Arrow

I ducked as the arrow whizzed past my head. Another close call. Death seemed so easy to happen at this time. Here, in the Battle of Thorntree Forest, near-death experiences were common, happening daily. So many were dead already, others injured so badly there was no chance of them living.

The arrow's path curved downwards, until I heard it hit the ground. Thorntree was thick and dark, with trees covering the sky, blocking out almost all of the sun's light. Trees and soldiers were all just dark shapes you could just see in the distance. Carrying a light would give away my position. Making noise would too. Creeping slowly towards the spot where the arrow had landed, I bent down, feeling around for the weapon. The feathered end brushed against my hand, so I reached for the arrow and placed it into my quiver, still moving slowly, careful not to be detected.

I heard a quiet shuffle of leaves moving across the ground behind me. Resisting the urge to whip around to see who or what was there, I slowly turned, drawing an arrow from my quiver at the same time. A dark shape loomed in front of me. I saw the barest flash of bluish metal, which was a symbol so that we could tell if others were allies or enemies. I relaxed, recognizing the blue glint to mean that the figure was an ally. The enemy carried red, we carried blue.

Whispering faintly, so quiet it was like I was simply breathing a word, I whispered "Who?". Listening very carefully, I heard the breath-words the other said. "Tiran Althers, Royal Scouts". Knowing the drill, I replied with my own name. "Kaiya Laren, Royal Scouts". The Royal Scouts are a highly trained, secretive group who are trained in archery and other skills, including climbing and moving without being seen or heard.

The forest was growing darker now, so I knew night was falling. Tiran and I came across a decent place to camp for the night. As I settled down to sleep, Tiran stood watch. We would switch roles halfway through the night.

It was when I was trying to sleep that I realized just how badly we were losing this war. We were defending our homeland, which had been overrun by a neighbouring country, called Temmesa, as the Temmesans wanted the land of Caralan, my country, as their own .The Temmesan army outnumbered us 4 to 1 already. They had a different system for training their armies, which was very strong and had taken a large toll on our numbers, and the war still wasn't over. I wondered how many others would die in this war.

We were losing, and badly, but I couldn't give up. I had to believe we would win. I couldn't give up hope. Those statements repeated in my head. I can't give up hope. Believe we will win. I can't give up hope. They kept repeating until I fell asleep.

I assumed it was midnight when Tiran gently shook me awake, for my turn on the watch. But then I noticed something. His bow was strung, and in his hand, as if expecting an attack. It made me realize that there must be an enemy nearby. Slowly rising from the ground, reaching for my bow and quiver, I stood up. Tiran motioned slowly towards my left. Turning my head slightly, I saw the figure of a soldier moving in the distance.

I saw the flicker of red marking them as an enemy. From what I could tell, they didn't know Tiran and I were there. And then I took a step forward.

Most of the time, mistakes happen that no one has any control over. You step on a fallen branch and trip. Or the branch breaks when you step on it. So when I heard a branch break beneath my feet, I knew I had made a mistake. One that could be a turn for the better, or one that could cost me my life.

Luckily for me, it seemed to be the first option. The enemy seemed to realize we were there, turned, and ran. I whispered a single word to Tiran. "Follow". The enemy may be leading us somewhere that could be useful to us.

The enemy kept turning around at uneven intervals, a good strategy for checking if anyone's following you. But it's also a very well known one, so Tiran and I knew exactly how to counteract it. We would follow out if sight, and whenever the enemy did something even slightly out of the ordinary, like hesitate, even for a split second, we would both freeze, instantly, not moving again until the enemy seemed to be satisfied no one was following them.

We seemed to be approaching something, a thin light, just barely visible through the trees. This was it. We had found it. Somewhere in that bit of light ahead of us was the key to stopping the war.

Creeping silently towards the light, my hand subconsciously placed itself on the hilt of my dagger. All Royal Scouts carried one, in case of the need for close-combat fighting. Sneaking into an enemy camp, which is what I had now figured out was what the light was from, would likely involve some sort of fighting.

Tiran and I were hoping to enter the camp by stealth, so we crept around the outside edge of the camp, out of the sight of the enemies, but in a position where we could see into the camp. It was something we had learned in our training. "Look first, then act."

We scouted out around the camp. It was Tiran who spotted what we were looking for. "There", he whispered. I followed his gaze and saw a large tent, complete with an image depicting the coat of arms of the commander for this section of Temmesa's army. The tent clearly belonged to the commander of this force.

And then we were spotted. I don't know how, I had thought we had made sure we weren't visible to the enemy, but I didn't have time to think on it. The enemy had raised the alarm.

Quickly, I whispered to Tiran, hoping not to be overheard, "I will distract, you go for the tent.". The commander's tent would likely hold the army's plans for attack. And that could lead us to winning the war.

Pulling an arrow out of my quiver, I quickly shot several arrows, all of which found their mark in the chests of the nearest enemy soldiers. But there were too many of them. In the distraction I had caused with the arrows, I saw Tiran sneak off towards the tent out of the corner of my eye.

The fight had lasted for what seemed like hours, but I knew it was only minutes. I saw Tiran run out of the commander's tent, holding something, with a faint smile on his face. The enemies didn't notice him, they were too focused on me. He had the plans. We could win the war now. At least I know now that this war will probably end with us winning.

But I knew that this would be my last fight. My quiver was empty now, my dagger in my hand. I had multiple wounds, but I kept on going. I was weak. I felt myself fall to the ground. I hoped Tiran was alright, and that we would win the war I had fought so hard in.

I looked up at the tree cover above me, knowing I was dying. I saw a bird flutter across the treetops. Even though there was a war going on down here, the bird was so free, high up in the trees. It darted from one tree to the next, like an arrow shot from a bow. It was beautiful, the way the bird flew around, singing. The last thing I heard was the song of the bird, before I felt myself drifting away from the war.