Chosen

Chapter 5: Temporary Alliance

     The purifiers walked down the dirt path, the village far behind them and the sun now dipping back down into the mountains. A steady incline made their trekking slow, and despite the cool air sweat soon glistened on the necks of the travelers. They walked in a strained silence, neighbors whispering in taunt voices to each other and casting guarded glances at the strange boy walking next to Annora, who was clearly ignoring the fact that he was even there.

     Ash didn't seem to mind, both the cold indifference of the beautiful girl next to him and the hard path. Unlike most of the men there, he showed no signs of fatigue or tire, walking as easily as if the path were on a steady downhill.

     Wynnone stepped in time with Galtem near the back of the troop, noticing his repressed fury as he watched the boy walk next to his precious little girl. "You know, the boy seems to have taken a liking to Annora." She observed, her head tilted slightly. 

     "This boy is nothing but an ignorant twit." He said shortly, his jaw clenched tightly.

     "That may be true, Galtem, but you cannot deny that he is quite a handsome one, and Annora is obviously a beauty. I don't know how she became so lucky, having a father with your looks." She joked, chuckling softly. 

     "She may be a beauty, but that doesn't make her an idiot. I see the way she looks at him, she sees him for who he is, like I do. And i've seen the way he looks at her, as if he knows something about her she doesn't. Why are you telling me this, anyway?" He burst out, his fists clenching and unclenching.

     " Oh Galtem, I say this because I care, for you and for her, are you sure this is the life for a child such as her? I know she has to be aware of the dangers of this world, but seeing her with a child around her age reminds me of a life she never had. She's never had the chance to be a child, not really. In some ways, the life you gave her was a good choice, she is responsible and brave, but there are some things that she never got to learn. Friendship, trust, love."

     "Love? She doesn't need love, she's got me. She's got you, you're practically a mother to her, how could she need love? Do you think Ash could give that to her? No, I know that boy's kind, he sees a pretty girl and chases her until he's gotten what he wants then he leaves. Annora would see through his trickery, I have taught her well." He looked at the boy with renewed eyes, still cold and hostile, but the worry was gone; he felt safe knowing he could trust his precious daughter's judgment.

     Annora wished he'd leave. He walked too close, never speaking but offering a comfortable, knowing smile. He was like an insistent fly buzzing around her ear. 

     Finally, Annora couldn't take it any longer. "Will you stop?" She burst out, suddenly turning her head to him, her green eyes flashing. 

     "Stop what?" He asked a little too innocently, those enchanting eyes opened wide in mock surprise.

     "stop- uh... Just stop- being yourself!" She cried, frustrated at not being able to find the specific cause for her annoyance.

     Ash gave a funny snort and kept walking, though a little farther from her this time. 

     They walked until their path was lighted only by the countless glittering stars and the pearly moon, stopping at a clearing in the woods. The overhanging trees couldn't quite conceal the sparkling dome overhead, and a large fire was set up in the middle of the clearing. Everyone sat around the fire, eating dried bits of meat and fruit from their bags. Horses were tied around the nearest trees and carts strewn wherever they would fit.  

     Ash sat comfortably, sitting on the ground and resting his forearm one of  the fallen logs that were pulled in a tight circle around the bonfire. His eyes seem to glow in the darkness as much as the stars overhead, and glittered even more so. His tousled black hair shined in the orange light of the fire. The purifiers sat in an awkward silence, sitting on the logs and staring at the strange boy. He looked around at the troop, waiting for the command to start his story. 

     Galtem looked at the boy, his expression blank. The crackling fire threw a haunting look upon his face, highlighting his prominent cheekbones and jutting brows.  Wynnone looked at him for a while, waiting for him to speak, but all he gave her in return was a cold silence. Wynnone sighed and turned to the boy. 

     "Go ahead." 

     The troop once again stared at the boy, every man leaning forward suspiciously.

     "Alright! I have connections, so there's rarely going to be report of a -er- dangerous creature that I don't know about. I happened to be by this village when I got word of the two parent dragons in the area, and obviously I can't take them on by myself, so I went to the village to see if I could get any help. I would do it myself, but it takes a lot of experienced men to take down just one dragon, let alone two. Also, these particular bests are larger than you've seen, I believe, and a hell of a lot fiercer too. I can't tell you how many stories i've heard of men who tried to kill these monsters and never came back. You kill these, every purifier in the land will tell tales of your cunning bravery." He looked around the circle, watching each man's face alight with the potential glory of killing two dragons at once.

     "Hold on," one of the men asked, "what are your connections? Who tells you these things?" Some of the men nodded in agreement, looking to Ash.

     "I can tell you more about them if you make it out alive from the- uh, what do you call it? Purification." Annora narrowed her eyes and looked around at the group. No one else seemed suspicious by the way he talked of the purification. The more she thought about it, he talked about the purifiers in general by setting himself apart from them. She wasn't sure what that meant, so she began to listen again to Ash's speech, putting her observation to the corner of her mind. "I don't want to put my time and energy into a group that might die anyway. Let's just say I know a lot about the beasts, and I know how to handle them."

     "How did you start hunting for them?" Another man asked from the back of the group.

     "Same way that a lot of you did. Someone I cared for was killed by one of them. My parents." Ash said this in a matter-of-fact way, like he was talking about the weather. He showed no hint of sadness or pain, in fact, no hint of any feeling, even his smug arrogant demeanor had gone. His face went blank, causing everyone to look at each other uncomfortably. His superior attitude came back, however, when he looked around at the group again, waiting for another question to arise. 

     "Look," He began, "You don't have to like me, I don't expect you to. But we're on the same team here, you and I. Just forming a temporary alliance because we both want something out of the other group. You want to purify these dragons, and I know where they are. I can't kill them myself, and with your help, I can. It's simple, when you think about it."

     Again, a long silence followed his speech. Many of the men in the group sat, obviously convinced to allow the boy to lead them to the glory of killing two full grown dragons at once. Finally, Galtem stood and swept his eyes slowly across the group. His eyes stopped at Annora; she could all to well imagine the horrid scene of Esme's death play in his mind. 

     "Fine," He began, already turning away from the troop and disappearing into his tent. " We leave first thing in the morning. I want to be rid of the boy before this time next week."

     "Oh, I imagine it'll take less than that." Ash said, a pleased grin lighting his glowing eyes.