A Dance Of Blades and Hearts

peur

"this is nice right?" tera said with this blissful look on her face as she sank back into the water

"humm " I agreed

we were at the waterfall, the most beautiful place in zethna, it wasn't something we did frequently, only when one of us just needed to breathe, and I definitely needed to breathe.  It had been 3 months since the warship left the zethnan harbor, 3 months since azumi left.

I sighed and sank deeper into the water.

"sad we have to be back soon for training though " tera pouted,

"humm "

I heard her sigh "kiara, azumi will make it back "

"I hope so " I replied honestly, " and kiara ", she said suddenly holding unto my shoulders with a determined look on her face, I blinked

"we're warriors kiara, it's just what it is, we're all going to have to go to war at some point eventually, and when azumi gets back, don't give me that look young lady he will get back okay, there's no guarantee he won't have to go again, that's just how our lives are now, hope that we'll always make it back to each other is what we have to hold on too, we'll be fine "

she finished with a small smile on her face, her brown eyes, so different to my blue ones crinkled with it. 

I surged forward and hugged her

" you know I love you right?", she patted my back and I heard her laugh

"of course you do " I rolled my eyes but couldn't hide the small smile on my face.

Everything she said was right, it's a fact that everyone in zethna had come to terms with, it was there at the back of the minds of mothers when they look at their children, of a man when he looks at his wife, it was the sad reality of the world we live in, this war one day coming to an end seemed like a distant dream, an impossible one. And not for the first time, I wondered how one nations greed did this to the world.

"yah!", I yelled as my best friend swam away laughing after splashing me with water,

her high pitched giggle cut through the silent air of the waterfall, it came to an abrupt end though when I splashed at her also with a playful grin on my face

"ohhh it's on " she said and proceeded to chase me round the waterfall, well more like swim after me and try to get me even more wet than I already was.

We had rare moments of fun like this from time to time, it was easy to forget that we were trained warriors and just act like normal 18 year olds.

"you would think the city was under siege " ania said to me as we sparred,

now this was master arnoks lesson, he almost rivaled master joria on how strict and no nonsense he was, but the man always had a sadistic streak, that showing today in his decision to make us sparr when normal humans were asleep , and not just that, but in the rain. Wonderful.

  "watchwords girls? "he asked " defeat is not an option, you win or you die " we echoed in unison, our master nodded once as he walked through the midst of sparring warriors in the unrelenting downpour.

Ania and I were neck and neck,

"he just feeds off our suffering" I replied to her earlier question, she nodded an affirmative and sighed. Ania was younger than me, her elder siblings had gone off to war, same as azumi,  in a city as small as zethna, everyone practically knows everyone, so news got round quickly.

It had been 6 months since I last saw my brother,  the first 2 weeks after he left was spent with my looking worse for wear because of sleepless nights spent worrying,  Tera was with me through out that time, It got better later on, I slowly accepted the fact that it is what it is, and no matter how painful it was, I wasn't the only one going through this, everyone could loose a loved one, and I knew azumi was out there fighting for his life and those of innocent people, I was proud of my brother and I hoped everyday that he would make it back safely.

I hadn't run like this in a while, panting and out of breath,but I moved as fast as my feet would carry me, a sound had echoed through zethna moments ago, signifying the return of the warships.

my heart was in my chest as I ran, thoughts of my brother in my head, I desperately held onto hope that he would be in that ship, desperately ignoring the negative voice in my head that was screaming otherwise, 

The bay was filled with children, families waiting for their own, everyone hanging by a thread of hope for people who may or may not walk out of that ship.

My legs came to an abrupt halt as I watched warriors descend from the ship, my heart beat wildly in my chest.

Please please please, I was frozen in place, shouts of joy and relief could be heard all round as people were reunited with their loved ones, my eyes were trained on the warriors still descending from the ship, desperately looking for my brother,  the number of warriors got smaller by the minute, the mood was a mix of sorrow and relief as some zethnans came to the realization that there kids, husband, weren't coming back.

  I felt my legs give out and I collapsed on the floor, my vision began to blur and panic took over, I still hadn't found azumi, 

no  no

the back of my throat had begun to burn as I distantly heard the sound of the retreating ship. Every negative thought I had tried to ignore for 6 months took over and all I could do was try not to choke on my own sob.

"azumi, azumi oh please no " I whispered, my own voice sounded strange in my ears. 

"you're a little too old for ground play miss" I froze

"tell me does your brother know his sister is still such a baby? " the voice continued with the hint of a smile. My gaze shot up and the relief that flooded through me was immediate, my brother stood there, right infront of me, giving me one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on him.

"azumi "I whispered,  "the one and only " he said with a grin, well he tried too but I had already tackled him to the ground in a fierce hug, he laughed and patted my back

"I missed you too baby sis " I held unto him tighter and tried my hardest not to sob, for now atleast, life felt alittle more balanced.

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Heyy guyss... So did I mention this book was going to be really long lol😅
I'm not claiming professional writership or anything 😂but this story is in my head and there's a way I want it to come to life... So I apologize for how slow things are moving, but we will pick up soon.. And hopefully meet our male lead in a couple of chapters 😁
And the word peur is French for fear, which is my own way of trying to say that's what this chapter was about mostly, kiaras fear.