by L G Nauck
Easier said than done.
Alena hoped she could get accepted into the army so that she could start making money and contribute to the house. As for now, they hunted and tried to contribute in small ways.
Usually Alena and Kaleck would try to escape the city and head to the forest at least once a week because it helped them regain their sanity while also being productive. Normally their plan was to stay together but that did not always happen. For a man who despised being left alone and didn’t like to wander into dangerous situations, he often put himself into those exact circumstances.
Alena sighed, standing up while readjusting her quiver. Would it be better to wait or to go searching for him? She had already been waiting for about an hour and the forest was dangerous. She hoped he was not hurt somewhere.
Before she could take another step, Kaleck came barging into the clearing, panting feverously. Alena tilted her head, eyeing Kaleck worriedly as he took a step closer to her before abruptly falling onto the ground, obviously trying to catch his breath.
“What the hell happened? Are you okay?”
The response she received was only a nod as he desperately inhaled oxygen.
As Kaleck caught his breath, Alena glanced over his body, making sure there were no serious wounds. Peering closer, she did not see any visible signs of blood but knew that didn’t always mean there were no injuries.
“So…you’re not going to believe…what happened!”
She was relieved to see he was recovering, but her curiosity arose when she noticed his look of wonder. She stepped closer, dropping down onto one knee so she could reach out to gently pat him on the back. He grinned at her, his eyes shining as he inhaled a large breath.
“I saw a boar!”
Alena felt her heart skip a beat.
A boar? They were almost extinct. She had only ever heard of the creatures but had never actually seen one.
“How do you know? Maybe it was something else and you got confused.”
He gave her an exasperated look, “I know what a boar looks like! And I ran back here because it had noticed me. It started to run after me but luckily I lost it!”
Alena looked at him incredulously, but her mind had already begun contemplating the possibility. If there were boars close to this area, then they could figure out how to catch one. She pictured the amount of meat they could get off just one and it made her mouth water. Her excitement died quickly though as she thought about the fact the animals were nearly nonexistent. If she killed one, then than would mean she could potentially end the possibility of more appearing.
“I’m not lying, I swear!”
She snapped out of her thoughts to focus on Kaleck once again who appeared irritated.
“I believe you. It was just surprising. I’m glad you’re okay. Did you get to do anything else other than run away from a giant pig?” Alena peered around his body to notice his empty bag that was lying abandoned on the forest floor.
Kaleck rolled his eyes, “Who needs squirrels when I just had an experience of a life time!” She let out a breath of exasperation, feeling herself grow a little jealous that Kaleck had gotten to see something so rare. And the fact she had to be the one to provide most of the catch. She glanced at her own bag and tried to estimate if she had enough to feed the entire house tonight.
It would have to be enough. With the way the forest was darkening, she knew it would become night soon. And being in the forest at night was far too dangerous. Although she had never seen anything personally, there were rumors that monsters came out at night.
She glanced back at Kaleck who was currently grinning proudly and staring off into the distance. No doubt he was reliving his once in a lifetime experience. Alena reached over and knocked him over onto his side.
“Hey!”
“You’re lucky I caught enough for both of us! We should head back now though; it’s starting to get dark.”
Kaleck saluted her from the ground, “Anything you say, master! Lead me, all mighty hunter!”
Alena grinned, standing up before offering Kaleck her hand to help him stand up as well. It did not take them long to collect their supplies and start following their makeshift path out of the forest.
“What did it look like?” She couldn’t help asking.
Kaleck looked at her with one of those knowing grins that made her want to punch him.
“I knew you couldn’t resist knowing. Well it was big. Huge. The top of its’ head came up to my chest and it was probably as big as a wagon. It had short dark brown fur all over its body and large tusks that stuck out from its’ snout. I could swear its’ eyes were blood red as well. Or maybe that was what I saw because I was petrified in fear.”
Alena tried to picture it, wishing she could have been there to see the beast in all its’ glory. But if there was one then hopefully there were more, and she had a chance of bumping into another one. The creature sounded huge which made her wonder what her reaction would have been if she came face to face with one. Would she also be petrified? She felt her lips draw back in a smirk.
She was not afraid of much and certainly not a challenge. What tools would she need to take something that big down? Would it move fast, or would its’ size weigh it down?
They were both quiet for a while, only the sound of their footsteps documenting their travel back to the city. While the forest was on the outskirts of their part of town, it was still quite a distance away. And because of that, they did not get to visit it as often. Perhaps that was also why she had not seen a boar before. Or maybe there were a lot of them, but because no one ever went to the forest, no one had been able to report it.
The truth was that not even Meticians came to the forest. Much of what entered the main city was brought in from the smaller villages and overseas. Because of this, citizens were encouraged to stay inside the city walls for safety. However, no one blocked anyone else from leaving. Especially not from the South district where people went missing all the time.
Alena adjusted her backpack on her shoulder, thankful that she was returning with something. She knew everyone would be happy to have some fresh meat, including her. Since food was not easy to come by without money, bread was the most common meal.
“Do you ever wonder what your parents were like?”
Alena looked at Kaleck, surprised at the sudden question. They had never really talked about their parents before. There had always been an unspoken understanding that uncomfortable topics were to be avoided. And what was more uncomfortable than parents who mysteriously disappeared?
Alena hesitated before answering honestly, “I have thought about it before, but then I push it from my mind. There is no way of knowing for sure, so I don’t see the point of dwelling on it. Why did you bring up the topic?”
Kaleck was quiet as he stared off into the distance before responding with a shrug.
“I don’t remember anything before a certain time. All I remember is living on the streets. There had to be a before though, right?”
All Alena could remember was being cold and hungry, wandering the streets and wondering if things would ever get better.
There were no memories of her parents.
“I don’t think the house mother ever saw mine so I’m not sure that she would be much help. But all that is in the past. Either they are dead or do not want us. Which means finding out the truth would cause more harm than good.”
Alena felt bad when she saw Kaleck wince. She knew he was much more compassionate and emotional about these types of subjects. She had never realized that he was so upset about not knowing the origin of his parents. But then again, they had never talked about it.
Alena reached out to lightly touch Kaleck’s back, “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shut you down. I just don’t want to see you get hurt. There are other possibilities to how you came about living here but I think it is important to recognize how amazing you are, and the future you have. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past because
we can only control our future. And it is their loss since they weren’t around to see you become the awesome person that you are today.”
Kaleck sighed but nodded, smiling slightly at her. She knew that she couldn’t give him the answers he wanted. But she also knew that there may never be answers.
Alena grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together, “We’re each other’s family now and I will always be here for you.”
His smile increased as he looked from their entwined hands to her eyes, “You better.”
She smiled back at him, nodding in affirmation.
Always.
Chapter Three
Alena felt her heart speed up and responded by taking a deep breath. She couldn’t help the combination of nervousness and excitement as she stood in the competitor’s waiting area. Her eyes drifted over the variety of people with their assortment of weapons. Each were preparing to fight, all equally confident that they would be the ones to walk away with a new life.
Alena knew Kaleck was in the crowd, supporting her from afar. The knowledge made her smile.
She was still disappointed that Kaleck had decided not to participate but she respected his decision. What kind of friend would she be if she forced him to compete and risk his life if it was something he didn’t truly want?
Her eyes were drawn to a male Metician who was currently examining a set of spears. She could tell he was Metician by the large claws and the intense eyes that were customary of the species. Even from across the field she could see the deep red color of the eyes that were cold and lacking any trace of emotion.
Would the Meticians be competing against everyone or just their own species?
Looking around the arena, she saw that it was mostly humans and Meticians in the area. A couple Oreki were scattered around the area as well but she knew their chances were slim. The military preferred to keep the large rock creatures in areas that complimented their body-type. Which didn’t mean they were barred from participating, it just meant the conditions would be made inhospitable to their type. They did this so, when they failed, they would think it was because of their own lack of skill.
She let out a laugh at that thought, thinking how she was probably in the same situation.
Humans were not exactly the most wanted species in the military either.
She inhaled a deep breath and began stretching her muscles. As she raised her arms to stretch, she gazed up at the sky. The arena was a large circular field of dirt, rocks, and trees surrounded by the stadium where the crowd could observe the matches. The natural environment for the fighting field was made complete by the open roof that revealed the sky. She preferred the open area, but she also knew that it allowed for scenarios where they would need to fight in extreme heat or rain.
That would put her at a large disadvantage since the Meticians could function normally in any environment. Rain did not even affect their eyesight.
They really did have an unfair gift.
If only she could have been born a Metician.
As she bent down to stretch out her back and legs, she secretly examined the other participants. There were only a few Meticians since many of them already had guaranteed positions in the military. Another unfair advantage of their class system.
Her gaze halted on a large male with skin the color of caramel and large horns that protruded from his head. If the horns were not enough to have her nerves skyrocket, the bulging muscles complete with freaky, pulsing veins made her want to hide behind a large rock. Alena took a deep breath, hiding her uneasiness with more warm-up exercises.
He may look intimidating, but everyone had a weakness. And she would find his.
She was confident in her skills and would not let doubt trickle through her resolve now. She had come way too damn far.
Alena paused when she felt her apprehension spike, her senses going on high-alert as she felt someone watching her. Was it Kaleck? No. It felt too wrong. Alena peered up at the stand, her eyes scanning through the individuals who were currently trickling into the arena and finding their seats. She slowly turned, trying to not be obvious as she tried to find the source of her discomfort.
She didn’t see anything that looked abnormal though. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked around the arena, deciding it was probably an opponent trying to gauge her abilities. Or a creep. Creeps did seem to love her.
She decided to ignore the feeling and focus on the upcoming battle. She didn’t have time to get distracted. She would need every resource to be able to win this competition. She couldn’t wait for the opportunity to demonstrate her strength and prove herself. Her entire future depended on this day and she could not allow herself to fail.
She couldn’t fail.
She glanced at Kaleck and saw him once again smile and wave happily before accepting a bag of popcorn from a vendor. Of course, he would be eating during the most intense event of the year.
When she heard the whistle that indicated all participants were to meet in a separate area to discuss rules and prizes, she began walking towards one of the regulators who was responsible for managing the tournament. This particular regulator was a female Metician with cat-like yellow eyes and long silver hair that fell below her knees. Alena knew the regulators were often victors from previous competitions who were more than excited to get back on the field and control the same field they had been subjected to.
Which meant they also played favoritism at times.
She followed behind a couple of male humans, making sure to maintain her distance from the other competitors. Although she made sure she kept her distance, her eyes were constantly moving. She examined muscle size, gate, species, and any possible weaknesses that were noticeable. She knew she had speed and skill on her side but that did not mean she would win the competition easily.
When the group went through a doorway into a smaller dirt field that was completely enclosed, the participants dispersed, surrounding the regulator who stood in the middle of the room. Alena stayed close to the wall, keeping herself in the shadows.
After a few moments, the regulator cleared her throat, signaling that she was about to speak. Although the action seemed irrelevant since everyone was already silent and waiting with bated breath. Everyone knew how crucially important the contest was and would not dare risk upsetting the person who could determine all sorts of factors which could make their victory slim.
The regulator’s stern yellow eyes surveyed the participants with disinterest.
“As you know, this contest is one that identifies only the most talented and capable individuals to protect and serve the kingdom. Our military is one of the most prestigious and well known throughout Zidania and we do not get that reputation from nowhere. To be a member of the elite class, you must have strength, intelligence, cunning, and ruthlessness that allows you to protect and to lead. You will face many challenges and will probably suffer countless injuries. Even though we are not currently in a war, that does not mean we do not face battle.”
Her eyes scanned the crowd once again, her facial expression remaining stoic. Alena glanced around to see how the participant’s eyes lit up as they, no doubt, imagined being in the heat of battle.
“Not all of you will leave the arena, but those that do, will find themselves in a position that comes with opportunity and prestige. You will move to the third quarter on the North end. There, you will begin your new lives. Lives that will be separate from what you have previously known. You are to be completely immersed within the culture and lifestyle of the military until we are your only family.”
A pause to let the information sink in.
“Today, you will face against each other, using your skills to defeat your opponent. I, along with some other regulators, will be evaluating your capabilities. If you die, obviously you are not military material. If you survive, but do not defeat your opponent, we always have janitor positions for you.”
She smirked, the pupils in her eyes dilating.
�
��We also have the pleasure of our leader observing the battle. This is a great time for you to show your worth in front of one of the greatest Meticians ever to be born. You all have a privilege that others only dream of. Do not squander it. Fight to your best ability. That is all I give to you. Now you will remain in this waiting area until you’re called for your match. It wouldn’t be fair to see some of your opponent’s fighting abilities before you face them.”