[Tyr Zalo Hawk]: 712.Stories.DawnMeetingDusk.2

Chapter 2: Fighting Losing Battles

Heavy, booted footsteps echoed down the grand hall in Eintra castle. This solitary woman, dressed in a tight fitting set of silver and red armor, drew in slow breaths to calm herself down while she walked. It wasn’t working all that well, but she was doing what she could. Her bluish-black hair was drawn back and tied so that it would stay away from her face, but it still managed to catch the occasional glimpse of sunlight, making it flash brilliantly. Well toned arms and legs, hidden beneath her armor, failed to slow down their march towards the queen’s chambers. She was certainly beautiful, but not in this particular mood.
The two guards at the end of the hallway that were watching her approach both gulped audibly. It was their job to make sure that anyone who wanted through had proper authoritization. Lady Fliren, the woman walking towards them, happened to be the current commander of the royal army due to the King’s sudden death the previous night and she had a problem with authority challenging her own, even if it was just a routine check for clearance to see the queen. The two of them had heard stories of guards foolish enough to do their jobs too thoroughly and ended up in the hospital for months.
Fliren suddenly stopped herself and let out a deep breath about ten feet from the door. As calmly as possible, so as to not startle the queen, she stepped forward towards the trembling guards. “I need to see the queen. Let me through.” Despite the need to hide the anger in her voice, her words came out sharp as the blades by her side.
One of the guards reacted before he thought and immediately opened the doorway. “R-R-Right this way ma’am.” He managed to stutter out. This was completely out of line for him, he hadn’t done his job in any way, but breathing seemed more important to him at the time. The other guard, however, wasn’t about to step in and correct the first. Breathing was on the priority list for him, as well.
Inside the room, the queen was sitting in her throne, which sat next to the empty throne of the late king. Her young face was set in a calm, controlled look that refused to betray her torn emotions inside. “Hello Fliren…” She spoke in a cool voice that showed her obvious dislike for the presence in front of her. “What is it that you want?” Fliren and the queen had never been on the best of terms ever since it was made known that Fliren was in love with the king. It had only been a one-way relationship since the king was madly in love with his bride, but the queen hadn’t approved in any way.
“I wish to know…” The young commander began, controlling her voice better than the queen had.
“Why I ordered the army to not be moved?” She cut in, mid sentence with the same, cold tone. Before Fliren could answer, she continued. “It’s because, now that my husband is dead, we need to protect the capitol until we have a new king. That is the duty of the army and yourself, commander.” Her last word came out like acid, making Fliren’s rage storm up inside of her.
“Very well…” Was all the raven haired knight responded with before turning to leave. She didn’t bother with a bow, knowing that it would only serve to give the young queen another chance to insult her.
During those moments after, while Fliren stormed out of the room, nearly crippling the two guards with the force of the doors that slammed into them, several young boys were playing a local sport with a fist sized ball. The object of the game was to hurtle the ball as fast as possible between each of the players, who stood in a circle, while a single player in the middle did his best to avoid the ball that whistled by. The parents found it to be a worrying pastime, but the boys, all training to be knights, couldn’t have found it more enjoyable. To them, the pain was only a sign of needed practice, the bruises only a reminder of past mistakes. They already had the minds of warriors, even at such a young age. All of them, except the red haired boy in the center of the circle.
With nimble movements and an innocent, yet determined, smile he weaved expertly around the painfully fast ball like it was a slow moving child in his path. This child was different. Whether it was his amazingly stone grey eyes, his pointed ears or his knack for finding ways into the castle garden, he was unique. He didn’t have a warrior’s spirit, he had an adventurer’s. All he ever did was try to explore, to enjoy and discover something new. This game was just another way for him to learn.
Suddenly though, during the middle of the game the ball struck him in the back of head and he fell with a loud ‘thwump’ onto the ground, sending up small clouds of dust. “Ouch…” Waif stated simply, shaking his head with a slight grimace because of the headache he has recently aquired.
“Hey, Waif, you all right?” One of the older kids started, half laughing as he offered the injured child a hand.
“Ya, that ball got you pretty good.” Another youth, nearby, commented with a chuckle.
There was a few moments of laughing from the rest of the boys while Waif groaned slightly and fought back the pain in his own head. “I’m fine.” Waif finally responded, rubbing the back of his head as he was assisted to his feet. “But it hurt, that’s for sure.”
“Of course it did.” It was the first boy again, still with a bit of a grin to his voice. He was particularly taller than the other kids, and a few years older as well. His name was Pilo, and he just happened to have invented the game around four years back. “The ball’s made of hardened leather. It’s meant to hurt.”
“I’ll try to remember that next time…” The red head replied with one last head rub as he stood back up. “Anyways, whose turn is it to dodge now?”
“Kale. He hit you, so he goes.” Pilo responded with a proud nod. Kale was his younger brother, so it was a natural reaction. Or rather, Waif assumed that was the natural reaction.
Waif was an only child, and had originally grown up isolated because he was deemed too weak to play with others. His body had been frail, and his health was never all that good. About half a year ago though, around the age of 8, he suddenly got better. No one could tell why, and certainly not how, but his health improved drastically within just days, and he was suddenly just as strong as any other child his age. Doctors were amazed, his parents were so happy they cried and certain members of the community claimed there was a witch behind it all. Whatever it was though, Waif had become a bit more normal. So on this bright spring day, he could play and laugh just as hard as the rest of them in their little game of ‘Dodgeball.’

Hours after her meeting with the queen, Fliren stepped through town with a much more controlled walk. She had talked it over with her subordinates, each of whom had been yelled at several times so that she could calm down, and now she was ready to go explain to the army what was happening and why. Still though, part of her mind lingered on that wretched woman who seemed to upstage her at every chance she could get. Whether it was being married to the man she had loved, or sending her orders to stay the night before the invasion which had been planned for months now, the queen, and she used that term lightly, was such a pathetically petty little…
A ball bounced slightly and struck her in the leg with a light clang. If it hadn’t been for the noise, Fliren wouldn’t have even noticed, but since she had she turned with a frown towards the young boys who were looking at her. “Excuse me… but who threw this at me?” The boys weren’t stupid. They knew who they were dealing with and how to approach the situation carefully; it was something everyone needed to know in the city. “I said…”
Before she could finish the sentence, Waif stepped forward and looked up with an unwavering resolve in his eyes. “It was me. We were playing a game so that one day we may become great knights, much like yourself.” With his calm smile, even in the face of such a powerful woman, Waif both impressed, and somewhat confused the other boys. Didn’t he know who this was and what she could do to him? Didn’t he understand anything at all?
Fliren glared at the red headed child for a moment, and then she tossed the ball back towards him with a scoff. “Games will only get you so far in life, kid. Real training won’t just hurt; it can kill if you’re not prepared.” With that she turned and resumed her walk. Something about the encounter confused her though. What is it about that kid scared me…? As she walked off, she looked back towards the red headed boy who was being praised by the other children for his bravery and frowned at herself. “Feh. Just another kid.”
But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she had just lost a battle she hadn’t intended to fight…