Chapter Thirteen

“It’s not that simple,” I countered, sitting on a barrel underneath the upper deck.  This is where all of the crews men stay while on board.  They sleep on hammocks and sit on barrels, drinking away their lives when not needed to do work.  Bethany sat on the barrel behind me, playing with the threads on her sleeves, nervous about the whole event.  She was skeptical about whether or not we should be telling these men about what was going on, but at this point, I was desperate enough to trust them.

It’s interesting to see me take the role of being leader, considering who I was prior to this whole journey.  Had it not been for Bethany being so timid and nervous, I would never have taken the initiative to become the leader between us, the one always speaking out.  Then again, I never thought that I would be sucked into my own paintings, burned to death on a stake, only to be brought back to life.  It just wasn’t adding up why Kairi was sending us to my paintings, and what we were supposed to be witnessing in each.  What secret was she trying to lead us to?

“Well, then, tell us,” the man in the corner pleaded, raising his mug of beer.

“I’ve told you the story, but you are just not comprehending it, which makes sense, honestly.  I mean, it’s an incomprehensible story, you know.  Two girls being sucked into different worlds that the one girl had painted, and being threatened by some mysterious voice…  Yeah, that’s a bit incomprehensible, I know.”  I sighed and blew the hairs out of my face.  Why couldn’t anything ever be easy for Bethany and me?  Or for me alone?  All my life I dealt with insecurities and harsh circumstances.  Where’s my break?

The guys mumbled in response, “Yeah, its queer.”  Recalling these memories must have given Bethany a horrible taste in her mouth for she stood up and walked to the other side of the room, biting away at her finger nails.  For a moment I considered walking over to comfort her, but decided that this moment was what she needed to be alone and recuperate.  All she need was a little time to gather her mind; I had no doubt that she would soon be fine.

“She wants us to discover some secret, and the only thing is that I have no idea what this secret is,” I sighed.

“Secret of the sea!” someone yelled out with a cheery expression.  I laughed slowly.  If only that were it.  I had a feeling that this secret was far more treacherous than some old sailor’s story that was once lost at sea.  I felt my face sadden at this thought, desperately wanting this secret to be something petty that I would be safe with.  However, the more I knew about who I was dealing with, the less safe I felt in the situation.

“We could all force her to tell us!”

“Threaten her with weapons!”

“Kill her!”

I watched as they kept coming up with “solutions” as to how to make this whole situation go away.  I admit, if she were dead, it would make our lives quite easier.  However, it is against my moral beliefs to wish death upon someone, no matter what they have done to you to deserve such treatment.  It was just something that shouldn’t happen to anyone.

“Kaylie…” Bethany said softly, looking at me with horror struck eyes.  I spun around to see what she was looking at and saw Kairi standing on the stairs behind me with a look of grimace plastered upon her.  My heart sped up.  How much had she heard?

“Well,” she fake laughed.  “How nice it is of you, Kaylie, to spread all of my little secrets to everyone.  When I chose you and Bethany, I thought that you would be the stronger one and that Bethany would crack first, telling people about what was happening.  I guess that I stand corrected.”  A look of amusement went through her as she walked down the stairs, sending chills up my sign.  The closer she approached, the more nervous I felt.  Before I knew it, she was directly on the step above and behind me, breathing on my neck. 

“Want to spread secrets about Kaylie?  I could certainly tell everyone a few about you,” she snickered.  The crowd around just stared uncomfortably and Bethany was on the verge of tears, still frozen in her tracks.

I shook my head, wanting this to be finally over.  “Then, tell them.  End this now, Kairi.”  My voice was full of demand and surprising enough, Kairi obeyed.

“Well, everyone gather around then,” she smiled, walking away from me and to stand on top of a barrel.  Scared, the crew immediately gathered around her so that she could continue on with her story.  “So, everyone, I want you to grab your swords and meet me on the upper deck.  Give Bethany and Mikayla swords, as well.  Everyone deserves a fair chance.”

I couldn’t believe what I just heard.  Just when I thought that everything was going to be over, Kairi demanded a sword fight.  She walked to the upper deck, while everyone ran around to find the appropriate swords.  Bethany ran to my side and clutched onto my arm, scared beyond belief.  “What are we supposed to do?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I shook my head.

“But Kaylie, you have to have some sort of idea!”

“I’m not the ringmaster here, Bethany!”

“Well I certainly amn’t!” she exclaimed, frantically.  She began to walk away from me angrily, but then something made her turn around.  She looked at me and apologized.  “I shouldn’t be angry with you, I’m sorry.  All you tried to do this whole time was help protect me, constantly coming up with plans and all.  I’m just… scared, Kay.”

“Like I’m not,” I let out a mocking laugh.  “Look, its fine, but I need you to know that I’m not as brave as you think I am.  I’m just some random girl you’re putting your trust into, and I think you need to take some of that trust and use it for yourself.  You deserve to believe in yourself, Bethany.”

She nodded, “I know.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she added.  “But it’s just, I’ve never sword fought before!  How are we supposed to get out of this?”

I laughed.  “Neither have I, Beth.  And you know what?  Neither of us have ever fought a lion before that experience, and we survived that.  We just need a game plan and a little luck.”

“So, what’s your plan?” she asked, bitterly.  I gave her a death stare for a while before she realized what I was trying to tell her.  “Right, you’re not the ringleader,” she sighed.

“Why don’t you come up with a plan this time, Bethany?” I suggested, grabbing the sword that one of the men handed me.

She scrunched her nose.  “Not a good idea.”

“Don’t worry, Bethany,” I put my hand to her shoulder.  “Just come up with whatever you think will work, and I’ll try to accommodate by that plan, unless it is one that kills me.”

She took a deep breath, and grabbed her sword, clinking it with mine.  “We fight!”  Bethany allowed for a huge smile to pass through her, and skipped up to the upper deck, leaving me alone in the lower deck, wondering what she was so happy about.  Perhaps it was because she had finally begun to believe in herself, or she was feeling suicidal.

I slowly walked up to the upper deck and found the deck divided, as into teams.  The side farthest from me was of Kairi’s team and her scared crew.  The other side was of Bethany and the other half of the crew that wasn’t afraid to stand up to Kairi.  It was sad to see that the only ones willing to back her up were only doing so out of fear.  I took my place next to Bethany, my sword ready to fight.

“Well, to the death!” Kairi yelled, raising her sword, with all of her team following suit.

“To the truth!” Bethany raised her sword, as if proposing a toast.  Surprised by her actions but pleased, I raised mine as well, and so did the rest of our team.

“You know the rules; we fight to the death.  Blood will be shed.  Lives will be lost.  The storm will tear us to shreds, but we won’t stop until the death.  Until person has turned against their own.  Until they discover the secret,” Kairi shouted out.  “Swords at the ready.”

I repositioned my sword, and gave a loving glance towards Bethany.

“Commence!”

Her words stung at me as I realized that our battle had begun.  Not knowing what to do, I charged forward, and met with some guy from the opposing team.  I used my sword to defend me, clinking mine with his, until I lost control of what I was doing.  His sword scraped the side of my arm, blood spilling out of it.  I tried to hide my shock, but it was too late.  I realized that blood would be shed.  His actions angered me enough that I took my sword and recovering my strength, slashed him with it.  Regretfully, I left a long mark of blood staining his torso.  The cut was deep enough that it would probably kill him if not treated.  I didn’t want to kill him, but the look on his face said that if I didn’t kill him, he would kill me.

Tears stung my eyes, seeing once he took his last breath.  Bethany ran to my side.  “It’s not your fault.  That was self-defense,” she said over and over again, until I began to believe her.  We both turned around to see who we could fight next, and saw two guys smiling at us, as if we pretty little pixies that they could destroy with just one glance.  Bethany and I exchanged looks, nodded, and returned our gaze to the men.

“Aagh!” I yelled, slashing the one man with my sword.  However, this left only a minor cut on his arm.  He laughed, as if that were all I had.  He began to use self-defense, trying to kill me, and I knew that he probably would.  I kept clinking my sword with his, knowing that if I stopped, my life would, as well. 

“What’s wrong, princess?  Too much frill to know how to wield a sword?” the man that Bethany was fighting snorted.  I shot my gaze over at him, and watched Bethany grit her teeth, stabbing him in the stomach.  He let out a cry of pain, and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.  Bethany didn’t look at all depressed by what she had done, but her face resembled one more of a warrior.  It had determination that she and I would win, proving ourselves to Kairi.  She was ready for this all to be over, and this was the last battle.

Following her actions, mostly because the man I was fighting had become distracted by his dying teammate, I stabbed him in the side.  He yelled out in some foreign language, and fell beside his friend.  Bethany and I exchanged glances of relief.  “I think we’re doing well,” Bethany declared.  I nodded and we turned around to see who we could possibly fight next.

I let out a gasp at the sight.

“Oh my,” Bethany sighed, and I began to see a bit of her timid-self returning to her.

In front of us stood about ten more men and Kairi from the opposing side.  There were only five men left alive from our team.  I gave her a worried glance, but she laughed it off. 

“We’ll be fine, Kaylie.  Just fight like you’ve never fought before.  Remember, we need to win this.  I’m staying alive for you, but that means that you need to stay alive for me, likewise,” she stated.  I looked at her with admiration of how brave she was being, and gave her a slight nod.  She was speaking like a true hero and I believed every word that she said.  We were going to be okay.

She ran up to the balcony where Kairi had first appeared, seeing two men from the other team there.  The fact that she was going to fight them alone worried me, but with her determination, I’m sure that she was going to be fine.  I went to help another teammate fight off some man with only one arm left.

“An arm makes all the difference in the world,” the teammate smiled at me.  “It’s the difference of being dead and holding it out.”  I laughed, and saw where he was going.  I ran around the opposing man and sliced off his other hand, while my teammate stabbed him in the heart.  The opposing man fell immediately, and coughed up blood, his eyes becoming distant and cold.  The look of terror that froze on his face, froze in my mind, scaring me as I knew it was a picture that would never leave my mind.

“Watch out, Kaylie!” Bethany shouted from the balcony.  I spun around and saw a man charging towards me.  Fear struck through me, but I pulled out my sword and began thrusting into his side.  When I pulled my sword out, it was bloody.  The man fell before he had even taken a swing at me.  Perhaps I was cut out for sword fighting.  If I ever made it back home, this would definitely be a profession for me to consider.

There were only four men left on the opposing team plus Kairi, and three on ours, plus Bethany and me.  However, all four men were climbing up to the balcony where Bethany stood to defend herself alone.  A rush of panic fled through me, and I tried to decide whether or not I should get up there to help her.  My panic soon disappeared as I saw Bethany kill two men in the same hit.  The other two men up on the balcony feared this, and jumped off the balcony, falling to their death in the rushing waters.  Now Kairi was the only one left on that team, while Bethany and I still had our three men.  I looked about and saw two of our men trying to fight Kairi.  However, she was just as determined as Bethany and killed them both off within a few swings. 

It was three to one.  I looked up to Bethany who gave me an excited look, saying that we had done this.  That she knew we could.  Just like in the arena the other day.  At the moment, I had a million things on my mind, some of panic and others of excitement, but mostly, the realization that no matter what happened after this, Bethany and I needed to stick together.  That we needed to remain the best of friends for several years to come, no matter what.  We had been through too much together, already.

The man next to me stood up straight.  “If I’m going to die, I’m going to do so in honor.  For you two!”  He yelled and charged towards Kairi.  They clinked swords a few minutes, while Bethany and I stood with anticipation.  Then, Kairi stabbed the man, and pushed him overboard, into the water.  I gave Bethany a look, wondering what to do now.  She fled down the stairs to stand next to me.  We clinked swords with each other, then simultaneously, we ran towards Kairi, our hearts beating louder than the sound of the waves rushing against the side of the ship.

“This is it,” she laughed, haughtily.

“How right you are,” I said behind gritted teeth, showing a determined face.  Mine wasn’t as determined as Bethany, but it made me feel a bit better about the situation. 

“So Bethany is the brave one, huh?” Kairi laughed.

“Have you been the voice all this time?” Bethany demanded.

“Perhaps,” Kairi responded, slyly.

“Now,” Bethany yelled, taking the first hit.  Her sword clinked with Kairi’s, pushing Kairi back a little, but not enough to push her down.  Not enough where she received some sort of cut or bruise.  I examined Kairi’s face; it was filled with shock, terror, and admiration.  Who knew that a first time sword wielder could hurt her?  I bit my lip wondering what would happen next.  Kairi went to fix herself, but I was too fast for her.  I tried to hit her, but her sword defended her.  She gritted her teeth, determined to end this with the result in her favor.

She swung her sword like a mad men, spinning them in her hands like a professional.  How old is this girl and how long has she been professionally torturing people?  Her foot kicked some corpse’s sword into her other arm, each arm swinging them around as if it were child’s play.  My face burrowed with worry and fear; the action was intimidating.  I began to back away, but Bethany remained calm.  Then, I thought; she had two swords, but there were two of us.  I nodded to Bethany, as if reading her mind, and then we commenced with our telepathic idea.

Bethany used her sword to knock the one sword out of Kairi’s hand, cutting her wrist ever so slightly.  It was a beginning.  I used my sword and pointed it straight at Kairi, ready for the attack.  I looked to Bethany for confirmation.  She nodded, and I knocked the other sword out of her hand.  Kairi was stunned and backed away, searching for a new sword, but Bethany was too fast.  She took her sword and drove into Kairi’s heart, like stabbing a vampire with a stake.

----

Author's Note:

Happy New Years Eve, everyone!   Hope that you had an amazing 2014 and that your 2015 will be ever better!  Rock on xx

Ali