What I fear
2200 Words
Having met the morning together, in one bed, under the warm blanket, the first thing they saw when they opened their eyes were their faces. The faces which were filled with happiness.
“What is that expression you have?” Leiandros asked in a whisper, afraid to spoil the moment.
“What is that look on your face?” Draken asked, sliding his finger over his cheek.
Embracing each other, they tenderly smiled and wished with all their hearts that this moment would last forever.
Not wanting to let go of each other, continuing to feel the warmth under the blanket, Draken said, “It is time for us to go. I wonder what this beast is doing out there. Maybe there are already crowds of them. And we are lying here.”
Embracing him even more, Leiandros lazily said, “Just a little more. Beasts can wait.”
“And this is the great warrior. I didn’t know that you can be lazy.” Draken kissed him and wanted to get up but Leiandros caught him and whispered something in his ear.
Pushing him away Draken said, “Shameless!”
Looking playfully at him, Leiandros threw Draken onto the bed.
“Leiandros wait,” Draken said but couldn’t resist Leiandros’ tenderness and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, Draken said, “Well, now it is time for us to go.”
Draken put on his uniform and went to the bathroom. When he was back, he saw that Leiandros was still in the bed.
“Get up now. Or do you want to spend the whole day like this?”
“What can I do? I am in a great mood. I have never been so happy in my life,” Leiandros happily said. For the first time in his life allowing himself to be happy, he fixed his gaze on Draken’s face. His once tensed brows and cold eyes, now were relaxed and full of carelessness.
“You should get dressed,” Draken went up to him and began to comb his hair. “When we go out, don’t look at me and don’t talk to me. We have to be careful. Don’t forget what Blaze made us do.” Pulling Leiandros’ hair into a ponytail Draken added, “Very handsome.”
“It is uncomfortable,” Leiandros said and quickly pulled his hair into a bun. He finally got up from bed and Draken slightly blushed.
“What is it? Are you embarrassed?” Leiandros smilingly walked around him and slowly left him.
Last night, no one went to bed.
Clutching their swords, everyone’s attention was fixed on the windows. Not daring to speak, imagining the upcoming battle, everyone was ready to attack.
The silence and presence of fear hung over everyone who was in the house.
When Den noticed Draken, he went up to the door and opened it.
Dragging him inside he asked, “What is happening? Was that a beast? Who was killed? Did you see him?”
“Draken where have you been?”
“What was Neo doing in our village?”
Asking him hundreds of questions, everyone surrounded him.
Draken without saying anything, went to his bed and sat down.
Catching the gaze of Storm who was eager to punch him in the face and the gaze of Galen who seemed to know what happened between him and Leiandros, Draken said, “I didn’t see any beast. But something strange is happening. About who was killed, I don’t know. But I think today, Raghnall will explain everything.”
“I think Neo is plotting something. And using a beast as an excuse, he broke into our clan.” Enlai said.
Everyone supported him.
“You are right, warriors wouldn’t let any beast reach this place.”
Den suddenly embraced Draken. His voice sounded like he was about to cry. “We worried about you so much. We were afraid that something would happen to you.”
“I think we shouldn’t sit here and wait. Let’s go,” Eagle said and nervously went out of the house.
When everyone left the house, Draken looked at Storm but didn’t say anything.
After a moment of silence, Draken couldn’t endure the tension between them so he asked, “You are mad at me. Am I right?”
But there was no answer.
“Why do I have the feeling that I will always apologize to you? Storm are you sleeping?”
He threw a small book towards Storm but he didn’t even turn around.
“Well, if you are mad, then I won’t bother you,” Draken said and plunged into the memories of what had happened at night.
Blushing, he covered his face with a blanket but then suddenly felt someone’s presence next to him.
Storm sitting on his knees grabbed his hand. Tears were sliding down his cheeks.
“Brother what’s wrong with you?” Draken asked and Storm trembling, squeezed his hand. “Why are you crying?”
Draken patted him on the back and gently whispered, “Stop crying.”
And then sharply lifting his head, with red eyes, Storm looked at him with anger and sadness. The next moment when Draken wasn’t expecting it, he hit him in the face.
“Brother are you crazy?” Draken cried out.
Grabbing him by the shoulders, Storm shouted, “What’s wrong with you? Why do you always make me worry? Why can’t you think about the feelings of others? What if something happened to you?” His red, tired eyes were covered with the layers of tears.
“Stop it!” Draken shouted. “What is wrong with you? Or did you forget about where we are? Every step leads us to the beasts! We are here because of these creatures. Do you think that we can avoid dangers? Someday, we will have to face them. We are warriors and there is no place for fear. Or sentiments.” Saying this, he quickly put on his fur coat and ran out of the house.
Noticing him running towards the forest, Den asked, “What’s going on?”
As it was expected, in the evening, Raghnall called everyone to the Main House.
Gathering everyone in the hall, Raghnall, sitting on his throne, was thinking about something. His heavy brows falling over his lowered eyes seemed to freeze, keeping the same emotions. And the scar on his face deemed fresher than usual.
Bigfoot, standing behind of him, was holding a tray with the cup and fruits.
Noticing Draken, Raghnall lifted his head. At the sight of him, a perceptible smile appeared on his face. Straightening his shoulder, he finally said, “I think you all know what happened last night. Fortunately, everything has calmed down. Teacher Neo is fine. But for the beast, no trace was found. And whoever was killed, was one of the soldiers of the Third clan. Examining his body, it turned out that he was bitten in the neck. And maybe it was one of the wolves. But I am not sure about that yet.”
Then he paused and looked down. The cold expression on his face didn’t show any hint that what he said wasn’t true. Draken, knowing that he was hiding something, stepped closer to him but didn’t say anything.
A warrior in a long black mantle, who was much older than the others, asked, “Master, why then Neo was in our village at this hour?”
Raghnall sharply replied, “He was looking for his missed soldier. And then he, noticing the footprints that led to the forest, followed him and that’s how he ended up in our village. Neo just followed the tracks of his student.”
“But from the mountain of the Third clan to our mountain, it is quite far. How did he manage to keep going in such darkness?”
Looking at Raghnall, Draken realized that he was definitely hiding something.
Without hesitation, Raghnall replied, “Teacher Neo was just following his student. But I don’t know anything about the details of his trip.” Then, he stood up and loudly said, “Be on the alert. Be careful. We are not sure about the beasts yet. Leiandros, you should strengthen the security around the village and for now, you should stop training.”
After looking at Bigfoot and making it clear that it was time for everyone to go, Raghnall fixed his gaze on Draken.
Bigfoot stepped forward and with his hoarse voice said, “You can go now.”
When everyone left the house, only Draken and Leiandros stayed.
Trying not to look at each other, they remained silent until Raghnall spoke.
“You know me so well. I have to tell you something,” he said walking back and forth.
Draken said, “I noticed that you were hiding something.”
Leiandros, clutching the hilt of his sword quietly asked, “How can I help you?”
Raghnall held his palm over the candle and sighed. His long white beard slightly trembled. Returning to his throne, he waved his hand and Bigfoot left the hall.
“What I told everyone is not true.” he said without changing his expression. “Last night, when I woke up from the scream, I looked out the window and noticed two people. They were running towards the forest. And when one of them ran past the fire, I noticed his uniform. They were soldiers of the Second clan. Why they were in our village, I don’t know. But then when I went outside, I saw Neo and then all of you. After this, I told Bigfoot to take him into my house. I checked all his wounds. They weren’t serious. I asked him what happened and he replied that he was attacked by one of the beasts. I wanted to ask him more, but he lost his consciousness. Then I went to check the body of the deceased, but he was no longer there. I walked around the whole forest, but he was nowhere to be found. In the morning, when I went downstairs, I noticed that Neo was awake and was about to leave. He looked healthy. Behaving somehow strangely, he quickly said that it was time for him to return and report to his master about what happened to their soldier. But what was strange is that, at night, I saw that he approached the door several times. It was like he was scared of something. I am not sure if it was one of the beasts but I am sure that here, Neo and the Head of the Second clan are involved.”
Plunging into silence, he looked at Draken.
“Soldiers of the Second clan,” Draken whispered. Walking up to Raghnall he quietly said, “When I saw the Head of the Second clan for the first time, I felt like he had some other purposes. I always suspected him but this time I am sure that he arranged it all. He sent his soldiers. But for what? What does he need from our clan?”
Stroking his beard, Raghnall replied, “This is what I want to find out.”
“Shall we go to the village of the Second clan?”
Leiandros asked from behind, “Master what is your plan?”
“In truth, I have never been on good terms with Sun. And he never seemed suspicious to me. But this time I feel like he is up to something. I want to send you to the Second clan. But not directly. You should watch every step of everyone who belongs to this clan. You should be careful. Try to be invisible. Luckily, around their village, there are a lot of trees and stones. So I think it won’t be difficult to observe secretly. You should be silent when it is day and when night falls, try to get closer to Sun’s house. You must find our everything.”
“Are we going to play hide and seek? Why don’t we go right to his house?” Draken asked.
“You don’t understand. We are dealing with people. And you need to be careful with them. It is not beasts with whom you can behave sharply,” Raghnall replied looking into the flames of fire.
“But what is the use of observation?”
“Draken,” Leiandros interrupted him shaking his head. Turning towards Raghnall he said, “As soon as we find out something, we will return immediately.”
“Be careful.”
“Wait a minute. Raghnall why do you need my help? Or have you forgotten that soon, I will leave this place? So why do you involve me in these affairs?” Draken asked and caught Leiandros’ angry gaze.
Laughing, Raghnall went up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. With tenderness in his eyes he said, “I trusted your father with everything. And therefore, I trust you with everything.”
Draken couldn’t find the right words. He just looked away and the feeling of sadness appeared in his soul.
- Writer
