The Soldier, the Lady, and the Ally

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've realized lately that I've gotten WAY off track with my fiction writing. I could blame a lot of thigs for this, not the least of which being school, but the truth is that you should make time for the things you care about... I should have been making more time for this.

So to start getting back on track, I've been "exercising," as it were. Flexing my writing muscles by writing completely random scenes and such. I'd rather make sure I'm warmed up and back in full form before I start back into heavy "Tobias" writing, or pump out a short story idea that I've been pretty excited about lately.

So this is kinda the first bit of random writing I've been doing. More may come, depending on whether or not I end up happy with the results. I have a lot of scenes bouncing around in my head that simply dont belong to any known narrative (this is why much of my random crap doesn't have things such as names for the characters), so I may just type them up and see what happens.

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The soldier sat as still and silent as he could, not daring to make a sound. He risked a glance behind him and saw her chest moving rhythmically up and down as she breathed deep.

He smiled. She was asleep. Finally.

A sleep too deep for dreams. Or nightmares.

He sighed and turned back to the task at hand. It had been some time since the magic had fully shown itself to him. Fully allowed him to take control. But he had felt something now, he was sure of it.

Something had nudged him. Letting him know it was still there, wanting to help.

He closed his eyes, concentrating. Find the strand… He let his mind flow over the room, picking, probing, searching… Not even entirely sure what he was looking for, only that it was calling him.

He jumped when he felt his mind brush against something in the air in front of him. In that instant, his concentration was broken and he lost… whatever it was. He nearly cursed, but didn’t want to risk waking the girl

He took a few deep breaths before trying again. It was easier this time, knowing where to look. He sent his mind out like fingers, their tips delicately examining every molecule in front of his face. Frisking the very fabric of the universe to find the magic that called to him.

The fingers caught again. Something rough, out of place.

He was excited – it had been so long – but he stayed focused. He sent the fingers of his mind forward just a little, pushing against the invisible wall they had found.

It wouldn’t budge. He couldn’t feel even the slightest give to his force.

He narrowed his eyes and concentrated again. This used to be so much easier.

Find the strand… he told himself.

Ever so slowly, he felt along the invisible wall. He could tell that it wasn’t one solid piece, but rather more like something was woven. Woven into the air itself. Not physical, but magical. Supernatural. The kind of thing angels are made of.

He grasped at the fabric.

Found the strand.

And pulled.

A sudden burst of light nearly blinded his eyes, but it lasted no more than a second. He quickly turned to the girl behind him, but she still slept soundly. Beautifully oblivious to the world as her body healed itself.

He breathed a sigh of relief before grinning to himself. Though somewhat neglected in recent weeks, his power was still there. He could still light up the darkness, at least, and his other skills were surely still accessible as well. It was harder than it used to be, but he would improve again.

It would just take time.

He quickly jotted down a message to the girl, letting her know of the breakthrough. He didn’t want to wake her now, and couldn’t stay until morning.

There was too much to do.

Satisfied, he rose slowly and walked over to her sleeping figure. He brushed a single hair out of her face before gently kissing her forehead. She moved ever so slightly toward him, but didn’t wake.

He left her room silently – thankful he wasn’t wearing noisy, heavy armor – and shut her door slowly behind him.

Outside, the soldier was unsurprised to see his ally keeping watch over the area, his back to the lady’s room as he stood at the balcony, gazing thoughtfully up at the stars.

“Still awake?” the soldier asked.

“Aye,” the ally replied simply, not yet looking at him. “As always.”

“Why aren’t you home?”

“I get lonely.”

The soldier nodded to himself. He understood. “Any news?”

The ally finally looked down as he sighed. “My front of the war fares poorly. We’re losing a lot of good men.”

The soldier frowned. “But you’ll break through.”

“Of course we will. We have to. But it’s hard to be happy about the situation.”

Again, the soldier understood.

The ally glanced at the girl’s door, then back to the soldier. “How is she?”

“She’ll be fine. She just needs to rest.”

The ally nodded and looked back toward the moonlit horizon. “I’m glad.”

The soldier sighed. “I know I haven’t been there for the others as much as I used to, and for that I--”

The ally cut him off. “Do you still serve our Lord?”

“Yes, of course.”

“And can you still use magic?”

That, of course, had just been reconfirmed. “Yes.”

“And will you still devote time to this war, knowing your role and playing it to the best of your ability?”

“For as long as I’m able.”

The ally looked at the soldier and gave a soft smile. “Then you’ve done nothing wrong, and have no need to apologize.”

“But I’ve been so focused on my own problems,” the soldier started. “Everything seems to be falling apart, more and more as each day passes. And sometimes I feel like my mistakes are just making it worse.”

“A hero isn’t someone who doesn’t fall… It’s someone who’s able to get back up again. In defeat, they don’t look down, but up.” The ally walked toward the soldier and put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve all stumbled lately, my friend. The world wants to break us more and more, and it feels like our world is falling apart as a result. But you and I? We keep getting up again.” He lowered his hand back down to his side. “And as long as you vow to continue doing that, you’re still a hero in my book.”

The soldier smiled. “And you in mine.”

They stood together on the balcony, enjoying the peaceful night sky.

As they stood, another warrior, beaten and bloody, came riding up to the city gates. He sat straight and proud on his mount, stronger having been through battle.

“Our bard returns,” the soldier commented, cheerful to see another comrade again.

His ally nodded, but still wore a somber expression. “Yes, but there are still so many that are drifting, and many more still that could serve so well, if only they would enlist! In these days I wonder… Can we really succeed? Are we really strong enough?”

“We have to be,” the soldier replied. “The dark is rising, yes. What will come will come. But this is the way it was meant to be.”

The ally chuckled. “That old creed…”

“It’s true.”

“I know.”

The soldier looked back toward the girl’s door, as if staring at it would let him see that she was still alright.

The ally followed his gaze and said, “Don’t worry. You’ll protect her if she needs it.” Then he grinned. “This is the way it was meant to be.”

“Touché.”

“We’ll make it, my friend. We’ll win in the end.”

The soldier nodded. “We’ll go together.”

They looked back toward the horizon as a new day dawned, ready and waiting for the things that would come.