Young Writers Society

Man, it's been forever since I've posted a chapter! I keep forgetting about it. Well, here's the 6th installment of my novel! Yayy... 

For those of you who are just reviewing this chapter, here's a short synopsis of what's happened so far.

"Brinxlee Kaye was on a journey, one that she hoped would fulfill her dying father's final wishes. Her desire was to sketch the country outside her town walls, or at least parts of it, for her father. But things take a drastic turn when a city is destroyed by the murderous Ronan Payne, and Brinxlee finds herself in company with a pirate named Morgan who has convinced Bri to help get her ship, the Black Swan, back from several of Ronan's old crew. On their journey, they are joined by Mablevi, an old friend of Morgan's, and enter into the dangerous village of Bomani, where Morgan hopes to track down her ship. The village is populated mainly with mercenaries and rogue warriors, which cause some problems for the travelers, but they are saved from a potentially deadly encounter by Akilah, a fiesty old woman who offers them shelter, as well as offering to train Brinxlee in the art of combat, as she was once a warrior herself. However, even now, Morgan and Brinxlee are running for their lives, quite literally, from some of the town's more unsavory mercenaries, led by an even more unsavory and grumpy Pig."

Chapter Six

My heart pounded against my ribs as I ran, trying to keep up with Morgan's rapid pace. Heavy footsteps pulsed through the ground beneath us, the dreaded sound getting closer by the moment. A crowd had gathered behind us, cheering on the chase. The vast majority of the crowd chanted uproariously, “Pig! Pig! Pig!”.

Morgan glanced behind and gritted out a remark.

“Looks like we've upset Pig, whoever he is.” I chanced a quick glance behind us as well, but just as I did, a bare foot slammed into my shin, tripping me and sending my body hurtling towards the hard ground. I tried to pull myself up, but the same foot slammed into my back.

“Ay, boss! I've got your thief!”, a shrill female voice called out. Morgan skidded to a halt, half drawing her saber. She dashed at the woman overtop of me, slamming her elbow into the woman's bony ribs and knocking her off of my back. The woman lay groaning on the ground, nursing bruised ribs and a sore jaw.

I rolled over, noticing a bow and quiver on the woman's back. The two men had fallen behind, giving me just enough time to snatch the bow. A fit of fury clouded my brain, and I hardly knew what I was doing as I fitted an arrow to the bow and looked down the shaft. My hands knew exactly what to do. My aim had improved tremendously, thanks to Akilah's training. I couldn't miss. Morgan had finally drawn her saber and was turning to face the approaching men when she saw the arrow, directed straight towards the charging men.

“Brinx, no!” Morgan's yell came too late. The arrow soared from the bow and found its mark, right into the shoulder of one of the men.

He roared in pain, dropping to his knees. His partner skidded to a halt, dropping beside his comrade. The bow dropped from my trembling hands as I stared in shock, the angry haze finally fading. The injured one gritted his teeth, blood oozing out underneath the hand he held to his shoulder.

“Gah, that hurts!”

“Ah, c'mon mate, it's just a shoulder wound. Ain't lodged deep.” The second man's hot gaze fell on me as he yelled.

“Why'd you have to shoot him? We wasn't gonna kill yew. We was just carrying out orders!”

He rose quickly, trying to draw his sword, but Morgan beat him to the punch, quite literally in fact, as she smashed a fist into his stomach, grabbing his ear as she gritted out her message.

“We don't have any of the Pig's maps. Go tell your boss to leave us alone.”

“But that girl...” His complaint was cut off by Morgan's saber point.

Gaze still fixed on me, he reached down to his comrade, placed a hand on the injured man's chest, and broke the arrow shaft, leaving only the point behind. He then pulled up his comrade, who was weeping like a baby, his hand clapped over the wound. The two limped back to the Pig, who stood at a distance, arms crossed over his large chest. I could tell he was trying to hide it, but the angry flash in his eyes when he met my gaze revealed steaming anger.

The woman who Morgan had knocked off my back got up slowly, spitting at my feet.

“Yew just don't have no respect, do ya? Pig's being a real gentleman to let you off so easy. I only wish I could've taught yew some manners.” She cackled, disappearing into the crowd, in which many heated arguments raged, with money reluctantly exchanging hands.

Morgan sheathed her saber and pulled me up, murmuring softly.

“The people here think this is all a game. Look at them, betting on who'd win. I think they were disappointed there wasn't more of a fight. You ok, Brinx?”

I stared at the ground, still in shock. Morgan's shoulder bumped up against me as she spoke.

“Don't worry about it. He'll heal up in no time. Serves them right, too, throwing around accusations like that.”

“I...I lost control… How could I have done that? I've never hurt someone in my life, but when they were coming at us, I didn't feel anything except anger. I could have killed him!”

Morgan slung her arm over my shoulder, pulling me close to her chest as we walked back towards the hut, elbowing our way out of the dispelling crowd of onlookers.

“Fighting takes a lot more than just swinging metal around, acting off adrenaline, anger, and fear. Any lowlife can do that. But courtesy and mercy are things that you have to learn. Killing an opponent is one thing. Killing a defenseless, unarmed person is another. That's what separates the good warriors from the bad.”

She chuckled softly as she continued. “Many people think that pirates have no moral values, but that's not true. Any good pirate has a code of honor, even when dueling an enemy. Might not make some of us right in what we do, but it means we live by rules.” She winked at me, smiling as she remarked.

“Of course, that also doesn't mean our rules don't change every once in a while. I had a mate that vowed to never threaten someone's life. That is, until someone stole all his pairs of boots while he was on leave. He tracked the thief three days through the mountains, in his socks. Dragged him all the way back to the ship. By the time they got there, the thief was so terrified that he grabbed onto my ankles, babbling on about being dangled off a cliff, tied to a tree with fresh meat around him to attract wolves, and being hauled all the way back by his ear. Ah, wonderful man, my mate was. Creative too.

“Maybe I'll get you to come seafaring with me. Might even make you into a pirate. There's no better place than at the bow of a ship, the crisp salt air whipping through your hair. Aye, that's what it really means to be free.” Her eyes closed as she sighed deeply. Her face fell suddenly.

“But that's not gonna happen till I get my ship back and kill those thieving scum who slaughtered my mates.” She fell silent for the next few minutes until we reached the hut.

Akilah ushered us inside swiftly, chiding us.

“Tcha, you two made quite the stir. One of my friends, Kiki, told me what happened. Pig's men aren't going to let you off easy. Ah, but when have they ever? They're as thick-skulled as ever.” She chuckled, then walked over to where Mablevi was dozing peacefully and kicked his foot.

“Wake up, sleepy head! Tcha, some fierce guard you are.” she grumbled, stomping over to the fire. She grunted as she bent down, picking up several logs and placing them in the ashy fire pit.

“Mab, go to the cellar and get me two loaves of bread. Fresh baked, not the old, crumbled one. Oh, and while you're down there, get a pound of dried venison.” Mab begrudgingly walked to a thick rug on the floor, lifting it up to reveal a trap door.

“I didn't know there was a cellar there!” I said. I then paused, glancing at Akilah as I asked,

“Why is it covered over?”

Akilah watched Mab's descent into the cellar as she explained.

“Because everyone this side of the village knows I'm the best cook. They'd all be in here, stealing my vittles if they knew about that cellar. I have to keep all my valuables hidden, otherwise it'd all be gone within a few days.”

Mab's head poked out of the cellar a few seconds later. In his hands was a long curved scimitar, still sharp and polished enough to reflect the child-like awe in Mab's eyes.

“I had thought that you got rid of this beautiful blade, Akilah.” he said, running his hand admiringly over the handle. Akilah stared at the blade, her eyes growing wistful.

“Ah, I had forgotten about that… I just couldn't bear to give it away.”

“This scimitar is legendary! The blade of the great roving warrior, Akilah Jabari.” Mab explained without taking his eyes off the sword.

Akilah's eyes fell.

“I buried that name long ago with my husband.” She noted my questioning look and heaved a sigh, ambling over to me.

“I told you I was once a warrior, but I didn't tell you the whole story.” She sat down slowly, took a deep breath, then began talking.

“I indeed was a great warrior, in my younger days. I roved with a small band, and our purpose was to protect the innocent from thieves and robbers. We had quite the reputation. Many people started calling us 'angels of mercy'. It was a wonderful life. We taught each other many things.

“Then I met Jabari. He was so clever and intelligent, although unfamiliar with the warrior way. We fell in love, and only a few weeks later, he asked me to marry him. I had spent eight years with that band, but I left it all behind for him. It was a difficult decision, but my fellow warriors understood my choice. We settled down in this village and lived fifteen happy months together. I tried to teach him some sword play, but he always managed to avoid it and distract me with other points of conversation. He had a great love for books and academics, as well as for nature. We spent many hours wandering through hills, forests, and plains. At the time, I didn't really enjoy those walks, but I saw how much it meant to him.

“Then Jabari grew violently ill. He was gone in a day. Only after he was buried did I find out that he had been poisoned by an assassin.”

Akilah paused, her deep green eyes fixated on the floor. “I was so angry. I spent four weeks tracking down that assassin. I barely ate or slept. I eventually found him, dead behind a tavern. Once I found him, I wept. Not because my husband's murderer was dead, but because I wasn't the one who killed him. I wanted to see him suffer, like I watched my husband suffer. I wanted to hear him beg for mercy, then snuff out his miserable life.”

She grasped my hand tightly, looking into my eyes.

“You probably don't understand what it's like to want someone dead though, do you?” The memory of the chase, the arrow thudding into the man's chest, and the threats from the Pig came flooding back to me, and I couldn't hold myself together anymore. I broke down and covered my face with my hands, my chest heaving with broken sobs.

“I could have killed that man, and I would have! I've never felt so angry before. I just wanted to protect myself and Morgan too.” Akilah put her arms around me, her wrinkled cheek pressed up against my head.

“Anger is a powerful thing, but if you let anger drive you to hate, it will lead you where you don't want to go. Sometimes the balance between mercy and justice is hard to see, but a true warrior learns when to forgive and when to avenge.”

She whispered in my ear softly,

“Morgan is driven by revenge for the murder of her friends. She may be strong, but even she cannot always make the right choices. Morality is very important, and that's why you have so much potential, Brinxlee. You would rather heal than hurt, or save than kill. You do what is necessary and nothing more. That is a mark of a true warrior.”

“How can I be a warrior? I can't learn to fight!” I sobbed.

“You will learn, Brinxlee. I know you will. But there are more important things than that. One day, you will have to face the enemy, and in that moment it won't matter if you have the strength of a rhino or of a beetle. If you are driven by hatred, not compassion, you are just as wrong as the enemy, and you will fail.”

Her voice trailed off and she sat there for a few seconds.

Then she cleared her throat.

“Well, I'd better get these vultures some supper.” she said pointedly. Morgan and Mablevi glanced indignantly at each other.

“Huh, vultures… You can certainly tell how much she loves us.” Mablevi commented dryly.

Mablevi and I sat down at the table, Akilah placing portions of bread and venison in front of us. As we started eating, Morgan drew Akilah aside and they talked in hushed tones for several minutes. I noticed Akilah nodding, her face solemn. Morgan sat back down and was quiet for a while.

Finally, near the end of the meal, she started to speak.

“Brinx, I got a lead on my ship… One of my mates spotted the ship at a harbor, a day's journey from here. I'm leaving tonight to go check it out. Akilah promised to keep training you until I get back. Try not to get into any more fights, okay?” She winked at me roguishly. Akilah clapped a hand on Mablevi's shoulder.

“And you, my boy, will be heading back to your village tomorrow morning.” she said, cutting Mablevi's response off with a sharp look.

“You've caused enough trouble as it is. I'm sure your parents will want to make sure you're still alive.” Mablevi crossed his arms and grumbled.

“It isn't as if I've been gone that long. It has only been a few weeks. They fret about me too much.”

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After dinner, Mablevi sank back in his chair, starting to doze off again. Morgan was packing up a satchel with a few supplies. Akilah insisted upon loading her up with at least three days' worth of food, despite Morgan's protests. Finally, Morgan picked up her saber and slid it into its sheath, slinging the satchel over her shoulder.

“I'll be back in three days, if all goes well.” she said, nodding to Akilah, then turned to me and smiled.

“Bye, Bri. See you in a few days.” Then she disappeared through the doorway, the wood door thunking closed behind her.

“I hope she'll be okay...” I muttered.

“Oh, she'll be fine. I'd be more worried about whoever gets in her way!” Mab said, chuckling. I sat down at the table, musing over a question that had been bothering me for some time. I finally spoke up.

“Akilah, can I ask you something?”

She nodded, her sharp eyes resting on me.

“You said someone told you about me. Who was that, and how did they know who I am?” Akilah gnawed on her lip for a few moments, thinking. Mablevi was taking a mouthful of the extra bread he had snatched off the table, but paused, spitting out crumbs as he spoke.

“It was Morgan, of course! She should know, since she's your...” He trailed off under Akilah's icy glare.

“Oh… I was not supposed to say that, was I?” He said, slinking down farther into his chair.

“She's my what?” I demanded, looking from Akilah to Mablevi.

Akilah spoke softly.

“Brinxlee, Morgan knew you a long time ago. Both she and your parents didn't want you to know until it was a better time.” She paused again and cleared her throat. “Morgan is your cousin.”