" I said

His mouth stay shut once again. He removed himself from a fighting stance. This was my time to stike. As I leaned into it, he stepped back, his whole posture changing. He was fast. Fast than my brain could really process.
What is he doing?

As the thought rushed my mind, he was facing away from me, and as I plunged forward, he stepped away in time, his sword moving through the air. As his movement stopped, so did everything else, beside me.

I readied myself again, feeling the air move around my blade as I drew it back and stepped forward to land a devasting blow.

As I felt my heart slow down, my body did too. What was it? This feeling. Why did it feel so strange. I stopped as this mystery man sheathed his sword.

Then finally I heard it, the complete silence through the bar. Nothing but my breath, the flames bending in the wind and the sound of his sword going into it's socket.

The screaming. It's...

As I looked down from the man infront of me, my eyesight grew teary as I saw the head of the man on the floor lay separately from it's body.

My stomach began to churn at the sight.
"Figures. A privileged little girl, trained with a sword but never having to have wielded it." He said, still facing away from me.

I mustered up every instinct inside me and held my food in place. He began to walk out, as I regathered myself and stumbled on behind him. As we got outside, I had finally caught up with him and aimed my sword at him. "Stay right there." I said as confidently as I could. He stopped.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" He said sarcastically as he spun around to meet my eyes, "Princess.. you couldn't even handle the sight I had put on display for you, let alone have the will power to create one yourself."

"You speak- as if you have done no wrong."

"The only wrong I have done was letting his agony send so early. That was his moment to sing like a canary but-"

"But you cut him down in cold blood. Just. like you did my father"

"If you truly believe that was in cold blood then you aren't as perceptive as I thought you'd be. His screams had turned to cries. He was angry, vengeful. You could hear it from his tone. From the sound of his sword pulled from his waist. It was him, or you and I. And I prefer my life over rotting away in this hell hole of a town."

Maybe he had a point. My mind wandered. My anger had got the best of me. Thinking back, his voice, his cries, the sound of metal. It wasn't me or this man, it was the one of the floor.

But this still gave him no right to kill, to do what he had done to my father. I had made a promise to myself and I intended to keep it.

As I ran towards him, my knees buckled and felt my body tilt. I managed to straighten myself, however short lived it was. In another two steps, I tripped over a rock. Landing myself on my hand and knees with my sword flung infront of me. As I hit the ground, I felt my throat convult as my food had rushed up my throat and onto the ground underneath me.

I felt pathetic. Disappointed in myself and unworthy of my family name. All those years of training to amount to... this.

After a second of heavy breathing. I awaited what I thought would be my end.

"God damn it." I heard him say, "You're gonna make me regret this."

As I lifted my head, he stood above me with a hand held toward me. Hesitant, I refrained from grabbing his hand. He sighed, "come on." He came down and grabbed my hands, lifting me to my feet and picking up my sword to hand it to me. What's happening?

I reached for my sword slowly. Looking between him and the hilt. Why is he doing this?

I stopped. "Why would you give me this?" I asked.

"You owe me. I saved your life and didn't end it." He said, almost unconvinced of his own words. "Besides, as much as you want to kill me, I don't think it's you. And I don't think you think it is either." He said confidently. Almost reassuringly.

I grabbed the sword slowly and took it from him. We stood there for a second, just looking at each other. I had no idea what he was thinking.. who he was.. I was lost.

"My names Jaron. It's nice to finally meet you... Princess."