Daughters Of Hera

Chapter 16-Mad by Sadness

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They accompanied each other together, to outside where the echoes of the previous battle had vanished, the wind still roamed around breezily, unfazed. The air smelled like manure in an open field, children played where bodies had lied dead some nights before.

A stump of dirt was all that reminded the world that Dacio had lived, a stump of dirt among others hurriedly dug mass graves, and of course the memories etched in some who dared to remember him, who loved him with an affection.

Chilton dropped some white flowers from a tree in the backyard, she layed it softly at the top edge of the stump, there was no engraving, to which his name was written. So many graves were also dug up at each side where it layed.

"I don't know what to say. I thought if I saw where he was buried I'll find peace in his death, but I still cant," whispered Chilton, before looking at Saffron, whose eyes blinked with tears, he tried to hide in sorrow. "Are you alright?"

Saffron nodded, she continued. "There's a eulogy the warriors in my home city used to say, at such a painful event, it goes;

Most of our foes and friends have left, We are all the same in the eyes of death

Life itself isn't content with us, Giving us away without effort

To writhe away in endless demise, To dream without reality's lies

Seek not again the souls of whom I love, To take and fly away like a white dove

Pardon me that pain and timely regret, And for your mercy I'll never forget

For what am I without my loved ones, But a sadistic person who only loved once."

They was a bit of crying on Saffron's part, but he had lost his father and sadness was a bitter companion. He found Chilton's embrace a cure, and soon enough he that came to cheer the sad archer, needed a bit of cheer himself.

They walked away in a bit of hurry, much obliged by Saffron who wanted to learn how to fire an arrow.

Although he couldn't pull the bow's string at first, but sooner than expected he improved, only to missing all his target blissfully, with his childish grin and eager eyes never shying away from the challenge of trying again.

Chilton held his hands steady, as he aimed at a squirrel who was more interested in a nut, that of it's own life. She managed to calm the fidgeting in his fingers, "When I was taught to shoot from my sister, she told me this words of wisdom which I'll pass to you now, she said: Focus, there's the body, soul and the mind. You need to decide which is which. Their boundary line is too thin and blurry, where do you begin and end? Firstly you must find yourself, then be one body, soul and mind with the arrow."

"I do not understand a word you just said, can you dumb it down a bit please? How can I be of one body or soul with arrow," enquired Saffron quizzically.

Chilton let out a soft chuckle, "I didn't understand it myself, I told my sister to explain what she meant so many times. But she wouldn't budge, or say it's true meaning. I think it's just sheepish gibberish, I memorized it incase, she asks whenever it comes to minds sometimes,"

Saffron laughed loudly, almost falling to the ground with delight, suddenly he looked up to the sky, the sun was setting, he then remembered he was needed by his mother, or that's what he told Chilton.

"Why would she need you to do in such broad daylight?" asked she blankly.

"I'm to be introduced to my betrothed, soon I'll be wedded to the village seer," he said, suddenly the sadness resurfaced on his boyish face, and he looked down.

"I'm sorry, Saffron. There's nothing I can do to help you, I wish I could, but I can't all by self." whispered she, feeling weak and powerless.

"I know." was all he could muster to say, before running off, back towards the civilization of the village, his feet leaving deep prints in the ground, surrounded by dead leaves, that had fallen from it's life giving tree.

Some hours past, as Chilton hunted away to kill time, to elude the worrisome thoughts that ticked and tocked her mind with every breath she exhaled or inhaled, like a coping mechanism she ran, heaved hardly and shooting at any thing that caught her eyes.

She caught sight of a deer that hopped and evaded her every move, frustrating to chase or trail down.

She shot an arrow at it, but it dodged and hopped away with full force, leaving a brownish flash as it went. It's hooves dug at the grass, swiftly it went, like it had no specific weight.

"I'll get you, you'll see." she whispered to herself, she cornered the deer near a tree, aiming at it triumphantly, it's fur would make a nice coat for her sister as a present, she thought.

Until she stood near to it, with her weapons held high, frightened as she looked into it's discolored eyes, the left eye was of a bluish hue, while the right was of a brownish hue, both glistened smartly.

Chilton was dreaded to see something so unusual, she gasped and fell back, regretting her hunter's instinct to exterminate such a mysterious creature.

The deer stared at her blankly, searching and prodding her emotions, then it spoke. "Run, strange one. Run."

There was no words to utter how surprised she was at this, deers don't speak she thought. She reasoned how mad, she might seem. People would say she was driven mad by sadness. Then the deer hopped away, she never dared to chase it again.

Abruptly, she heard dreaded echoes of harsh screams coming from the depths of the village, signifying danger.

She began panicking with fright, before seeing black soot falling from the sky, she watched as they touched the ground, some fell on her skin, burning it lightly with it's hot embrace.

She stared up to see smoke dancing away to the blue sky, surely the village was on fire, dark smoke was erupting from the village like that of a camp fire, this was an another attack, she thought.

"Sister! I have to save you this time, you're not safe." she whispered harshly, before turning towards where the burning be from, running as fast as her legs could carry her, trembling with fear nonetheless. Fearful for what sorcery she might see this time, could it be the undead? or the enchanter had come personally to destroy the village? all this questions resonated in her mind, as she ran back to protect her sister from harm.

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