Warriors Until The End

Chapter 1 ~ Loss

Chapter 1

I'm groaning and gasping when I pull out the next arrow stuck in my arm. It hurts so much!
I throw some water over my arm to clean the wound. Damn those arrows!
I'm sitting next to a small river which leads through the mountains, away from this cursed country.
The sun is already setting, so it will be dark soon. I can't wait here too long, though. The kings' soldiers are still chasing me. I look down to the water in the river. My reflexion shows me an eighteen-year-old human. Half human, to be precise. I'm also half elf. The long ears and the silver eyes are those of an elf. I hate my parents for giving birth to me, the only thing they did since I was born was abandoning me. After all, I'm an embarrassment, a  demons' child. Humans and elves shouldn't be together. After the war between them, they became enemies. And when a child is born between two people from these different races, that child will bring misfortune sooner or later. That's what everyone believes.

Now the next arrow. Only two more to go. I want to scream while I slowly pull out another one, which is stuck in my back. Damn it! This pain...! A tear leaves my eye. No, I must not cry! I'm not a weakling, not like prince Yri! I'm not weak and stupid!

~12 hours ago~

Yri and I are standing on a cliff, staring at the sunrise. In the mountains, the sunrises are the most beautiful of all. The sky is like a painting, filled with orange, yellow and purple. In front of us is an abyss, which is so deep I can't even see the ground. My dragon Deathclaw lies a few meters behind us, sleeping under a couple of trees while enjoying the last bits of warm sunlight. Autumn has begun: the trees are dropping their leaves, and mushrooms can be found everywhere. Squirrels are climbing in the trees, searching for food or playing with each other.
"Amazing, isn't it? The sunrise?" I ask my friend.
Yri says nothing, but nods.
"Hey, are..." I wonder if he will lie when I ask him this question, "...are you... fine with this? The marriage, I mean."

My friend sighs, and answers: "Of course not. You know that, Xix."
He looks at me with the saddest face I've ever seen on him.
"Travelling to another kingdom, far away from here, and not being able to complain about it. All of this to marry a woman I've never seen before! Just to expand my father's kingdom!"
He kicks against a rock, which rolls into the abyss.

I don't know what to say. I've never been in a situation like this before. What should I do...? After a while, I try to ask something again: "What happens if you refuse?"

"I already did. But you know my father. His heart is hard as steal. All he cares about is being strong and mighty,  and...." He stops talking.
"And what?"
"When I refused, he said... he said... that he'd kill me if I don't marry the princess from that kingdom."

I clench my fists.
"He can't do that!" I shout at him, "Killing his own son? He's insane! Was he really serious about it? That's... that's just-"

"Stop it, Xix!" my friend interrupts me, "Just stop it already!" he shouts.

Shocked because of his sudden reaction, I close my mouth. Deathclaw seems to have woken up because of our loud conversation, and growls irritated.
"Sorry, buddy," I apologize to him. My dragon sighs, a long and deep sound, and tries to sleep again.

"I know I can't escape from this," Yri continuous, "I can't escape from anything. Every time I complain about something important he hurts me. I've been hiding scars my entire life."
Yri looks at his hand, which is covered by a leather glove. I see a tear dripping of his face. Is he crying?
"Scars? What do you mean?" I ask. I'm confused. Would the king really do this to his son?
"He tortures me. Every time he gets angry he takes out on me," he whispers.
A small breeze flows through his long, blonde hair. He starts to weave it, something he does when he's thinking. I think it's something only girls should do, but he doesn't care. He has this habit for as long as I've known him.

"That man is completely insane. You have to do something!" I say to him. A burning hatred rises inside me. My best friend is being tortured by his own father!
"Try to talk to your mother. You told me she's kind, right? Can't she do something? After all, she's the queen. Or else, try to run away for a while, and return when the king has changed his mind. Try to stand up for yourself for once. I know you can do it!"

"So you won't help me..." Yri's voice is so soft; a normal human wouldn't be able to hear him.
"What are you saying?" I say surprised. What did he mean by that?
"You say that I have to stand up for myself, that I have to do it on my own. Does that mean you won't help me? You told me that friends help each other in hard times, remember? But..." he asks. A tear drips off his face.
"No! I never meant it like that! You know that! We're friends, right? Pull yourself together!" I yell, and I push him to wake him up. He's never been so negative before. Normally he's always happy and cheerful. What's gotten into him?

But I never should've pushed him. I didn't realise my own strength. A big mistake.
My best friend, prince Yri, loses his balance and falls off the cliff where we are standing on, into the abyss.
"NO!" my scream echoes through the abyss, and I try to grab his hand. Too late. "Yriiii!"
"So even you hate me... Even you want me dead," I hear him saying, right before the mist in the depth of the abyss swallows him.
"No...! I...I don't hate you! You're my friend!" But I know he doesn't hear it anymore.

"Deathclaw, wake up! Now!" I yell at my dragon, "We have to catch him before he hits the ground!"
My dragon stands up and yawns. I climb on his neck and tell him where to go. After that, he spreads his wings and jumps into the abyss.
"Yriii!! Can you hear me? Please answer me!" I call out to him. No respond. The deeper we fall, the narrower the abyss gets. And after not too long, it becomes too narrow for Deathclaw to go any further. But we're still not far enough to see the ground! My dragon suddenly spreads his wings and flies back.
"What are you doing? We have to catch him!" I shout. Deathclaw roars and keeps flying.
I look down one more time, and realise we're too late...
Yri is gone.
"N-no..." I whisper. A tear rolls over my cheek. He's dead, and it's my fault...

Heyy, Wattpad readers!!
What is your first impression about this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it! Even if you think "Uughh... this is shit. Such a stupid and boring story", I still want to hear it ;)
By the way, this is my first English book. So, there may be some mistakes. Sorry about that!
And I'm also sorry for the sad ending of the chapter, but I hope you'll continue reading the next chapter when it's done :) Just know that I'm quite fond of Yri, so his death definetely won't be without reason ;)
Anyway,  give this chapter a vote if you liked it and please leave your opinion about it in a comment! ;)