The Shield Bearer

Chapter 16

Rene lost track of time and her grip on her emotions as she just stood there, the empty plate in her hand. Since the moment that she had returned to full consciousness, she had kept it all locked away, just like she had learned to do in the midst of a great battle. But, at some point, one has to deal with everything that they had experienced during battle.

As she looked back through her life, she realized that everyday, for as long as she could remember, she had been readying herself for a battle. Even as she fought beside her fellow soldiers, she was still in school, learning and growing. With each wound that she healed, her power grew, but so did her understanding of life, itself.

Rene had always thought, that it was the next battlefield where she would finally figure it all out. And finally, her thoughts came to fruition. On that last battlefield, the sword of a friend drove her into the greatest battle she had ever confronted. The battle for her sanity and for her life.

And here she was, clear of that battlefield, for a little while anyway. But it's ghosts and the wounds of her soul, still haunted her. She felt like her heart was going to break in two as the recognition of all that was lost to her, settled before her.

Everybody that she knew, were either dead or unknown to her. Even if her parents and James were alive, there was a two decade gap between them. If Gregory had survived, he would have aged twenty years, maybe married and settled down with kids. All of her classmates had died before that fateful day. Even her teachers were gone.

As of right now, she had nobody to turn to, nobody that shared even the slightest inkling of what she had experienced. She knew that if she prayed earnestly, Astra would appear to her, but how could she even consider doing so, just so she could converse with a goddess. It felt like it would be such a selfish act, on her part.

No, she had to accept her situation. It wasn't up to Astra or any of the Divines to save her. She would have her chance to walk with and maybe converse with them, on the other side. The world of the living is the realm of life, not the gods. And she still had a very strong drive to continue living in this world. Why else would she still be here?

Nearing the end of her little self pity session, Rene heard the sound of a man clearing his throat. She put down the plate that she had been holding and reached up to wipe the tears from her face. She had forgotten that their might be somebody to witness her emotional break down. A part of her, hoped that it had been witnessed. Another part of her was deeply embarrassed at the idea that it had been seen.

Her face wiped clean, Rene turned to see who had cleared their throat. It was Adam's son. His expression wasn't so hard this time. His eyes reflected a combination of surprise and sadness. "I'm sorry...It wasn't fair of me to be so short with you." He sighed and crossed his arms. "I guess that seeing you, just triggered some unpleasant feelings that I have carried about my father's death. I hadn't considered the possibility that you have been through a lot. You had to have been, to make it here."

Rene nodded in acknowledgement of his apology. "May I ask your name? I only know you as Adam's son."

"My name is Lawrence." He offered no last name. Rene didn't push, especially as she recalled that Adam, never would share his family name with her.

"I'm Rene." She stepped across the small cave and offered him her hand, for a solid shake. At first, he seemed baffled by this action, probably because Rene was a woman. She had encountered that same awkward expression countless times. But a good handshake was how a Shield Master was expected to greet a new ally.

He looked at her hand, as if it was some alien thing. His brow furrowed as he considered her gesture and then he nodded to himself, as if he had agreed to something new. Lawrence reached out and took her hand to shake it.