The War in My Blood

Rowan

My heart pounded with anticipation. My first mission was to storm a rebel base. That would be almost impossible to do.

I felt so small, one recruit in an ocean of about one hundred others. Most of the recruits were older than me, which made me a lot more nervous. I spotted a young man that looked about my age who was talking to a girl wearing a dark cloak. Surprisingly, she seemed to be younger than me.

If I'm going to die, I thought, I'd rather do it by the side of friends. The least I can do is introduce myself.

I smiled at them. The one I assumed was my age flashed a grin back. The girl did not smile.

"I'm Terynn." I said. "Are you new here too?" It was a lame ice breaker, and I knew it, but thievery isn't exactly the top way to build social skills.

"Hey, Terynn," the young man said. He seemed distracted. "My name's Sam, and yes, I am new, which I thought you might already know because we are in the NEW RECRUIT DEPARTMENT!" 

My face flushed as I made a mental note to work on social interactions. "Smooth talking" people is the only social skill I really have mastered, and that wouldn't help. In fact, Sam would have ignored me and the girl looked like she would have stomped on my toes.

"Well, we're all in the same boat here, I guess." I laughed. The girl just stared at me, but Sam laughed too, earning a disapproving look from the girl.

Sam turned to look at her, "Come on, Rowan, it's only a bit of fun. If you want to be moody, go do it someplace else." 

Rowan lowered to hood on her cloak and I couldn't help but gawk at her. Her skin was pale. Not white, but close. And her hair was different too. Most people living in Ard have tight, curly hair, and it's always black.

Rowan's head was covered in a long cascade of wavy, chestnut hair. It was rather pretty in the sunlight. She looked at me and fired a reproachful glare.

She turned to Sam and said, "I'm not 'being moody' as you so rudely put it. You're taking this way to lightly. Think that someone as young as fourteen has been sent here to die."

"We haven't been sent here to die," Sam said.

Rowan shook her head, "I bet they want us to think we are joining with them. In reality, they are gathering trouble-makers and sending them off on a suicide mission." 

"I said to go away, Rowan!" Sam reproached. "We don't need any of your gloominess here." 

Rowan turned and stormed away with a toss of her long hair. 

"Don't mind her," Sam whispered, "That's Rowan." It was as if he expected me to know who she was. Sam spotted my confusion and added, "She's the cause of most of the trouble in another village southeast of here." 

"What's her problem?" I asked. Sam shuddered.

"They say she is some type of sorceress. I don't believe a word of it, but strange things happen when she's around, no doubt about that. Did you see the way she looks?" 

"Yes," I laughed, liking Sam instantly. "My brother told me people in other lands look like that. And guess what? They laugh about how funny we look!" 

Sam smirked, "Can you imagine?" 

Just then, Ekon stepped into a platform next to someone who clearly held a high status. The noble spoke to us about our honor, duty, and other boring things I'm sure no one here cared about.

Finally, after what seemed to be years, the man shut his trap and stepped back. Unfortunately, another man stepped out and began to cover details about the rebel base they had located, all of which we had already been told.

At last, they got to our specialized assignments. We were split into units, which would be our new family. We were to uphold their honor, treat them within respect, and blah blah blah.  Instead of paying attention, I thought about my real family. 

Will they miss me? Will Torynnë be mad that I left them? Will he understand that it is for their own protection? I'm sorry, Torynnë, I thought, but I am old enough to do whatever I want, even if it is to throw my away like this. This was my choice.

Our unit's mission was to create a diversion near the rebel base. I was so excited. Sam was in my group, and we chatted nervously about being chosen for this. Something Rowan had said still echoed in my mind. 

What if we were being sent to die? Maybe I had abandoned my family. I began to question my choice.

Was it really a heroic sacrifice? Torynnë had almost begged me to let him die. Had he foreseen that this could be a trap?

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. Ekon. "Are you okay, son?" He asked. I nodded. "Look, Terynn," he fidgeted, like he was being forced to do something he didn't want to do. "Terynn, I- look, I know you bypassed training and whatever because you were a special recruit, but-" he glanced around nervously. "Listen, Terynn- there is something important at work here, and we are still trying to figure it out but- well, I shouldn't tell you..." 

Why did I want to trust him? He could be using this opportunity to get me on his side, but the fear in his eyes told me otherwise. "Just tell me." I said. If it was this important, I needed to know what it was before deciding if it was true or not.

"Terynn- I don't have much time- If they found out I told you... never mind. I want to tell you but, doing so would risk my own life. Let's just say, you shouldn't trust anyone."

"That includes you," I pointed out.

Ekon ignored me. "This is your first mission, and you didn't have any training. We stuck you in a group that has been training for months. Terynn, do you know why?" 

The catch in his voice made me uneasy. 

"Terynn? Terynn, this is important. The king is not who we thought he was. Strange things are happening, Terynn, strange things. We put you with these people for a reason. Now listen closely-"

It was too late. A whistle blew somewhere in the distance. Ekon, my sworn enemy and employer, stepped back. Who was the villian here? He was obviously afraid of something, and before today, I had always seen Zhane Ekon as a cold and calculating leader. Today, he seemed like a weak, easily manipulated servant.

I heard the clatter of swords being drawn. My unit moves forward. I awkwardly follow, not knowing what else to do. We walk for hours, out into the scorching hot desert.

As we passed through a smaller village, Rowan looked back and caught my eyes. The expression on her face was unreadable. I remembered what Sam had said.

Strange things always happen when Rowan is around.

Then she mouthed the words, "I'm sorry." It seemed to happen in slow motion. Just as we began to draw away from the village, and hand grabbed me from behind.

Two hands.

One clasped over my mouth, so I couldn't scream. The other pressed a cold, blade to the back of my neck.

"Don't move if you value your life." Rowan hissed.

What was she doing? Over the past few days I had been stalked, abducted, and started working for my brother's murderer. I'm sorry, Rowan, but I refused to take anymore from anyone else.

I was done with being a slave to everyone's will. All I want was for my life to make sense again.

Jabari was dead, murdered to get me to join this shady government organization.

Torynnë must think I betrayed him, and would have prefered it if I left him to die.

The rest of my family has no clue where I am or what I'm doing.

And I am here unsure of everything I thought I had known. I wanted some answers.

So I attacked. My biggest mistake yet.