The Way Back

Chapter 1: Alexa

I had tried running before today, but my attempts never worked. Something held me here. I couldn't ever leave, no matter how I tried. Since my first Warrior left, I'd been trying to get out of here. Kyle had decided three years ago that his father need him more than I did. He promised me forever, but he left before our forever even began. He took an oath to be my Guardian, and then left. I was lucky to even meet him. He was from the Lowlands of Manaria, a place we were told that people didn't get out of. If you moved there, you weren't expected to ever be heard from again. I got a letter from Kyle's father a year after he left that he wasn't ever coming back. He was only sixteen, too young to be gone. I didn't cry over him like some of my sisters did after they lost their Guardian. I only vowed to never let in anyone that didn't remind me of Kyle.

"God, I can be so stupid. Darius's number one rule is never get distracted, but here I am focusing on what can't be changed," I shook my head. It seemed like the gate should be around here somewhere. The fork was just ahead. I ran to it, and headed for the left trail. "I hope I'm right about this. If not, it could be worse than last time."

The gate was where it was supposed to be. It was made of two trees that intertwined their branches to create a makeshift arch. The gate itself had been torn off by Rogue attacks. They made visits frequently, mostly at night. Sometimes, they got in the camp. Other times, they were attacked by the Scouts before they could do any damage. I didn't think that they would ever use my gate. As I made my way down the trail to the gate, I noticed that there was someone there.

Someone had found my way out! I couldn't remember telling anyone about the gate even existing. Sure, Darius knew it existed because he and Grayson helped to make the trail to it, but even the trail was overgrown from lack of use. If I had told anyone, it would have been Chai. She needed to get out of the camp for often than what she did. I took a few cautious steps out of the trail path towards them. In doing so, I tripped over a tree root. In making the ruckus, I mentally cursed my lack of grace.

The guy at the gate turned my direction. His hair was a dirty-blonde color. It looked as if someone had just rubbed dirt through it. He grabbed a branch nearest to him. He was wearing a jacket, so I could see his face, but not his arms. I should've ran back to camp, but he would've seen me for sure. The girls always told me there was no hiding my red hair.

"Who's there? Hello?" He called out. I didn't recognize his voice, so he couldn't be a Latian. I would've picked out his voice if I heard it before. It didn't sound like the Sylvan accents I'd heard either. I heard him laughing at himself. "I must be going crazy. Talking to myself. Could've sworn I heard something."

I decided against running. At least I knew he didn't have a weapon, if he grabbed at a stick to defend himself with. I could probably whip out my knife if things went south. I stepped out from behind the trees that were shielding me.

"I've been told that the only way you're crazy is if you believe you are," I sighed. Darius's teachings were drilled deeper than I thought.

"Who are you?" He questioned. If only I could see if he had a Mark. Instead, I watched his body language to see if he was looking for a fight. I was trained to watch body language of enemies. You'll never know when they'll strike if you didn't watch carefully.

"I should be asking you that. Who are you? Where do you come from? How did you even find this place? I'm not the one who's where they're not supposed to be!" Honestly, I wasn't supposed to be here, but he didn't need to know that. I suddenly wished I was armed with a better weapon than a lousy pocket knife. There's no telling what kind of training this guy had.

"Forgive me for not saying. I am KieranValore. I am the eldest son of FredrickValore. I got a message a couple of months ago from someone named Darius. Is this the right place?" He knew Darius. But, then again, so did Neyala. She knew most of our names. Well, she knew the names of those that were here. She still didn't know about Chai.

I knew Darius was expecting a new Warrior, but I never expected a Valore. They were the top family in Molan, a city in the Highlands. They were known for their high-class blood. There were always the stories that circulated though. Stories of dark pasts.

"It must have been a rough travel if you're from Molan. That's days away from us, and I don't see a golden chariot," I was still watching him, but I was using distraction to my advantage. I knew what he was armed with, but he didn't know what I was armed with. If I attacked now, though, I wouldn't have the element of surprise. His guard was up. I could imagine if I just met a strange girl in the woods, my guard would be through the roof.

"It's a four day travel with no stops. However, I was passing through the Dalton area, and I stopped to see the sights," I noticed he was relaxing his grip on the branch in his hands. "The castle is a wonderful sight. Have you ever been?" I shook my head, so he continued. "The stone that it's built with looks as old as the structure does. I'm sure the prince lives a very grand life. Wouldn't you want to live in a castle like that?"

"No, I'm happier here. I could never surround myself with cold stone."

He nodded. "Should we get going back to wherever this fabled campground is? It's getting darker by the minute. We don't want to encounter any wild beasts, do we?" He threw a smile my way.

"The worst wild beasts you'll find here are the angry Warrior that you'll meet. But, sadly the daylight is fading, so that's my cue to head back," I sighed in frustration. I missed my chance to leave, again. I pointed in the direction I had come from. "The camp's this way. Stay close beside me."

We walked in complete silence for the thirty minutes that it took to trek back to the edge of camp. It could've taken me fifteen if I was running the fastest I could.

"What are the houses in the trees for?" Kieran was pointing up at some of the huts. I didn't blame him for wondering. I asked the same thing when I first got into camp with Jakob.

"That's the Scouts' shacks. Most of them are unused because we're low on Scouts," I looked over and saw the look of confusion that most new Warriors have when we say we're low in groups. "Scouts take care of any Rogue that tries to get in this camp. With that being said, it's a very dangerous job. They're trained with a bow, so many are not skilled at hand-to-hand combat. This leads to many of them dying on the job."

He nodded. "How many Scouts are there now?"

"Sixteen alive." We recently lost eight in a Rogue attack. They stopped at nothing to try and overpower us.

"And who lives there? I don't assume you have any ground troops," He was pointing to Chai's hut. I figured I'd have to be the one to fill him in on her story.

"One of my sisters. Her name is Chai. She's the Daughter of Chaos. As a Daughter, she would normally need to be protected by a Guardian, but she can manage pretty well on her own. She's learned to since she doesn't have a Warrior to take care of her anymore."

Strangely, he didn't ask any questions. People usually asked what happened to the Warrior of Chai. Her story was incomplete. There wasn't much I knew about her.

None of this was new to me. Kieran was taking all of the information pretty rapidly. Every once in a while, he would take out a small notepad and scribble something down. We rarely had a Warrior take notes, so it was a little strange to see.

After he finished, he looked up at me and I got my first glimpse of his eyes. They were a brilliant blue, more beautiful than any sea or sky. He seemed to be searching my face. I broke my gaze and felt a chill in my spine. I made the mistake of shivering. Sadly, Kieran noticed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him slip his jacket off, and then I felt it around my shoulders. I accepted the jacket, but narrowed my eyes at him. I looked at his arms, and saw no Mark, so he wasn't a Rogue. "Kieran, I can take care of myself. I don't need you to try to do it for me. I'm capable."

"I'm aware. I'm also aware that I've given you my name, but I don't know yours. Are you planning to keep me in the dark?"

"Alexa is my name. I'm sorry. I'm used to people knowing who I am. I'm the Daughter of Fire," I took his jacket off of my shoulders and handing it back to him. "Don't try to take care of me, Valore. Darius is waiting. I wouldn't keep him that way for long." I pointed him in the direction of the courtyard. I watched him run off in that direction before heading in my hut.

As I laid down to sleep, my thoughts kept drifting back to Jakob. I wish he was still here to guide me.