A Song In The Wind

The following day, I woke to a knock at my door. I was told to get myself ready to leave today. I found a beautiful black horse that looked like the one my father had gifted me with the queen's note stuck to the horse's reins.

As I left, I heard a snicker behind me. When I looked back, I saw that Felix had emerged from the shadows he hid in.

"Go rot in hell, Devil," he said before turning and walking away.

*How has he not been kicked out yet?* I wonder

I rode the horse down an empty dirt road. When I crossed the borders that separated the kingdoms, I was greeted by a boy who wore armor that was two sizes too big for him. The iron-plated breastplate was nearly the size of the boy.

Most wind soldiers wore armor with the colors of their kingdom, like most other soldiers. This boy's armor, however, was completely metal with no other color than the rusted metal parts in some parts. The only thing that showed he was from the Falling Sky Kingdom was the small earring in his right ear. A symbol that hung from a thread of a blue whale rising from a cloud.

When I finished analyzing the boy's armor, I looked up at his face. His eyes of cold steel glared at me with a deep hatred. His short, dark hair shimmered a hint of blue. His front hair bangs looked as if they tickled the top of his eyes, but he made no movement to move them. He looked like he was no older than seventeen, perhaps even eighteen.

"Hey! Would you mind telling me what's going on here?" I asked him

He didn't say a word; he just ran his eyes over my outfit, which was nothing more than my usual black outfit, with my hair tied up with a red ribbon to symbolize the kingdom I was from. His eyes made it to my face, and his eyes widened. They quickly moved down at my sword.

"Anyways…I'm going to keep going ahead if that's alright with you." I said and encouraged the horse to move forward.

"Fight." The boy said

"Oh? You can speak. And such a fine voice it is." I smiled down at the boy.

He blushed but kept looking down at my sword.

"So what's this about a fight?" I continued.

I jumped down from the horse.

"Are you here to take my life?" I asked

"Yes. However, simply taking a life is disrespectful to the dead. We must fight to the death." The boy explained and held his sword out.

"A fight to the death?" I asked. "That's very…annoying. But whatever."

I ran to the boy with my sword, and he blocked my strike.

I wasn't planning to fight for my life. Nor did I want to hurt the boy either. I was just putting on a show in the meantime.

We fought for a while and for the first time in my life, I actually had fun fighting. This didn't feel like a fight to the death or some kind of sparring match. This felt like a dance with blades. A kind that made your heart race with fear and excitement. When I moved to one side, he moved to another. When I thought I had his fighting style figured out, he would change midway. This was…he was different.

Until I accidentally cut my hand. Blood sprayed onto the boy's face, and he froze. He didn't move a muscle. He just stared at my bleeding hand.

I shook my hand off and complemented his skills.

"…Thanks…" he said and held his sword back up.

"Although you are holding your sword the wrong way," I said

"I…am?" He asked and looked at his sword like it had just cursed at him.

"Yep. Try holding it like this." I showed him how I held my sword, and he copied my hands.

"Good. Now try…"

I heard something rustling in the bushes next to me. Something large.

"…moving your feet with mine. Pay attention to what you want to cut and move with them. Predict their next move." I said

When I stepped forward, I heard the beast behind me move along with me. At that moment, I knew that I was being hunted. Whatever it was, it was hungry enough to eat whatever was the weakest.

…I'm the weakest?!

I stepped another step when the best jumped towards me. A griffin. Normally very playful but very protective of need be. Usually of their nests, which were normally in a high tree. Nowhere near us.

I turned to swipe at the griffin with my sword when I was shoved out of the way. The boy yelled as he plunged his sword into the griffin's heart.

I watched the boy's hair fall onto his face, some strands getting stuck in the blood on his face.

The boy looked very much like a warrior. Very elegant yet dangerous.

Quite the fast learner this one.

Very interesting indeed.

When the griffin fell to the ground, the boy pulled his sword out. He was gasping from fear or just because he stabbed a four-hundred-something-pound beast.

He looked back at me with worried eyes. I stood up and dusted myself off.

"What's your name, kid?" I asked him

"My name is Alastair. And don't call me kid; I'm pretty sure we're the same age." He said

"Oh yeah? If you say so." I said

"I do." He huffed

I picked up my sword from the ground and swung it his way.

"Here!" Alastair dropped his sword and caught mine. "Take this sword as a thank-you gift. I won't have any use for it later."

He stared at the sword for a second before looking back up.

"You are the sacrifice the queen has sent, aren't you?"

I nodded.

"Don't go to the Falling Sky Kingdom. It's a trap."

I tilted my head. "Trap? What do you mean?"

"A life for peace. It's all false. If you die, the queen will be seen as weak, and the Falling Sky leader will declare war on the Blazing Leaf Kingdom. But if I died, the Falling Sky leader would see it as a declaration of war." Liborio explained

*So it's a double-edged sword deal. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.*

"Why would you tell me this?" I asked him

He shuffled his feet and fiddled with the sword hilt.

"You don't seem like an evil person like everyone always says." He muttered, "And you're pretty."

I almost didn't hear the last part, which made me laugh even more.

"You are interesting. Let me stay with you for a while, yeah?" I asked Alastair

"Wh-what? Stay…with m-me?" He asked with a befuddled expression

"Yeah. If I return to my kingdom, I will simply be exchanged for someone else and start a war. If I continue in your kingdom, I'll be killed and start a war." I shrugged. "Isn't it best to stay with you?"

"But why me?" He asked

"Why not you?" I smirked. "What? Too nervous to have someone as pretty as I in your home?"

"N-no! You are more than welcome!" He yelled

I smiled at him. *He really is interesting*