Bring Secrets to Light

Chapter 5

Merry Christmas everybody! We've got one week until 2017, get excited.  

Everyone woke up as soon as the sun rose the next morning. Judging from the bags under everyone's eyes, no one had slept well. Notch and Alex got back on the horse while Hero belted on his sword. Steve had given his sword to Ender, saying that she was better with it than he was. Blade kept her pickaxe, even thought it was technically Notch's.

The group started travelling, going at a brisk walk. Blade fell in next to Steve.

"Hey Steve?" Blade started.

"Hm?"

"Last night, when Hero told us that he thought he knew who the warriors were, you frowned. Why?"

Steve frowned again, remembering. "I frowned because he was lying."

"Lying about what?"

"About not exactly knowing who the warriors were and why they were chasing us," he explained.

"You mean he knows?" Blade questioned.

"Hero knows for certain that the warriors are Dark warriors and he knows why they are after us. But I don't understand why he's not telling us."

"I'm sure he has a good reason," Blade said.

"You're probably right. It's not the first time Hero's been mysterious and holding back information, and I'm certain that it's not going to be the last." Steve sighed. "Still, I wish that he would just trust us."

A few hours later, Blade was walking next to Notch on the horse. Alex had fallen asleep and she was lying on Notch's chest as he drove the horse.

"Kind of crazy past few days for you, huh Blade?" Notch was saying.

Blade smiled. "Yeah, not exactly how I was expecting my week to go."

Notch chuckled before getting serious. "You doing okay? You've done two big runs in the past three days."

"Yeah, I'm good. I used to do a run every morning, so I'm... well, not used to it, but you know what I mean."

They kept going in silence for a little while.

"Hey Notch, how do you know that the Ruler will help us?" Blade asked.

Notch glanced over his shoulder. Blade did the same. Ender and W were several steps behind them, in deep conversation while Steve and Hero were further back, also talking.

"Honestly, I don't," Notch said. "But it's our best bet. And if he doesn't help us, then we'll just have to support ourselves. Maybe we can get a house in a nearby village or make our own house again."

Blade could hear the nervousness in his voice. He was on his own, acting as the parent since he was about 15 or 16 years old. He was ready to try anything just to help his family and keep them safe. Even if it meant travelling far away from their home.

"What do you know about the Ruler, Notch?" Blade asked.

"I only know what I read years ago in the library and what's in the few books we had at home," Notch said. "I know that the current Ruler rose to the throne when he was 17 years old. He personally led several charges into major battles against rebelling leaders in the first few years of his reign. He made peace with Nether forces and End forces, but the monsters refuse to negotiate with him."

"How old would the Ruler be now?" Blade asked.

Notch sighed. "Ohhh... 45? 47? Something like that. From what I read, he has a wife but he has no heirs. Then again, those books were several years old, so something may have changed since then."

"Do you know what his castle looks like?" Blade had always been fascinated with castles. She always dreamed of walking in the large castle rooms, standing guard at the castle gates and protecting the lord of the castle.

"The castle is surrounded by a large village. It is located in the middle of a plain at the top of a hill, giving it a good view of the surroundings. There is a river that runs through the village, proving water for both the village and the castle. I think the village is surrounded by a low wall and the castle itself is connected to the village by a large bridge, which can be raised in the event of an attack. And of course, the castle is large enough to accommodate the village people for a small amount of time. Again, in the event of an attack."

"So it's got a pretty decent setup," Blade said.

"Well it has to. It's protecting a few thousand people and the some of the most powerful people in Minecraftia," Notch answered.

"Good point."

They continued in silence, listening only to the clip clop of the horse's hooves, the soft breathing of Alex and the hard-to-hear voices of Ender, Steve and Hero.

"Did you live near a village Blade?" Notch asked.

"Not really," Blade said. "The village was about an hour's walk away. I went to school three times a week, did weapon training twice a week, spent one day helping my parents around the house and had one day free to do what I wanted."

"Who taught you? For your weapon training?"

"My dad taught me. But for the past year, I've been going to a guy in the village. He's been teaching me the finer points of sword fighting."

"Are you good?"

Blade shrugged. "I'm okay."

"Did you have a rank?" Notch asked.

Blade nodded.

"What rank were you?"

Blade felt her cheeks getting hot. "Guardian," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Notch asked.

"Guardian," she muttered slightly louder.

"Come on Blade, you can tell me."

"Guardian," she said for the third time, just loud enough for Notch to hear. Her cheeks burned as she waited for the reaction she always got.

"You're a Guardian?! That's amazing! How are you that good when you're so young?"

There are many ranks in sword fighting. The better you were, the higher rank you were. The highest rank was Wither. Dragon was the second highest, with Guardian being the third.

"I don't know," Blade said. "I guess it's just a gift." She said the lines as if she had said them a hundred times already. Which she had.

"Wow. So, how long have you been a Guardian for?" Notch asked.

"Few months?"

"That's awesome. So... why didn't you fight off the zombies when they attacked your family?"

Blade closed her eyes. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone. My teacher told me that I could be in danger if I told people that I was such a high rank when I was so young. Not even my parents knew that I was that good. Now, I wish that I had fought. Then they wouldn't be dead."

"So why did you tell me?"

Blade shrugged. Because he asked nicely? Because he had been so kind to her? Because she had asked so much about his and his brother's past, and she felt that she should tell them something about her past?

The day faded into the night, and the family and Blade settled down to sleep again. Hero walked in a large circle around them again, but he wouldn't say why he did it when Blade asked. W had found some apples and the group ate with relish. Blade took the first shift, and when she fell asleep, she had dreams of warriors coming out of the dark to attack her.

Morning came and the group set off again, keeping the rising sun on their right. As the day went on, the land changed; from dark forest to light birch trees to a plain with no trees at all. They reached a small crest in the landscape and Blade caught her breath.

"Woah."