Story of a warrior

I shivered as Adin, and I made our way through the snow. After the gruelling revelation, Jacinta told us, we both agreed it was safe for us. Who knows, we might be outcasts now, or who knows what. My only real concern was not to freeze to death. Since I had more sensitive skin than Adin, I reacted differently to the cold. Adin on the other hand wasn’t bothered by it at all and trudged strongly without a break in his pace.

“Hey… wait up!” I called to him. Adin was a good 20 meters ahead of me, but it felt like 200 meters. He stopped and waited patiently for me to catch up with him. I struggled and by the time I reached him, I fell from exhaustion. Adin caught me.
“Are you okay?” he questioned worryingly. I nodded weakly, but he didn’t seem convinced. Adin lifted me and we walked until we found a cave. Little did we know that a small army of warriors was coming in our direction. We went inside the cave and Adin started a small fire. I huddled close to the fire, shaking from the cold. Adin sat next to me and looked at me.

“You, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“About?” I looked at Adin and he gestured for me to continue. I sighed.

“About my powers. Could have it happened when I fell into the river? When had I hit my head against the bottom? When I got the cut across my eye? You got your powers naturally and because of your genetics. I know nothing about my past. I don’t even know my parents well, so how do I have the qualities of a leader? Or more specific, the powers of a leader? I don’t even have a sword yet. You got your sword a few days after you got your powers. It’s been weeks, months since I got mine. What if my identity? Who am I meant to be?” I turned to look at Adin and he stared back at me.

“Your eyes are magenta,” he pointed out. “You’re going to be an assassin, a leader and a sword whisperer. I know you will.” I looked back at Adin and smiled. He smiles back at me and nudged me.

“It’s late. We should go to sleep now. Especially you. You don’t look well.” I nodded and laid down on the hard ground. It wasn’t that bad, to be honest. Adin sat still staring into the distance. Slowly my eyes closed and before I knew it, I was knocked out.

****

I woke up to the movement of a cart. I bumped my head against someone. I looked up to see a tall man with torn clothes and a sword strapped against his back. They had a few visible scars on their face and lots of small, tiny ones, crisscrossing his face. I gasped. It was a warrior!! An assassin!! The first I had ever met as well. I looked to my other side for Adin, but he wasn’t there. The warrior giant must have felt me move because he looked down at me and smiled.

“Hey, you’re awake. Are you feeling, okay?” he questioned.

“I’m fine, but where’s my friend?”

“Your boyfriend?”

“My what?”

“Friend, who is a boy. He must be in the other cart behind.” I turned around and looked over. There Adin was. He saw me and waved at me and shouted.

“We’re going to be okay, Annaliese. They are going to look after us,” I waved back.

“Okay Adin,” I shouted back. The soldier beside me chuckled.

“You too seem very close, Annaliese. How did you meet each other?” I looked up at the giant’s soft brown eyes. He reminded me of Adin for some reason, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“Ready to hear the life story of an 8-year-old?” I asked enthusiastically. The man nodded and I launched into my story.

“I was born to a family of just a couple. I don’t remember much about them, but when I was 3 years old, my parents died due to the war.” The giant gasped.

“Same with my parents. They died because of the war. I remember having a sister. She got married, had a daughter and then after that… I never heard from her. You remind me of her, Annaliese,” he said. I could feel my cheeks burning.

“Anyways, I went to the orphanage. There I met Jacinta and Adin. She looked after us both and ever since, I had always been close to her and Adin. He’s my best friend and like an older brother to me.” The giant smiled.

“That’s nice. I bet you did lots of stuff together.”

“We did.”

“Like what?” I launched into a full analogy, very descriptive about all we did, from snowball fights, and pranking everyone to story times with Jacinta and everything else in between. The soldier, who I later learnt the name was Felix, laughed at all the funny bits and comforted at the painful parts.

“So, how did you get your scar across your eye?” he questioned. I smiled and laughed before giving him the death stare.
“We don’t talk about that,” I replied, darkly. Felix stared at me. I stood up and whispered in his ear what happened. I made him promise not to tell anyone.

“I won’t miss,” he saluted.

“You better… or else.”

****

Home was never a word that stuck with us. The warriors always moved everywhere. We never stayed anywhere for more than 2 weeks. I was getting sicker and sicker and before any of us could predict it, I got struck down with influenza. The other assassins got sick, but they recovered easily. Since I was younger, recovering was harder than the time I fell in the river. Felix constantly had to carry me, and Adin never left my side. One night though, I thought my whole life had come to an end. Before I went to bed, I went to Felix and the other soldiers.

“I don’t feel good,” I complained. Felix pulled me closer and placed a hand on my forehead.

“You don’t look good or feel good either. You have a fever,” he informed me. I was constantly shivering, and my lips had gone blue and purple. My muscles ached every second of the day and it felt like I could achieve no rest, no matter what. Since we were always on the move and never near any villages, getting treatment was deemed impossible and the only way to get better was to suck it up and live it out. But I was only 8 and didn’t have a good immune system. Felix lifted me, carried me to the tent and put me on the blankets and covered me up.

“Where’s A-a-Adin?” I questioned, with the noise of chattering teeth.

“I don’t know where he is.”

“Can you find him please?” Felix looked at me worryingly. He moved my hair from my face and kissed me on my forehead.

“You get some rest. Worry about Adin later. He’s big enough to look after himself.” I nodded, feeling a little reassured and trying my best to sleep, but death was chasing after me and wouldn’t let me feel pain before I could have some peace.

*****

“Annaliese? Hello? Can you hear me?” I groaned and rubbed my eyes. The light was so bright and blinding, that it took a while for me to adjust. I wasn’t in the tent anymore but rather on a cart and in a different area.

“Where am I?” I asked confused. I looked around for a familiar face and spotted Adin and Felix. Adin’s eyes were puffy and wet with tears and Felix had a face of relief.

“You were in a deep sleep for three weeks, Annalise and today you nearly died…” Felix started. I shot right up.

“Three weeks? You have got to be kidding me.” But they weren’t. They all had serious solemn faces. And it truly did sink in.

“But hey, you’re better now. You fought off death and sickness. We’re proud of you because of that,” Felix continued, with tears in his eyes. Everyone else agreed, but Adin left.

It was three days since I had last seen Adin, but I was able to walk around now. We stopped at a small clearing near some woods, and whenever I could, I’d go and stay in the woods, not too far, lean on the trees and listen to the birds and quietness. But today, I had some company. While staying in the peace of the woods, I heard footsteps from behind. I turned around to see who it was and noticed it was Adin. I faced the front. Adin came and sat down next to me.

“I’m sorry for avoiding you.”

“It’s alright.”

“Can you forgive me?” I looked at Adin. His green eyes showed sincerity. I smiled at him.

“I forgive you.”