Discovery (Revisioned)

Chapter 16

We travel to the fight. As we get closer, I hear the grunts of pain and exertion along with the clang of metal. Joseph has a hold of my hand and literally drags me along.

I’m too weak to move. I fall just as we reach the outskirts of the fighting. I look towards Joseph and shake my head. He needs to find my Dad and I can’t move anymore.

Joseph hesitates looking at me with a pained look in his eyes. I can see his silent plea for me to stand back up. I hobble myself to a standing position and push him, towards the fight, trying to get him to understand. He doesn’t even budge an inch, and he won’t willingly move, so I do the only thing I can.

I start crying out of desperation. His eyes softens for a minute, and he grabs my hand gently. He looks into my eyes and says,

"I will not leave you here. You’ll be an easy target. Anything can happen to you, even if only by accident. Let me take you somewhere safe."

I stand and stare at him. Seeing his sincerity, and that he won’t budge, I nod and grab his hand. He leads me to a tree, for me to climb in, and gently lifts me up by my waist. He waits for me to be situated into the tree before he quickly strides towards the battle. From the tree, I can see the whole battlefield.

There is a mass of men with swords. The priest's guards are holding their own against the King's soldiers. The soldiers outnumber the guards two to one. The priest’s archers are fighting with their bows. The fight has come too close for them to fire.

They don’t last too long against the King's soldiers. Instead of killing them, the soldiers keep them as prisoners. They take the ones that they capture over to an empty part of the clearing. A few soldiers stay behind to keep guard.

Zarius does not like this. While the King’s soldiers are fighting off Robert and another round of Zarius' soldiers, Zarius sneaks behind the guards, and slices each archer's throat with his dagger. Then he and Robert disappear again.

I try to follow with my eyes, but they are too quick. The woods are good for cover. I try to search the field for my Dad. I can't find him anywhere.

I try to locate Justin but I can’t see him either. They are either hiding in the woods or they are.... I can’t finish that thought. I’s too much to think about. I can already feel the sweat pooling from an oncoming panic attack.

For a change of thought, I try searching for Joseph. He’s not on the field either. What’s going on? Is there a battle going on somewhere else? I try to scan the trees but I can't see the other parts of the woods. A few minutes later, one of the sword fights comes within a few feet of the edge.

It’s one soldier against one of the guards, the one that I thought hadn’t had a weapon. But I was wrong; he has two small blades that are attached to his hands by a leather strap.

He’s feinting left and right so fast that it’s hard for me to keep up. The soldier is clearly outmatched. With the flick of the wrist, Zarius' soldier throws his blade into the soldier's chest. The blade misses his heart and gives the soldier enough fury to slice opponents right arm.

But it’s not enough to save him from another blade lodging in his throat. With a final push, and his last breath, he slides the blade of his sword through his opponent’s stomach. He collapses on him as his eyes turn glassy and staring. I can feel the tears building behind my eyes but I know that I shouldn’t let them fall. I bite my hand to keep the sob in my throat from escaping.

Another one of the soldier's saw his friend go down and shoves his blade into the enemy's chest to be sure that he doesn't get up. This very nearly ends his life. He spins around in time for his blade to collide with another of Zarius' men’s blades. The battle that follows is ferocious.

They snarl at each other as they swing their blades trying to catch the other one off guard. The guard connects with the soldier's left shoulder. He drops his sword but moves out of the way just as he’s about to receive the death blow. He rolls around and grabs his sword just in time to block another close hit.

He stands up to battle with his enemy, but he’s too weak to hold the blade and he’s struck in the chest. He has a look of shock on his face as his knees buckles. He collapses and rolls over to look towards the sky. He’s saying a prayer as his eyes, staring in my direction, as his eyes glaze over.

The guard runs back into the battle. I’m left staring at the three dead soldiers. The last soldier captures my attention. I don't know if it is because I can see his face or if it’s because it has taken away some of my hope with his death. I’m in too much shock to cry.

It’s not much longer before the next battle makes it to me. This fight is a tough one to watch. The guard has a sword that is just a little bit longer than the soldier's sword. The soldier spins in a perfect ninety degree angle and thrusts his sword behind him.

It misses the guard but, before the guard can get a good strike on the soldier, he turns around and blocks the strike. The next few minutes are the blades connecting one after another. The constant clang of metal hitting metal rings through the air.

The soldier is able to strike the guard's blade hard enough that he cries out in pain. The soldier takes advantage of this and steps up his attack. I watch as he successfully knocks the blade from his hand. The guard thrusts his right foot straight forward and kicks the soldier in the abdomen.

Caught off guard, the soldier staggers back giving the guard time to pick his blade up.

The guard bends down on one knee to pick up his sword. When he grabs a hold of it, he thrusts it upwards and strikes the soldier in the ribs. The soldier retaliates with a quick thrust down and catches the guard's bent leg. The guard stands back up swinging to his left but the soldier blocks the hit. You can tell they are both struggling to stay up.

The guard strikes the soldier in his left side. The soldier cries out in pain and a nearby soldier hears it and comes to his rescue. This catches the attention of another guard, who tosses a short blade into the second soldier's back. He drops to the ground before he can help his friend.

With no one to help him, the first soldier swings his sword but misses the guard. The soldier's eyes are glassing over as he swings his sword one more time.

Then he takes his last breath. The guard lays down unable to move and I watch as he slowly bleeds to death. I can hear my heavy panting in the air now. Fear has me locked up.

I take my attention back to the battle. What once was a two to one battle now is a nearly even fight. Clearly the priests men have more skill than the King’s.

Panic rises in me as I realize that I still can not locate my Dad, Justin, or Joseph. Zarius and Robert are also not on the field. I can see them though. They are standing on the opposite side of the battle with smug looks on their faces.