Chapter 10

Chapter 10:
Untold pasts, burden of love

    The soldiers sat at the campfire polishing there armor, shining the deep blue, each of them making sure that no flaws in the color show, just as they were trained. Their commander, in his tent, reading the listings on what the plans where, how the fight was, who was winning, and what not. By the makings on the left shoulder of the armor, they were known as squad ninety six, just another team of soldiers, nothing special, camped out on a scouting mission, nowhere near the main force..  A hooded man in all black walks past them stopping in front of them, still facing the way he was walking. His clothing, heavy and loosely fitted as if hiding something, moves gently in the winds. The soldiers look up at him, and then return to their work. The man stands saying nothing, just standing there. Then soldiers look again, this time worried. They had heard rumors of small squads where being killed off by a man in black, and they feared this was him. One of the soldiers boldly stands up to confront the man.

“Can we help you sir?”

    The man just stood there saying nothing, looking at nothing. The soldier looked at him, frowning slightly. He walked around the man checking for a reaction. He stops in front of the man and crosses his arms, his frown slowly turning to anger.

“Well what do you want?”

    Again he says nothing just standing. The soldier gets close to the hooded man’s face, trying to see past the shadows. In the faint light of the fire he can see nothing. The soldier attempts to pull the hood down only to have the man grab his arm. The grip squeezing the life out of his hand, feels cold and numb, as if it was dead. The other soldiers see the grip, and ready their weapons. The man squeezes more and the soldier starts to panic as his wrist trembles. He quickly pulls trying to free himself from the grip, sadly this only provokes the man, and he squeezes harder. A gruesome snapping sound echoes as his wrist is crushed. The other soldiers stand and start closing in to attack the man. He releases the crushed arm and raises his other arm, palm up turned. The men keep coming ignoring the stop the man seems to be trying to say. The air around them gets heavy. The heat rises but the fire dies out. In the black night, all that shines is a small white light from the palm of the man.

    A flash and it’s all gone.

“Allie.”

“Yes?”

“I guess I should tell you this.”

“Tell me what?”

“Well, Ricardo’s missing…”

“I know.”

“Oh good… wait WHAT?”

“I’ve know for a while, it’s not that hard to find things out, plus you’re not doing a good job hiding the fact.”

“How so? How did you know?”

“Well first, he’s my husband, so I naturally get a feeling when he’s near. And seconds… Well you have all of the castles men running around franticly looking for him. I’m surprised that the enemy hasn’t attacking knowing full well that we lost one of our leaders. It’s kind of sad.”

“Damn, when did you start to think like that?”

“Oh, it’s easy to see it that way when you do more listening and observing then talking. Really, if we were all to, well, shut up for a few minutes and look at what was going on we could see all the faults in the world and rebel. Almost anyone could.”

“Allie…”

“Yes?”

“You spend too much time with your husband.”

    She laughed at my comment, and I noticed how dumb it really was. My sister seems to have understood the key to how everything me and Ricardo have been planning and doing, just by being near him. I never knew she was that capable to catch on so quickly. Surely she will grow fast with time. But I’m not sure if she will be able to without him. It might be best if we where to find Ricardo for her sake. Wait a minute… She seems too calm about him disappearing; she should be panicking and freaking out.

“Alessandra, where is he?”

“… Sorry… where’s who?”

“Your husband.”

“Oh, that’s simple. Right here.”

    Alessandra grips the swords hilt and the blade lights up slightly, reacting to a gifted touch. I wasn’t sure what she meant by right here, but I’ve learned never to question he in serious moments.

“I’ll be honest with you… What?”

“He’s right here.”

“Yes I understand but where here?”

“In the sword.”

“He’s in the sword?”

“Yes… well sort of. Apart of his spirit is, and that’s enough.”

“So you don’t know where he is.”

“All of him no, his body, no, but he’s still alive.”

“How do you know that?”

“If he was dead this sword would be gone, the spells keeping this castle not only protected but standing would be gone, and nearly seventy percent of all the land would not support the crops that are growing there now.”

“Oh… you want to see him yet you know he’s missing. How would you do that?”

“In my dreams.”

“Alright this is just getting ridiculous.”

“It’s not, when he’s away, all I even needed to do was go to sleep and I’d be with him. It’s the spell he helped me learn. That way I’ll never be without him, both body and heart.”

“Wait you have the gift?”

“No I don’t.”

“But you just said…”

“LIES!!!! I said nothing.”

“But…”

“Drop it.”

“No.”

“Drop it.”

“Alessandra I will not. You promised to stay out of the gift.”

“No I did not, I promised never to learn how to use the gift as a weapon. This is far from a weapon.”

“I meant in general to stay away from it. You pay too much a price in the end.”

“It’s hard not to do it… especially when everyone dear to you uses it. Sarwar, Richard, you, Ricardo. All of you use your gifts every day. Yet mine stays dormant, never to awaken. I could let it stay like that forever. Not with the kind of husband I have.”

“I swear that I’ll kick his ass for his.”

“Ok, I’ll kick yours then.”

“Shut up allie….”

     The two of them walk out of the room. Alessandra again laughing at her older brother and Jorn sighs as she laughs at him. Just like when they were younger. It’s as if with his absence everything is going back words in time. As if undoing progression, a spell being lifted, and the untold truth of what happened to him at his birth. They walk together, the only blood family they each have.

 

    The dark sky shines no stars. The winds have died down. All the sounds have ended. A figure floats in the sky, hidden by the height. It floats, still, not breathing and lifeless.


“Time to wake up…”

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 1: Touch of the heart        Chapter 2: Kissed with problems      Chapter 3: Alessandra

Chapter 4: Burdan of my gift       Chapter 5: Hidden truths    Chapter 6: Cole, Cole Dalflorion, to be correct

Chapter 7: Blade's mistress       Chapter 8: Mask of their Hope       Chapter 9: Connection