Nira splashed water on her face. She had gotten up earlier on her turn to watch out. She took out a jar made of animal skin and drank from it. She gulped several turns from it then returned it to its initial place-she had it tied to her waist.
She watched as Josh and Silion cuddled in their warm sleep as the moon travelled the sky and the wood transitioned further and further into greyish ash. It was not a scene she loved to observe especially since the death of Caleb.
At times she would stare at the clouds with her back rested in the ground or deep in the fire her eyes fixed to the flames imagining what life would have been if Caleb was alive. May be, just may be, she would experience this affection she witnessed her sister entwined in.
For many years, since their palace days, Silion grew fonder and fonder of the son of their lead farmer. Josh and Caleb were twins and sons of Mr Ewan, a hardworking farmer who first docked at the sea port of Bernbute as a trader. The king had shown interest in him being his servant and appointed him the Farm Lord in charge of all farm activities not only in the palace but also the whole kingdom as a whole.
Most of the time Josh and Caleb would spend their day inside the palace. They were age mates with Silion so they would play with her. Nira had watched them play from her window for months before Caleb personally invited her to play with them.
It is like he knew her. Nira was no ordinary girl to play ordinary games like hide and seek. She loved to play 'strange' games, games that other children felt uncomfortable with, apart from Caleb, of course.
Since she was six years old, she had only played with, hold hands with and spend time with Caleb. Their brother, Arvin, was not fond of the farmer's children. He would beat tease and shower insults to them, sometimes spit at them. Nira always found a way to soften the blow for Caleb, at times she contested the hostility of her brother once she had enough of him.
Since she was a child, she had felt the strange connection with Caleb. A connection she later on learnt it was love. Love? What do you mean love? She was destined to be a cold freak, free from emotions.
Everytime she sat by the fire, she would reminisce of all the memories, both good and bad that she and Caleb shared before his brutal murder in cold blood. A part of her felt relief since she had avenged his death right on the spot. Ultimately, revenge was not enough, she wanted Caleb, nothing short of that would release her from the bonds of pain.
Caleb's death had worked a number on her personality. She grew 'soft' as depicted by Silion. She became emotional yet mature, warm and extremely calm, things she had not seen coming.
Everytime she thought of him, she would curse herself for it. She was the one who dragged him and Josh into this absolute fugitive madness. They would have had no threat were they to remain in Bernbute, their father posed no threat to the throne for those who desired it, in fact as soon as King Edmond's death rampaged the kingdom, Farm Lord Ewan retired from his obligations.
Nira had seen the apocalypse coming from the very moment she had joined Robin to watch the birds. Back then, cold with emotions, she could not say goodbye to her brother in the best way possible, but she had plans to escape with or without her kin. She had asked her brother if he wanted to be king with intent to point out that he should have not declared for the throne, not until they were certain.
She had seen her brother's death that morning before she left her bed, just like she foresaw the death of their parents and the rebirth of cruelty, defiance, unrest and crime in place of a peaceful, united and thriving kingdom. Ambitions, ambitions definitely marked the end of humanity, still marks.
As she sat under a tree on her turn to watch while the others slept, she thought she heard footsteps. She griped on the handle of her sword though she rarely used it. Her eyes grew with concerns she slowly shot to her feet. She had the power to locate any danger around her right from where she stood by focusing. Her eyes would spiritually patrol her environment and see all the danger around her. All she had to do was to focus, deeply.
She tried to focus but she failed, everytime she tried to, only Caleb would come to mind and blind her eyes. Trees started shaking as the wind blew across the forest. She ran to where Josh and Silion cuddled and woke them up. As assertive as they were, they did not take long to know something was up, why else would she wake them?
"What is the plan?" Caleb asked looking at both of them.
" What have you seen? " Silion,aware of her sister's capabilities, asked her locking eyes with her.
" Nothing, I can't use my power now!" She said in a way that intended she did not want to talk about it . " They could be the wilds, or the wild animals, we should hide until they approach so we know what we are dealing with." She added.
No one would contest with her. Whatever you thought you knew she knew better. She could read people's minds something that usually worked to her advantage. Her powers had grown interesting and definable, courtesy of the prophetess she met in their adventure and life in the forest.
The footsteps grew louder forcing their hands. As usual, she would prefer the crow so she climbed a tree in an amusing speed. Josh jumped inside a bush and Silion took cover behind a huge rock covered with dry tree leaves.
" We have traced them for days... Our spy followed the boy here!" A man stated as the footsteps neared. It was then that they saw five men dressed like warriors. They could not scan their faces precisely, Nira could but she chose not to. They were men of heavy built with golden armors that glittered with every reflection of the moon and huge swords. A man who seemed to be their leader stood inches in front of them. They scanned the place before proceeding past the camp.
The trio took a moment before coming out from their hideouts. By then the clouds were heavy with rain and as if triggered, they poured down heavily as lightening and thunder tormented the skies. Getting rained on had become a regular but they sometimes took cover under a rock like they did at that time.
It was evident that the word of them being alive was already out in the open, why else would royal guards roam the forest looking for them. May be they assumed it was them they were after but who else. As Nira's eyes burnt with anger and vengeance, she had set up her mind that it was time. It was time to pay back all the things she endured because of greed and ambitions of a few treacherous individuals. She stared at her sister before uttering the words her sister longed for, " It is time to get back home, we are now wild enough!"