Short Story Collection!

Battlefield

My eyes sweep the land before me. The light that filters through the thick curtain of clouds above me casts long shadows across the battlefield. The field that once held the rich promise of life has now been torn apart and is left as an ashy wasteland. I go down the small hill I had claimed early on in this war. My mind is numb. I don't understand exactly what happened, one moment, it was a peaceful, rather nice spring day, but now the earth has soaked up the blood of many innocent people. My steps are being guided by the soft gusts of wind and the unspoken urges of the earth, elements that I have communed with since my earliest memories.

I don't want to look down, I don't want to see the face of the innocents that had been cruelly slain...no, I just didn't want to risk seeing her face. My cloak billows gently around me, brought to life by the zephyrs I summon to keep me company in a place filled with death. Reluctantly my gaze turns down, for it'll be better for me to know if she's dead. My eyes trace the contors of faces, most masculine, a few female faces are turned to look at the stars, blank expressions and glassy eyes.

A screech echoes across the burning land. I look up and see Kael. I whistle low, and the beautiful red-tailed hawk swoops down. His talons dig into my shoulder, and his keen eyes focus on mine. Our bond has been forged through years of companionship and a shared purpose.

"Kael...find her. Find Chrys," I whisper. He dips his head in acknowledgment before pushing off and soaring up into the clouds.

I need to find her; I need to see with my own eyes that she is safe or face the cold reality that I haven't let myself accept or imagine.

I continue my slow procession through the destroyed earth. My eyes desperately searched the mass of fallen warriors, both hoping and dreading to see those gold eyes. I just want to know. This not knowing is killing me. I pass a large group of dead and feel a yank on the back of my cloak. I whirl around, my eyes find that of a man who is lying there, most of his face has been melted.

"Lady..." He wheezes.

"Brave knight, you have served your Queen's valiantly. You will be welcomed into the halls of Yalla with open arms. Now rest," I say, blessing this poor man.

He stares at me, tears in his eyes, and I watch as the light fades from his eyes. I double over and empty my stomach. I don't know how to handle this. I wasn't built for the battlefield.

Kael's cry breaks the solemn silence once again. My heart lights with hope before crashing with worry once again. I scan the skies and see Kael circling about a mile North of me. I start running through ripped-apart land as tears fill my eyes, making it hard to see. I make it to where Kael is, and I can't help the sob that rips up my throat.

"Chrys!"

In front of me is my love, the queen, my everything. She is standing there, her once gleaming silver armor scuffed and dented, proof of her valiance. Her gold eyes find mine. I immediately know something is wrong. Her normally tanned skin is pale, and a faint sheen of sweat covers her face. Her gold eyes aren't alight with the mischief I am so used to seeing. She then drops to the ground, her face losing the rest of its color. I drop to my knees next to her. I scan her body trying to find where she's been hurt, her hand flutters to her side and I see that the armor there is stained red.

"You came," She whispers, her voice so weak that the wind almost carries it away.

"I will always find you," I say, my voice choked with tears.

Desperation clings to me and I call upon my connection with the elements, pleading for help. The breeze wraps around us in a gentle hug, and the earth beneath us seems to offer its strength.

"Mo ghràdh (my love), stop, you're wearing yourself out. I am beyond saving. I'm just so happy I got to see your beautiful eyes one last time,"

"No Chrys, you can't leave...you can't leave me," I say clutching at her hand.

"Don't grieve for me for too long. Promise me you'll live for both of us. Rebuild our land, heal its spirit,"

Hot tears pour down my face as I bend over her head resting my own on her chest. I sob into her chest, unable to do much more than that. The wind whips around us, echoing my sorrow.

"Promise me," She says. I can hear the strain in her voice.

"I promise," I whisper into her chest. "I will heal our land, make it whole once more,"

"Thank you, mo ghràdh," She sighs.

We sat there for moments until her chest stilled, and even the wind stilled. I remain there, her head in my lap as sobs rack up my chest. I cry until there are no tears left to cry.

As the first wave of grief began to dissipate, something new burned in my chest. A fierce, burning resolve that seemed to ignite the very air I breathed. Carefully I stand placing her head on the ground. I take a moment to arrange her body. She is lying straight, her right hand over her heart and her left hand resting on her stomach.

"Chrysanth Tristian Girack. You served your land well for four short years as their queen. You died in battle. May they welcome your spirit into the halls of Yalla so you can sit at the table of past monarchs. Rejoin your mother and father in the sky," I say, repeating the words said at Chrys's father's viewing.

The silence that followed, I felt my resolve grow into a steely determination that surprised me. "I will fix our land. But first I must cleanse it of the corruption that allowed this tragedy. I promise to make them pay, every last one responsible for your fate,"

The wind responded to my words. Its once soft breeze turned to howls that echoed my inner turmoil and my sudden craving for vengeance. Kael, circling above, cried out and joined me, perching on my shoulder.

The earth beneath my feet responded to my newfound resolve. The blood-soaked soil seemed to bristle with the energy of those who had died there. I would use my command over the elements not just to rebuild my destroyed kingdom but to avenge. They would be my allies in this quest, tools with which I will carve a path through those who cast this shadow upon our land.