Through The Door

Stand Up and Fight

We were supposed to send for reinforcements, but he was too fast. He even killed some of us. And now-” His voice faltered. “Now the king is dead. Arsenios has been taken. The king’s heir has gone missing. What… what can we do… against-”

In that one moment, all was silent, and the fire itself stopped crackling for a few seconds. Goosebumps rose on Rionen’s skin. The messenger… he was…

Hazel quietly got up from her chair and walked over to where the messenger sat.

“He’s dead,” she said quietly, closing his eyes.

Rionen put his head in his hand. “We have no allies left. The strong have failed. What do we do?”

“There is Taridius,” William said.

Rionen raised his head and stared intently into the fire. “Taridius? Taridius is more than a week’s journey away. And there must be some reason as to why he has not touched Taridius!”

William carefully picked up the messenger’s body and quietly left the room. Rionen’s heart sank. Why had he said that? He reached for the crutch that Hazel and Maia had made for him a few days ago and hobbled out of the room.

He sank down onto his bed. What could they do against so strong an enemy? An enemy whose power he himself had witnessed. Rionen uncovered his limp left shoulder and he flinched as he saw the burn marks in the shape of a wing. It was still there. Rionen’s mind wheeled back to a day in Dragon’s Breath...

A slave in the dark. He pushed as hard as he could. His arm ached. How could he push what he couldn’t see? He felt the urge to rip off the piece of cloth that covered his eyes, but that would only make it worse. He heard a creak. The front gate. So that’s what it was.

“Faster!” There was a crack, searing pain, and his back gave way.

Don’t let a word escape…

It didn’t work.

He felt himself being ripped from the big, wooden… thing that he had been forced to push, but he refused. He wouldn’t let them take him to… that man again. Something crashed down on his left arm, and he felt excruciating pain. That was the one thing he could never get used to. He let go of the wood, and they dragged him out of the burning sun.

A blast of cold air greeted him as he was brought back to the present. Rionen shivered and pulled down the cloth over his shoulder. If anyone, even his friends, saw that mark…

William rushed back into the house.

“Bad news. That’s all we’ve been receiving these days,” he said, shaking his head.

Kirian stood up. “Why, is there more of it?” He had fully recovered now, thanks to Hazel.

Will only nodded. “We’ve given the Alexandrians enough time to come here. They are approaching from the west, and if we don’t stop them, they’ll be here by sunset.” It had been two days since Arsenios had fallen, giving the Alexandrians enough time to ride to Girimar.

“How many?” Rionen struggled to get up from his chair.

“We don’t know yet, but it seems that they number over one thousand.”

Hazel slung her bag over her shoulder. “We will need to get ready.” She went to gather some bandages and things that she would undoubtedly need.

Kirian frowned. “For what?”

“The battle.”

Rionen looked down at himself and back at the girls. “What?! Are you crazy?”

“You mean you aren’t going to fight back?” Annora looked at the men incredulously.

Right. William went to arm himself, but went back and turned to Kirian. “Follow me.”

Kirian nodded and followed William. “We can’t do this all alone. Three of us - two of us is not enough for an army!”

“Who says we aren’t going to be alone? Now suit up,” Will said, opening a closet and revealing armour and weapons.

Maia heard the commotion at the front of the house and left the kitchen. The midday meal wouldn’t be ready in a while.

“What’s going on?” she said.

Kirian and William walked in, fully armed. “Hullo,” Kirian said, casually waving to his sister.

“Alexandrians are going to attack soon. We have to be ready,” William said, sliding his sword into its scabbard.

Maia ran to her brother and hugged him. “Don’t kill yourself.”

Kirian returned the hug. “I won’t kill myself, that’s crazy.”

“Oh, you!”

She turned to William and pulled him just outside of Kirian’s hearing range.

“Take care of him.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

William and Kirian went to the door.

“Where do you two think you’re going?” Annora said, stepping in between her brother and the door.

“We’re going to see if we can rouse the lord who lives here,” William said firmly.

Annora looked at her brother and sighed. “Farewell, and make sure you come back. We’ll be waiting for you.”

William wrapped his arms around his sister. “I’ll do my best, but what matters is that you’re safe here, and not out there.”

He fingered the doorknob, but turned back to the girls and Rionen who would remain inside the house.

“Stay safe, don’t let anyone in the house, and prepare… just in case.”

Maia saluted him. “Yes, sir!” Inside, her heart was uneasy.

William grinned, and they were off.

Maia’s smile vanished as soon as the door closed behind them and she sat in front of the crackling fire, trying to calm her nerves. She heard the door being bolted and a blade sliding into its sheath.

“Well, I guess the best thing to do right now is wait,” Annora said calmly.

Maia’s mind was somewhere else. “I just hope there aren’t too many of them. This will be Kirian’s first battle, and I’m really not sure what to think.”

“William will take care of him.”