It's a Love Thing (41 page)

“
I could tell you wanted
to, I was just waiting for you to get the courage.” She winked at
me.

*****

The next day I spent half the day away
from Lyrica. I was required to train with King’s men most of the
day. All I could think about was how much I wanted to see that face
of hers, how it shined like the sun and twinkled as the lights that
glittered in the night skies. All of this training was actually
because of Lyrica. She saw that a group of barbarians would be
passing nearby, although she was unsure of their
motives.

Once I was finally done with training
for the day, I swiftly ran through town to where that beaten-down,
wonderful little stable was. I was just in sight when I caught a
glimpse of her stunning radiance. I slowly walked over to her,
trying my hardest not to blink and miss a second of the beauty that
I beheld. When I finally reached her, all I could do was smile, and
she did the same upon seeing me.

“
Hay,” I teased, trying to
recreate our first meeting.

“
Hay!” she replied, playing
along. The energy in her voice lifted my spirits.

“
I’d like to show you
something, follow me!” I took her soft, silky hand and pulled her
along with me.

We were laughing all the way through
the town as we again nearly missed random people in the streets. I
took her to the other side of town, out to the surrounding fields
next to the city. We slowed as we came to the center of the field,
where a flower garden resided. The garden had rich, dazzling
colors; the smell was an explosion of freshness. I watched Lyrica’s
eyes, seeing the awe and wonderment in her gaze.

“
I found this little place
on my way into the city earlier today. It reminded me of you, with
such beauty, though nothing can compare to you.” I poured my heart
out to her.

“
This is amazing! Truly one
of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”

I walked over to a bush, pulled a
basket out and presented it to Lyrica. “I brought us dinner as
well.”

“
I don’t think this moment
could get any better! I’ve never been so surprised in my life.
Everything that’s going to happen to me I see before it happens;
this, really just blows my mind.” Lyrica’s voice soothed my
ears.

We spent the rest of the night eating
by the flowers and watching the sunset. After the sun went down, we
laid on our backs, heads right next to each other, looking at the
points of light that littered the night sky. The amazing sight of
the heavens lighting up was nothing compared to the sight of
Lyrica.

“
They say that if you see a
scratch in the sky, it’s a falling rock that you have to make a
wish on. But be careful, you’re not supposed to tell anyone what
you wished for, otherwise it won’t come true.” I told her this just
after seeing one, wishing that we would be together
forever.

“
Oh, I see.” Lyrica was now
looking determinedly up at the twinkling glitter, just waiting for
another rock to scratch the night sky. “This has been spectacular.
I’ve never had anyone so nice take me out like this
before.”

“
You deserve it; I’m just
trying my best to make you happy.” We were no longer looking for
falling rocks of light. We were now staring deeply into each
other’s eyes.

“
How can I return the
favor?” she said inquisitively.

“
Tell me your true feelings
for me.”

“
I can’t. I can’t even
fathom how to describe such deep love that I’m feeling.” We were
now inching closer and closer.

“
Try.” Our faces were now
centimeters apart.

“
I —”

As she began to speak, a messenger
came running over, hollering for me. He told us that the barbarians
were spotted just outside of town, preparing weapons and suiting up
in armor. I was told that I need to go join the army right away.
“And, Lyrica, you must go to King’s chamber in the castle,” he
said. Lyrica and I looked at one another, neither knowing what was
going to happen next.

“
I love you!” I said to her
as I grabbed her face and pulled it towards mine.

“
Hmm hmmph hmm!” She tried
to say it back, but was muffled by my lips.

Lyrica and I got up and went with the
messenger back into town, Lyrica leaving for King once we reached
the castle. We gave each other a final look and embraced goodbye. I
rushed to join my fellow soldiers to learn what had developed
outside of town. They were gathered in front of the village,
evacuating everyone living there. Just as I arrived at their
location, yells started to come from just beyond the tree
line.

As I looked to where the horrendous
noise was coming from, a volley of arrows came crashing down around
us. Few hit, though we knew it wouldn’t be long before another
deadly blanket rained down. Those who were loyal to the land and
brave at heart took off into the trees to fight off the attackers.
Those who felt scared were trying to find shelter from the
inevitable release of the next wave of arrows. All I could feel was
love; love for Lyrica. My choice was made. I ran to the castle with
a few others, to ‘protect King,’ as they were.

The pounding on the wall matched the
beating of everyone’s hearts. The stone barrier was crumbling; the
wooden gate cracking and splintering. The yelling from both sides
drowned each other out. Knights were running to fortify the walls
and defend the kingdom. All I could think of was Lyrica. All I
could think about was us, together.

We were losing the fight; the enemy
was almost inside our fortress. The savages attacking didn’t have
anything to gain from this war, only imminent defeat from the
neighboring kingdoms friendly to us. The few of us left to defend
against them were attempting to sneak out to a safer location. I
was trying to get to Lyrica.

I ran through the town attempting to
get to the castle. I heard a loud thunderous crash as a monumental
rock broke through the wooden gate. I turned around as silence
reigned for a moment. Then the dead air broke into terrified
screams and bloodthirsty yells. The barbarians rushed into our
land, taking everything in their path. I rushed inside the main
castle doors, up the stairs to where my love resided.

*****

I arrived at King’s chamber to meet
Lyrica. The room, colored in crimson and gold, was fit for a king;
I personally couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable. The only people
inside were King, Lyrica, and Mal. Lyrica turned to me and, with
her sweet, calming voice said, “We need to leave, now.”

“
What did you see?” I
quickly replied, as calmly as I could.

“
There’s no time to
explain, we must get King to safety now!” Mal answered with the
smugness that was characteristic.

“
We need to go immediately.
Follow me and stay close.” King turned and led us to a secret
passage underneath his cottage sized bed. “Lyrica, is this way
clear?” His big, booming voice wasn’t reassuring at this
point.

“
I can see most of the
tunnel. I . . . I believe it’s still safe.”

“
Mal, you take the lead,”
King ordered. Then, with a slight quiver in his voice, “Be
prepared, at any moment, to turn if needed.”

“
Yes, sir, I shall not
disappoint.”

“
I need you to stay in the
back, Lyrica, to focus on getting us out of here alive. If you see
anything, tell us immediately!” King dictated.

“
We must go now! We’re
almost out of time!” Lyrica shouted.

We hurried down the passage, one by
one, crawling under the bed into the tunnel. It was well lit and
fairly spacious, definitely fit for a king. Looking at our group, I
felt as if I didn’t belong. At the front was Mel, dressed in his
specially knitted suit. King followed him, draped in his luxurious
cloth. I stayed close behind, my armor clanking as we moved swiftly
through the stone carved pathway. Lyrica, the girl I would always
fight for, brought up the end. She meant more to me now than anyone
ever before.

“
We are clear from the
back, no one is following us. I still can’t see very far down
ahead. Mal, keep a sharp lookout.” Lyrica had a worried look on her
face as she spoke the words.

I always felt in the dark around the
King. His private guard was kept secret from everyone else. Even
being a general in his army I wasn’t privileged to certain
information. The day I met Lyrica was the day I was
awakened.

We continued down the passage, going
around each corner of the maze. I was lost from the start; Mal knew
exactly where he was going. “How far does this go?” I asked, not
sure if I was disturbing Mal or Lyrica’s concentration.

“
It was designed to slow
down anyone in the scenario that we are followed. Fairly soon,
we’ll reach the end and come up outside of the castle near the
river.”

“
Is there anything waiting
for us there?” I replied, wishing to hear anything
hopeful.

“
Stop
,” Lyrica whispered in a quick, hushed tone.

“
I hear them,” Mal
whispered. Not halfway through his sentence, Mal
vanished.

Lyrica held me and the king back while
we waited for Mal. She assured us that we were clear from behind.
Down the way we heard two bodies fall to the ground, followed by a
quiet voice. “It’s all clear.”

“
I don’t see anyone else
right in front of us either,” Lyrica replied to the invisible
man.

Mal reappeared, with the middle of his
body reappearing first, spreading to his limbs. Mal’s special
clothes were made to blend with him. His family found a way to
adapt their surrounds into themselves to become invisible. Through
meditation and training, they’d learned to blend, move swiftly, and
talk with their minds. There were rumors that other skills had been
learned, though no one knew exactly what.

Near the end of the passage we waited
while Lyrica made sure nothing would be waiting for us. “I just
can’t see anything, no matter how far I try to look. It’s like it’s
blacked out somehow.”

“
Let me check if there’s
anything right outside.” And off went the invisible man.

“
Hurry back!” King quietly
called after him.

I figured Mal must have gotten outside
as some knights jumped on top of what seemed to be nothing. That
nothing that made the knights float in the air, changed. Instead of
changing to his visible human self, a furrier version started to
take shape, one that was much larger. Within seconds the guards
were flung from atop a floating space to being trampled and swatted
at by a giant, hairy bear. The two knights were caught off guard as
the bear picked one of them up and threw him further than I could
see.

The other knight barely had time to
draw his sword before the bear swatted the man down and flung him
as well. At this point the three of us deemed it safe to travel
outside of the passage.

“
So what’s the plan now?” I
asked, again hoping for anything positive.

“
I arranged for a boat to
come pick up King. We were supposed to go along but I don’t see it,
Sire,” Mal responded.

“
Let’s head upriver to see
if it’s just a little late,” I suggested.

“
King, I recommend not
going that way. The enemy’s camp is set up right over the hill
around the river. They also have the boat we are supposed to be
on,” Lyrica said, disappointment tingeing her voice.

“
Is the way down the river
clear?” King’s definitive voice was completely gone from
horror.

“
We should be clear for a
while. We must make haste; they have found the passage behind us
and have started through the tunnels.”

Walking downriver I tried to comfort
Lyrica. She had always been able to see what was just up ahead.
Today, her sight wasn’t working as well as usual and I could tell
it was troubling her. “How are you holding up through all of
this?”

“
I just can’t tell what’s
going to happen.”

“
It’ll all be fine. Just
like you and me.” I was trying to console her.

“
You were the one thing I
couldn’t see the future of, yet you could see ours
together.”

“
Exactly, I knew we would
be together, just as I know we will make it out of this.” I felt
confident that she would be alright.

“
Quiet down back there! I
can’t—” Mal exclaimed, falling down mid-sentence.

“
Hit the
deck
!” King whispered the command causing
all of us to drop straight to the ground.

We lay in the leaves next to the
river, waiting for the next shot. We could see Mal breathing but
were too afraid to say anything. The arrow protruding from Mal’s
shoulder frightened us all. Lyrica whispered to Mal, “They’re up in
the tree on the other side of the river.”

Mal disappeared yet again, only
stopping to dislodge the still visible arrow to complete the
disguise. Surprisingly not yelling in pain, we could hear the
superhumanly quick footsteps across the water and up the tree as
that same arrow that went into Mal came out the other side of the
archer.