Once Upon a Story [ INCONSISTENT UPDATES ]

Lost Home

a continuation of Lost Victory; the full end of the story.

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠
a story surrounding the loss of a loved one on the battlefield. the painful moment you have to let them go.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭
771

The light that warmed his skin brought more pain than comfort. It shone through the clouds like a whisper of hope on the land. Trying. Unsuccessful. The heavens had mourned and accepted the lives lost in the lower realm. Nothing could erase the carnage that stained the earth.

Weakly, he stood from his rest, bones grinding together. Beside him, his partner, limp with eyes bound shut. Under the white cloth, her spirit found respite, no longer witness to her tomb. With her arm hanging across his shoulder, he began the journey home.

I will give you a grave worthy of your sacrifice, he thought. He trudged forward, through the field of blood. Where his foot sank, the earth swallowed the dead, covering them in soiled muck. Where his eyes lingered, he saw what could've been a joyous walk home. His friends, the ones he had trained with his entire life, were gone.

They lived together, laughed together, cried together—they were brothers, through and through. Now, they had run to the next world, escaping the horrors of their lost life.

A path of pain, but never regretted.

As he walked further and further, the air shifted. It felt different, less dense. Light. The heavy clouds began to thin out, and the chilling wind became warm. The ground, hidden under corpses, came to life. Flowers opened as the sun appeared; their fresh scent cleansed his palate, stained with iron.

He laid her aside, hands over her gaping stomach wound, and started digging. His fingertips were badly crusted with torn-open calluses, but it only pushed him further. Digging, fingertips and nail beds destroyed, he toiled until his body flinched at the very thought of scratching dirt. Hands aching, he grabbed his sword to continue. He would give it his all before leaving her.

Taking a long breath, he fixed her position, making sure she was properly laid to rest. He placed her sword on her chest and stacked her hands above the blade. Lips pressed against her forehead, he showed his final act of devotion to her; his final goodbye.

Once above, looking down, he engraved her sight to memory and packed the dirt back into the hole. She slowly disappeared under the earth until he couldn't see her any longer. Then, it became a painful reality to accept.

He screamed, cried out again as he threw in the last of the soil and beat the ground with his fist. The pain he thought he had accepted resurfaced again, threatening to swallow him whole. The ache in his chest grew, consuming like a flame. He kneeled in tears, remembering all their happy moments. All the times they snuck away from the city to chase each other in the woods; the times he would serenade her from her window while she laughed at his terribly off-key song...

He remembered the day they promised each other forever, however long that would be. He remembered it all.

"One day, we will be with you," he whispered. "So please, wait until our time is up."

He grabbed his sword and stabbed it before the grave: a marker of the warrior who fell today. He said one last prayer and stood, starting the long trek back to the city.

"Don't forget to bring souvenirs."

"We'll be sure to bring back a skull or two," his father assured.

"Demitri!" His wife elbowed him in response to the comment. "We're going to war, not on vacation. Don't you listen to a word he says, Andel."

"Merinda, you know I love a good joke—"

"Hush," she cut him off, before turning to their son. "Now, don't forget to brush your teeth. Don't go to sleep too late, and be nice to the teachers at school—"

"You worry too much, Mom. I'll be fine."

She sighed and hugged him tightly, smothering his face in kisses. "You little brat. Don't interrupt grown-ups when they're talking." She held back the tears threatening to fall.

"I love you, sweetie. Okay? Don't you ever forget it."

He stopped fighting against the affection, never losing his smile and hugged her back just as strongly. "I love you too, Mom."

"What about me?"

"You can hug Uncle Kai if you feel left out, Dad."

Demitri smirked and took the two in his arms, crushing them with his caress. "I love you too, kiddo."

"Let's move out!"

That was their cue. They both kissed their son and followed the rest of the troops. Holding each other's hands, grounded for the battle that awaited them, they found reassurance.

"We'll return," she said. "Together."

He nodded firmly. "Together."