A Mallard Knight in Waiting (Swiblet Fanfic)

Chapter 11

The sky in the day was slowly ascending into darkness as the moon had took the place of the bright ball of light known as the sun. Pumpkin slowed down his pace as the big cat collapsed on the ground and fell into an abyss of slumber.

The group landed in a forest surrounded by tall trees and the chirping of crickets in the night. It was quite cold, but not as cold as Nieve, of course.

"Welp, I think it's good to take a rest right now." Swiblet said.

The rest of the group nodded sleepily.

As Victor and Squiggly setted up the tents, the warrioress looked........off. As if she was thinking about something. She looked at the sight of Galaxy yielding the duck's sword and pretending to act like him. The girl only was weighed down by the sword and fell on her bum. Swiblet tried his best to contain his laughter, but failed when Galaxy started to laugh.

"Hailey?"

Hailey jumped as the mage touched her shoulder to get her back on focus.

"Oh right! The tents! Sorry!"

"Hailey, you don't have to if you're not feeling well." He reassured.

The woman gave a soft smile to Victor, but frowned again.

"If this is about Kara calling you a boy, don't worry about it. She was just trying to get to your head. You know that we don't think of you that way."

"Well how do I know? I barely know you guys. We've only been on this hell of a voyage for what? A couple of days?"

"But do you trust us?"

Victor's question made Hailey pause.  Did she really trust them? Is she with the right group? What if they judge her for who she really is?

"Young one!"

A buff bearded man approached Hailey as she grabbed a mace lying on the ground. Today was a special holiday in her hometown where all of the men would gather around and combat. The ancestors defined it as a way to bring the people of ZheTklaka together by sparring. They say that it both made the body and the mind stronger.

"I'm afraid you cannot compete in this year's Bloodthirst Bash."

The woman smirked and swung the mace around her fingertip with the piece of rope attached to it. "Oh, Goliath, but I've already come of age. I should at least get a minute!"

Goliath gave a sad smile. "But I'm sorry, Hailey, I don't know how to put this thing in a nice way."

The man took a deep breath.

"You're..............not a man."

Her smile slowly formed into a look of disbelief as she dropped her mace. "What?"

"I'm sorry. Bloodthirst Bash is strictly for men. We can't break tradition. The ancestors will have our heads if we did!" Goliath placed a hand on the blue haired woman's shoulder. "I know you're a good kid. Please, don't make this worse for everyone else."

She couldn't believe it. She thought she was gonna finally have some freedom to be herself and do what she loves. But no. She just had to be a girl.

"Hey," Boba and Goof came to her side. "Let's go."

As she turned the other way and walked with her young friends, she overheard a conversation with some of the girl's choir.

"Ha. Can you really believe that she could try to be a man?"

Hailey frowned. "Don't listen to them." Said Goof.

"No. If only she finally accepted that she's not meant to wield swords."

Her fists clenched so hard that her fingernails would have made her palms bleed if possible. "They're just trying to get to you." Reassured Boba.

"How pathetic. Her mother didn't teach her well. What a scumbag."

That was it.

Hailey let out a uproaring scream as she ran past Goof and Boba, into the red headed girl and punched her.

"I can't believe my own daughter would do this."

The mother grabbed a piece of cloth drenched in cool icy water and dabbed it on her daughter's cheek, which was purple and bruised from an elbow of the girl she attacked mercilessly. A smaller Pumpkin rubbed up against her leg and purred.

"She was talking bad about you. I had to teach her something. I had to protect you." Hailey muttered.

Her mom stopped in her tracks. "Sweetie, I know you want to do things a woman cannot do, but as I told you many times, patience."

"Well, what if I don't wanna be patient?"

Hailey's mom smiled and hugged her daughter to comfort her.

"Your day will come. Someday, you will meet amazing people who will accept you for who you truly are."

"Hails?" The woman let out a sharp breath and looked in front of her.

Swiblet.

"I know how it feels to be a failure to others just because I wanted to show my true colors. But....." The duck paused mid sentence. "I've learned to accept who I truly am within time. And I've also learned to blur out other people's thoughts on me. If a simple duck like me can do it..... then it would be no problem for a strong, independent woman like you." He looked soflty into her hazel eyes.

Hailey smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"Okay, you're not like any mallard I've ever met."

"Pumpkin isn't like any cat I'VE ever met."

"Hey!" Pumpkin muttered in his sleep as he rolled on his back. "I HEARD THAT!"

Swiblet found himself in the same black void as he experienced in his last dream. Only, Hailey was right in front of him.

She looked like she was trying to find a way out.

She looked confused.

Unsure.

Afraid.

Just then, she let out a bloodcurdling scream as she held on to her arm.

"HAILEY!" He ran after the taller woman to aid her, but she didn't notice him. The duck stared in fear in what he saw.

Hailey's left arm was bleeding.

A thick, sticky ooze that was as black as the darkest shade of coal. The woman was crying in pain as the substance kept on leaking from her arm, staining her right hand in the process.

"No....No....." Swiblet put his two hand on his forehead trying to process what happened, but he then heard three babies crying. When he turned though, suddenly Lewann lunged right in front of him with a knife.

The duck shot up in a cold sweat as he, once again, tried to regain his breath.

Another dream? First, with Galaxy, now Hailey?

Am I losing it?

He stared as the sleeping forms of his friends as they dozed off into dreamland.

Was this voyage the right choice?