North vs. South

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Jalapenohitchhiker

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The land of Relme was once again divided. Disputes over trade and currency issues had taken their toll on the kingdom. The division between the north and the south has now caused a split between the two territories and created two separate kingdoms. War has broken out, and too many people are dying on both sides. But no end to the war is in sight.

The Battle of the Rhinor Field had been one of the bloodiest affairs of the war so far. The ground was now littered with corpses and the stench of rotting flesh. All who managed to survive had left the scene and fled to safety, save for one.

Garrin was only half-conscious. His mouth was parched and his head hurt. The gash on his shoulder was almost unbearable, but he had dealt with pain before. His legs were weak, and he had no strength to lift himself. He could barely move as it was. He could only think of home now. How he longed to be back with his family, with his friends. These would be the last thoughts of his life.
 
(During the war)
Amira paced her tent as she argued with her father. She wasn't supposed to be there, but she knew that she didn't belong at home. She was a good nurse and proved it many times growing up when she would help her playmates when they would end up with cuts and the occasional broken bones. "You are my only child, Amira! I can't let you endanger yourself!" he yelled. Amira threw her hands in the air "These are my people too, father! I can't just sit around waiting for you and the others return home! I can help!" Her father shook head and sat down. He looked defeated as he motioned for his soldiers. "Take her somewhere she is safe. And don't take your eyes off of her for one minute!" Amira's eyes widened as the soldiers grabbed her and forcefully removed her. They took her a mile away to an old camp. The next day her father arrived. He was tired and weary. When Amira didn't get any answers from her father she ran outside and saw that less the half of the soldiers had returned. Tears fell down her face as she walked back to her father and knelt next to his chair. He then told her that both sides lost a lot of men and that the war still wasn't over, but the battle was a loss for both sides. After sending her father to sleep she grabbed a horse and rode back to the battle site.

It didn't take her long to arrive to the battle scene and as expected there was no living person in sight. So she took a tearful walk through the field. When she was halfway through the field she couldn't resist the urge to throw up. So she knelt next to a bush and hurled. She remained kneeling next to the bush as she glanced around the field again. But she thought she could hear someone breathing. It was getting dark and she thought that she was hearing the ghosts of the dead. But she didn't believe in ghosts. So she listened even more carefully. He was almost right next to her, but she found the poor man. She knew that he was a soldier from the other kingdom, but she didn't care. As quick as she could she ran to her horse, grabbed the water canteen, ran back to the man, and gave him water to drink. "Don't drink too fast." she said slowly so he could understand her. "It's ok. You're going to be ok." She used her free hand to probe his body for all his deep cuts.
 
The voice sounded faint at first, as though it were from a dream. For a moment or two he thought it was Faliya speaking to him. But that could not be, for she had been dead for almost a year. Then the thought occurred to him that he might now be dead as well. But did people feel this much pain in death? How could one know until one was dead of course? But he still recognized the smell of the corpses surrounding him, and he concluded that he was not in fact dead yet.

He then made out the hazy depiction of a woman's face above him. He did not recognize her, though his vision was far too blurry at the moment to really see anything properly. He did not resist when he felt the cold metal canteen at his lips. He simply drank, and he drank aplenty. For all he knew this was water from the fountain of the gods themselves. He had never tasted anything of the sort, and he felt a rush in his senses return. He still could not move very easily, of course. But there was little that could be done about that.

His gaze returned to the sitting over him. He could now more easily discern the features of her face, and he was more than certain he had never met this woman before. Interestingly, he did not ask for her name or where she had come from all he said was, "You are from the south." It was given away primarily by the dark brown hair and the piercing green eyes that almost all southerners displayed.
 
Amira http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/Bexter14/721713084_1137500.gif


"Ssshhh. Don't speak yet." she said calmly. She could feel two broken ribs and a sever gash across his chest. Blood was still spilling out of chest. As quick as she could she ripped his shirt so she could see his chest better. The blood was beginning to clot, but she still needed to stop the bleeding. He had probably bleed too much blood already. "Yes, I am from the south, but I wont let you die." She ripped the bottom of her skirt and carefully bandaged his wound. "You don't have to fear me, soldier." Her cold hands felt his bare chest for more cuts but she didn't find any other major wounds. There was nothing she could do to fix his broken ribs, but she had to get him away from this place as soon as possible. Even though she had dealt with serious injuries before she had never dealt with wounds this bad. "Can you walk at all? I have to get you out of here." She prepared to help him up if he was able.
 
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Garris exhaled heavily and let her wrap his wounds. He was not sure why, but he trusted her to keep him in order, not that he could have resisted easily either way given his state. He winced at every moment she touched an open wound, but there were always worse pains he could be feeling. But every time he looked at her, he was reminded of Faliya. It was not good for his mind to be thinking thoughts like this, he knew, but memories of her had been springing into his mind a lot as of late.

He forced himself to sit up with enormous strain, groaning as his chest flared up in pain from the sudden movement. He shook his head with frustration. "I don't know if I can walk. I will need you for support, and even that might not be enough." His left arm was hanging limp by his side, and he had lost almost all feeling in it from the blood loss.
 
Amira cringed as she watched the man try to sit up. This was why she hated war so much for oo many people ended up hurt and destroyed after the wake of battle. She had lost so many friends to this particular war. Why did the two sides have to fight? Why couldn't there be peace? A single slipped down her check, but she quickly wiped it away. Tears would not end the war and it certainly wouldn't help this man right now. If the man could see her face he would see a cold and sad face. A face with not tears, but with much grief. This war had to stop. Carefully she helped the man to sit up, "Take it easy. I can help you for I am stronger then I look." Even if she could get the man on her horse, which would take a lot of energy on both their parts, where would she go? She couldn't return home with him for her father would have him put to death as the enemy of the crown. Her father was a good man, but this battle made many good people do horrible things. Amira shook her head. She would think of such things later. Right now she had to focus all her energy on helping the man get up.
 
Garris clamoed his hand over the wounded shoulder, feeling the blood still rushing out. He would have to wrap it quickly before the flesh began to rot or risk losing his arm altogether. He thanked the Gods it was not his sword arm. But it would still not be nice to lose. He mustered what he hoped appeared to be a smile, though it was likely wrought with pain as well. "I thank you for your generosity. You are too kind for words." He heaved a sigh and attempted to find his footing. Any awkward movement would make his chest convulse horribly, making him want to vomit and fall back down. His legs were weaker than he had expected, probably from the exhaustion he was still feeling. He placed his good arm on the woman's shoulder, trying to force as little weight as possible onto her. He could not imagine, for all he was worth, why he had not simply just chosen to turn his head away and let death come to him. It certainly would have been much easier than attempting to stand up now.
 
After seeing his wounded shoulder Amira thought she could slap herself. Why didn't she check his shoulder as well as his arms. With a small grunt she helped his stand to his feet. "I don't like to see people hurting." She didn't mean to sound rude by not saying much, but she wanted both of them to conserve their energy to get to the horse. The caramel colored horse wasn't far, but it would still be a struggle to get a wounded man to him. "My horse isn't far, but I'm afraid that you will have to get on him without my help. I'm strong, but not that strong." She continued to help him get to the horse.
 
As he slowly managed to stand up, albeit with great support from this girl he did not know, his mind began to fill with questions of why he was accepting her help and why he had not been killed in the battle. As he limped forward, bearing much of his weight on her, he dared to ask the questions plaguing him. "If you do not mind me asking, what is your name? And why did you come here?" He did not mean to sound so intrusive, but he did not know how long he would be sticking around her, and he made it a point to know who he was traveling with. If anything, he preferred to have names for his companions, regardless of whether or not they were true names.
 
She wasn't sure if she wanted to give him her name. She was a princess and most people knew her name, but she wasn't sure if she should lie to him either. But he couldn't really refuse her help, princess or no. Step by slow step they crept closer to the horse. It took her a while to answer his question since so many thoughts ran through her head. One of her hands was around his waist and the other held to his hand that he had around her neck. "My name is Amira." Maybe he didn't know who she was but she knew that she couldn't lie to him. She just wouldn't tell him that she was a princess and hope that he didn't know who she really was. She would tell him eventually, but not now. Her first priority was to get him taken care of. "And I don't really know why I came back. I guess I had to see the horrors of war for myself." Soon they had reached the horse. He was a strong horse and could easily carry two people. The horse was the princess's personal horse so he was a very fine horse. "Would you like to rest before getting on the horse?"
 
Step by step, Garris limped onward. The distance between them and the horse seemed to only grow longer as time went on, but he pressed on anyway. He was not about to let himself die. He had heard the name before, but he was not sure where. It was probably a common name for women of nobility in the south, which she certainly appeared to be. "That's a beautiful name." He almost smiled at the response to the second question. "The horrors of war lie before you. Sadly there are few good things to say about it." He turned the name Amira over in his head again. Why did she remind him so much of Faliya? Love lost was not something he should dwell on. The last thing he needed to go with a broken body was a broken mind. It seemed like ages had passed before they had finally reached the horse. He patted its hide tenderly to let it know he was a friend. "No," he answered. "We must take cover now. At night there are usually bandits and murderers who come to loot the dead bodies for valuable items." He pointed to the forest just beyond the nearer hills. "There is a cave in that direction if I am not mistaken. We can use it for cover until dawn."
 
"I can't say that anything is good with war. I sure can't see why the war must drag on. I hate it!" Her anger of the war cause her to be bitter, but she didn't know who to be mad at. She knew it was getting dark, but she didn't realize that is was getting so dark till he mentioned it. "You're right; it is getting dark. I'm surprised that the bandits haven't come yet." Before she helped him up on the horse she had him lean against the animal so she could make sure that the saddle would handle them both. It wasn't meant for two people but she knew how to get two people on the horse. She had done it several times while ridding horse back with her friends when she was younger. Once she felt confidant about the saddle and lowered the stirrups so the injured man could reach them better she turned to the soldier, "Are you ready to get up? I know this is going to hurt, but once I get you to the cave I can do a better job at checking you out for other serious injuries and take care of the injuries that you already have." She glanced at his wounded shoulder, "I want to get that shoulder taken care of immediately."
 
Garris forced himself onto the horse's back. It was more well trained than he had expected, which was rare to find these days. She must be of greater nobility than he previously thought, but he would contemplate that later. He felt loose and unsteady without being able to sit properly, and the inability to use his left arm on the reigns was not helping in the least. But he would have to make do. He made sure to leave enough room for Amira as she climbed on behind him to ensure he would not fall backwards. He felt himself tense up a little as her arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Thankfully there were no serious wounds below his chest. "This could be far worse," he said with the smallest hint of a laugh, gesturing at his shoulder. "I have seen worse scenarios than this in which men lived, though none of them continued fighting afterwards."
 
Gingerly she lifted herself on the horse behind Garris and wove her arms around him so she could make sure that he wouldn't fall off. If he did fall off he might injure himself even more. "I can create a sling for your arm and I can take care of that wound on your shoulder too. You might be able to fight, but I hope you will not want to after today." She was very glad that he couldn't see her blushing face as she held onto him. She had never been this close to a man before. Well not like this. She had helped many of her playmates, who were boys, but never had she helped a man before. It was highly inappropriate for a young woman like herself to see the "nakedness" of man. But this was rule she was going to have to ignore. "Do you know your way to this cave?" she asked as evenly as she could.
 
His face fell at the mention of fighting again. He had never been one to enjoy killing. Far from it. Taking another's life felt almost inhumane to him, as though he were denying someone else a life they had lived. But fighting was in his blood. The thrill and the rush he felt from crossing swords with another was an experience like no other to him. It was not something he was going to give up easily, even if he could only use one arm for it. His right arm was all he needed anyway. "I believe so," he said as he spurred the stallion forward to a brisk trot. He was not going to risk a faster pace than that, for the slightest unfortunate bump might send him tumbling off.
 
As they began to trot off, Amira conserved all her strength to make sure that Garris didn't fall off. "Why would you want to fight? Couldn't use your strength for other uses? Like farming? Have you tried to farm? Or how about being a blacksmith?" Just then Amira just remembered that her father would worry if she didn't return that night. But if she was lucky he wouldn't notice he missing till the morning and hopefully by then she would have thought some way to keep Garris out of trouble. What was she to do with a soldier from the opposite side? If her father found out that she was helping an enemy soldier he would be furious! He would retaliate his anger on the soldier more then her. She had to think of something before morning.
 
Garris could only smile at the question. "Fighting is in my blood. It is expected of me, and I do it because I must." It was not easy to explain the appeal of being a fighter to one who did not partake in it. And Garris had always been certain that he would much rather hold a sword and shield than a plow or a hammer. Of course there was another more important reason, but he would not go there just yet. "I fight to protect those I love," he insisted. "My family and my friends are the closest companions I have in this world. To lose them because of a war would break me." While there was far more to it than that, there was not a single lie in his statement. His family was his greatest gift, one that he would not willingly see taken from him.
 
"But hasn't all this bloodshed gone too far?" The site of the battlefield would forever be ingrained in her mind. It would haunt her for a long time. "How do you do it? I mean how do you forget the horrors of war? I didn't even see the battle, but the carnage left behind was so ghastly!" Her father had always told her that the North was just a big bully. That their king wanted all the wealth of the South. But she was almost willing to give up anything just to see the end of the bloodshed.
 
"I don't forget it," was all he could say. And it was true. He vividly remembered the face of every man he had killed in battle. They were the ghosts of his past, and they haunted him every day without fail. But there was little he could do to avoid it. With his father being as important as he is, much was now expected of Garris as well, whether he liked it or not. They were finally among the trees and he could finally see the opening of the cave behind the closely packed trees. It did not appear to be very big, which would not be an enormous problem as there were only two of them. "I see it up ahead. Just a little further and we are there."
 
Amira frowned, "Then how do you deal with it? If you can't forget it then how do you not go mad?" Once they reached the cave Amira quickly got off the horse so she didn't have to be so close to him anymore. It wasn't that she didn't like him but it was more she didn't feel proper being so close to him. Also she didn't like the feelings that coursed through her at being so close to a handsome man. Clearing her throat she looked up at Garris, "Would like help or can you get down yourself?" If she sounded cold she didn't mean to.
 
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