The Path of Decisions

by Mike Shelton

  Two scouts Darius had sent up ahead came running back one morning. “There are a group of men a short distance away breaking camp. They seemed to be heading toward Belor.”

  “How many did you see?”

  “About ten men with swords,” answered the scout. “Two others seemed to be prisoners, and one other was a girl.”

  “A girl? Who would send a girl out in this forest?” Darius mumbled, looking around for Leandra. Coming out of her tent, she smiled at him. Her short dark hair bounced above her shoulders, and he found himself momentarily lost in her smile.

  She walked over to him and Darius put his arm around her. He knew the men grumbled behind his back about her being there with him. He liked her well enough, but the main reason he brought her along was because he could. No one could tell him otherwise. He knew it was probably a petty thing to do, but it was something he could control.

  “I will take half of the unit with me, and we will surround them. It shouldn't be hard. No killing unless you have to.” Darius had been caught up in the glory of his victory in Denir but did not like the idea of killing. It seemed more powerful to him to control someone who was alive than someone who was dead. “The remaining men, break up camp and join us when you can.”

  A short time later, Darius and his twenty men had the group in sight. They were walking east with, as the scouts had said, what appeared to be two prisoners. Darius took five of his men with him, circled around in front of the party, and charged in.

  “Put your weapons down,” Darius ordered to a surprised group. He stood in his newly made blue uniform, covered on the shoulders and breast with armor. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. He was ready for trouble.

  They paused for a moment but took up a battle stance. They had uniforms and moved with trained precision. Leaping forward, they attacked Darius and his men. However, the other half of Darius’s men came up behind them. Darius’s sword glowed slightly with the thrill of battle, and the other men backed away. Darius rushed in and knocked a few swords out of men’s hands. They scrambled to pick them up again, but Darius’s men were too quick and held the Belorians at bay. With superior numbers and fighting skills, Darius and his men soon prevailed. The others surrendered and lowered their swords.

  “Who are you?” asked one of the Belorians, who seemed to be in charge.

  “We are the King’s Elite Army.” Darius still held his sword in his hand, but the glow had subsided. The men they had caught kept shifting eyes on it.

  “What king?” the same man asked.

  “What do you mean, what king?” said Darius, anger spilling out from him. “Your King! King Edward DarSan Montere. This is his forest. Now, who are you?” He pointed his sword at the leader. The power of the sword brightened the forest around them.

  Many of the men flinched and backed up. One held his ground. “We are from Belor. We were sent to find these two traitors,” said a man, pointing to the back of the group. “And the only commands we answer to are from the Preacher.”

  Darius walked toward them, his silver armor gleaming. His sword glowed brighter with his anger.

  “Darius?” yelled a high-pitched voice from the back of the opposing group.

  Darius stopped short. “Kelln?” He strode to the back of the men. “What are you doing here?”

  Before Kelln could answer, Darius turned his attention to the men holding his friend. “Release him!”

  “And him too,” said Kelln, pointing at Alastair.

  “They are our prisoners.” One of the opposing soldiers pointed out to Darius.

  “And you are ours now. So release them.”

  “I wouldn’t want to make him angry,” Kelln said with a huge smile.

  Slow, but in compliance, the man untied the ropes binding Kelln and Alastair’s wrists.

  Behind the two, a girl stepped forward.

  “Who is she?” asked Darius.

  Kelln sneered at Alessandra. “A traitor. She turned me in after helping me escape.”

  “Escape from where?” Darius was so surprised to find his old friend out in the middle of the Black Forest that for a minute he forgot about the others.

  Kelln looked around. “It’s a long story, Darius. Maybe later.”

  Alastair turned to Kelln and put a hand on his shoulder. “Do not be angry with her, my new friend. Remember who her father is. The Preacher has had much longer to manipulate his own daughter than he has with the rest of the people.”

  Kelln growled in his throat but didn’t say anything more to Alastair or Alessandra. After an uncomfortable moment of silence he motioned to Alastair. “Darius, this is a friend of mine.”

  Alastair looked at Darius and took a few steps so he was standing directly in front of him. Darius took a step back when he saw the old man’s eyes. Alastair smiled and whispered softly. “You must be Kelln’s friend. He was right. I can feel the power in you. You will have many decisions to make about this power, young man. You will have to make many decisions that will influence the destiny of many. Make sure your influence is good.”

  Darius furrowed his eyebrows at the old man. He was sure the other soldiers hadn’t heard the soft speaking, but he didn’t want to let on his discomfort at the man’s words. So he turned back to Kelln, who stood grinning from ear to ear.

  “It really is nice to see a friendly face, Kelln.” Darius slapped his old friend on the back.

  “This is fantastic!” Kelln still smiled. “Really fantastic. I was going to walk all the way to Anikari to find you, but here you are in the middle of the forest finding me.” He grabbed Darius in a big hug, his head only reaching to Darius’s chin. “Nice armor by the way.”

  Darius didn’t know how fantastic it was or wasn’t, but he could see that he had a lot to learn. He didn’t like the things that Alastair had said to him. “I can see I don't understand what is going on here. We will make camp here and wait for my other men to rejoin us. They should be here within the hour.”

  The Belorians were gathered and guards set to watch them. Alessandra stood with Alastair, her grandfather, off to the side. They talked in whispered voices. Her eyes kept darting around, looking for Kelln.

  Darius walked off with Kelln out of earshot of the other men. On their way to distance themselves, Leandra met them.

  “Is this your friend, Darius?” asked Leandra.

  “This is Kelln. We grew up together in the academy in Anikari.” He introduced them.

  Leandra drew closer and put her hands around Darius’s arm. “Darius is a famous commander now.”

  Kelln raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

  Darius leaned down and gave Leandra a kiss on the forehead. “Why don’t you go and keep Mezar company, Leandra? Kelln and I need to catch up on some things.”

  Leandra pushed out her bottom lip in a mock pout. Squeezing his arm tightly once more before letting go, she said her goodbyes.

  Darius didn’t know where to start. The last time he had seen his old friend was in Anikari the night before Kelln had left with some mysterious girl to go to Belor and see what had happened to his father. It had only been a short time afterward that Darius himself had been scripted into the King’s Elite Army. A lot had changed since then.

  That had been over eight months before. He remembered the day well. With no warning at all, Darius and other men a few years older than him had been taken to the castle and informed by King Edward and his councilor Richard— Darius’s father— that they were now going to be part of a specially trained Elite Army. It was that day, upon the sudden news of being subscribed into the new army, and the inability to see Christine before they left, that made Darius fully realize his path in life: restoring glory again to the Realm, and fighting for the underprivileged people in its borders.

  Kelln stood looking at Darius as if trying to figure out what to say himself. “Who was that? What about Christine?” His eyes followed Leandra as she walked away.

  Darius frowned. “Christine is probably better off withou
t me.” He said it more gruffly than he intended.

  Kelln stiffened. “Why do you say that? You’re not saying this… this girl has replaced Christine as the love of your life? I haven’t been gone that long, Darius. You two were in love. Real love.” Kelln’s hands waved around the air as he talked.

  “Nobody has replaced anyone, Kelln, but people change. I have changed.”

  Kelln glanced over toward where Alessandra and Alastair stood talking.

  Darius followed his eye movements. “So what is the story between you and her?”

  Kelln sighed and began to tell Darius everything that had befallen him since he had arrived in Belor: the growing powers of the Preacher and his plans to defy the Realm, lead the city, and maybe take over the Realm; Kelln’s own imprisonment and torture and finally his escape; meeting Alastair and eventually being recaptured.

  Darius listened intently, especially about the Preacher. He gasped at Kelln’s torture and wondered how he could now be so jovial.

  “Well, we certainly aren't boys anymore, are we?” said Darius.

  “No. I guess not. We have grown and discovered new things about ourselves.” Kelln looked at Darius as if he hoped Darius would talk more about himself. Darius did not, so Kelln continued. “I have even found the peace of God.”

  “You found what?”

  “I found out that what we are inside is what makes us who we are, Darius.” Kelln continued in all seriousness. “That is the only way I can deal with everything that has happened to me.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following you, Kel. I have been trained in the King’s Elite Army, become the first commander, won my first battle, and am leading men now to Belor to capture the Preacher. I am a commander now. A commander with power. That is what defines who I am.”

  “But you are more, Darius. Don't you understand? You don't have to be just a commander if you don't want to. Power is not what you wanted.”

  “But power is what I have now.” Darius retorted. “You are the one who told me to embrace my powers, Kelln. You told me not to hide them.”

  Darius breathed deeply and looked around the campsite, making sure no one had heard his outburst. He was changing inside, and not even his best friend could understand that.

  Kelln spoke more softly. “Remember you wanted to travel the Realm and do things differently than your father.”

  Darius frowned at the mention of his father. Anger began mounting again. Darius forced a laugh. “I thought that once too, Kel. But events didn't seem to work out that way. Look at me now. I have become the mightiest leader in the King’s army. He will revere me when I return victorious to Anikari. The Realm needs protection, not only from outside, but from within. I need to make the King and his councilor’s see the people for who they are and understand that they can’t control everyone. They sit in their meetings and make decisions without being out among the people and understanding them.”

  “Does he know about your power?”

  “My power?” Darius glared down at his old friend. “I know how they all talk about me behind my back. My glowing sword, my ability to move quickly, knocking people over with a push of air, hearing things before anyone else does. The power is growing inside me, Kelln. I see things more clearly, and I feel things more. The anger drives the power and feeds it. That is when I am most powerful.”

  Kelln took a few steps back and opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

  “You are welcome to stay with us.” Darius informed his friend formally. “Tomorrow we finish our march toward Belor. You can go or stay, but this is what I must do now. I will confront the Preacher and see what his grievances are. Maybe he is not so far off the track as many believe.”

  Kelln tried to pat down his unruly red hair, but an evening wind blew it all around. “You need to watch out for the Preacher, Darius. He is dangerous. He is more powerful than you think.”

  “He cannot be that strong.” Darius sneered. “You can stay here or go with us, but I am going to Belor.

  “Fine.” Kelln mumbled. “Someone needs to watch over your ego.”

  In the blink of an eye, Darius was in front of Kelln’s face with a warning. “Watch your step, Kelln.”

  With no more words, Kelln walked away from Darius and back to the campfire. Darius watched him go and felt guilty for being so harsh to his friend. Kelln had always been beside him in the past. If his friend could see reason they could walk together again and accomplish anything they wanted to.

  The next day the party resumed walking toward Belor, and by nightfall they reached the banks of the Black River. Darius stood at its side, looking into its swift currents. The early spring storms had swollen the river beyond its winter’s bank. He watched his face reflecting in the dark moving water. His features would appear and disappear as the water hit rocks and turned into white foam. Two arms wrapped around him from the back. Leandra.

  “We haven't spoken in a while.” Her soft, breathy voice whispered behind him.

  “I’ve been busy,” Darius said, hoping to make her leave. He wanted to be left alone.

  “Remember when we first met and we were sitting around the old fire up in the Superstition Mountains camp?”

  Darius smiled at the memory. He remembered how flustered he had been.

  “Remember I said you would become a great leader for the King? Well, Darius, you are.” Leandra shifted closer to him and put her head against his shoulder.

  Darius sighed and continued looking at the rushing waters. “I know. Sometimes I feel so powerful when I am leading the men. I feel like I am unconquerable, that nothing can stand in my way. But when I am by myself looking into this raging river I think of how small and weak I am.”

  Leandra leaned into him further. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, forming a small swirl of steam in the cool night air. The sounds of campfires crackled in the camp. All was secure and peaceful.

  “You cannot conquer everything at once,” said Leandra as she looked at the river. “But someday, Darius, you will.”

  Darius brought his head back from hers, turned around, and put his hand on her face. He drew Leandra in close and kissed her. She always seemed to soften his anger. They stood holding each other in silence as it slipped into the cool peacefulness of the night air.

  Something in the back of his mind tried to warn him, but he pushed it away and enjoyed the moment.

  Chapter 6

  A PLAN

  Christine Anderssn sat with some of her friends arguing about an upcoming vote among the farmers. The petition they took to the King had been ignored, and discontent was moving toward action on both sides.

  “We must make a plan.” Thomas stood in front of his friends, skinny as a rail, flailing his arms around for emphasis. Having grown up only a few farms over from Christine, he had known Anya, Karel, and Christine for years, though he was two years older than any of them. Stephanie, the other in the group, stood silently to the side. Her family was fairly new to the area. “Soldiers have been sent to Belor and Denir to deal with trouble, but he ignores us here in his own backyard.”

  “I’m not going if she is going to be there,” Anya said, pointing to Christine. “She’s stirring up more trouble. Things were quiet until that boyfriend of hers from the city started hanging around. Ever since he left there has not been any peace around here.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with that, Anya,” said Thomas. He was always the first to stand up for Christine.

  Christine had heard enough arguing and not enough doing. “Well, while you two sit here and argue, I’m going to go do something about this situation. I have some plans of my own to bring to the other farmers.” Christine turned, making her long blonde hair swish around her head. She jumped on Lightning, her Cremelino horse, and raced away.

  Nice touch, alienating your friends now.

  Christine slammed her mind shut against Lightning. She watched Thomas and Anya over her shoulder in the fading distance.

  Anya leaned clo
se to Thomas, and Thomas stumbled backwards into a log. He was so clueless to Anya’s advances. Of course, Anya advanced toward anything that was male and had two legs these days. She was obsessed with finding a husband. Christine faced forward again, gritted her teeth, and rode harder.

  An hour later, Christine sat away from her friends on the front row of the gathering. They stood in one of the larger barns in the farmlands and had made room for people to sit on bales of hay. Spring planting was just around the corner, and sacks of seeds sat around the edges.

  Nothing much was being decided on, so Christine stood and waited for the crowd to silence. The death of her father still gave her some respect and notice. “I think we should boycott the city from getting any more food from us. Don’t sell them any of our stored vegetables or any beef or pork. They can't go anywhere else at this time of year to get food. They make us store it all and then demand the price for which they will buy it from us. Maybe when they are starving they will listen to our demands.”

  “She is right,” someone else argued. “The King doesn't care. I bet he has enough food for months stored in that castle of his. But if his people start to get hungry, maybe he will do something about the problem.”

  “I agree with Christine. Something harsh has to be done. They need to see we aren't just talking but that we are doing something,” said another man from the back of the musty barn.

  The air, still cool, caused Christine to wrap a wool cloak around her shoulders. “Everyone must agree, because if we don't they will see our weakness, and it will never work.”

  A lady stood up from the side shadows. “But if we don't sell them our food, we won't have any money. I am a widow with two children. I need to think of them too.”

  A heated discussion erupted.

  “Everyone is too afraid to stand up and do anything.” Christine walked back and forth in front of the group. She removed her cloak and strode around to emphasize her point. “Think of us as a whole and what would be the best, not just for ourselves. The only way we hold any power is to be united. If we stop the food, they will be forced to listen or die.”