Soldiers

“I have a story for you.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.” He nodded, his eyes solemnly locked with hers as a smile appeared on her face.
She loved his stories. It was the only treasure he ever brought back with him from the shadowed lands. Every tale, whether filled with adventure or horror, was a delight to her. Even in these times, when life seemed naught but grey.

“Remember the Knights of Ember, Erry?”

Nodding excitedly, she sat down besides him, her smile growing wider. She loved it when he called her Erry. He was the only one that ever could. Even though he was much older then her, Errien would always fawn over him and his tales.

“I met one.”

She gasped, that smile of hers disappearing immediately. All thoughts of Kieran were swept from her mind instantly as those words hit her.

His calming stare fell to his palm, whereupon it lay a simple black figurine of a mounted knight on a horse with a tiny banner in hand. Though the detail was crude, the figurine was crystal and that in itself was proof of the object’s genuine nature.

“Kieran-…”

“They all died trying to save our lands, Erry. They tried to quench the great flame that came before our lands were sundered.”

“Kieran. That was two centuries ago.”

He smiled. He hardly ever smiled ever since Duncan died. It was one of those moments, she knew. A moment he shared with the kind man before his end.

“Kieran,” she began, looking at him inquisitively. “Was Duncan a Knight?”

He shook his head, that smile slowly fading into a grimace.

“His father was, Erry.”

She didn’t understand. Duncan’s father had disappeared when the boy had just been born. Surely the burning desert had swallowed the man and whatever forces he took with him when they ventured towards the Emerald Isle. How did Kieran know anything of him, let alone the fact that he was a Knight? Unless…

“No. Kieran, I don’t believe-.”

He turned his eyes towards Errien, holding the figurine out to her.

“He is gone, Erry. Dradik died, but not before I met him.”

She turned back to him with a bewildered look.

“D-Dradik?”

“Sir Dradik of the Cloven Field, realmlord of the Emerald Isle.” He said calmly, looking at her shocked expression.

She couldn’t believe any of it. Dradik was her grandfather and her home had been the Cloven Field of the Emerald Isle once. But this made no sense! If this knight- this Dradik was Duncan’s father…

“Oh gods.” She whispered heavily, her muscles failing her. Collapsing towards the ground, her plunge ended in Kieran’s arms.

“Kieran…”

“I know Erry. I know.”

“Kieran,” She whispered, her watery eyes trying desperately to focus on him. “Duncan was my father...”

He nodded, holding her shivering body tightly against him. He spoke no words of comfort. He never did. Such was his way. But he cared. Each stroke of his hand through her hair revealed the worry in his eyes.

“They’re both dead, Kieran. My family is dead.”

“They were dead to you before, Erry.”

It was a cold reply but a truthful one. She knew he was blunt with his words, not realizing how much they could affect her. But it was the truth. Before Duncan- before Dradik- her family was gone.

“I don’t understand why,” She whispered, looking at him through tears.

“They needed to protect you, Erry. You’re the last one who can bring back-.”

“No!” She cried, shutting her eyes. It was all too much for her. She knew what words were going to be next. They were not for her. “No, no, no!”

Everything was destroyed. Her city, her life. Everything. There was nothing left and yet everything was in her hands now? She hated those words and what they meant. Heroes, legends, and myths- they were all relied on. She didn’t want the world on her shoulders. Not now. Not ever. All she wanted was the comfort of Kieran’s arms.

“You’re the last one, Errien. Surely Duncan knew that. That is why your bloodline was hidden away.”

Always so calm. Always so professional. When would it end? When would Kieran Reiyn break?

Could he break?

“You’re the last of the Ember, Errien. It is in your blood.”

“Then who are you, Kieran Reiyn?” She cried out in rage, freeing herself from his arms. “Who are you to tell me who I am?”

He smiled, standing up and placing a hand on the hilt of his blade. It was genuine, that smile of his. Errien recognized it so easily. Her anger dissipated almost immediately as a wave of guilt rolled over her. Her tantrum was like that of a child, she realized.

“Who am I?” He asked, looking down at her with content. That stance- his very movement was that of a hero. Her hero. “Just a soldier, Erry. Just a soldier.”
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Commentary:
This is a simple story I wrote/brainstormed during class once. Kieran Reiyn is the main character of the Western Califran Series which I've yet to get a name for. I have little in store for this story aside from a drawing of the land that I made and minor notes in regards to what is happening. My current idea is that the land is in complete chaos, as it had been a battlefield for a number of gods and the people are slowing dying out due to the limited amount of resources left in the land. I've plenty to go by and I'm sure more will develop eventually.