Kairi

This is my most recent story. Please leave a comment telling me what you think. If you are younger than 12 I don't recommend you read this for profanity and slight violence. Other than that enjoy. ^^


Prologue

I had always wondered why I was never wanted. My own parents couldn’t stand me as a child, and they gave me away to a soldier’s regiment when I was only seven. I suppose it might have been my eyes. My eyes always startled people. After all how many fifteen year old boys do you see with bright red eyes?
Or maybe it was the way I observed people. I would memorize everything about them, how they looked, and how they acted, how they related to others. It must be disconcerting to have someone tell you more about yourself than you know.
But all in all I didn’t really understand why everyone avoided me. I mean, I was good-natured, I loved to laugh with others, and I hated being rude or angry most of the time. So why did everyone treat me like I had the plague?
I always thought about it at night. When the captain would allow us to rest from the day’s training I would lie in bed thinking about it, but it never made a difference. I gave up asking myself why, in the end. After all, what was life if you always dwelled on the past? It wasn’t as if I hated my life. In reality I was content with being a soldier; it was my passion to work with a sword, to slash away at everything in my way. What else could a young boy ever want to be? It was an honor to serve under the king, every one of us knew that.
And yet I was never truly happy; I never understood what true happiness was. To me it was just something that other people could feel, but never me. I wasn’t completely miserable, but I wasn’t enjoying life as I should.
I never realized that. Not until that day…

One

“You have weird eyes you know,” Fredrick said as he followed me through the camp. “They look like blood.”
“Really?” I asked not really paying attention; he wasn’t the first to tell me that.
“Yeah, they’re pretty creepy,” he said resuming his constant chatter. That’s why I kept Fredrick around, for a small kid, he never stopped talking. “They don’t really match with your black hair, Grey; they make you look like a vampire.”
I laughed.
“A vampire? Fredrick, there’s no such thing.”
“Uh huh, Marcus said so!”
“Marcus likes to mess with you,” I said ruffling his unkempt hair in amusement.
“But he said they come out at night! He told me! He told me!” he said stomping his foot stubbornly. I rolled my eyes.
“Fine, Fredrick, vampires exist. Just don’t forget that they like little boys with blond hair.”
His eyes widened in horror and his hands reached to cover his fair hair. I laughed at his expression; he was so easy to tease.
He glared childishly at me and pouted. I forgot how touchy he was.
“You’re so mean Grey.”
“Alright I’m sorry,” I said rolling my eyes again and turning to the job at hand.
“Stop ignoring me!” he whined.
“Fredrick, I have to get these swords sharpened. Go bother Jonathan.”
“John hates me, Grey.”
“Only because you never shut up.”
“Yeah but he’s my brother,” he said annoyed.
“All the more reason to bother him,” I answered as I balanced one of the swords on my palm.
“Fine,” he grumbled as he walked away.
I smiled at the way he stalked off, and then concentrated on getting the swords to the sharpening block.
“Morning Jasper,” an older man called as I walked by. He was tall, muscular and he had long black hair that didn’t quite match to the dark shade of my hair.
“Morning Trent,” I answered. “Is Garrett here?”
“Nah you missed him, boy. He went up the river to catch some fish for lunch.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Would you mind giving these to him?” I asked offering the swords. “Tyler and Kernos want them sharpened.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“I have to get to practice with Marcus so I’ll be back for them later.” I said setting the swords on Trent’s table and began to walk off in the direction I’d come from.
“Good luck beating him. Marcus has been doing very well lately.”
I smirked.
“Not well enough,” I called over my shoulder.

He leaned his weight against the sword, trying to break the swords apart. I swiftly pulled the blade from under his and jumped back. He stumbled, and tried to push himself up. I took advantage of his momentary distraction and pressed the point of my sword against his exposed neck.
“I win again, Marcus.”
“Good game, Jasper. You only improve, I’ll never catch up,” he said smiling as I removed my blade and helped him up.
“You’re getting better as well, it was much harder this time,” I said grinning. He pushed his overgrown blond hair from his eyes to show his green eyes bright in excitement.
“You think so?”
“Of course, after all you’ve been practicing hard haven’t you?” I looked at him proudly but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. I didn’t mind. I was used to that.
“Time to head back,” he said as he looked at the darkening sky.
“Go ahead without me, I’ll stay to clean up a little.”
He seemed a little relieved as he waved goodbye and hurried back to camp. I watched him leave and sighed. Marcus was intimidated by me. Despite all I’d told Fredrick, the truth was I certainly resembled a vampire. I had jet-black hair that never seemed to grow longer than my temples, too-white skin, and then there were my intuitive red eyes… not to mention my natural ability to handle a sword. I was definitely vampire material. I sometimes even scared myself when I saw my reflection… I had yet to find someone who wasn’t unnerved by me.
But I’d mostly learned to live with it. It no longer bothered me to have people stare at me like some freak, and I was perfectly at ease talking to them. Then there were people like Fredrick who didn’t mind so much. He spent a lot of time following me around so he was mostly ok with it. But besides him everyone kept their distance from me…
I hurried to gather the pieces of the fencing armor before dark. I didn’t really mind the dark at all but orders from the captain were that we were to be in camp before nightfall every day. I grasped my sword and slid it into its sheath. I started to make my way down the hill toward the training camp, but something in the forest caught my eye.
I turned to get a better look but I saw nothing. Maybe I’d just imagined it. I started walking again but stopped nearly as soon as I had begun. Was that a bear? It was grayish, and very large. I caught a glimpse of its dark eyes but then it suddenly disappeared. I stood staring at the spot with wide eyes.
Wow, I thought. That was the largest wolf I’d ever seen.

__________________

Kairi

Two

“You’re late Greyson.”
“I know Captain, I’m sorry.”
The Captain, Talmar, was strong, strict, and everything a captain should be. He was dark skinned, with think brown hair and piercing black eyes. He could make a troll back down with that stare of his. No matter how strong or intimidating you were, that sharp gaze would bring you down. And he wasn’t as unnerved by my eyes as everyone else; that stare was just as intimidating to me as it was to anyone. We all had great respect for him, and letting him down alone was enough of a punishment.
“Why were you outside the camp after dark?” he asked as he stared me in the eyes. I felt myself starting to become nervous. After all, it would sound ridiculous to tell him that I, Jasper Greyson, one of the strongest warriors in the regiment, had been paralyzed in fear for half an hour because I thought I saw a monstrous wolf.
“I was daydreaming sir,” I said lying quickly. “There’s no excuse for my behavior.”
“That’s right, Greyson. You will go without dinner ration tonight. You are dismissed.” I raised my hand to my forehead in salute and he left. I stood at the edge of camp without moving for a long time. What had I seen? I wasn’t creative enough to imagine that creature in the woods. But it was too large to be a wolf, and yet it wasn’t the right shape to be anything else. Stories of werewolves made more sense but everyone knew werewolves weren’t real. There had to be some explanation…
I awakened from my thoughts as one of the men called to me as he passed by. I answered with a quick hello and began to make my way to my tent. I probably needed a good night’s rest to clear my head.

Morning came too quickly for my liking. I had just closed my eyes and next thing I knew there was light in the tent. And soon after that I heard the captain calling us to first hour training. It dragged on longer than usual, and I was actually bored by the time it was over. I was still wondering about the wolf-thing when I went down to the river to bathe, and I was beginning to think I would go crazy if I didn’t stop thinking about the damn thing.
Luckily, something did make me stop thinking about it.
It happened during midday. And it was about to change my life.

“Someone call the captain! Something’s happened!”
I heard the men before I saw them. I could tell it was the hunter’s group because I recognized a few of the voices. At first I ignored them, thinking it was nothing of interest, and continued to polish my sword, but more and more voices joined in, the tone growing more urgent. After a few minutes I dropped my sword and left the tent in curiosity.
There was a crowd gathering around the captain’s tent, and I could hear people talking loudly, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then I heard the captain’s voice boom out, and everyone fell silent. I made my way to the edge of the crowd, trying to see past the man in front of me, but in the end I had to be content with listening.
“-happened?” the captain was asking loudly. All at once I heard the hunter’s group muttering amongst themselves before Jonathan, Fredrick’s elder brother, spoke.
“We were out in the woods trailing some stray deer, and then Alexander disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared?” I heard Garrett call out.
“One second he was there and then he was gone!” James shouted with a hint of hysteria in his tone. “I remember thinking that he was oddly quiet at the back, and when I turned he wasn’t there!”
“We have to go search for him!” I heard a voice I didn’t recognize yell.
“It’s no good,” Jonathan said darkly. “He’s dead.”
There was an awkward moment of silence. Then the muttering started again.
“Alexander… is dead?” I heard the captain ask uncertainly.
“Yes sir. We searched for him and found his body nearby, torn to shreds as if by some animal. It was unnatural. Those teeth marks were too large for a bear mauling.”
I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, and the image of the wolf-thing came to my mind again.
“And when we were coming back, we saw something in the woods, but we don’t know what it was. It was terrifyingly large and it growled like thunder,” he paused. “We ran back to camp as fast as we could. Captain, there’s something out there, we need to do something!”
More muttering.
“We’ll hunt it down.” The captain said finally. “It shouldn’t be as bad as all that, and what are we if not an army? We’ll hunt the creature down and bring its pelt back. Every available man must ready now. We’re going into the woods tonight.”
The sickening feeling in my stomach intensified as we were dismissed for battle.

The dark was pressing at me from all sides. I tightened the grip on my sword; it was unnerving not to be able to see. I strained my ears for any breath of noise other than my feet crunching through the forest floor, but it only made me more wary of the unnatural silence filling the usually lively woods. It gave me a horrible feeling of foreboding.
If only I knew at that moment how accurate that feeling was.
I continued my steady journey deeper into the forest, conscious of the fact that my fast pace was quickly leaving the others far behind. That did little to make the dark easier to bear.
The sun was quickly taking its light with it, and it was already very dark. I could see a few stars through a clearing at the top of the thick trees, and it was shortly after the wind began blowing eerily that I heard it.
At first I thought I’d imagined it. After all everyone was left behind, I was the only one who had come this far. And yet, somewhere ahead of me I could hear footsteps. I listened closely to make sure I wasn’t imagining them after all, but there they were, and yet they were all wrong; too light for any man from the camp, and definitely only one set, a human’s.
It confused me. What was going on here? I found myself increasing my pace, following the sound briskly. But it seemed to be getting farther and farther away, and suddenly I found I was running. I remember thinking that I would never catch them, when suddenly I bounded into an open clearing filled with moonlight and saw something that would ultimately change my life.
There was someone sprawled unconscious in the center of the clearing, an arrow buried deep in their back. The blood from the wound had spread and was dripping steadily onto the grass, and staining her long silvery blond hair.
She was wearing long robes with pieces of light armor, but it seemed it had been discarded carelessly, showing most of her exposed back…
And most of the gruesome wounds.
There were slashes crisscrossing over and over on her bare skin, burning red and even bleeding. It made me slightly nauseated as I made my way over to her. When I was close enough to take in her face, I noticed that she was quite pretty, in her own way. She had high, thin cheekbones, thin eyebrows the same shade of silver blond as her long flowing hair, and a dainty face structure. Around her neck she wore a thin silver chain with a single small emerald charm shaped like a crescent moon. I barely had time to take it in as I picked her up with barely any effort and began running as fast as I could back in the direction of the camp.

__________________

Kairi

Three

“Has she regained consciousness?” I heard Jonathan ask me. It took a moment for his words to register before I could answer.
“Huh, oh no. Not yet. Dr. Haylen says it will be at least a few days before she’s recovered from all that blood loss and we can find out who she is.”
“Strange,” he muttered. Everyone thought it was strange.
It had taken me at least a half an hour to return to the camp, I hadn’t realized exactly how far I had gone. The girl was no trouble, she only woke once while I ran, muttering something about an unfinished order before she slipped back into unconsciousness. When I arrived I went straight to our doctor, Alec Haylen, and he got to work with removing the arrow shaft and cleaning the numerous wounds. He told me that the girl’s chances of survival were not very high, but if she did live she should awaken in a few days. I had spent an entire two days waiting for that to happen.
The girl herself wasn’t very important in my view. I was more concerned with the mystery that was her; I needed to know what she was doing in the woods dressed like a foot soldier, and running on her own in the dark. And I needed to know what those wounds were; they still haunted me in my dreams.
But I would need to wait.
“So where exactly did you find her, Jasper?” Jonathan asked casually as he drank his ration of wine.
“Oh, out somewhere in the woods. A wide clearing.”
“I’ve never heard of that,” he said as he furrowed his brow in thought. I shrugged. He said no more, and soon excused himself to bed. I stayed at the dining tent as long as I could, thinking over the many problems in my head.
We had gone no closer to finding the creature or the wolf-thing (which I strongly suspected were the same thing), and we had a 24-hour watch, just in case it decided to attack. And the girl. There were rumors going around camp that she was a spy for a neighboring kingdom because of the way she was dressed, but I didn’t really believe it. After all, what could a girl like her do?

Two more days passed in utter frustration. My combat skills were noticeably becoming more and more unfocused due to my lack of concentration, and I found it hard to think about much other than the girl. My thirst for the truth behind her mystery was overwhelming; I had to find out soon, or I would lose my mind.
On the fourth day I decided to go see her. After morning practice I made my way through the busy camp to the doctor’s tent, but I couldn’t find Dr. Haylen at all. His daughter, Marianne, was there cleaning medical equipment, and she told me her father was out by the river taking care of Kernos, who had fallen and hit his head on the rocks leaving a nasty gash. I thanked her and left. If the doctor wasn’t there, I was going to go see the girl on my own.

The infirmary tent was the largest in camp. It was actually made of several tents joined together, and so spanned about 25 feet. As a soldier’s camp, we obviously needed plenty of medical attention, especially after a battle. We were equipped for any situation necessary, and Dr. Haylen was one of the best healers in the kingdom. In my opinion, our infirmary was much better than the healer’s place back at my village. I completely believed in the girl’s recovery. I was just impatient to see her awaken.
Because there were no women in camp, (excepting Marianne and Juliana, Garrett’s young wife), Dr. Haylen had put Juliana in charge of keeping an eye on the girl, just in case the men got rowdy and disrupted her recovery. She was outside the tent washing some cleaning rags when I arrived.
“Good morning, Juliana,” I said casually.
She looked up at my voice and smiled politely.
“Mornin’ Jasper,” she said, making it sound like “Jas-puh” with her strong accent. She was very pretty; with an exotic mix of chocolate colored skin, bright green eyes and light brown hair; she was thin and graceful, and no other girl I’d ever met looked anything like Juliana. That was because she wasn’t a native to the kingdom of Calmar; she was from Yulai, a much stronger military country to the west of us, near the sea. She’d been a slave girl rescued by Garrett in a large battle a few years earlier. And although he was nearly five years her elder, they had been married and soon after had had their first son, Imelei, who was often seen clutching at Juliana’s skirt as he followed her around camp. Some people said his skin and hair resembled his mother, but those violet eyes of his were definitely Garrett’s.
“Watcha doin’ ‘ere, ah Jasper?” she asked as she continued her chores, carefully avoiding my gaze.
“I came to see the girl,” I said gesturing at the tent flap.
“She hasn’ got up jest yet. Ah saw ‘er a lil’ bit ago.”
“I know,” I answered pleasantly. “I just thought you might want to go look for Imelei, he’s gone and disappeared again.”
“Again? Dat boy oughta listin to ‘is mother. Ah told ‘im not to go wondrin round.”
“I’ll relieve you if you’d like, Juliana, go and look for him.”
She straightened and stared at my face, focusing on a point right under my eyes. Her eyes narrowed for a moment.
“Now duncha be gettin’ any ideas, Jasper. Duncha do anythin’ unpropriate to dat gurl.”
I widened my eyes at her accusation.
“Juliana, I wouldn’t. I’m only curious about her. I wouldn’t dare do anything like that! Soldier’s honor.”
She stared at me good and hard before softening her expression and pointedly turning her back to me so as to not meet my eyes.
“’right then, be back soon. Boy, don’ cum to meh laiter wit a’ ‘cuse. You gave meh your ‘onah, ‘member?” she said sternly as she started to walk off.
“Yes Juliana.”
She nodded and went off in search of her son. I stood outside the tent wondering if it was better to just leave, but finally decided that I might as well do what I came to do and stepped inside.
She was lying on one of the straw mattresses, and all her dirty and torn clothes had been removed. She was wearing a plain white tunic and a lot of her body was bandaged up. Now that it was daylight I could see her in a different way; how her face was very clear, except for a small birthmark beneath her right eye, how serious she seemed even in sleep, and how pretty she was, even though she was wounded. I’m not sure how long I stared at her, willing her to wake up, before I noticed the necklace once again.
The emerald crescent was shining brightly upon her collarbone, and it intrigued me. It was very fine, perfect in fact. I wasn’t aware that I had put my hand out to touch it until a firm but small hand snapped up to grasp my wrist.
Surprised, I moved a step back. The girl was still lying in bed, but her eyes were open. They were pitch black and cold, and they stared at me straight in the eyes with such ferocity that I couldn’t say a word. She didn’t let go of my wrist, and for several minutes she just stared at me with her eyes in mean slits. Finally I found myself able to speak.
“Uh, miss? My hand is falling asleep…”
Immediately she let go of my hand, but she stared at me with such intensity, that I was beginning to feel like her eyes were dark tunnels… She sat up then and continued staring at me.
“Who are you?” She whispered in a husky tone, almost like a boy’s voice. It had a slight accent, but I couldn’t place it.
“My name is Jasper; I’m the one who brought you here.”
She looked me up and down and scoffed.
“You? You’re hardly fifteen.” I stared at her. She was hardly a day over seventeen, maybe even sixteen, and yet she seemed amused at my age. I didn’t think it wise to talk back though, so I just shrugged.
“I’m just a soldier, miss. That’s all.”
Her nose wrinkled in distaste.
“Don’t call me miss. It bothers me.”
“Yes, if that’s what you wish.”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“What are you anyway?” she asked. “You’ve got strange eyes. They aren’t normal for humans.” She spoke the word humans with distaste, almost like she wasn’t one herself.
“I am human,” I said surprised at her tone. “What else could I be?”
She ignored my question and continued staring. Finally after a few minutes of silence she spoke again.
“Where am I?”
“The southern soldier’s regiment in the kingdom of Calmar.”
“Calmar?”
“Yes mi-, I mean yes, this is the country under the rule of King Liatsna.”
She stared blankly at me.
“You have never heard of Calmar?” I asked incredulously. The kingdom was well known everywhere for its rich trade and fierce military power.
“No never,” she answered in a quieter tone. It suited her better, her voice was smooth, and it sounded wise as well.
“Who are you?” I asked curiously. She turned her deep black eyes on my crimson irises.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.

__________________

Kairi

Four

“Memory loss?”
“Yes, she’s lost all her memories. She can’t even remember her own name.”
“Are you sure, Alec?”
“One hundred percent. Sorry Jasper, she might never regain her memory.”
I groaned. We were sitting in Dr. Haylen’s tent, discussing the girl over a light but good lunch made by Marianne. As soon as Alec had returned from the river and found the girl awake he ran some checkups on her and found that she’d suffered from memory loss, possibly due from shock. He’d given her a mixture of herbs to help her sleep, and when she was finally unconscious again, he invited me to lunch. Knowing that I might never find out the mystery of the girl left a feeling of emptiness in me, and it was already eating away at my thoughts.
“You sure did take to her didn’t you, Jasper?” he asked studying my face with his clear blue eyes.
I laughed.
“Take to her? Alec, I just want to know why a girl like her was out in the woods getting herself shot in the back.”
“That girl isn’t as frail as you think, Jasper.”
“She’s a girl, it doesn’t make any difference. She shouldn’t have been out there pretending to be a soldier.”
“She’s much stronger than that; when I was checking her today she sat straight and unbothered, even though those wounds in her back should have her cringing in pain. I wouldn’t underestimate her.”
I rolled my eyes.
“So what are we going to do with her when she’s completely recovered?” Marianne asked as she ate. It surprised me to hear her talk. She was usually very quiet and shy.
“That’s up to the captain,” I said shrugging. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he dropped her off at the next town we pass by.”
“Well, we’ll see now, won’t we,” Alec said. He continued eating for a moment and then turned to face me once more.
“Don’t you have evening practice?”
I spilled ale down my tunic as I jumped up from my seat and hurriedly thanked Alec and Marianne for the meal. I’d forgotten all about evening practice.

The following week was uneventful, but it ended with a bit of good news.
The regiment was moving.
The captain had received an order from the general of the Calmarian army, and was moving the regiment to the northwestern border of Calmar and Seran. The two countries were in an uneasy state of peace and some recent raids had made connections very tense. War was expected to break out very soon; we were preparing for an attack.
It would be a two week trip, through mountains and crossing most of the country on foot. I was ecstatic.
The captain informed us that we would be leaving in three day’s time, and that preparations should start right away. Everyone followed his orders without a single complaint. No one wanted to stay at the edge of the woods any longer.
For two days the camp went through all the necessary preparations; gathering provisions, bringing the tents down, storing most of the weaponry, loading the horse carts, and the like. It was busy work, and I had no time to spare a thought for anything else; even the girl was drawn from my thoughts. It wasn’t long before the captain sought me out.

“Greyson.”
I stopped hammering at a broken cart and looked up to see him looking down at me. I stood up and respectfully saluted him.
“Yes, sir?”
“The girl is under your care. You will look after her, protect her, help her, and keep her near you at all times. Understood?”
I stared at him for a moment in disbelief.
“Greyson!”
“Yes sir,” I answered in a subdued tone. “But if I may ask, sir, why me?”
The captain merely looked amused.
“You found her didn’t you? It seems obvious you should take care of her as well. Haylen informed me this morning that she’s completely recovered; starting tomorrow morning she’s your responsibility.”
“Yes sir,” I said miserably. I had a bad feeling about this.

“Why is the camp moving anyway?”
I sighed.
“We’re going to war.”
The girl stared at me.
The camp had left early that morning; we were already far enough away from the forest that we could no longer see it. We were a large procession. At the front rode the captain on his stallion, with the archers behind him, ready to back him up if needed. Behind them were the foot soldiers, chatting animatedly and laughing as the walked. And at the back were the most experienced warriors on horseback. This was where I rode, with the girl riding a white mare next to me.
I had to admit; in the sunlight she was even more stunning than usual. Her blond hair looked white and flew out behind her in the gentle breeze. Her pale skin looked flawless in the light, and the light yellow dress Marianne had given her fitted her perfectly. And Alec had been right. She sat straight and proper, even though those wounds on her back should have her in too much pain to move.
She caught me staring and gave me a hard look with her dark eyes.
“What’s the war for?”
“The kingdom of Seran wants to invade. So we fight back,” I shrugged.
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Do I have a name?” she asked in that low tone that fit her better.
“Probably,” I answered.
“What is it?”
“I don’t have any idea. You lost your memory.”
Her eyes went glassy for a minute, and even though she was staring right at me, I knew she wasn’t really looking at me. Then they came back into focus and she spoke.
“What would you call me if you gave me a name?”
I looked at her and thought. What about her did I like? Well, about everything besides the fact that she was cold and that her eyes reminded me of death and despair. As I took her in closely, the sun glinted off the emerald crescent on her neck…
“Emilia.”
“Emilia?” she asked, surprised. “Why?”
I shrugged. “It suits you.”
She looked at me strangely, and then turned to stare straight ahead. It was silent for a moment.
“I like it,” she said. And Emilia turned and gave me a quick smile.
That was the first time I saw Emilia smile.
It made her face light up and her eyes became a different shade of black, a warm color, not one that made me shiver. But as soon as it had come, it was gone, and her eyes were tunnels once again.

That first day was strange for both of us. I was forced to follow her nearly everywhere, exempting baths and such. If she made a mistake, I was the one who got blamed, and when we stopped to rest for the night in an empty field, the captain ordered that she sleep in my tent. It was uncomfortable to know that she was next to me on the ground all night, and I was glad when morning came.
The second day was very silent. It didn’t seem that we could find anything to talk about, and we just stared straight ahead. Emilia didn’t seem to care too much and I found myself wishing I hadn’t found her in the woods at all. She was just so… uncaring!
And it was driving me crazy.

__________________

Optimomuffin

nice job!!! i ot to chpter 2, ill read the rest later. But nice work!!!

mr. green

Great story!!!!!!!!! Is there going to be a chapter 5? I hope so!

__________________

My card!!!
Some of it is my main team, but are due to change.