Sea of Blood

            A little girl ran down the path, bare feet pounding the dirt and gravel. The skirt of her dress billowed out behind her, a bright smile on her face.  She giggled as she ran past a fence, darting through an opening in between posts and heading to the barn.

            As she neared it, she slowed down, creeping along the outside towards the door, intent on sneaking into the barn to surprise her father...

            Kestra watched the ax swing as if in slow motion and launched herself from her horse as it crumpled beneath her. She rolled past the returning swing of her enemy’s ax, turning her roll into a pivot. Using the remaining momentum, she swung her sword in a vicious arc, grunting with effort as the blade met with resistance. The scream that issued behind her was soon followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground as she stood, turning to finish the man off.

            As she slipped inside the door, she heard voices and paused to listen. There should not have been anyone in the barn with her father, and the voices sounded angry. More than a little frightened now, the little girl peered around a stack of hay bales and froze, a gasp of terror caught in her throat. Surrounding her father were four armed men and, though clearly scared, he was arguing with them…

            Kestra stood up, breathing heavily and splattered in blood as she looked at the helmeted face of the Itaru. She met his yellow-eyed gaze for a breath before screaming and bringing her sword down just beneath his neck. The anger quickly drained from the man’s eyes as his life pooled into the mud beneath his body.

            Before she could watch more than a few seconds, one of the men raised his voice – and arm – in anger. Light flashed off metal as a growing crimson stain filled the girl’s field of vision. A scream matching her father’s escaped her throat as she stumbled backward. Her last glimpse of her father was overpowered by the yellow eyes that met her terrified blue gaze…

            Kestra leaned on the sword, still sunk in the mud, and raised her head to truly look around for the first time since the battle had begun. She stopped breathing, shocked, as she realized she was the only person left standing; then swallowed and blinked as she realized that not one of the bodies littering the field moved, none at all.

            Once more, bare feet pounded dirt and gravel as the girl pelted down the path. She ran headlong into the woods, farther than she had ever gone before. Her ragged breathing and the stitch in her side eventually forced her to stop. She continued wandering, deeper into the forest until at last she fell asleep beneath a fallen tree. A lone rider found her beneath the tree mere minutes after she fell asleep and stopped, placing her on his saddle and riding off...

            Dear gods...She dropped down on her knees, not caring that she fell in the pool of blood from her last kill, her left hand still holding the hilt of her sword, her right hanging limply at her side.  Kestra continued to gaze bleakly at the carnage surrounding her.

             Several years passed and the once young girl was now a young woman. She stood in a courtyard, watching the sky, dressed in dark blue mercenary garb. A man came up behind her, dressed in similar clothing, and circled her waist with one arm while placing his head on her shoulder. A smile played across her face as she leaned her head against his.

            "You ready, Kes?"

            The woman nodded her head slightly, "Yes, Sugit...I've been trained for this. Besides, you'll be there with me..."

            The man smiled, shifting his head slightly to kiss her cheek.

            "Good, so off we go?"