Korah: Heir of Gnamalea

CHAPTER EIGHT

They left the old woman tent early to avoid having to explain themselves for leaving when everyone woke. Their walk was short; the travel wasn't far from the border. They looked up at the tall wall, taller than the trees around them. Korah looked at the branches above her and found something tied to a rope. She pulled at it and saw it was wedged into the bark—a grappling hook. It could be easy enough, but what could it hold them both? She looked a little higher. Close to the tree was an opening within the stone wall, big enough for two to fit. She climbed up the tree with the hook attached to her hip and stood on a thick branch just below the opening. She swung the hook just far enough to connect to the stone and grabbed onto the ledge. She tugged at it to make it has adequately attached. Below Marcus held the rope waiting for her to go first. She jumped down and grabbed hold of the rope tugging again to double-check its security. Pulling herself up, her muscles started to ache once she made it halfway. Marcus below, still waiting for her to make it to the top, becoming impatient.The final pull was relieving as she reached the gap and watched Marcus as he started climbing. She then heard galloping in the distance. She looked up, and through the trees, she saw three soldiers making their way to the wall. Her heart sank as she looked down at Marcus; he hadn't even made it a quarter of the way yet. "Marcus! Quickly!".He sped up and continued to pull himself up. The soldiers had become closer and gotten off their horses, bow and arrows out and aiming at his body. She couldn't do anything to help him. They continued to fire at him, but another had also started to target her. The arrows missing her head by half an inch.Korah pulled her Labrys from her waist, dropped the bag from her shoulder, jumped from the tree and across the grassy ground. A soldier turned around, and she slit his throat, staining the snow with blood beneath her boots. She grabbed hold of his bow and arrows from the ground and pulled a hand back, aiming to shoot at the closest soldier. Korah would be outnumbered by now as another two had aimed at her. She grabbed two arrows and shot both in the throat and chest. She had always been good at archery. Even her brother was impressed with how perfect her aim was at five when she first attempted. She dropped the bow and grabbed hold of her axe again.She looked up at the wall and saw Marcus had made his way to the top. She climbed back up the tree and steadied herself before leaping towards the rope. Making it to the top, she relaxed against the stone and noticed Marcus was injured. His arm was bleeding with an arrow sticking out from the flesh. He groans in pain as he cradles his arm in his right hand. She pulled herself up and ran over to the injured man before she crouched in front of him and took a half-empty bottle from her bag she had left by the ledge. She tipped the liquid onto his arm, causing him to hiss in pain. "I'm sorry, relax".She quickly pulled the arrow from his arm and tied a piece of cloth around it to keep him from bleeding out. Marcus had calmed down a little bit once the weapon was out, but he still cradling his arm. The tears that had escaped his green irises had cleared, and his breathing had finally become stable. He looked at her and stared through her grey eyes. A strange feeling came across Korah's skin as he didn't pull away from his stare. She felt the sensation continue to grow stronger, not knowing why he had some sort of effect on her. She didn't know if it was a good or bad thing.She felt the same feeling she had while at Quill's shop. That same electric shock. She looked down at her hands and saw her arms had a faint blue slither through her veins. It started to disappear until it was unnoticeable. She thought she had imagined it. She looked back at Marcus, but he was gone. He had stood up and moved to the edge of the opposite side of the opening and looked over the thick forest bordering Phorys. The red roofs gave away the small huts. The small shadows of people dusted the stone paths in the city below. She drew in a deep breath and continued to walk towards the woods' clearing to the outskirts of the town, where she knew Azula lived. The walk to the city would be a nights walk through the thick forest walls. The town was quiet this early morning. Almost as if it were empty. Usually able to hear the bells chiming and town chatter.They, of course, knew about the witch law, but it was more of a rumour than a law to them. They were still wary of it. Phorys was very different to Gnamalea. Her city was filled with sorrow, emptiness, and definitely such a thing as slavery and manslaughter. There was such a thing as the poor and hunger. She hoped Azula would be thrilled to see her; she hadn't seen her in two years, the time when Alejandro thought she was dead. It hadn't been until she had left Phorys that she had been discovered alive. Her jealousy sparked within her as she remembered the fond memories spent here in Phorys. Their King, King Xavier, was civil and did see evil over the border. The reason they decided to build the barrier. There is no such thing as inferior, there is no such thing as slavery, and there was no such thing as killing. She didn't know what was wrong with her, the same strange feeling in her arm. It had started to play with her sight, though. She saw the mountains covered in thick snow and a familiar castle in the distance. A place she would call her second home. Azula was lucky. She didn't have a King like Amatus.She felt Marcus' presence next to her, but she continued to admire the mountains' beauty in the distance. The frosty grass and shrubbery was a gorgeous view and one she had never forgotten. Without a thought, she leapt from the stone wall and landed with a steady stance before noticing Marcus hasn't followed."Marcus! Hook the grappling hook on to this site and slowly come down". She knew more soldiers would start looking for them, even if that meant making their own way over. No doubt the word would spread of their presence.She watched as Marcus held onto the rope; his injured arm remained to his chest as he slowly slid down, using his legs for extra support. She stood cautiously underneath him in case he slipped. Korah couldn't risk losing a friend, especially when she needed him the most. God help her if she'd lost him. The nervous ache in her chest stung as he had difficulty halfway down, his right arm becoming weak and tired. Marcus looked down at Korah like he expected her to leave him stranded. He made it down safely eventually. He let go of the rope and walked to her with his wounded arm as he held it to his chest, the now dry blood on his arm like a wine stain. They continued to walk in the far North amongst the trees. As they continued to walk, she'd noticed Marcus had stuck behind her throughout the entire travel here. There was never a time where he had been in front. It was like he was trying to make me feel protected, just as William did.She saw him as a friend already, the first she had made in a long time. It was a rare thing for her; she didn't know how to act around people, nor did she know if she was a friendly person to others. The walk was another days walk, which she hadn't minded too much. Once they reach the city by nightfall, the timing would be much more convenient to keep her presence unknown. Marcus remained quiet behind her. Holding his arm elevated. His arm would take its toll on him, especially in battle but should heal slowly through time. The same with her leg; it still stung from its recent injury and would scarStopping for the night seemed to be the best option for them both. They needed rest, especially Marcus. His arm had started to get worse once they reached halfway, and the sun began to set. She knew these woods. They're nothing like Gnamalea's Western territory that she was sure of. Korah started the fire while Marcus tried to warm himself up amongst his cloak in the snow. Her boots were smothered in the cold layer of ground. Korah lit the fire in a pit and added broken wood, spreading the fire wider; the flame instantly exposing heat to their rigid bodies. She could tell Marcus was feeling better already as he warmed himself up. Sitting in silence was a comfort for her. Not to think, but maybe get a little bit of reassurance that they were safe. Alejandro was once a fear to her, but the number of times he had failed to lay a finger on her, the more she had grown to only hate him. Instead of running from the fear she once held, she chooses to fight it."Korah," she looked up at the dark-haired Lion. She, in her own mind, could see him as her Lion. He was fierce and brave, fit to rule a kingdom. He was quite a fighter, even though he needed much practice. "Korah.""Sorry, I distanced off. How rude of me," Korah apologised."Tell me about your family" she knew he missed his own. She was selfish, but she knew Gnamalea was home to Marcus, too, knowing he would fight for his city."My family? There isn't much to tell you. You probably already know," she chuckled."I want to hear more," he pulled a brave smile as he adjusted his arm from its uncomfortable position. What was Korah supposed to tell him? He already knew most things about her; what else could he possibly want to know? She thought about it for a while. Marcus waiting patiently."My mother was a strong-willed woman. I didn't know much about her, but from what I remember at such a young age. My brother was exactly the same. I guess you could say I was the odd one out of them both. Don't get me wrong, my mother and I had a good relationship. I just knew her and William were so alike that I was different and wondered if I was possibly adopted." She laughed. "My aunt Kèla was my mother's sister. I was so close to her. We were so alike. We shared our dark curly hair and pale skin. It was wrong to use her identity for my own. She died around the same time as my mother. Maybe a few days before, but it was pretty much a blur to me, as I was only a child," she thought for a minute. What else could she tell him? "I never met my father. Neither did William, but we had been told he was dead. We had never spoken about him. My mother didn't seem sad about him whenever he came up. It was more anger. We never understood why but I'm sure she had her own reasons."Korah continued to talk about her family as much as she felt or knew about them. It was hard to think precisely how she felt about them. For the rest of the night, they continued to talk. Korah thought he was so easy to talk to, one of the reasons she felt so close to him. "We should get some rest. It's only a few hours until the sun rises, and we still have quite a distance to walk," Korah suggested.Marcus agreed and carefully laid on his right side against the thick snow and dirt, with only his cloak and the fire to keep him from getting frostbitten. His arm was coated with extra jell before she laid on the snow against him to keep the both of them warm. Korah didn't sleep the entire night. Marcus had a couple of hours but was woken up from constantly being in the uncomfortable position he'd fallen asleep in. She soothed him during the night when he couldn't fall back to sleep but, it wouldn't last long. Her last few hours of rest, she only got a few minutes, but once she shut her eyes, she let the comforting sleep absorb her.