Archer

Chapter Three

Edited on December 30, 2013

Flynn kicked up water into Arianna's face, who in turn splashed him with her hands. The two children laughed and played, soaked to the bone by now. Their black hair hung in ringlets down their back, Arianna's longer than Flynn's but just about the same. The children slowed their splashing game tired and Flynn suddenly seemed intrigued by something else.

"Flynn! Flynn come on!" Arianna squealed splashing him one again.

Flynn put his hand out to Arianna looking off into the direction of their village, "Ari stop," when she splashed him again he faced her his eyes cold and dark, "Arianna! Stop!" Arianna froze in place. Flynn had never yelled at her. What had gotten into him? Then she heard it, and smelt it.

"Smoke," she and Flynn said at the same time. They both took off tearing through the forest trying to get home. Flynn was faster than Arianna, her drenched skirts and short legs prevented her from keeping up with him and soon he was out of sight. Branches stung her face as she ran through them, not caring the push them away. Vines tangled around her feet tripping her and causing her to fall several times. Her knees and palms bled from falling on broken rocks and sticks, but Arianna didn't even feel the pain. Something in her gut told her to get home quick, something was very wrong.

As the forest trees became thinner should make see the hazy outline of the village covered in smoke, flames leaping from buildings. The village was quite through the roaring of the fire. Something was not right, something had happened. Arianna pushed her legs faster, challenging and willing herself to catch up with Flynn. The little girls mind raced. Was her father home? Where her parents all right? Why was the village on fire? As she got closer the scent of blood filled her nose. Iron and fire. That is what her home smelled like. She could see bodies strewn all over the street, blood pooled next to the bodies. Dead men, dead children, and the women were naked lying in the streets. She stopped hearing the cries of Flynn.

He sat in the middle of the street between the bodies of his parents. Arianna's eyes combed the people for her parents, thought she hoped and prayed they had gotten away from whatever massacre has occurred here. Then she saw her father. His shoulder length golden brown hair was matted with blood and his chest rose and fell quickly. He was sill alive! Arianna sprinted towards her father, crashing down on the blood pooled ground next to him. Tears streamed down her face, stinging the cuts and whelps from the branches in the forest. Strands of her dark hair fell in her eyes, but she didn't care. Her fathers green eyes found her own, the only feature she shared with him. He smiled faintly, though it looked more like a grimace. Slowly he reached up to cradle her face, with one last deep breath he spoke, "My daughter...my dearest Ari...don't let anyone...keep you from being....who you are...an...archer..."

"No! Father! No, please! Please, father don't leave me! You can't die! No, please!" Arianna cried pressing her fathers hand into her cheek, willing him to come back to life. For him to pull her into his lap like he always did when she was sad and to tell her happy stories and sing funny songs. Her father couldn't be dead, he couldn't. Arianna scanned the rest of the people around her, searching for some kind of life, anything other than the death that surrounded her. There was no sign of her mother anywhere, she was gone. Either dead or missing, all Arianna knew was that her mother was gone and her father was dead. Not knowing what else to do, Arianna laid her head down on her father blood stained chest, closed her eyes, and cried.

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She must've fallen asleep, everything was a bad dream. She's fine, her parents are fine, her village is fine. Arianna tried to tell herself that it was all just a dream, but she knew that the second she opened her eyes, the truth would come crashing back down on her all over again. Inhaling slowly, she opened her eyes, and once again took in the death and destruction around her. She sat up from her position on her dead fathers body and looked towards where Flynn was sitting in what seemed to be just a few moments before. The space near his parents bodies was empty. Flynn had left her, she was all alone. 

Arianna stood and began her way to her still smoking house. Only the roof was thatch, the rest of the house was stone, her father was smart to build it that way. Arianna stopped and looked down to the ground. just thinking about her father made her want to throw herself onto the ground and cry, but she wouldn't. She was her fathers daughter, and she would be strong. She pushed open the soot covered door, squinting her eyes to see through the dusty haze of smoke and dust. Arianna stretched her arms out in front of her to make sure she wouldn't bump into anything and made her way over to the corner of the kitchen. She could see it there before her, her fathers bow and quiver set. Made of blackwood and red hawk feathers, her father rarely used them. Strapping the quiver set to her back and holding the bow in her left hand she turned ready to leave when a shadow loomed over her shoulder-

Arianna leaped from her pallet on the forest floor. The fire and dimmed and was just a smoldering pile of ash now. With the remaining firelight left she glanced over at Flynn who was in a deep sleep, a soft smile playing on his lips. Arianna picked up a few more pieces of fire wood and placed them over the burning coals and blew on them a little bit to help them warm up and restart the fire. She managed to blow some ash into Flynn's face, causing him to sputter awake and leap to his feet, knife in hand.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, looking up at him, hugging her knees to her chest, "I was restarting the fire, and well I accidentally blew some ash into your face." Flynn smirked before sitting back down on the opposite side of the fire from her and poked his blade around in the dirt.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

"I can never sleep in this part of the forest. It's to close to ho...to the village," she said cutting herself off from saying home. Tronoly hadn't been home since the fateful day ten years ago when everyone was slaughtered and their village burned to the ground. It had been ten years since that day, and the two remaining people who even knew of Tronoly had yet to discover why it was plundered and the people slaughtered. 

"Same here," Flynn said staring into the growing flames. Arianna laughed softly and tossed a stone at him.

"Mmm-hmm I could really tell with that smile and the 'Lena, Lena,' moaning going on over there all night. This place sure does give you bad dreams." Flynn looked up at the girl who had grown to become his sister, the girl who he practically raised on his own from the time she was seven and he was eleven. Everywhere they went they were brother and sister, they looked enough alike to pass for it, besides her bright green eyes and his brown. She had been with him through everything, and he hoped it would stay that way, he couldn't bear losing another family member.

"Oh just shut up," he said chuckling and tossing the stone back at her. Arianna turned to look at him and gave a small half smile before laying back down on her pallet and staring up at the stars.

"Do you think they're up there? Our parents, and the village?" she asked softly folding one of her arms behind her head and laying he other across her stomach.

"Ari, please, you know I-"

"Flynn just for once answer a question or a statement about our family. I know it's hard for you to talk about, it's hard for me to talk about. We saw our whole family our village dead in the streets. Believe me, it's just as hard for you as it is for me," Ari spoke sternly, her voice growing harsher with every word, "Goodnight Flynn."

Flynn opened and closed his mouth, watching Ari huff and puff like an angry dragon on the other side of the fire. He knew it was hard for her, she saw her father die, at least his were already dead when he found them. Maybe she was right, maybe it would do them good to talk about their parents every now and then. They hadn't spoke of them since it happened, or more like Flynn wouldn't allow them to be spoken of. With one last glace at Arianna he sheathed his knife back into his boot and laid down on his side facing the fire, "Goodnight Ari."