Fealty

//

Dark, almost black eyes were staring at the map, placed on a large wooden table. She could barely see the details on the paper, because of the darkness in the room, as only two candles were lit, illuminating the room with a weak, flickering light.

But the person in the room barely noticed the dark surroundings; she had more pressing concerns on her mind. Eyes were traveling over the beautiful drawn lines on the map; rivers, villages, towns, forests, the sea, hills, mountains…with that word in her mind, eyes instantly stopped at the mountain drawn on the map, not very far from TonDC; eyes struggling to decipher the inscription below, but her mind had no problem memorizing the name.

The name, which is burned into the collective memory of the people, living in its shadow.                 

Its name spoken, is enough to send shivers down the spine of even the bravest warriors, and so it doesn’t come as a surprise that no Heda ever tried to end their threat, she tough while the memories of her family flow to the surface, bringing along sadness and anger, which was long buried deep down, in the darkest corners of her mind.

The memory of home village was still fresh in her mind, the scent of the forest, birdsong echoing throe the air and the sun accusingly shining throe the treetops, warming her as she lied on the grass with her eyes closed, absorbing the peace and the noises of the forest.

She was just a little girl than, with no worries and no responsibilities. She didn’t need to think about the future of the entire Coalition, no Blood clan, nothing.

She enjoyed working on the fields, fishing or just gathering wood for the fire. Her family meant everything to her. Her father, a large but gentle man with black, almost coal like hair and with a smile always on his lips. She could tell him everything, the problems she caused, the boys she beat up, the things she broke and he would just laugh with his laud almost roaring voice.

Her mother was a beautiful woman, her long dark brown hair were glowing in the sun, as she worked on the field, singing to her old songs from before the war that destroyed the world. She enjoyed cooking and she could sew up the jacket in days. She remembered the gentle kisses on the forehead, when she was almost asleep and a two voices intertwining. One soft and gentle and one more rough, but still loving. “Good night sweetheart” they would repeat every evening as the sun slowly set behind the mountain.

A mountain that would someday take both of them, leaving her as a warning and a reminder of the power that mountain Man still have over the people in their shadow.

And after many years, the girl with black eyes and many scars on her soul rose throe the ranks in the army, fought in many wars, killed and tortured many great warriors and now Indra was sitting in the dark room, looking on the map, waiting on a messenger with important news. She was the general in the Heda’s army and they were at war one more.

Her eyes again on the map, she was looking north to the Ice nation territory. The people there were fierce warriors, armed to the teeth and drilled mercilessly. Their discipline in battle impossible to match even by her clan and most importantly they have the numbers on their side. Even if their lands are covered by ice and deep snow most of the year and the land looks barren and without life, the people are numerous and so is the army.

And a huge army is exactly what Heda need right now. Indra thought, her eyes still focusing on the map trying to read in poor light emitted by the candles.

//

Dusk was slowly but surely descending on Polis, but in the training yard near the city barracks the song of steel clashing with steel was still in the air.

Lexa barely dodged an axe which traveled centimeters from her head.  That was close, a thought crossed her mind when a gentle breeze swirled throe her braids.

Her sparing opponent was a giant of a man. His arms like tree trunks and a battle axe to match that. He was also quite swift and Lexa had felt the first sweat drops traveling dawn her back after just minutes exchanging blows. But she knew that type of warrior well, only strength and brute force fueling his blows but soon he would become tired and then she would make her move.

She was dancing around his, mostly dodging his strikes, sometime she used both swords to block his attacks. Over time she could see his breathing becoming lauder and his face redder from the strain of the battle or just anger; she didn’t know and she didn't care.

Her personal guards in the background were encouraging her with laud cheers and howls, but she knew the reason for that. The scared look in the eyes of the taller guard, which escorted her from the tower and an invitation to a training session, told her the entire story. They have bet on her victory against the giant. Her face forming a little grin, as the man charged with his axe poised to strike.

Her fingers firmly clutching the leather wrapped around the grip of the blades, she prepared for the impact with a battle axe. When it finally came, it shook her to the bone. The crowd stopped breathing for a moment as the man put his entire weight against her swords, but she endured it with only her green eyes showing the burden.

The power struggle didn’t last long, as she with almost unnatural force pushed the axe away and jumped to his flank. Man grunted with surprise and turned to face the threat. With every passing second his movements were slower and she knew her time to strike has come. Brunette dropped one of the blades in the dust; she needed one free hand for the plan to work.

A hint of surprise crossing over the man’s face, as his eyes followed the bluish blade fall on the ground. The brunette could almost see the thoughts swirling around in his head. He thinks I surrendered; she really amazed how foolish some warriors could be.

The crowd around her exploded in screams and yelling as the money started changing hands. Lexa could see with the corners of her eyes the disappointment and long noses of her personal guards in the background; their little scheme was seemingly failing miserably.

Her hand first wiping the sweat on her face, and then the little stream of blood coming from the split lip, caused by not very gentle collision with a battle axe handle shaped into a sphere.

Inside of her, a spark of anger emerged as she watched the giant parading around the battleground with his great axe lifted high into the air. So arrogant, so confident in himself and his supposed victory, that he forgot about the first rule any warrior learns. Newer let your enemy out of your sight, even if he has surrendered. A deep woman’s voice from her past told her that once, many years ago, when she was still training as a young girl with black blood coursing thru her veins. The memory of that day was still locked deep down inside, because the pain, sadness and loss but also joy and deep love she felt on that day were still too fresh and painful to face.

But a sense of Déjà vu pulled the memory from the depths and she had to close her green eyes to hide or just stop the tears from escaping as she recalled the day everything changed.  

After a rare and hard fought victory against her mentor, she let her emotions control her, her usual concentration and wariness gone completely as the adrenaline flooded her system, erasing the rest of the world around her but her fallow Nightbloods, who were standing in a circle around the pair.

In their eyes Lexa could see respect and awe over her achievement; not many of them managed to bring Anya to her knees, as she just did. But she paid heavy price for it. Her nose was broken, the light shirt she wore cut in pieces and a long diagonal wound on her stomach bleeding heavily.

She didn’t bother much to think about the injuries, she knew they were all superficial and none of them serious. The young healer who just traveled from Wood Clan to the capital will fix them in seconds as Nyko was trained by one of the oldest healers in his clan; her thoughts absently circulating in her head.

Her breathing and composure slowly returning to normal and she turned to the right, bending and grabbing the sword which was lying in the dust. The sun reflecting off the bluish blade, as she cleaned the weapon in her shredded shirt.

“Someday you will become a warrior and this blade will become your companion in the dark, your lover, who will the warm you in the cold and in the end, when your time comes, it will be your demise.” Lexa still remembered the lesson Anya give, when she and other Nightbloods were given new blades, which they will use in the Conclave. ”And until that days comes, you will take good care of this weapons.”

She took the words to her heart and every morning she first sharpens the swords with whetstone and then polished them, until they were like mirror, the decorative lines on the blade clearly visible.

As she was putting the weapon in its sheath, green met brown eyes looking at her from a distance and her heart stopped beating for a second. Previously unknown feeling of strong desire erupted inside of her and she felt confused. Who is that woman? Does she somehow know her? The eyes in which she couldn’t stop staring at were tender and soft, the color resembling the bark. She noticed a glimpse of surprise and maybe fear in them, as their owner wasn’t used to look the future Heda directly in the eyes.

Lexa broke the contact with the stranger, just to catch a glimpse of her beautiful face and the brown hair, decorated with simple braids. Her clothes were simple, a tunic and leather pants with only a light jacket to protect her from the cold wind. A farmer’s daughter; Lexa guested. Mixed emotions were raging in her head as her green eyes traveled back on stranger’s face she noticed a small scare on her neck. As the people started to shift and moved around, she lost sight of the girl and instantly she felt empty inside, as if someone special had left her. Her eyes straining to find the girl in the crowd but without any success. The emptiness and despair growing inside as she wondered about the name of a stranger in the crowed and if she would see her again.

A sudden blow from behind knocked her into the dust, the pain threatening to split her head open. For a second she didn’t know what to do, as she was still occupied with shining brown eyes from minutes before. She could feel a new stream of black blood making its way from the large wound in the back of the head.  

“Lexa, what are you doing, staring in to the crowd and exposing the back to me?” laud bark cut throe the air. “Did I teach you nothing in all this years…never turn you back to a still breathing enemy!” Anya’s words came reinforced with a strong punch which knocked the sword that Lexa just managed to pick up, straight back to the ground. The brunette’s mind was still in daze from the hit but she managed to look around in search of the pair of warm brown eyes while trying to avoid Anya’s angry look.

But her efforts were again in vain and she was slowly taken by the dark.

//