The Sacrifice of a Hero: Revival

by Michelle Joy

  His glory shall be reborn from an unexpected demise where the sun rises

  He spreads his mighty wings of darkness and hears the firebird singing

  With his voice that healed the world and rose above, the king of darkness

  And to the end of the North, he flies reborn from the ashes

  As a great flame of the never ending sky, just in a burst of flames

  Although seeming to be reduced to ashes, but the fire wakes his soul

  To bring the king of the blue skies and the underworld of the dark

  This is the fate of a knight who is to rise from ashes to dark light

  And from the ashes of his death, shall his great flames be reborn

  Wait then for the stars to explode, for the hero is reborn

  Everyone was gone by midnight, the fire started to fade away and only one unnoticed bat flew from its cage and around the fire that was set, into that dark night when the moon was as bloody as sunset. Five nobles with a monk approached before leaving from the boat and looked closer at the cage that held Frayne. They gave a loud cry as there was nothing to touch or see; the cage was completely empty.

  A sound of battle could be heard raging on. The image of dying knights in their armor seemed to be crimsoned with blood. Loud screams could be heard in that fading chilly light.

  The king himself sat on his horse and was dressed in his battle armor with his long light blond hair that was curling out from underneath his helmet as he ordered his knights to storm the raiders with their crossbows.

  Alfred stood high on a hill not far from the shores, shouted his orders to the small group of knights that remained from the Night Watch Knights, he wanted to help his land for the last time hoping to join his friend who had just left them. Over his head was a white and black huge banner of the Night Watch Knights. He was holding it by its two poles, one from its top and one from its bottom so that the raiding enemy could see it clearly.

  Meanwhile and all at once, a young warrior on the side of the enemy was letting out his loud vicious battle scream as he swung his swords as hard as he could with his left-handed pretending to spot an enemy, but it proved to be no more than a ruse to escape the battle scene. But not realizing that he was noticed by one of the Heathens, the young lad moved on his way until a hard knock off a back of a sword stroke his head bringing him down; the lad tried to keep his balance, yet he couldn’t, but fall from the hill onto the ground; beneath him was the ground he rolled down the shore as he lost his balance, and finally he ended down next to the boat in which Frayne was burned. He had no idea where he was; there was no one beside that burning boat. The young lad fell unconscious and unaware of his location.

  After two hours...

  The boy fluttered his wide eyes slowly. He looked groggy and completely disoriented, he blinked around him to see where he was and the first thing he checked was the cap on his head.

  “No… No… This can’t be happening; where did it go? I hope no one had seen me…” The young boy screamed or was he really a young bad. That young lad spread his hair behind his back, it was a long and smooth golden hair; his eyes were crystal blue, his face’s skin was so smooth like a rose and his lips looked as red as strawberries. There, he was, not a young boy, but a beauty in disguise. That lad was no more than a lady with a breathtaking lady who was putting on a soldier’s clothes. She shook her head slightly, trying to wake up and figure out where she was, but an explosion of deep pain erupted inside her head and felt like a drum hitting the side of her forehead. Adeline Cumberbatch placed her hand on her right swollen head; she tried to wiggle her jaws both back and forth to make sure nothing was broken in her bones. But she was certain that her check was absolutely crackled. She couldn’t resist the pain and moaned with a bitter agonizing voice; yet she had to figure out where she was, she sat on the ground and looked around her. What caught her interest and raised her curiosity were the wrecks of the boat that appeared in front of her. Where on earth was she? Adeline remained speechless as she watched the boat wreck in a sorrow; a tear dropped from the corner of her eye as she kept looking at the boat and it was then when she felt completely lost in thoughts, everything looked as if it happened the previous day.

  It all started for her ever since she was a teenager, back in Scotland. For as long as she was able to recall, Adeline had always possessed an unrivaled sense that enabled her from impending the upcoming dangers. She could smell it and feel it even in the fresh air; it would caress her ears like a whispering murmur of warning that used to brush slightly along her smooth skin. Yet, strangely, and for some reason, however, on that day that proved to be a turning point that was able to change her life; she hadn’t expected or felt any notion of an unexpected danger or threat. She has just risen from her warm silk bed as she was always used to.

  It seemed as if it all happened in a blink of an eye, she had enjoyed some sleep while she was put in the saddle for a few times, her head kept bobbing as her horse, Luna, was plodding and Adeline kept shifting from one side to the other; the only thing she enjoyed was watching the water of the stream flowing clear like a crystal ball. Adeline could still remember how the humid air felt on that August noon back in the Highlands where she was born; there wasn’t any stretch of breeze. It was unusually humid for an August afternoon in the Highlands, and there wasn’t a single stitch of breeze. It was her first travel with her escort, a highly ranked man who was skilled and disciplined as he was a brigade. His only mission was to escort the young sixteen – old young lady home. Her escort was wearing his tidy scarlet Uniform where he was asked to accompany the girl to The Leather Palace safe and sane. The young lady trusted her escort and rested assured for her father, the Lord of Highlands was waiting for her on the borders. The guards who accompanied Adeline were well – trained in the different types of martial Arts. But everything became a nightmare as the carriage of the young lady got closer from her home.

  It was on the walls of her father’s castle that she blinked cautiously and heard the horrific sounds of that battle—Adeline could still recall the thunderous sound of the charging paws and the sounds of sword blades, the violent scared cries of her people; the smell of death and aggression. Adeline knew that it would have been better for her family that her father surrendered to the Heathens who kept plundering their lands times and times again, but it was his pride and braveness that prevented him from giving up on his land and his people; he refused to give up until the last minute and did his best to repel that cruel attack. However, there was no use; their number was big, he was charged falsely for crimes he didn’t even commit, they accused him of slaughtering Heathens he never met; there were much treason that swept his castle; everyone had an ambition of seizing the throne. Adeline arrived finally and knelt before the leader of the heathens in a helpless attempt to plead for keeping her father’s life. And to everyone’s big surprise, the leader agreed and everything proceeded like a rosy dream at that moment. Adeline thought her nightmare was over as that ruthless man with raven hair, listened to her sincere pleads with a kind of sympathy and some understanding.

  But, as soon as he promised her, and right after the girl mounted her saddle, the Highlanders ruined it all, the Scot rebels came out from the middle of nowhere and recklessly, they thought they were helping, but all they brought was stirring up more trouble. Their eyes were filled with a scent of a murderous rage and terror was the only feeling that was seen in their eyes, like a spike of an iron. It was then when Adeline felt the first arrow whizzing right upon her shoulder; her heart felt crashed as thunder and she could feel the blood rush getting to her head and she became certain that her life was in danger. Adeline was raised with three brothers who were all groomed to be great warriors. Within a few seconds, another arrow struck Adeline’s guard right between his eyes and she watched him as he went down out of her saddle like a chopped tree. The rest of the soldiers were screaming out of the bushes, they all brandished their swords and axes.

  Adeline kicked hard in
her heels and wheeled the horse into the huge pine trees, then dismounted and it was then when she withdrew the golden crossbow she received from her grandfather and after adjusting her stance, Adeline reached over her right shoulder, then slid a sharp arrow from her bow sack. She felt the entire world became silent as she stood still, positioning her fingers on the thin string of her crossbow, then she made sure to align it with the target she had set right before her eyes. She could see one of the rebels were about to swing a killing hit to one of the escorts who brought her back home. Adeline relaxed her grip on the string she was holding and finally, she let the arrow find its way to hit its target. Her mark fell dead right as soon as Adeline’s arrow struck him. That rebel’s eyes became wide and round, he dropped onto the ground to fall dead immediately. A heathen warrior was trying to throw his axe on her through the trees, but Adeline fired off three of her arrows in a blink of an eye and the soldier fell down the ground dead.

  The violence started to reach unprecedented levels and escalated in such an alarming sign. Adeline looked around her to see the warriors leaping right off their horses and started to fight the rebels. All she could see later on was the knives and the sounds of the sharp sabers around.

  “No… No… This can’t happen” Adeline screamed loudly.

  Adeline’s mind yelled with pictures of her dear father swinging from the noose of his castle if her protectors would fail to save her and keep her safe. Time was all that mattered and Adeline rushed to reach her bow sack even faster than earlier and decided who her next aim was. She knocked him out as soon as she could when she spotted Robert standing right near her. Adeline lost balance as she lost focus and let, by mistake, an arrow twanging onto a tree. Robert seized the opportunity to save his own life and ran away using Adeline’s horse. The girl tried to stop him, but he ran away.

  “Hey, Robert, come back now, please come back,” Adeline screamed, trying to bring Robert back, she couldn’t let him escape after all she had been through to get the pardon from the Heathen’s leader. Yet, it seemed that there was no use; the horse bolted through the thick woods and with him her father’s hope evaporated.

  “No, Robert!” Adeline cried bitterly. “Please, come back!”

  The girl ran right after Robert, but all that she managed to do was to run no more than a few steps before another arrow was fired into the sky and all of a sudden, she felt severe pain reverberating in her skull. The girl looked back trying to realize what happened to her as she pressed her right palm against the side of her head. Looking at her hand, Adeline saw blood covering her hand. It seemed the same thing happened to her twice, once back in Scotland and the second time was when she fell from the hill near that boat in the Northumberland.

  Nausea welled up once again inside Adeline’s head; same nausea she felt back in Scotland before being taken by the Heathens to their land.

  She was lost as she looked around her seeking any kind of help on a land she knew nothing about. Everything felt the same, except for the location. Adeline could still recall that unbearable wave of nausea and dizziness that she felt. It was a horrible day back then when Adeline staggered to her side, making an effort to grab on anything that her eyes could fall on, yet; her knees felt buckled underneath her. The girl looked at the shore in front of her in Northumberland and the memories were brought back again to life as she saw how the waves moved slowly amidst the night. Adeline remembered how she dropped her precious bow and the only thing she could remember later was that she tumbled down. It looked as if she was living everything back again, even the fall seemed to be the same; the feeling of the twigs and those thorns as well as branches as they snapped in a noisy way while cutting into Adeline’s smooth flesh bruising her tired body as she crashed harshly into a kind of grove of seedlings; the girl grunted with bitter agony all the way long. It was only then that the world suddenly ceased spinning. Everything became quiet, nothing could be heard rather than a chattering sound of the squirrels that came out of somewhere in the tree holes. Adeline felt powerless ad couldn’t do anything, but to remain still and lie down on the bed of moss underneath her aching body, glancing at the leaves over her head. The pain was still throbbing in her bones as the girl ordered herself to stand up.

  “Come on, stand up Adeline, you have to stand up.” But her body refused to obey her.

  Something was weird that day, Adeline couldn’t hear the sounds of the battle anymore; she wondered if the combat had stopped finally, but she didn’t know who was victorious. She hoped that they would come looking for her, but after lying for a long while on the grass and amongst the thick woods, Adeline started contemplating her ill fate when a fog just rolled through her startled mind; it was then when Adeline couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Nothing seemed to be able to help Adeline and as she surrendered to her fate, she kept repeating.

  “I apologize, father, I have come this far, I wanted to save you, forgive me for letting you down,”

  Adeline’s past and her present mingled as if they were just one moment. Adeline; in her battle male uniform and on the land of Northumberland, Adeline’s eyes fell closed like the petal of roses as she heard the sound of the thunderous waves getting louder, but for some reason, she didn’t feel scared; she didn’t think of anything else rather than finding the bright light in her dreams and in her passage to see what was awaiting her in another world; she hoped to see what happened to her family as she never had the chance to hear anything about them ever since the Heathens captured her.

  Right at that moment and when Adeline thought it was all over for her, she heard a voice calling her, and she felt something touching her as if someone shrugged her shoulders.

  “Hey, you lad, are you alright?” At the beginning, Adeline thought that she was dreaming, she thought she it would certainly be the angel of death talking to her; it was all over, she had to leave the world and her mission to go back to her family and see her land again all became an illusion. But the voice was getting louder and louder. It was only then when the girl opened her eyes slowly to find that no one touched her; it must be a dream, of that she was sure, so she gave a deep sigh learning that she didn’t die; but as soon as she looked around her in the dark night, she was able to see a man lying right by her side on the ground; nothing covered his skin rather than a cloth covering his sensitive organ; he looked breathless but it was obvious he was still alive. Despite that pain she felt and the dizziness that still swept her, Adeline slowly turned her body so that she could see his face clearly. She couldn’t hide her surprise and recoiled in shock. His body was muscled; he would have been the man of any lady’s dreams. Even though it was dark, it was the first time Adeline had seen such a smooth and flawless skin it looked as if it was a sheet of a proper clean; well done cloth and a sculptured painting. His eye lids covered his eyes like a spring cloud; his eyes were hidden under the moonlight. He had such a unique high sharp nose that made him look perfect. His soft moist lips looked attractive and more captivating than any other eyes she had ever seen. Forgetting about her pain, Adeline moved her hand forwards and waved it in front of the man’s eyes trying to check if he was alive; she waved her hand in front of his face, but he didn’t even blink an eye so she dared to move her hand further trying to touch him; and while she was still hesitating whether to get closer or not, she decided not to do and right in that instance, the man moved, and suddenly, grabbed her hand tightly with his robust grip; opened his eyes as if they were never shut and as their glances locked, he said.

  “Who are you? Identify yourself before my grip suffocates your neck” The man asked.

  Adeline was speechless in front of that man, she felt as if time ceased moving; she never expected his eyes to be more captivating when he opened them. But the man screamed again in a thunderous voice “Are you deaf or mute not to respond to my question?” The man inquired.

  Only then did Adeline grab her hand as hard as she could.

  “Is this the way you treat ladies on your land?” Adeline inq
uired angrily still struggling to pull her hand from that man.

  “I warn you to play any games with me, young lass; you have to reply and now to my question before I put an end to your life.” The man replied. It was no more than Frayne, the last Night Watch Knight. His behavior provoked her and she couldn’t control the anger that swept her veins and she raised her free hand high in the sky then was about to slap that man as he interrupted her surprisingly, strong hand from getting closer to his face. Their gazes locked once again and the silence was the dominator until Adeline decided to put an end to that issue.

  “Let go of my hand, right now, and tell me what do you want from me?” Adeline said in an angry challenging tone.

  “Just tell me who are you?” Frayne inquired in a confident tone.

  “Nay, I won’t tell you anything at all,” Adeline insisted.

  “Then, I have to kill you right now,” Frayne threatened.

  “Oh! It seems that is the only word all men can say! But you know what, I will save you the effort,” Adeline said and abruptly pulled her body from his grip and walked heavily and in steady steps towards the shore, then started running towards the depth while screaming as loud as she could:

  “You wanted to kill me, here, I am killing myself; didn’t I tell you?”

  Her words echoed in the chill air while Frayne stood speechless, but despite his shock, he rushed immediately to save the lady he just met.

  Chapter Six: Rising from ashes

  The last Night Watch knight had already died last night

  He was thought to be folded in a disappointed silence

  Thy quill looks full of sharp arrows, are you an enemy?

  Thy spar crossbow looks taunted and seems ready to shoot

  So where us your horse that must be pristine and bright as you

  I should take my crossbow and my arrows too, but I have to find

  The right way to pierce it all to you through your tin heart