They Were Born Upon Ashes (9 page)

It grew closer and closer with each passing second. Nick put his hand on the handle of his blade just in case the person intended to pick a fight.

“Nick!” shouted the rider.

It was a voice all too familiar to him.

“Penny?”

The horse came to a stop and Penny Goldstem stepped down off of the horse.

“Nick, I’m so glad you’re safe,” said Penny.

“Penny, what are you doing out here?” Nick asked as he ran over to hug her.

They were face to face as Nick said, “This feels like a dream.”

“This is no dream. I came to be with you, Nick, and I couldn’t bear to live another day without you.”

They kissed each other. It was the kind of kiss one would grow up wishing to experience someday. The kind of kiss where there was no absence of happiness. One would smile and the other would reciprocate as they could feel their partner’s lips crease upwards. It was the kind of kiss that they could both share in an immense and overwhelming feeling without having to say a single word. What they could feel was love. There was no doubt in either of their minds.

Chapter Six

Love. It was something that Nick had never experienced. As shocked and almost appalled at the thought of Penny risking her safety to come all the way up north to be with him, he could not stay mad at her. Sure, there was a quite sudden sickening thought when he had first seen her face. But within minutes all Nick could do was appreciate the fact that she was standing right there in front of him.

She began to tell him of her travels. She told him why she felt she needed to be with him.

Nothing else truly mattered in those moments. All Nick could do was smile like a baby who was innocent and sheltered from the reality of a harsh world. Nick vowed to never leave her side again. Though it was something that he knew would be troubling to ensure in the uncertain future.

The moonlight glistened off of her face. It illuminated her white smile and blonde hair. Time after time Nick was taken back by her beauty. The night began to get colder. It was nearing the winter months and it would surely be a cold winter. Ice and snow will ravage all of Hentrio but the worst of it always comes through Ralton.

As the chills continued to creep down Nick’s own spine he took off his black coat and put it on Penny.

“There are some things I experienced in Genold City I think you should know about,” said Penny. “Important things.”

“What is it?”

“In fact, I think both you and the leaders of this group should hear of what I encountered.”

“I’ve been training with the leaders of the group,” said Nick. “Come, I will introduce you and you can tell us of your experiences.”

The sound of a throat being cleared was heard from the fire pit beside the two.

“She’s very pretty, Nick,” said Elizabeth.

“I’m sorry,” said Nick. He smiled and pulled Penny towards Elizabeth. “Penny, this is Elizabeth. She helped me on my first day at Castle Teon. And, Elizabeth, this is my girlfriend Penny. She is the one who makes me feel like the luckiest man alive.”

They both smiled and shook each other’s hands.

Penny and Nick began to walk away to head north up the dirt road where the king’s men were situated. Nick looked back at Elizabeth and said, “Keep practicing your meditation. The more you do it the better you become. You can conquer any obstacle when your mind reaches its true potential.”

“I’ll keep at it, don’t you worry,” said Elizabeth.

Nick made his way back to the fire pit that the king’s men were situated at. They were all fast asleep. Even Andrew and Dani, whom Nick was with only a mere fifteen minutes earlier. They decided to have the meet and greet as the sun rose instead of interrupting everyone’s sleep. They all had had a long day of travels that should be rewarded with a full night’s rest.

Nick and Penny got situated and lay side by side. Nick put his arm around her and held on to her tightly. There was nothing like the warm embrace of a lover on a cold night under the stars. Nick fell asleep with a smile on his face. Penny had ridden all day and she fell into a deep slumber just minutes after Nick did. All of those miles traveled were no match to her reward. She felt as though she would do it all again if she had to in order to be where she was in that moment. Everything was worth it and no one could take away their happiness.

***

“Where do you think he found that beauty?”

“I don’t know. But I’m willing to find her sister. Or her mother. Or even her aunt.”

“Yes, you should do that. In fact, why don’t you start at the back of the group.”

Nick’s eyes slowly opened to the sight of Ron and Tyler standing over Nick and Penny. The sun was just creeping over the thick forest canopy. The birds were chirping and singing in every direction as the sunlight hit their nests.

“You two are idiots,” said Nick.

Tyler crouched and leaned in towards Nick’s face until his mouth was an inch from his ear. He stood there for what seemed like a minute without saying a word. Nick felt strangely uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” asked Nick.

“Where are her relatives?” asked Tyler in the quietest of whispers.

“Vincot. If you leave now you’ll be there in three days.”

“Well, good for you, young buck, good for you,” said Tyler.

Tyler and Ron stepped back and walked over to the burning embers of the fire pit. They threw in some more twigs and tinder and Tyler blew on the ember to spark a fire. Nick wondered why Ron didn’t just conjure up a fire ball and throw in some new wood. He then saw Ron’s face; he had a smile from ear to ear as Tyler struggled to energize the fire.

Tyler might be the most entertaining of the group but I don’t think he is the wisest.

Penny rolled over and faced Nick. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of her love and a smile slowly emerged as well.

“Good morning, Nick Bint.”

“Good morning, Penny Goldstem.”

“I do believe that is the first time we have woken up next to each other,” said Penny.

“I can surely get used to it,” said Nick.

“We will,” said Penny with a smile still glowing on her face.

The two sat up and looked around at the camp. Most people were still sleeping. The only king’s men who were up were Ron and Tyler who had finally successfully started a fire.

Nick inched closer to the fire and sat with his legs open in the shape of a triangle. He pulled Penny over and she sat in between his legs and leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. There was so much the two had to say to each other. So many tales and so many events that had occurred in each of their lives in the past few days and even in the past six months that they still needed to catch up on. But they simply enjoyed each other’s company that morning. Words could only do so much. But being with each other watching the sun rise in complete silence in a state of bliss was all that they truly needed.

Time passed and the king’s men slowly awakened from their slumber. The Tarrax brothers simultaneously sat up and stretched their arms. Nick got a quick chuckle at the sight of that.

As all of the members slowly got up and walked towards the fire to warm themselves, they each gave a distinct baffled look at the site of Nick holding on to a human girl. Soon all of the members were huddled around the fire and began to chat about the events of the day.

Nick leaned into Penny’s right ear and said, “Now is the perfect time to introduce you. I still don’t know what you went through but I am sure that it will be useful information to the king’s men. You can trust them and their actions. They have the best interest for everyone in Hentrio.”

“That’s just it,” said Penny. “I don’t know if I can trust the king’s men after what I saw.”

“Regardless of what happened, you have to trust me, Penny. I’ve only known them for a few short days but in my heart I know these are some of the best people I have ever encountered in my life.”

Penny nodded her head in agreement and the two stood up to join the group.

“Everyone, this is Penny Goldstem of Vincot,” said Nick. “She is my girlfriend and to my surprise last night she joined our group. She went to Genold City in search of me and has a few things to say of what she encountered. If you would all hear her out I would be very grateful.”

The group became silent and all eyes were on Penny. She began to talk about her travels from when she left Vincot to the terrors of Genold City. She talked about the gracious family that took her in and whom she also hoped to reconnect with in the group. She then talked about the events of the castle courtyard. It was hard for her to tell the story as she could almost relive it. She told them what she saw from the cracks of the wooden planks she hid behind. She trembled as she told the king’s men standing before her in their gold plated armor of what she saw two king’s men do in the courtyard. How they slaughtered innocents and raved about the old world. She told them they did it all as a warning to those who opposed the old laws of the land.

At that point Jeffrey interrupted her. He said, “Those cowards. Those abhorrent beings. They were born upon ashes. They took our armor and killed innocent people so that they could rally the city against us.”

“They took your armor?” asked Penny.

“They took mine and they took Ron’s,” said Dani. “They knocked us out, stripped us of our armor, threw us in holding cells, and wrote words upon us with our king’s blood.”

Penny shook her head in disbelief. She continued her story of her exit of the city. She told them how she saw dead bodies that no one seemed to care about. She finally told them of masters walking groups of slaves along the streets like it was an everyday thing.

“Death, destruction, and slavery,” said Jeffrey. “That is what those men who took everything from us promote. When we gather enough forces we will crush them and take back what is rightfully ours. We will give our people of Hentrio the life they all deserve. When we get to Ralton we will ready our forces.”

Jeffrey quickly turned around and stormed off down the road and into the woods.

“We have mouths to feed, people,” said Andrew. “That is what we should focus on now. Thank you for sharing, Penny.”

Penny gave a slight nod and the group split up into its usual pairs of hunters. Nick met up with Tyler as Jeffrey was already long gone.

***

Rabbits upon rabbits. The king’s men and Nick were able to gather twenty-three rabbits. Not bad in terms of their average but it was never enough to feed the thousands in the group. As the days stacked upon themselves the people grew more and more hungry. They were spending more energy traveling than they could consume, leaving their bodies weak and tired.

Out of the forest came a loud crunching of leaves and Jeffrey finally emerged. He had a fairly large sized belop on his back and six rabbits huddled away in his bag. A belop was an herbivore about the size of a labrador retriever. They were known to reside in the forest through which they traveled. They had a black silky fur and were a notoriously fast four legged mammal. Their scrunched up wrinkly faces and short ears made them quite funny to look at. Nonetheless it was large quantities of meat that could be shared amongst everyone. It was the first time that the entire group made their way closer to the king’s men. Thousands gathered as Ron and Reed grilled the best to perfection above the grand fire. One by one the cooked meat was handed to each hungry individual. When they ran out of belop they cooked up the rabbits. For the first time in a few days everyone had a decent meal to reenergize their bodies and their spirit.

After the meal the groups put out their fires and set course to head north towards Ralton. As the sun grew higher in the sky the temperature rose. However, it was not as extreme as a hot summer day. Thankfully, the travels were done as the winter months approached. If it had been earlier in the year, the scarcity of water would have been a more prominent and deadly problem than that of food. The day wore on and the trek was never an easy task. The road was never a smooth and straight path. It was full of turns and small to medium sized hills.

Nick and the others always did their best to help the elderly, the sick, and the young ones as they went through the tough parts of the road. When Penny would see Nick help others without hesitation and without needing them to ask her heart, was made whole. It was hard for her to love someone who was sent to the arena for murder. But she always knew in her heart the kind of person that Nick was.

Nick and Penny spent a good amount of time talking to each other that day. Nick told her of the good and the bad experiences he had encountered in the arena. He told her of his good friend Phillip and that he could not wait to introduce them. He told her of the times he was at his lowest points or even thought he might die and he thought of her and his family.

Penny told him of her job she got while he was away. She told him funny stories of working at a tavern and the good friends she met while working there.

They both came to an agreement at the end of their stories that even after everything that had happened, everything in life happens for a reason. They were with each other in the present and the past was simply the past.

Before they knew it, the sun had begun to set. The group carried on until the sun was no longer visible behind the green array of trees. The sky was a beautiful mixture of orange, yellow, red, and blue without a cloud in sight.

Nobody had to even say a word as groups began to settle down and rest their feet. They would go into the forest to gather firewood and try to hunt before it became to dark to do so. It was becoming routine for everyone.

After they had a small meal, Nick and Andrew set out into the forest to continue training once again. They found a giant tree in the forest with a trunk that stretched ten feet across. There was a spacious floor in front of the tree that spanned about thirty feet in every direction. Smaller trees surrounded the men with only one giant one. Since there were no trees hanging over head Nick could clearly see the night sky up above just as he could the night before during training.