Beyond the Darkness

Chapter 14

               It was their fourth meeting and Amaya was excited for their fight. Kai was in the lead and Amaya walked behind him as they made their way through the forest. She watched him move and was surprised to notice that his usually smooth movements were jerky. Where he usually walked up straight, he was now hunched over. Was he hurt? He had smiled, laughed, and talked with her like he normally did in the dining hall. He hadn't let on that he was hurting, but now as she snuck looks at his unguarded face the pain was apparent.

       They got to their clearing and he pulled out his sword like usual. "Are you ready?" he asked giving her a goading smirk.

      When she didn't move he cocked his head at her. "What?" he asked.

     "What did he do to you?" Amaya replied.

      The smile fell from his face and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "I made him angry, but I'm fine."

      "Show me what he did," Amaya demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes at him, pinning him in her gaze.

     "Amaya," he sighed, "I'm told you I'm fine, really. There's no need for you to see. Now come on, let's fight, I'm up for some fun."

    "Show me," Amaya told him, unrelenting as she continued to stare him down.

     Grumbling under his breath he put up his sword and pulled his shirt over his head. His torso was wrapped in bandages. He turned around and showed her his back. The bandages were a bloody red and Amaya had to hold in a gasp.

       "Thirty lashes for failing my last assignment." He told her quietly.

       "He let you off easy," Amaya murmured as she thought on her punishments over the years.

      "I know," Kai replied, as he moved to put his shirt back on.

      "Wait," Amaya told him, "You need to replace those bandages. They are about soaked through. I'll be right back." With that she took off at a sprint back to her horse located in the tavern's stables. 

      There she pulled out a roll of bandages and some salve, something she had made a habit of carrying around a few years ago. Then she asked for and received a piece of cloth from the owners of the tavern before running back. Kai was still standing where she left him and Amaya was glad to see that his smile had returned.

      He held his arms up as she carefully began unwinding the bandages around his chest. The blood wasn't completely dry and the cloth wanted to stick to his back as she tried to pull it off.

      "You're such an idiot. You should have just stayed at the castle and rested," Amaya chastised him. "Riding right after this is not what you need."

       "I didn't want you to be sitting here waiting on me and me never showing up," he replied.

      "I would have been fine. I wouldn't have been angry, only worried. And I would have still come for our next meeting. If something like this happens again just stay in bed and rest. Don't think about me," she told him as she wet the cloth with the water he had brought and began dabbing his back. His back was a bloody red mess and wiping the blood off didn't even make it look any better. He would flinch lightly at her touch and every time he did her hate for King Roland continued to grow.

      "So you said you failed your assignment. How did that happen?" she asked as she continued to work on him.

       Kai shuffled his feet and Amaya swore that if she looked at his face right now he would be blushing. "I don't want to tell you," he muttered.