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I was in the middle of sleeping when something woke me up. Not hearing anything unusual at first, I decided to go back to sleep. "Are you sure?" I heard a voice say. That immediately made me wake up again. "Yes, it has to be her," another voice answered. I didn't recognize the first voice, but the second voice was most definitely our clan's leader. "But she's so young," the voice I didn't recognize said.
"She's not that young, Valdus," the leader said. "Besides, she's one of our best fighters."
"I'm aware of that, but why not someone like Elias; he happens to be amazing on the battlefield?" Valdus asked.
"That's true," our leader replied. "But Elias isn't nearly as fast and agile as her." Not really caring about the rest of the conversation, I decided to lay back down on the bear hide I was sleeping on, silently wondering who this girl they were talking about was.
The sound of fighting woke me up, which wasn't anything new. Wanting to see how the fight was going, I got off the bear hide I laid on and headed to the sound. When I reached the people fighting, I saw my cousin Mikhail and his friend Lance. They were both in the middle of a meadow filled with wildflowers of all sorts of beautiful colors, throwing punches and kicks at each other. I sat down on the soft grass, watching as Mikhail threw a punch, Lance dodging before crouching to the ground and sweeping his leg under Mikhail's, causing him to fall. Realizing that Lance had won, I got up and headed back to our camp area. When I got to our camp, I saw that everyone was up and about, young children running around, moms and dads tending to their babies, and the older adults sitting on logs in a circle discussing something together. I noticed; that now and then, they would look towards me, but I paid them no mind, going to where a man with blond hair was watching a group of kids spar with each other. The man then turned his head, startled a bit when he saw me. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't see you there," the man, whose voice I recognized as Valdus, said.
"Don't worry," I replied. "I've always been a quiet walker besides I just got here." Valdus nodded silently before turning his head back to the fighting kids, who I'm guessing was his students. I turned my head back towards them watching, as the kids tried blocking, punching, and kicking each other. "They are getting quite good," Valdus told me.
"Well, our clan has always been great fighters," I said as a young brunette kicked the redhead she was fighting far across the field they were training on. Valdus smiled proudly at that, congratulating the brunette and asking the redhead if she was okay. The redhead smiled brightly, giving a thumbs-up before running to the other girl. Valdus and I watched as they talked, smiling at each other before getting ready to fight again. Realizing that some time had passed, I started to head back to our camp area to get some food. As I was walking away, Valdus called my name. I was a bit confused about how he knew my name but looked towards him anyway. "The clan leader wants a word with you," he told me; I figured that's how he knew my name. I nodded slightly at what he said before walking to where the leader was most likely to be, wondering what he could want me for.
Well, I wasn't expecting that. "So, what you're saying is, you want me, a teenager who has never been to an actual battle or war, to go fight for a king I've never heard of?" I asked my clan's leader, who was sitting across from me as I ate some cooked rabbit.
"Yes, I think you are the best for this, Valerie," he replied.
"I see," I said, nodding thoughtfully. "Well, it was about time." The leader smiled slightly at my reply. "You don't need to pack much, just your weapons and some food," he told me. "The journey should take five days at most."
"When am I going to leave?" I asked.
"Tomorrow morning, during sunrise," he answered. I nodded slightly at that before asking, "Is there anything else I need to know?" He shook his head in response. "No, you're free to go," he said. After he said that, I got up from where I was sitting and headed to my room to pack what I needed for the journey.
The time for me to head out came quickly. Sitting up from where I was lying, I started to stretch a bit before grabbing the bag that I packed last night and heading out. As I walked towards the forest that I needed to travel to make it to that king, I noticed Valdus. "Good luck out there, kid," he said before patting my head.
"Don't call me kid," I said. "Thank you, though." After I thanked him, I went into the forest, beginning my journey.
The travel so far had been going well, a day had passed, and nothing had gone wrong so far. I walked for about an hour before I heard crying. I looked around for the source of the crying, finding a young girl around four, near a tree, knees to her chest, and arms wrapped around herself. I noticed that her ankle was injured which was probably why she was crying. "Hello," I said softly, crouching in front of her, trying not to scare her. She was startled a bit, most likely thinking that no one would find her, before looking up at me shyly with big teary brown eyes. "Hello," she said softly, nervously twirling short blonde hair.
"Do you know where your parents are?" I asked, still using that soft tone.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied, seeming a little less nervous than before. I laughed softly at her calling me that. "Oh, that makes me feel so old I'm still a teen," I said, smiling a little. "Just call me Valerie." The young girl smiled brightly at that. "Okay," she said. "I'm Diana."
"Nice to meet you, Diana."
"Can you help me get to my parents?" Diana asked.
"Of course," I replied. "With your hurt foot, I'm going to have to carry you, if that's okay." She replied with a small yes before holding her arms out, making it easier to pick her up. Making sure not to jostle her injured foot too much, I gently picked her up bridal style before walking, in the directions she told me to go. It wasn't long before we found her parents, who, upon seeing us, ran in worry. "Oh Diana, we've been so worried; are you alright?" the mom asked frantically. The dad stood there petting his daughter's hair before smiling at me in thanks. "I'm alright," Diana said as I handed her to her dad. "I hurt my foot and couldn't get to you, but miss Valerie heard me crying and helped me." The mom, after hearing that, started thanking me profusely. A bit overwhelmed by the countless thank you's and questions of how they could pay me back. I told them that they didn't need to pay me back and that I had to go. "Bye," Diana said a bit sadly as I walked away.
I was back on track, walking towards my destination as night trickled in. I decided to find someplace to rest and continue a bit before sunrise. I've always been a light sleeper so, it was no surprise that I woke up after hearing distant shouting. I looked up at the sky, noting the sun was just about to rise, before running towards the yelling, which luckily for me was in the direction I was walking anyway. I arrived pretty fast due to my clan's inhuman speed. I saw a group of bandits harassing a group of three. They were all trying to fight back, but only the one who looked to be the oldest was doing a good job. Not wanting to watch as the three failed miserably any longer, I decided to tighten my dark brown ponytail and silently jumped up onto a tree, waiting for the right moment to attack. As the moment to attack approached, I took out my two daggers and placed my bag to where it hung on the large branch I was standing on before jumping quietly behind one of the bandits and stabbing him in both his legs. The other bandits, who saw what I had done to their friend, started to run toward me, which was what I wanted. I smiled slightly, the feeling of adrenaline rushing through me as I readied my daggers. The three who I was helping out had wisely hidden behind some trees while the bandits were distracted by me, looking at me with a mix of fear, worry, and awe as I fought. A few stabs, kicks, and slashes later, all the bandits were on the ground either, dead or groaning in pain. I looked down at my clothes, sighing in annoyance when I realized I got blood all over them. After I jumped up to get my bag, which luckily had an extra pair of clothes, the three I saved slowly walked up to me. "That was amazing," a boy in his early teens with dark blue eyes said excitedly. The oldest, a muscular man with shoulder-length blond hair, silently agreed with the younger boy before turning his attention towards me. "Judging by your fierce fighting skills and inhuman-like strength, speed, and agility, I'm guessing you're from that warrior clan that lives on the edge of the forest," he told me.
"I am," I replied. "And judging by the way you fought earlier and how you hold yourself, I'm guessing you're a warrior of some kind."
"Yes," he replied. " King Florian asked for my help against an evil tyrant and his army." "I figure it's the same for you?" he asked.
"It is, but if the king asked for you, what are they doing here?" I asked, pointing at the boy and the quite gray-eyed, brown-haired girl, who seemed to be around the same age as me.
"Well, Julien here is a great hunter, and Enid, though she's young and not much of a talker, is one of the best medics I know," the man answered. I nodded my head at that, satisfied with his answer. "Thank you, Fergus," Enid said in response to him calling her a good medic. "You too miss, thank you for saving us."
"It was no problem," I said.
"Hey, since we are all heading to the same place, why don't we travel together?" Julien suggested.
"That's not a bad idea," Fergus replied.
"It's fine by me," I said. "Just let me rinse off real quick while you pack up." After I said that, I walked to a nearby creek washing blood from my face and arms. When I came back, I saw that the others had finished packing their stuff, and with that, we headed off.
Four days had passed since I started my journey, and the four of us were getting close. "It should take us about a couple more hours to get there," Fergus said after Julien's nagging about how much longer until they got there. The young boy, seeming happy with that answer, went back to talk with Enid. Seeing as the other two were talking, Fergus and I decided to talk to pass the time.
Just as Fergus said, we arrived two hours later. The sight before us was tense, hundreds of men preparing for battle, sharpening their blades, and putting on armor. "I need to find the medic tent," Enid told me after lightly tapping my shoulder. I looked around, seeing if I could spot it, and when I did, I turned to her. "Found it," I told her while holding my hand out for her to take. She took my hand and started walking with me. She seemed nervous about the number of people walking around, so I lightly squeezed her hand in hopes of calming her. As I walked back to Fergus and Julien after dropping Enid off at the med tent, a noble-looking man with graying dark hair stopped me. "You are, Valerie, I assume," the man who I'm thinking was the king, if the simple, yet elegant crown was anything to go by.
"Yes, your highness," I replied while trying to do my best curtsy.
"It seems like they're getting close," he said at hearing the heavy footsteps of what sounded to be hundreds of men. Having heard that, I got out my two daggers and quickly placed my bag in the medic tent before rushing onto the battlefield, waiting for this tyrant and his men to come closer. Upon them arriving in front of us, a man with cold eyes looked at me with distaste. "Oh my, would you look at that, the king sent a little girl here to fight me and my army," the man said teasingly, which made me want to stab him right then and there. "This will be so easy, I hope you thought this through." Fergus, who was standing next to me, smirked slightly at that. "Oh, I've seen her fight; I wouldn't underestimate her if I were you," he said, a smirk still on his face.
"Very well then," the man said with a sadistic smile. I smiled too, knowing what words he was going to say next. "Charge!" and with that, the battle began.
I jumped high over one of the enemies sending my feet down on his head, killing him almost instantly. I ran through the enemy lines, stabbing one man in the eye while kicking another man with almost all of my strength, breaking his ribs. I had taken down a hundred men so far, twenty of them with the help of Fergus, who was expertly wielding his sword. I ran to a man who was about to kill one of King Floerian's soldiers and kicked his head hard enough to break his neck. I took down a hundred more men leaving broken and bloodied bodies and the battlefield. Upon realizing that he was losing, the tyrant looked at me in anger before rushing towards me. I smirked, running towards him as well, daggers ready. He tried to slash my side, but I jumped up and kicked the sword far from his hand. We fought fiercely, him sending punches my way since his sword was no longer available and me dodging and stabbing him harshly in his shoulders and legs. Realizing how many men he lost and that there was no winning, the man slowly got on his knees before yelling, "I surrender!" And with that, the fighting slowly stopped.
The tyrant, and his remaining men, left after forming a peace treaty with the king. The king's army also lost lots of men, though not nearly as much as the other. I was in the medic tent, having already washed the blood from my hands and face, though not bothering with my clothes, talking with Julien while Enid expertly dressed and stitched a deep gash on Fergus's arm. The king then came inside the tent and walked to me. "You are an exceptional warrior, Miss Valerie," he told me. "You as well, Fergus."
"Thank you, your highness," we both said.
"I'm hoping that if I ever need your assistance again, you'll both come," the king said.
"Of course, your highness," Fergus said, while I just nodded my head. After a while, the time to say goodbye came. "If you ever need me, you know where to find me," I told the three who became very close to me. One by one, we said our goodbyes, Fergus patting me on the back, Enid hugging me tightly while I gently kissed her forehead, and Julien hugged me tightly as I ruffled his hair. After that, I headed home.