Young Writers Society

Chapter nine

I woke up the next day sore and in tears. The bittersweet taste of a nostalgic dream lingered for a moment before fading into misery. I stood up from where I had been sleeping uncomfortably and tiptoed around Sarah and the twins. It was still dark and I had to make sure not to wake the others up with the crunch of the leaves under my feet as I strayed from the camp. I had been suppressing my grief until then, and all at once it seemed to overflow. Everyone I had ever known, gone. Everything that was familiar to me had been burned to a crisp, leaving only me as a relic of a lost people. I did not know what the rest of my life would hold, but I was only looking forward to one moment of it.

"Duncan," Dean said, "I know how you're feeling, but we need to focus." If you keep thinking about how life used to be, you'll tear yourself apart. Right now think only of vengeance."

I had known Dean for my entire life, but in that moment I was hesitant the believe him. Something deep within me told me to grieve, and abandon such a petty quest. My rage said otherwise.

"You're right, let's train. I'll need to be strong when I face Kane."

I was still weak from the previous day's battle, but I did as much as I could, slashing through the air, and hacking at trees. It felt good to turn all of the despair I was feeling into fury, and release it into my blade as it struck the trees.

When I finished, I felt relaxed, and a childish part of me believed that the feeling would be permanent once I killed Kane. Afterwards I washed the dried blood, paint and sweat from my skin by bathing in the river. I washed both sets of my clothes, wrung them out, and promptly beat them against nearby rocks to dry them. They were still fairly damp when I arrived back at cam to find Sarah and the twins awakening from their sleep.

"Good morning," I said to the group, as they groggily sat up.

"How did you sleep Duncan?" Sarah asked, stretching.

"Horrible," John said, not caring whom the question was addressed to, "We really need to find better mats if we're going to keep camping in such rocky places."

"Agreed," James said.

"Yeah, I'm usually not that bothered by it, but last night was killer," I said, remembering not being able to find a single spot free of rocks to sleep on.

"I say we stop and this town ahead, it should have a general store where we can buy better sleeping arrangements," Sarah said, consulting a map.

We agreed, and began walking. My friends and I made our way back onto the nearest road, as before we had been trailblazing. John and James had suggested this, always being wary of roads since the past year, when they had made a living assassinating highwaymen. We ate as we walked, but soon ran out of dried fruit for breakfast, and decided it was all the more urgent we find store.

"Would you rather have money or power?" James asked me, after we had been walking a while.

"Definitely power, it's more useful."

"No way dude, money is much more useful," John piped in.

"With power you can get money," I said.

"With money you can buy power," He responded.

"I totally agree Duncan, power is a better choice," dean told me.

"What do you think Sarah?"

"What?" she said, turning to me, looking slightly bewildered.

"Money or power?"

"I don't really want either of those. If you ask me, love is more important than both. My idea of paradise is settling down somewhere nice with someone I really care about."

"Yes but money would make your life with that person easier," one of the twins suggested.

"I guess, but it's not really my thing."

"Well I guess you have better luck than us, because the twins probably won't be the richest men in the world, and I'm not going to be the most powerful, but your goal is perfectly attainable. You're one of the sweetest prettiest girls I've ever known, I'm sure you'll find someone one day."

"Oh you're just saying that," She said, blushing.

"Hey guys! Look down there!" James said, pointing down the hill we were on to further down the road. A man carrying over a hundred pounds of merchandise was walking down the path ahead slowly. He was walking in the same direction as we were, and his back was turned to us.

"I can shoot him if you like. That tent on his back looks pretty high quality."

"John!"

"I'm James."

"James!"

"I'm joking!" he said, smiling. I still had a creeping feeling that he wasn't actually joking.

"Let's go buy something then," Sarah suggested.

We called to him as we got nearer, and the man turned. He was middle aged, and had dark hair arranged in a suave looking comb over.

"Are you looking to buy?"

"how much are those tents?" I asked.

"One silver each."

"What's wrong with them?" One of the twins said suspiciously. The man chuckled as if the very nature of the question was ridiculous.

"Why my dear boy, what makes you think something's wrong with them?"

"I couldn't buy a chestnut with one silver. No one can afford such low prices, what's your deal?"

"I travel all around the world, and the economy is so different in other regions that can make a huge profit by buying in one place and selling in another. I assure you everything I sell is top notch. Here have a look yourself."

He handed a folded tent to the twins, who examined it shrewdly. They found nothing wrong with it, and handed it to Sarah to check for spells. It seemed perfectly fine.

"Alright, if they're that cheap, we'll take four," I said.

"Sorry, I only have two on me, but I do have some rations and some clothing if any of you need more of that."

James and John spent most of the money they had on them buying food, water skins that didn't leak, tents, and several other conveniences like pepper and food spices. We thanked the man and began to walk away. I was about to ask the twins why they looked so tense when we heard a click from behind us. James turned quickly and without hesitation shot a crossbow bolt through the man's eye. Sarah and I were stunned. Neither brothers looked phased, and they routinely began searching his pockets for the money they had just paid him. A loaded crossbow was still in his hand, his finger laid lifeless across the trigger he had been about to pull.

"We've seen guys like this a lot," one of the brothers said, as he picked up several arrows he had been on the fence about buying from the quiver on the man's back. "They sell things to people so that they let their guard down, then they kill them and take their possessions. That way they always have things to pretend they're selling."

"It's a good thing you guys were here, I didn't suspect him that much."

"I had a hunch he was a bad guy," Dean told me.

"Then why didn't you say anything?" I responded, slightly annoyed.

"I didn't want to alarm you. I knew the whole time though."

"Sure you did."

We camped a little further down the road as dusk began to suppress the sun. The tents we had acquired seemed at first more trouble than they were worth, but after a tedious half hour of figuring out by trial and error a method to assemble them, we saw the upside. Once erected, our new tents sheltered us from both the wind and the cold ground, serving also to trap our heat in their compact green canopies.

The four of us decided arbitrarily that the twins would sleep in one tent, and Sarah and I would share the other. At first, the two of us were merely discussing the next day's plans, and mundane affairs such as supply quantities, and the distance to the next town, but eventually, as we laid on our respective bedrolls, the conversation changed. Sarah and I talked of anything and everything, and we began to lose track of time as we became immersed in the conversation. I learned that she liked the rain, and that she used to paint when she was younger. She told me about how her magic worked, and I told her about what my old town was like. We laughed and joked occasionally, trying to find humor in life, to forget our recent losses. For the first time since I left the smoldering remains of my home, I felt truly comfortable. Simply talking to the girl gave me a warm feeling of excitement and pleasure, and I soaked in every minute of my time with her. Neither of us seemed to get tired, but at one point the conversation died down to a momentary silence. I sat motionless for a moment thinking, before I broke it.

"Sarah," I said quietly.

"Yes Duncan."

"I'm glad you came with me on this journey."

"I am too," she said smiling, "I like you Duncan."

"That's something I don't hear a lot," I said, bowing my head slightly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're a good guy, and I'm glad I met you."

I rolled over to face her.

"This feels nice. Just this. Just being here with you. I'm pretty sure I'd be miserable without your company," I started to say. She turned to face me as well, her eyes wide open, despite it being quite some time past midnight.

"Surely you must have been big with the ladies back in your hometown," She said. I honestly couldn't tell if she was teasing me or not.

"That's a joke. I've never been that audacious, and I've definitely never felt so close to someone as I do with you," I said, looking into her crystal blue eyes that were trained directly on me, and feeling that the moment was almost too good to be true. She leaned her face in closer to mine.

"Then they were missing out," she whispered.

"You flatter me," I whispered back, leaning even closer until our noses began to touch ever so slightly.

"It's the truth," she responded, and before I knew it we were kissing gently, her arms wrapping around my back as I pulled her closer to me. She felt so perfect in my embrace, and my lips tingled with excitement as a rush of euphoria hit me like a wave. Her body felt relaxed and light in my arms and I began to caress her smooth hair with one of my hands. I wished for that moment to never end. I wished I could just stay in that sweet embrace, with this wonderful girl so close. It ended abruptly.

Sarah pulled away and turned her head from me, tears now streaming down her face.

"Sarah, what's wrong?"

She rested her head on one of her fists, and her tear filled eyes began to dart back and forth as blood rushed to her face.

"We can't do this."

My mouth hung slightly open and my features became still, as if shell-shocked. I didn't understand, and felt betrayed, but a part of me also felt sorry for her, for whatever reason she was upset.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't get romantically involved with you. I mean I really like you, but I just can't."

Disappointment washed over me and permeated my heart. I immediately jumped to conclusions.

"Is there someone else?" I said, not realizing the ridiculousness of such a question, when the twins were the only other people we knew who were still alive. She cried even harder, not sobbing, but just painfully turning red as more and more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"No, you don't understand. We just can't. I can't. I'm sorry." She looked down at the ground after saying this, and her tears formed a salty pool beneath her.

"Why? Why can't we? I like you, you like me. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, just a romantic friendship," I said, my voice faltering.

"Duncan," she said, looking up at me through slightly red eyes, "The two of us have very different destinies. It can't work out. It's not your fault... in fact, it's my fault."

"You're just saying that," I responded dejectedly, though I was having trouble convincing myself that she was not telling the truth, considering how much pain she looked like she was in.

"I'm sorry if I got your hopes up. I'm sorry about everything."

For a moment we just kneeled there, avoiding each other's gaze, until Sarah broke the silence.

"Good night Duncan."

I didn't respond. I just laid down on my bedroll and sat there, feeling like a massive weight was crushing me. I was confused, angry and hurting all at the same time. We both turned away from each other and drifted off to sleep. A single bitter tear rolled down my face as I closed my eyes.