5. Haze

"Run,' he urged me, shaking my shoulders roughly to the point where I could feel his fingers biting into my skin. "Run and never look back. Otherwise they will get you."

"Who's 'they'?" I asked in confusion, only just noting the desperation in his voice, a lonely note that longed to run to safety but for some reason chose to stay.

Shaking his head, he started taking me on the path that I was supposed to stick to for the next two weeks or so. "Don't you worry. Just run, okay? It's something dangerous."

"Then you should come with me."

"Loyalty is an admired quality," he winked at me, making me laugh. "Oh hush, just go. Make sure you remain safe - I'll see you in a week or so."

And as I turned away, I touched my face feeling the wetness that lay upon it. I knew I wasn't going to see him. He wasn't going to survive this conflict; no one would. Which was why the village was so adamant on sending away the children and the women who didn't want to fight. They let the men who couldn't physically fight anymore come along too. I was urged to go first, paving the path for the others to make their way through.

And before I fully turned away, I whirled around and threw myself at him, burying my face into his neck. My fiancé. Who I'd never ever get to marry. No children. No grandchildren. I was going to lose my love.

"I can't leave without you," I sobbed, ignoring all the staring people around me. As future wife of the chief, I had a responsibility to be a role model for the rest of the village but I couldn't do it. I couldn't hope up that wall, and realise that I would never see him again. I wouldn't do that. I'd die with him or he'd have to come with me. Easy.

"You have to go," he chided gently but tersely. "You know that they won't survive without you. You can't stay back, you need to go with them and help them. I love you, alright? I love you so much. And I need to know that you're going to be safe and so will the others."
I shook my head fiercely, refusing to let him go. Tears flung in all directions as I despaired of a life without him. He was my soul mate and we'd already gone through so much to get to this point; we'd never be able to continue it. Fate seemed against us.

He lowered his head to my ear. "Responsibility, lovely. Please. I'm begging of you. Please go."

Suddenly anger flushed through me. He was so quick to let me go, and now he was practically wanting to throw me that way himself. My face went red, and as I struggled to keep a hold over my emotions, I realised that I could hear the march of an approaching enemy.

Oh. That was why he was attempting to hasten me on. They were already here, about to invade.

I kissed him then, a kiss of passion and sadness. Before going, I turned back, "I'll come back for you."

His face contorted into a grotesque expression. "Please don't. Now go. Hurry. Don't look back."

Nodding, I ran to my horse, lifting myself up easily on its bare back. "Let's go,' I barked to the group of people that had surrounded me. "We've got to get to safety. Now, the chief has given us this campsite to go to but in case something happens, the enemy might find that out. I suggest that we leave small clues for any of the survivors and that we head to a different area."

A clamouring of shouts invigorated my ears and as I took them all as an approval, I smiled satisfied, starting to lead the people to the boundaries of the land, where the water lapped gently against the coast and the white froth blessed the calm blue waters.

And then we started riding. And oh did we ride hard. When the first sounds of the struggle came through, I tensed, looking in the area that we had just emerged from. I swiftly instructed everyone to attempt to go faster although I knew that for some, that would be difficult. We needed to do that though. Or our chances of survival were nil. We rode hard and each day, the screams and yelps got significantly larger but softer, considering that we were moving away but that more men and women were now engaged in battle.

Children whimpered daily, wishing for their mothers; as most women had vouched to fight and die alongside their spouses. To them, I showed my pure love. I showed them through a series of ways, none of which I can reveal, each of their mothers individually. I took care of them when the older populace in my group started to complain and thrust them away.

But then one day, I heard it. The ill-fated screech of my fiancé. I whirled my horse around, surprised that I could hear it over everything else, even though by nature, he wasn't a loud man.

"Go,' a woman urged me. "Only a wife can help her husband at this point. I know what you heard. Good luck, child. I'll take care of them. You know that. I'll lead them to safety."

"Responsibility…"  I trailed realising how repetitive I sounded,
"Go," she encouraged and those were the last words I needed to hear as I spun my horse around, sending them catapulting towards the  clearing where the villagers resided. What had taken us five days to travel, took two hours for me, not stopping and not thinking. Occasionally, I'd hear my fiancé yell out over and over again, and that made me harden my pace. Luckily, my horse understood; not complaining and staying resistant although I was wearing the poor creature out thin.

Finally bursting out into the clearing, I saw my fiancé on the floor, writhing in pain as if multiple amounts of creatures were eating him from the inside. "Honey?!"

He looked at me with alarm. "Go! They'll be back soon, go!"

Tears filled my eyes and I fell to his side, my whole body crumpling to fit his as I silently  broke out into tears. "I'm staying with you this time. I love you."

Hello. It's not too good considering I'm exhausted but I still have to do my German assessment. My priorities are in the wrong order, dear me.
Oh well. Hope you somewhat like it.

Allons-y!