"Eadu when will you-" He is cut off by a screech. I frantically whip around trying to locate the scream. A loud horn blows, and the still evening air is suddenly full of sounds of battle.
I exchange a look with Derrin.
I knew this would happen. I knew we wouldn't get away with this!
The battle has begun.

...............................................................

I instantly grab my knife with my left hand and the reigns with my right. Let me tell you-there is nothing worse then waiting in the dark for somebody to attack you. So I decide not to stick around.
I kick my horse into action, and we fly through the lines. Sounds of battle erupt all around me. I grip my knife tighter. I can dimly make out a figure coming at me. There's no time to tell if he's a friend or a foe. I slice downward and nick his arm. He screams and falls to the ground. I purposely aim to injure-not kill. I've made the mistake of killing people in the past-I never want to repeat it.
Ever.
I wade my way through the crowd. Every time I engage in battle, I pray it's not one of my own soldiers. In the black night-it's nearly impossible to distinguish who the real enemy is. Generals yelling, blades clashing, people screaming in pain-the noises of the battle haunt me.
I close my eyes. Someday, maybe, my life will go back to normal. Maybe someday all of this crap will be worth it.
Maybe someday I'll be happy.
I doubt it. I doubt I'll survive long enough to see the sun-never less to be happy.
But maybe I can be satisfied. I can be proud. I am proud of myself. It's not easy running a country at 16. It's not easy being me. But I've managed. I can do this. I've achieved more in my 16 years then some people have in a life time. I've overcome incredible odds.
I feel a smile light up my face.
Maybe I can be happy too.

The smile dissipates from my face as I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. Specifically my bad one. I look down to see a thin line of blood running down my arm. It hurts. A lot. I cry out, and slam the hilt of my blade into my attackers forehead. They crumple, and I kick my horse into motion once again. I grit my teeth as the pain intensify's. Obviously I have to get hurt in the one place I don't want to get injured.
Just my luck.
I hold my knife tightly and continue fighting. I can see the moon peek out from a layer of clouds, and everything is washed in light. I see several of my soldiers looking bruised and battered, but alive. I see the Echidninarian forces retreating.
A grim smile appears on my features. Maybe not all hope is lost.
I give directions for my men to push forward-to break through the final line of the enemy defence. They obey and fight with renewed strength.
Please-the Echidninarian army didn't stand a chance compared to these 100 or so men, determined to stay alive. I reach up with my good hand and wipe the sweat out of my eyes. I urge my horse forward, intending to break free of the battle as so many of my soldiers are now doing. But my horse stumbles, and I'm thrown from the saddle. I land hard on the ground. For a second I lie there, trying to regain my bearings.
Ow.......
I manage to stand up and look around. Horses are galloping past me, not paying attention to the girl standing in the middle of a battle zone.

"What's a pretty girl like yourself doing here?" A rough voice comes from behind me. I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder, turning me around. Panic washes through me as I try to shake him off.
The man standing there would actually give small children nightmares. He was that ugly. He had a eyepatch over one eye, and his face was disfigured from the deep scars marring his skin. I open my mouth to scream, but he slaps me across the cheek, shutting me up effectively.
I glare at the man and attack him with my good arm.
Whatever this man doesn't have in the looks, he certainly has as a warrior. He is a fantastic fighter, easily matching my best moves. I know that this might be my toughest match ever.
Don't give up. Don't give up.
I can hear Laura's voice repeating in my head. I remember the day she told me that. It was just after I came home from the Amazon camp.

The autumn sunlight filtered in through my window. I was lying in my bed. It was one of those rough days. I could barely move. My head was pounding for lack of sleep. Ever since I had returned from the Amazon's, nightmares had been plaguing me. Almost every night I would wake half of the castle with my screams. I dreamt of my family, of Electra. Even (to this day, I'm ashamed to admit it) of Gai. Each night they would scream at me. They would kill my friends. The people I loved and trusted told me how worthless I was. I hated feeling so weak. So out of control. It was affecting everybody in the castle.
One day Laura marched in and walked to my closet. She pulled out a simple white dress and walked over to me.
"What are you doing?" I growled. She rolled her eyes.

"You need to get out. We're going outside." She told me matter-of-a-factly. She dragged me out of my bed and made me dress. She brushed my choppy blonde hair, then grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the halls. I was shouting and complaining the whole way, but when we got to the garden, I stopped. The oak tree leaves had gradually turned from green to a beautiful red. Leaves were blowing in the warm end of summer wind.
It was beautiful.
I turned to Laura and gave her a hug. It hurt my shoulder but I didn't care.
When we broke apart, Laura looked dead in my eyes.

"Don't give up. Never give up."

That night I slept easy.

This memory comes to mind as I battle. The thought of Laura makes me smile. Gosh I miss her. I want to tell her that I'm doing ok. That I won't ever give up.

The man grabs my bad arm and yanks hard on it. Black spots dance around the corners of my vision as I scream. He yanks my knife out of my hand and throws it somewhere into the blackness. A pinch of regret as I watch my treasured knife Ignis disappear. But I've got a slightly bigger problem on my hands. All of a sudden, somebody is standing in front of me. The man falls to the ground. My saviour turns around. I roll my eyes when I see Derrin. Of course it had to be him. How can I stay mad at him now?
Derrin grabs my hand.

"Run." He whispers. I don't hesitate. We sprint away, leaving the battle behind us.

Somewhere along the line, we commandeer a horse. We ride hard for several minutes, until we see a second camp in the distance. For a second I panic. Then I see that the flag flying is a Faiyrian flag. Derrin must have split his army into two parts, to cover more ground.
That's actually quite smart.

We ride into the camp. All around us men are tending to their horses. Injured soldiers are being treated.
I slide off the horse.

I stand facing Derrin. His expression is hard to read in the dim light.

"Thank you." I say cordially. Derrin winces.

"Don't mention it." He says quietly. There's a awkward tension in the air. I don't like it. My eyes travel down to his hands, which are clamped tightly over his abdomen.
Something isn't right.

"Your hurt!?" I frown. I can see a thick, dark liquid seeping out from between his fingers.
It's blood.
Nausea rises in me. I swallow hard.

"Oh gosh-Derrin it's bad. You need help!" My voice trembles. He wobbles on the balls of his feet. I grab his arm to steady him.

"It's not that bad. There are others-"
Derrin stops mid-sentence. I look up into his face. He is deathly pale. It scares me.

"Derrin?" I murmur. Derrin's eyes roll back in his head and he crumples to the ground, dragging me with him.

"Help! We need help!" I yell, my voice hoarse with exhaustion and terror. I look down at Derrin, who is motionless in my arms. He looks, well, he looks dead.
I scream again. He can't die. He's not allowed to die.
He can't leave me.

Men come and carry Derrin away. I sink back onto my ankles in despair. How could this have happened? It isn't fair.
A thought comes to me, and I bury my face in my hands.
What if he does die? What if his last day with me is full of hate? What if we never get to make up?
That can't happen.
I spring up from the wet grass and run. I run to a gold tent with red trimming. This is the commanders tent. This must be where they took him. I push my way past the guards and stride into the entrance.
The first thing I see is Branwen. She looks delighted when she sees me, and launches herself into my arms. My shoulder stings, but I don't care. I squeeze her tightly and rock back and forth on my heels. Branwen is the kid sister I never had. I love her to pieces-I couldn't stand if she got hurt.

She squirms in my grasp, and I realize I'm probably squeezing the life out of her. Great. I've turned into one of those people. We all know them-the people that kill you with love. I sigh and let her go. She coughs once then smiles up at me.

I return the smile wearily and walk over to Briss, who's busy wrapping clean white gauze around Derrin's wound. I've never seen her so concentrated. I think a cannonball could crash into this tent and she wouldn't notice.

She leans back, and finally notices I'm there.

"Hey." She mutters. Briss has dark circles under her eyes. She looks exhausted.

"Is he going to be ok?" I ask.

I almost don't want to know the answer.

She nods, then leaves. Branwen squeezes my arm and follows her.

It's just me. I walk over to Derrin and sit on the edge of the couch he's lying on. He still looks like he's dead. It's terrifying. Derrin was always the strong one out of the two of us. I hate seeing him like this. It breaks my heart.

I realize I'm not angry at him anymore. I guess all a guy has to do to get a girl to forgive him is to take a knife for her. Note for all the males out there-don't worry about flowers or chocolate. Just jump in front of a poky metal object and everything will be good.

Derrin stirs. I watch his face as his eyes flutter open. I smile gently.

"Hey-nice to see your eyes again." I murmur. We both laugh at the memory. Back when I was shot, that was one of the first things Derrin said to me.

His laugh turns into a grimace of pain. I immediately feel guilty for cracking a joke at a time like this.

"Eadu....I-" He starts talking, but I shush him.

"Shh....It's ok. I know. I forgive you." I whisper. I brush his light brown hair out of his eyes gently. His forehead feels unnaturally warm.

"You're burning up." I mutter, concern dripping from my voice. I grab a spare piece of cloth and dip it in some water. I place it over his forehead.
For a couple seconds, both of us are quiet. I don't know what to say.

'Hey-thanks for almost dying for me. I'm sorry for telling you that I hate you earlier.'

You can't really say that to a person.

Derrin breaks the silence.

"I'm so sorry." He whispers. I nod.

"Me too." I murmur. Derrin smiles.

"We're good?" He asks. I nod and smile.

"We're good."

Hey guys!
I'm sorry for such a long chapter....sometimes I get carried away 😊.
Anyway I wanted to tell you about a really cool opportunity!!
Earlier today I got a notification saying that I had been tagged in something (thanks AnaB1234_Me for the invite!)
So I opened it up and saw that I had been asked to participate in this contest. It's a book, made by 36 authors called the Keeper Exams. The whole idea was made by AddictsAnonymous
Its really cool-go check it out!! The best part is that you guys can be a part of it! I encourage you to send in a entry. No but seriously-go do it now. 😊
Thanks!
Until next time!