Tame the Fire

Yelena woke up to the sound of muffled whispers in the distance. Her head was still spinning and the clear buzzing in her ears didn’t help at all. The only thing she could feel was the weight of her body and the nauseous sensation from whatever happened. She took the time to scan the surroundings. Nothing. It was too dark and only the moon served as her source of light, not enough to see what’s out there as the entire area was as dark as a shut closet. But one thing is for sure, she was clearly not in her bedchamber nor was she inside the castle. She didn’t understand why she was out in the open. She was supposed to be inside, resting in the comfort of the palace. Did she sleepwalk towards here? Probably no. She was familiar of every corner in the capitol and she’s never heard of any river situating near the fort. Did someone bring her here? Probably yes. That was the only logical answer. But who? And how? Nothing made any sense. Yelena was surprised to hear a stream of water from below. As if she only got her senses revived, she was finally aware of the swollen river waters burbling and gushing against the piling of rocks, fighting to escape whatever waited at the end of the mouth. It was cold, so cold that she had no choice but to wrap herself with her own icy hands. Still, it did not help. The night was crisp, and her sodden dress tightly hugged the most vulnerable parts of her freezing body. She could rip it away and steal some clothes she could find on her way, but she would not want to walk alone naked, no? She took the tip of her hair. It smelled like rotten eggs bathed in the sun, and the stench of blood from her body made her want to vomit. She was her own version of a swamp monster, clothes ripped, hair disheveled and body utterly soaked with earth and water. Yelena tried to whirl her head around, but a faint c***k made her stop. She twitched when she felt the throbbing pain all over her body. Everything was a mess. It ached. It was as if she was running a 100 km marathon and her legs were totally worn out. Her bones could be holding on for dear life to prevent her from collapsing. Why is this happening? A hot tear flowed to her cheek. It was hopeless. No one’s here to save her. She could die from hunger, or the cold. Or just simple die from the fatigue. Her body was already slowly giving up. She could not believe she was going to die this way. She expected to have a peaceful, normal death. Not like this. The back of her head pounded like it was being struck by a thousand nails. She placed a hand over it and almost screamed from the pain. Her head was wet, but it was not because of water. Blood. There was a lot. Almost dry. Her whole body was shaking. Yelena clutched her stomach, sickened. She just wanted to die there and then. What’s the use of fighting when she could barely bring her body up? There was no use. Suddenly, the memory flashed through her mind.                                                    Everything. She remembered they were running, and they escaped and there was a cliff and she fell. She remembered how it hurt, the feeling of falling endlessly and how her body was still aching after how many days or hours of being unconscious. She remembered. And she finally understood. Yelena squeezed her eyes shut, clenched her teeth, and placed a hand on the river rocks, forcing herself to stand as she was still trying to regain her balance. The pain was excruciating. Every part of her body was burning like the only reason it hadn't collapsed was because she said so. She took her first step, wobbly as she went on to move the other. It took her minutes or more to reach to the edge of the riverbank, her breathing hitched with every forceful step she took. The trees welcomed her with arms wide open, and she hated it. This unknown. The forest was too dangerous to venture. Still, she held onto it for support, waiting until the fatigue would wear off—even those few steps took a lot of her energy. Steadily, she half-crawled, and followed the voices. Aside from that, the woods were ominously quiet. Her feet tread, bit by bit, hearing the cracking twigs and leaves underfoot. She drew in a long breath as she halted. Her strength took several seconds to recover so she waited. When she was finally sure, she moved forward, clutching her fists tightly. She repeated it again and again. If she wanted to arrive in one piece, she need not abuse her body. She was not sure how far she walked from the river. It had been minutes and she was already deep in the maze. Yet, she could not understand how the voice could be getting louder and louder with every step but there was not any sign of existence. The forest was still dark as ever. Yelena should already be seeing something by now, a house maybe or a group of people, judging from the buzz. It was impossible to see completely nothing. However, that did not give her the reason to stop. The path seemed endless. Her sight was already spinning and all she wanted was to pause and sleep, or simply be dead. Tiring. She could feel her body deteriorating. How long was this walk that it nearly took all her strength? Then again, it did make sense. Besides, she did not have that much strength to begin with. Yelena struggled to continue. Out of the blue, the forest just changed shape and a hint of light appeared as if she just passed through something she shouldn’t have. What just happened? Yelena turned around, surprised that the image of this forest was different from the one she walked into. This seemed brighter. Different. Another place from the same time. It was her instincts that told her to take several steps back. Now, she was back in that old maze. Intuitively, she waved a hand in front of the air, close to the invisible line she guessed was the wall or something. She didn’t seem afraid though, a lot has happened for her to be frightened with what could be possible. To her surprise, her hand vanished. It was no longer there. She pulled it again and it was back. Yelena didn’t know what it was much to her acquired knowledge in the castle. It was a huge wall, concealed in the eyes of the kingdom. Her mother and father may not even know about it. Her curiosity drove her to stride forward. She did not care whether she’d get killed with whatever she might find there, she was dying anyway. It took her minutes before a hint of light told her she was already close. Her spirits brightened. Filled with hope, her pace became faster, trying so hard to ignore the pain. Yelena was a few meters away from the site when a man passed by. Immediately, she huddled behind the nearest tree before he could notice, almost tripping. He seemed normal yet she couldn’t understand the uneasiness on the back of her head. Beads of sweat fell from her temples, her heart pounding. As much as she wanted to call for help, how sure was she that she could trust these people?  Terror took over her face. She didn't want to make the same mistake again, so she turned around and sneaked a look towards the area. In the center, she saw a bonfire surrounded by what seemed to be a throng of people swathed in brown worn out military attires. A medallion hung on each of their chest pockets, bearing a winged falcon like it's the people's insignia. They were brawny and gigantic, almost seven feet tall. But there were also some who weren't. Still, they looked built and well-trained for fighting. And crushing people as small as her. She looked around. Small wooden cottages were everywhere, and people were too busy enough with their own errands to be disrupted. There were women—maybe wives of these soldiers—and children. It seemed like they had built a community obscure from the eyes of the palace. Yelena scanned the vast terrain and focused her eyes a little further away from the bonfire and the cottages. There she noticed blades of all sizes and arrows stacked in horse-drawn carriages. All the weapons, some she's seen in the castle and others, so outlandish that she didn't even know the names. A young man marched and scanned the surroundings; he looked like he was from his twenties, though she couldn't clearly see him since his back was facing her. But unlike the others, she could say that this guy wasn't one of them. He seemed normal, muscular but not too towering, authoritative but not too barbaric. He marched around, giving orders to the people he passed by. It reminded her of her father when he was around the infantry. Yelena squinted her eyes just enough to make out what they're doing. But one thing that caught her attention was the gold banner embellished with a falcon on the center like the one adorned on their suits. It seemed familiar, something she has clearly seen before. She forced herself to recall. Something. Anything. And then, she finally recognized. The medallion… The weapons… The flag… Her body shuddered and was finally aware of who they were. Not soldiers, but something far more dangerous than she could ever expect. She tried to keep composed but was quickly seized by a panic that screamed the need to run away from there. So, she ran.