Tuesday 6 May 2008

Seyenna: Part 2

To view part one of this story, click here http://fantasytales-byemmy.blogspot.com/2008/02/seyenna-part-1-light-shone-through.html

Seyenna dawdled on her way home. She knew her brothers would be out late tonight, so she had some time to spare before she started their supper. She lingered as she passed the entrance to the forest. She had never been inside, Grigai forbade it. There was lots of untold dangers in the forest, or so he said. Seyenna always found this strange, as whenever her brothers returned home from work, they said it was quiet, no sign of any enemies. She was sure they were keeping something from her, for they knew of her lust for adventure.

By the time Seyenna returned home, she was feeling quite annoyed. She hated her job. She longed for excitement. She longed for revenge. As Seyenna began to make supper, she thought about her parents. This was something that she didn’t allow herself to do very often, it was too painful. She fell to the kitchen floor, a tear slipping down her cheek. She missed her mother. She was very young when she died, yet Seyenna remembered it as though it were yesterday. She remembered herself as a baby, on the floor of the forest, as her mother was dragged away. That was the last time she saw her.

The front door slammed shut, and Seyenna quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. Her brothers were home. She ran to the door to greet them, as she always did. As she reached the hallway, she skidded to a halt. Something was wrong. Grigai was there, looking worried and upset. There was no sign of Filorris. Seyenna looked at Grigai, her eyes asking the question she couldn't bear to speak.

"It was giants," said Grigai, correctly interpretting the silence. "We were fighting them for hours. There was no time to signal for help. They broke through our sentries and were at our base before we knew what was happening. I lost five of my troop, there were bodies everywhere, Ours and theirs. It was total madness."

Seyenna took a deep breath. She was sure she didn't want to know the answer to this question, but she needed to ask. "And Filorris?" she whispered, her eyes closed, not wanting to hear. "Gone. No sign of him. He was patrolling one of the sentry posts on the outskirts of the forest. His whole squad is dead. But there was no sign of Fil. No body, no weapon, no nothing."

With that Grigai dropped his weapons and walked into the study. Seyenna stood where she was, unmoving, waiting for the news to sink in. It couldn't be true. She couldn't believe it, wouldn't believe it. Filorris couldn't be gone. He was an elite soldier. He was better trained than anyone. He was her hero, something like a band of giants couldn't get the better of him.

Seyenna followed her brother into the study. "So what now?" she asked. Grigai turned slowly on his chair. "What now?" he asked, "Nothing, what can we do? The giants have gone. Its over."
"WHAT?!" screamed Seyenna. " What do you mean, it's over? What are the Woodland Protectors doing? Who is out there looking for Fil? Who is out there hunting down the giants and making them pay for what they did. Why are you home? Have you just given up Grigai? Is that it?"

Grigai looked at her, desperate for her to understand. "We were given orders Sey. It's not safe out there. If we withdraw from the forest, let things quieten down, they might not come back this time. Its orders Sey."

Seyenna looked at her brother in disgust. So that was it. The Woodland Protectors fled, leaving any hope of finding her brother gone. Well, Seyenna wasn't going to stand for it, not again. They did this when the giants took her mother, but Seyenna had been too young to do anything about it. But not this time. She marched upstairs and took out Filorris's spare curiass. It was a little big, but it would have to do. She strapped a bow to her back, took Grigai's sword from the doorway where he dropped it, and went back to the study.

Seyenna looked at the back of her brothers head, he was obviously exhausted. But Seyenna could not have cared less this time. She always cared for her brothers, made sure they were well fed, and well looked after. But Grigai was going to have to look after himself. "Goodbye Grig" she said. Grigai jumped out of his seat, a look of terror on his face. He started to argue, tried to stop her, but Seyenna took one last look at her brother, and walked off into the forest. Maybe nobody else cared about Filorris, but she did.