CHAPTER 2
MORE QUESTIONS, NO ANSWERS
It was a normal day in Cobalt Bay; everyone was busy in the salt trade. Some men were collecting the salt at the shore. No one noticed a girl laying unconscious on the golden sand of the shore, swept off by a tide. Her gown was torn, stained with blood and sand. Her sword lay by her side, rusted.
Aerien opened her eyes to the bright sunlight falling on her. Her whole body was filled with pain. She tried to get up. She noticed her sword was coated with rust, damaged just like her. There were a lot of people on the beach. After her past experience, she couldnot trust anyone, not even the unarmed workers on the beach. She felt helpless, empty, as if someone had stolen a part of her. She felt incomplete and broken.
It was not safe to move around without any form of protection, so she decided to find some shelter. Her eyes scanned the whole area until she noticed a cave. It was covered with wild plants, but she could see it. She felt a strong urge to go there. Almost as if an invisible force was calling her.
Aerien cautiously moved along the moss covered path into the cave. Her limbs felt numb and painful. She tried to ignore the pain in her muscles. But her each step was a new agony. She felt as if she was being burnt alive. But it was nothing compared to her heartache. It felt as if it was cut and stabbed and left alone to bleed, to slowly die, like she was alive to tell her a tale worse than death. Still there were no tears in her eyes. Tears could not express the inner turmoil she was facing.The cave was dark and cold, devoid of any presence. She noticed a stone slab on the cave floor. The slab was plain; there was nothing fancy about it. Still Aerien removed the slab to find a sword encased in a dark brown sheath. She removed the sword from the sheath and found that it was plain but useful. As soon as she removed the sword, her urge to stay in the cave was gone. As she found nothing else, she moved out of the cave.
Her head was throbbing with pain. She felt weak and hungry. Her first instinct was to find some food. Her eyes scanned the shore until she spotted a cartload of fruits. Without a second thought, she sneaked up to the cart, unseen by the workers.
She ate to her fill and felt as if she had not had any morsel of food for years. After eating, a strong sense of fatigue fell over her. So, she closed her eyes and darkness took over her.
***
She woke up from her dreamless sleep to the sound of murmurings around her. It was too bright for her eyes. Her eyes adjusted to the bright light to find people crowded around her, examining her curiously. She noticed that she was in a market place. She clutched the hilt of her sword defensively, but that seemed to scare them away and they retreated to a distance. But one of them stood to his ground. He had short, straight black hair, fair skin and hazel eyes. He was dressed in grey and black. He looked as if he was in his mid-twenties. Somehow, he reminded Aerien of her brother. She closed her eyes at that painful memory and got out of the cart.
“Who are you? What were you doing the cart?”He asked. He had a strange accent. Quite different from anyother she had ever heard.
But for Aerien his voice seemed to come from a far place. He repeated the question again but Aerien stood there dumb and emotionless.
He drew his sword and pointed it towards her threatening, which brought her back to reality.
She drew her own sword reflexively. For the first time, she noticed that her sword did not just have a plain blade. It had spiral designs like newborn leaves and some ancient runes were inscribed on it. The hilt was decorated with precious gems. She also noticed that one side was darker than the other. Their swords clashed together and she was reminded of another bitter memory. A tall, grim, man clad in black, with his nasty sword which resulted in her mother’s death and she was filled with sudden anger. She attacked ferociously and her opponent tried to deflect her attacks, but Aerien had the upper hand from years of training. She twisted and twirled very fast, confusing her opponent. She remembered her mother lying lifeless, dark blood pooling at her sides and her anger clouded her wits .She swung her sword forward with a skillful stroke and passed it right through him. She immidiately regretted doing that.
YOU ARE READING
THE LAST LIGHT
FantasyShe remembered the day the Great War came to an end. She was five at that time. Everyone was rejoicing but her mother cried, her brother had shut himself up in his room. They told her that her father was dead. But she did not understand, she did not...
