FicWad

The falling of the colorful leaves of autumn... that's when they came...

The fires raged throughout the small, secluded village as the many inhabitants fled for their lives. Those who stood their ground and refused to leave were either obliterated, or taken captive, they were merciless. They had attacked just as the sun was going down igniting the battlefield in a fiendish red glow. As the light pinks and blues of the sky began to change into dark shades of black, the massacre unfolded. Hordes of well-trained warriors rained down upon the small village, destroying homes one at a time.

They destroyed the village, taking many prisoners...

"All right, you all know the drill, half of you will obliterate the village, the other half, you guys will capture as many prisoners as possible, if anyone resists... kill them." The soldiers left, all except one, the youngest of the new recruits.
"Son, what are you standing there for, go fight with the others."
"Father," said the son, " Are you sure this is what I am supposed to be doing, is it really right for my sword to cry out for human blood? After all, we are all humans."
He sighed, placing his hand on top of his son's head, "Son... the time will come when you understand when it is right for your sword to vie after blood and when it is not."
Nodding, the young boy left, sword in hand, ready for battle. Running through the village, he grabbed as many people as he could, tying them up expertly before depositing them by the tents on the outskirts of the village. He turned and began to head back for the village.
"Raeal!"
The boy turned around, "Father?"
He smiled, "Good work son, keep it up."
Nodding, Raeal headed back towards the village.
Seeing a girl run past him, he grabbed her roughly by the collar of her torn shirt, pulling her towards him. She screamed and flailed her arms, kicking her legs feebly.
"God damn it! Shut Up!" Raeal screamed, throwing her to the ground. She tried to scramble away, but died instantly as the cold metal sword pierced sharply through her body. He scanned the area quickly, the Spear Clan was growing bigger, and more servants were needed to support the many lives of the Spear Clan. Raeal sighed, he'd have to find more girls, most of the Spear Clan was made up of men, only the strongest of the women were allowed to stay alive. The rest, were killed. Raeal whipped around, the sound of a rustling bush had alerted him of someone's presence. He peered over the bush, but fell back immediately, the girl had seen him. Sitting upon the ground, he waited for her to move first... she didn't. He made his way quietly around the bush. She heard his footsteps and instantly tried to flee, but he caught her by the arm. As he pulled her closer, he noticed something about her, she was blind. The rope in his hand fell in a heap on the ground.
"Please... don't hurt me," she begged.
Raeal nodded, then, remembering that she couldn't see, replied quickly, "I won't."

There was nothing left, except for a few survivors...

The last few survivors of the massacre had all run off. The cowards, leaving the rest of their people in the hands of the Spear Clan. The last few people of the Rose Clan, disappearing into the forest as the sun rose above the horizon, shedding light upon the deserted village, a graveyard.

As the last few leaves of autumn falls...

The prisoners are all taken away. Led in a single file line, each following the person in front, like sheep. At the end of line, she walked, staggering along, unsure of which direction to go. Raeal supervised the shipment of the prisoners from one area to another, in this case, he would be watching all of them as the clan traveled back to their village. If any prisoner dared to defy him, the consequences, would be severe. He scanned the long line of prisoners tied together with rope, walking along at a painfully slow pace. Occasionally, he would notice the blind girl, slipping or tripping in some manner and being dragged for quite a while over rocks and pebbles before she could get up. He headed toward the end of the line and grabbed her hand. She gasped, trying to wrench her hand away from her attacker.
"Hey, it's me," Raeal said, freeing her from her attachment to the end of the line, "Come with me." Grabbing her hand once more, he led her away from the back of the line, walking at a faster pace and easily passing many prisoners.
"You! You let her go!"
Raeal turned to face the speaker.
"Keara isn't yours to toy around with! Let her go! She's helpless, blind, and fragile! You can't treat her like that!"
Hearing an outburst from one of the prisoners, the closest guard whacked the man sharply on the head.
"Keara... that's your name?" Raeal asked.
The blind girl nodded, staring at him. Raeal stared back. Her blank eyes gave him the creeps, not to mention, he had no idea how old she was anyway.

They are stained, with the blood of war...

"Eight," came the reply.
"Eight?" came an angry echo.
"Yes sir, eight," Keara replied.
"Father please, don't be angry with her," Raeal pleaded.
He sighed, "I'm not angry son, just... why... I wish to know why... why did you spare her?"
Raeal pondered the question for a while before answering, "Father... I do not wish to disappoint you, but there was something about her, I feel like my future is intwined with hers. Please Father, I beg of you, don't harm her."
Nodding, he replied, "All right, keep her close, you know how people feel about prisoners being on the same level as them."
Raeal stood up from his kneeling position and bowed once more.
"You are dismissed," his father said, waving a hand.
"Come on Keara," Raeal whispered softly, helping the girl up.
As Raeal turns to leave, pulling Keara's hand, she refuses to budge, "Sir?"
Raeal's father perks up.
"Your people will not be forgiven for what you did to my people, although you have captured many of us, we will never trust your people. You are despicable, and tyrannical."
"Keara," Raeal hissed, "Stop it."
"Just you wait..." Keara breathed, " Just you wait for The Vendetta, just you wait."

The autumn leaves have covered the ground and the cold winter settles in...