"Easy there, Leiva, save some boggans for the rest of us!" General Ronin said.
The young woman he spoke to was a new addition to the Leafmen ranks. Her name was Leiva Espe. She hailed from a forest kingdom way to the north, one known as Valley Woods and was the commander of the Firefly King Ryder's army. When Stompers came and destroyed the forest to build upon the land, boggans swooped in and started killing off the people of Valley Woods one by one. Only Leiva Espe and her bird had escaped. She traveled long and hard, trying to find more people like her and had come to Moonhaven about the time Mary Katherine, or MK as she was known in Moonhaven, decided to go back to school and leave the forest. She was severely injured and when she was healed and well rested, she requested an audience with Queen Marigold and asked to join the Leafmen ranks to prove her worth and earn her place within the kingdom. But that was a year ago, and Leiva quickly moved up through the ranks of the Leafmen.
"Sorry, Ronin, but you'll need to be quicker than that!" Leiva replied with a smile. She charged the last remaining boggans before any of the others could get to them.
Unsure of what to do, the Leafmen present stood there and gaped as the young girl cut down the last of the boggans. When she was finished, she took a cloth and cleaned the blade of her sword before she sheathed it. She looked at the General and smiled sheepishly.
Sighing, Ronin shook his head with a soft smile. "Don't be so quick to jump into battle, understood?"
Leiva nodded and mounted into the saddle of her barn swallow, Lilica. "I'll keep that in mind for next time." She replied, winking at the General.
Ronin's face turned red as she flew off with Lilica, disappearing around the bend of trees that had survived the boggan attack. The others looked at him and he shook his head, trying to shrug off the embarrassment he felt. He and the other Leafmen followed Leiva back to Moonhaven.
Nod and his men had just returned and watched as Leiva took Lilica to her stall. Nod watched as Leiva removed the saddle from the barn swallow. Lilica was a strange bird, one he had not seen before. She had a snow white chest and throat, a black beak, black eyes, and such brilliant blue feathers adorned atop granite gray feathers that Nod was sure that the bird would sparkle in the moonlight.
"Hey, Leiva. We heard you took out a platoon of boggans." Nod said, coming over.
Leiva smiled at him and nodded. "I did, but Ronin probably thinks I got carried away again. I guess they didn't have enough fun with the boggans themselves."
"You were reckless and careless, Leiva." Ronin said as he joined them. "Much like Nod here was a few years ago."
"Ronin, it's no big deal, right? Boggans are the enemy and as long as we keep them out of our lands, then we are doing our duties." Leiva replied, cocking her hips as she crossed her arms.
"Boggans are the death and decay of the forest. Queen Marigold is the life of the forest. It is our duty, yes, to keep the boggans out of Moonhaven and to protect the forest and our queen. That being said, you have to be more careful. Many leaves, one tree. Do you know what that means?" Ronin said.
"It means that we are all connected, never alone." Leiva said with a sigh, having heard the saying many times.
"Exactly. Leiva, you're too quick to jump into battle, too quick on your feet. It is good that you are getting stronger, but you have to remember that the Leafmen are your comrades, your friends. We are here to back you up and to work with you." Ronin replied.
Leiva rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child, Ronin. I have seen enough battles to know where my strengths lie. Where I grew up, we had to fight for ourselves in order to survive. The Stompers were taking so much of our lands at a time and the boggans were moving in so quickly that it was the only thing that we could do even as we were constantly at war with other neighboring kingdoms. We all suffered at the hands of the Stompers. We had to fight to survive alone, never having another to rely on to have our backs. I'm sorry I don't seem to get the picture here."
She turned to walk away, but Ronin reached out to stop her. "Leiva, that's not what I meant."
She turned and glared at him. "I don't care! I came to Moonhaven because I had nowhere else to go. The Stompers and boggans took everything from me- my brother, my comrades, the only man I ever loved- and now the only people I thought would be willing to help me treat me like an insolent child! Maybe I just don't belong here." She said, pulling her arm free from his grasp.
Ronin tried to call after her as she stormed off, but Nod put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
"Let her go, Ronin. She's just like how I was before we had to fight Mandrake and save the pod. Give her time, she's only been here a year. She still needs time to adjust to how life is here in Moonhaven." Nod looked off in the direction Leiva had gone and sighed. "Poor girl… Must have been hard to lose her entire forest and everyone in it. I can't even imagine what that must feel like…"
Ronin suddenly felt guilty. Nod was right. Leiva was still very new to the forest and still naïve to the ways of the Leafmen. She was proving her worth and still had to learn much, but she herself was right: she was not a child. Leiva had come from one of the northern most forests, one ruled by a king known as the Firefly King. For it to fall to the Stompers and boggans to pick off the rest of the people, Ronin was astounded that Leiva had even survived it all. He had to find her, to apologize and make sure that she was OK.
~O~
Leiva tore off her armor and threw them onto her bed and gathered her things to go to the east spring. "Who does he think he is, lecturing me like that?" she muttered to herself. "I was the Commander of King Ryder's army! Those stupid Stompers… they ruined everything!" She stormed off to the east spring to relax and clear her head.
As Leiva made her way towards her destination, Ronin came around the bend of hallway in the Leafmen quarters and saw her pass by.
'Where is she going?' he wondered.
Needing to talk to her, Ronin followed her to the east spring. Unaware that Ronin was close behind her, Leiva continued to mutter angrily herself. When she arrived at the east spring, she found her favorite spot and tossed her things down.
"Stupid Ronin… I never received such disrespect in King Ryder's army…" she grumbled as she slipped out of her pants and her shirt and stepped into the spring. The water was cold, but it felt good against her skin as if it cooled and soothed her anger.
Ronin stopped by the base of a large plant and watched as Leiva dove under the water and waited until she resurfaced.
Leiva swam beneath the cold spring water for a moment before she resurfaced. She ran her hands along her head, moving the water down her hair and out of her face. She sighed and swam to the bank, pushed herself out of the water and sat next to her things. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"Why did it have to be my forest? Why couldn't have the Stompers have just left us alone?" she said to herself. She felt tears in her eyes as she remembered the forest crumbling, the people of Valley Woods being run out of their home by boggans who took advantage of the dying forest.
Off to the side, Ronin watched as Leiva stared off into the distance. "Leiva, are you alright?" he asked, coming up to her.
Leiva looked over at him. "What do you want, Ronin, some other reason to lecture me?"
Ronin sat down next to her. "No, I actually wanted to apologize. I was too hard on you, especially considering what has happened to you."
Leiva scoffed at that. "Great, the mighty Ronin, General of Leafmen, is taking pity on me."
Ronin looked at her. "Now, see here I am, trying to be a man and own up to my mistake and you go and blow it up in my face."
Leiva stood and started to gather her things. She pulled on her pants and looked at Ronin as he stood. "I do not need your pity, Ronin, nor an apology. I was the Commander of my king's army, the greatest warrior of my people. I know my place, but never have I been so disrespected before."
Ronin was about to say something, but stopped when he saw the scars on her back. He recognized them as marks of the boggans, scars from when she had been wounded in previous battles. He noticed the scar from the wound that she had had when he found her. He went up to her, grabbing her arm before she could get away.
"Leiva, stop. Please, I only meant…" he started.
Leiva looked up at him, as he stood a bit taller than her. She felt the tears slip from her eyes as she said, "Ronin, I lost everything. I came here to find something new, to make something of myself again. The last war I was in took the only man I had ever loved from me. If it were not for him, I would not be here today. Kaleb… he saved me... Then years later, the Stompers and boggans take everything from me. Everything! And still I am to be spoken down to as if I am a child when I have more than proved my skill and mettle in battle?"
Ronin stood there staring at her. The tears flowed freely and stained her fair skin. Most northerners had brown hair, very pale skin, and blue eyes, but Leiva had fair skin, black hair, and brilliant fern green eyes that glistened in the waning light of day. He reached up and wiped away the tears from her cheeks, cradling her face in his hand.
"Leiva …" he said, looking at her.
She searched his eyes, but seemed to only find pity, worry, and a hint of something else that she could not define. She tore herself from his gaze and gathered her things into her arms. "I am not a child, Ronin. I may be hard headed, fool hardy even, but not a child. I do not understand why you insist on treating me so. I am alone, Ronin, and I have been since I lost Kaleb… Perhaps I truly do not belong here, in Moonhaven…"
Ronin started to move towards her, but stopped when she said that. "Have you learned nothing? Have you not been through enough since your forest was destroyed? Yes you are a stranger to Moonhaven, Leiva, and yes perhaps you are hard headed at times, but we have done everything we can to welcome you in the forest, amongst the Leafmen ranks. You have friends, now, Leiva, and a family in the people of Moonhaven. You are not alone!"
Leiva ignored him and stormed off, clutching her things tightly to her. Ronin didn't know what else to say or do, so he went after her and followed her to her quarters.
"Why can you not see that, Leiva?" he asked, almost begging her to understand. He stepped into her room.
"What are you doing?" Leiva asked, turning to him as she dropped her things by the bed.
"You have to understand, Leiva, that you have people who care about you." Ronin said, coming up to her and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You do not have to face things alone, not anymore."
Leiva refused to look at him and tried to push her way passed him and to the door. Ronin grabbed her around the waist and cradled her face with his free hand as he pulled her in for a kiss. Leiva's eyes widened as Ronin pressed his lips against hers, gruff but gentle at the same time. She felt her face burning and her heart racing. When Ronin pulled away and looked at her, she felt as if she was in a daze.
"You'll never be alone again, Leiva, I promise." He said softly and released her. He bowed his head to her in respect and left her room, leaving her standing there blushing and dazed.
'Why?' she asked herself. 'Why did he kiss me?' Leiva shook her head and closed her door.
She still felt a bit dazed, but she managed to slip out of her wet clothes and into a pair of dry underclothes and a nightgown. Standing in front of the mirror in her room, Leiva unbraided her hair and brushed it out. She thought about what Ronin had said, his kiss and how he made her feel. She had always been so focused on her duty as commander that she never allowed herself any free time or personal time. She had only ever loved one man before and she had given Kaleb her heart. And yet it had been many years since she lost her love, Ronin made her feel hot any time she thought of him: how his strong arms encircled her, the roughness of the kiss and how she liked it, the warmth of his skin against hers, his scent of river birch and holly comforting her. She had long since spent her time grieving for Kaleb, but while she had moved on, she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk losing Ronin, too.
Leiva crawled into bed and tried to go to sleep, but Ronin's kiss would not let her mind rest. She tried for hours to fall asleep, but found nothing that would help her. She swung her legs out of bed and stood. Going to her door, she opened it and made her way to Ronin's quarters. They were larger than the others, as he was the commanding officer, but when she knocked on the door, it opened.
"Ronin, are you there?" she called softly, but there was no answer. She walked into the large room and looked around. Ronin was nowhere to be found. She sighed and closed the door. 'I'll have to talk with him later.' She thought as she made her way to one of the balconies across the hall from his quarters. She stared out into the night and felt a cool breeze blow through the kingdom, one that reminded her of the cold northern winds from back where her home once stood.
Leiva felt tears in her eyes as she thought of her lost home again and sat on one of the stone benches by the doorway. She pulled her knees in closer to her and let the tears slip silently down her cheeks as she gazed up at the moon. It had been just over a year since she lost everything and found her way to Moonhaven. She could still see everything as clear as day.
The trees crashed and creaked around Leiva as she searched for the king. She had to save him, so that they could find a new place to rebuild the kingdom. Ryder had no heir, no queen, but he had to survive so that he could lead his people to safety and so that they would not fall.
"King Ryder! Where are you, sire?" Leiva called, running through the rubble. She had ordered half of her men to take those who were left alive from the initial Stomper attack to safety and the rest she had taken with her to seek out anyone who was trapped within the rubble of the castle and the forest surrounding the heart of the kingdom.
"Lady Leiva, we must leave this place!" her second in command said.
"I will not leave the king, Jade, nor will I condemn those who may yet live to suffer and die here at the hands of boggans!" Leiva retorted.
"Speaking of boggans…" Jade said, pointing ahead of them.
Leiva looked and gasped as she saw an army of boggans rushing at them, trying to cut them down. Arrows of filth and decay flew through the air, striking a great many of the soldiers down. Leiva felt anger build inside her and a hatred begin to boil as she cut down boggan after boggan. She fought her way through, Jade and her men right beside her, until they reached the top of Kings' Hill. Leiva looked back as Jade screamed, a boggan arrow protruding from her chest.
"Jade, no!" Leiva cried, trying to grab her friend and comrade's hand before she fell and crumbled into nothing.
Jade simply smiled and wilted, content that her commander was safe.
Leiva felt tears stinging her eyes as she tore herself away and hurried to the top where she found the king laying on the ground, a chunk of stone crushing him. She quickly pushed the stone off of him.
"Your majesty!" Leiva cried as she fell to her knees beside the king.
The king looked up at her and smiled, a trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth and down his chin. "Leiva, you're still alive…"
"Of course, I am, Ryder… I came back to find you and the others…" she said, feeling the tears spill from her eyes. "Oh, Ryder, I'm so sorry…. I should have protected you better…."
The king reached up and weakly put a hand to her cheek and smiled. "You are safe and that is all that matters. The kingdom is lost, the people gone, and I am drawing my last breaths. Those of us that manage to survive will only be killed by the boggans and the Stompers' machines. You must leave and go somewhere safe, where you can start a new life."
Leiva shook her head. "No, I will not leave you!"
Ryder chuckled in pain. "You always were stubborn, little sister… I love you and couldn't be prouder…." He said, then his eyes glazed over and his breathing stopped.
Leiva stared at her older brother as he hand fell limp onto the ground. "Ryder, no… please, wake up! We'll take you to a healer, get you fixed up… Ryder…?" When her brother, the king, would not wake and she knew that he was lost forever, Leiva lifted her eyes to the heavens and cried out for her brother, for her people, for her kingdom. Everything in a split second was taken from her and she had nothing left.
Boggans were beginning to surround her and Leiva looked around at them. Remembering her brother's last words- the last words of a king- Leiva took up her brother's sword and drew her father's dagger and charged at the boggans, cutting them out of her way and carving a path to safety. The boggans fell, one by one, and Leiva forced her way through the hordes of enemies until she cleared herself outside of the forest kingdom's outer circle. She ran and ran, calling for her barn swallow companion, Lilica, hoping she was alive. The bird had too been searching for her rider and was overwhelmed with relief when she saw her running. Leiva quickly hopped onto the saddle and the two were off. Before they reached a safe enough distance to be certain boggans would not follow, Lilica and Leiva looked back at their home, watching as the trees crumbled and fell. They were left homeless and alone, with nowhere to go. Pain aching in their chests, the lone survivors of the last northern forest kingdom turned towards the south and prayed that they would find someone who would take them in, who would let them take part of their world.
Leiva had fallen asleep as she remembered the events that happened. She was still sitting on the stone bench of the balcony outside of Ronin's quarters and when Ronin came back from a long walk, he saw her sitting there in a thin nightgown and looking chilled to the bone- even for a northern girl. He came over and tried to wake her, but when she did not respond, her scooped her up in his arms and carried her into his quarters. He held her close to his chest as he pulled back the covers and laid her down on the large bed- well, large for djinn- and he noticed that she smelled of cherry blossoms and peaches.
Ronin sat next to her on the bed and smiled as he tucked the covers in around her. She looked so beautiful when she was asleep, though he could tell that she was not having a pleasant dream. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and noticed that it was slightly pointed. He had never noticed before, as she had always had them covered even when her hair was braided. He thought they looked beautiful on her. Then realizing that she would probably smack him and blush if he told her that, he chuckled.
Ronin felt the veil of slumber pulling at his eyes, so he stood and removed his armor, setting it on the stand, then slipped out of his boots, pants, shirt, and underclothes before he went to wash up. It didn't take him long to shower and he stepped out quickly as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He went back into the main room and to his dresser, pulling out a clean pair of underclothes and pants. Sliding into them, he rubbed his hair dry with the towel and let it hang around his neck as he went to check on Leiva.
Leiva felt a sense of safety and warmth, still unaware that she had been carried into Ronin's room by the Leafmen General himself. Ronin saw a small change in her as she slept, seeing that she went from appearing distraught and afraid to looking peaceful and relaxed. He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead before he went over to the couch and laid back.
As he lay there staring at the ceiling, watching the light of the fire flicker and dance across the stony structure, Ronin thought more on the answers he found on his walk. He really cared for Leiva, in more ways than just his friend, comrade, and subordinate. He cared for her like he used to Tara. He never acted on his feelings for Tara, especially after she had been made queen, but he regretted never telling her how much she meant to him before Mandrake's arrow took her from him forever. He had spent his time grieving and now that it was time to move on, Leiva Espe the Northern Warrior- as she had been known in Valley Woods- had come into his life and changed it. For the better, he decided. He thought more about what he felt for Leiva and decided that he was beginning to fall in love with her, but he knew that while he wished to act, he didn't want to ruin what they had built regardless of how much they argued. Before he knew it, though, he was fast asleep and the fire had died down to ember coals.
