The Soul of a Warrior

By: Tellemicus Sundance

Chapter 2--One Awful Truth

It wasn't the pain in his head that woke him, though it was considerable. No, it was the cold air that was around him. Despite his body's best attempts, the cold seeped into him as though he were a sponge.

A cold, wooden floor lay underneath his chest. Try as he may, he couldn't open his eyes. Then he felt a tension of cloth wrapped tightly around his face and over his eyes. He tried to move his arms to remove the cloth, but a sudden sharp spasm of pain raced throughout his body.

It hurt too much to move. Even as he fought against the pain, a wave of nausea washed over him. Replacing his face back down on the floor, he now fought to control his convulsive stomach. A groan escaped his frail form and he felt himself turning pale.

The sound of approaching feet somewhere near him alerted him to another's presence. Then, it stopped, somewhere very close to him. And with a single, swift stroke, the cloth was removed.

The sight of a pair of bare feet in wooden sandals filled his limited vision. A small hand reached down and turned his face slightly upward. Seeing a small goblet of water in the other hand, Ulrich became very aware of how thirsty he was, despite his nauseous stomach. Letting the person bring the miracle liquid to his lips, he drank it greedily.

With the return of water into his body, Ulrich felt a small margin of strength return as well. Enough strength to move his arms under his chest and prop himself up on his elbows. Lifting his head carefully, he felt the outer edges of pain as the back of his skull began to hurt again.

Seeing the lower portion of a dark robed figure holding the goblet of water, Ulrich tried to reach forward it. That little swallow was nowhere near enough to quench his thirst. The figure gave him one more small drink and pulled away again.

Struggling to his knees, he tried to grasp the goblet. But the person had turned and walked toward the wall. Forcing himself up on to unsteady legs, Ulrich wobbled toward the person.

Turning around to face him, Ulrich almost gasped in surprise. It was a young girl, clearly almost his age, if not older. She was dressed in a peculiar dark robe that was clearly too large for her. But the curtains of cloth couldn't hide her beauty. She seemed to have a small but highly toned body. Tied tightly around her waist was a brown sash with a katana thrust through it.

Her face was devoid of freckles and any expression. Her bright golden-brown eyes shined, even in the poor lighting of the room. Her dark hair was very long and pulled back into a pair of ponytails; quite unlike Yumi's—

"Yumi!" Ulrich cried.

Forgetting the tenderness of his head, he jerked it around, trying to look for a door. The moment he turned his head, the pain erupted full force. But his inertia was enough to keep it going and he heard an extremely audible crack at the base of his skull.

All at once, his sight went black and he was falling again. As a vivid image of a furious and saddened Yumi looking at him filled his mind, he fell unconscious and to the ground.

This time it was the pain that awakened him. He couldn't help but to groan, in a feeble hope that it would ease it away. It didn't.

Opening his eyes, he looked blankly around the darkened room. He was alone now and all was quiet except for the occasional creaking of the floorboards under his weight. He lay on the floor again, probably where he landed. Rolling from his position on his back to his stomach, Ulrich once again tried to climb to his feet.

Looking carefully around the room, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He was in a room clearly made from split logs and there were stray strands of hay and grass stuck out at odd angles from t he walls. The wooden floor was highly polished and extremely worn at the same time. There were no visible outlines of furniture in the room. Only a mass of thick, wool blankets that were neatly folded in one corner of the room disturbed the floor's spotless gleam.

Hoisting himself into a sitting position, Ulrich slowly tested his neck and head. It still hurt, but not the blinding pain he'd experienced from earlier. It was more of a dull throb than anything else, a gentle reminder.

Turning his body rather than his head, Ulrich looked around the room for an exit. It was behind him. A pair of sliding doors greeted his eyes. They were so thin that he could see the silhouette of a man standing to the side.

Keeping his eyes on the door, Ulrich sat gently back down. Thinking back he tried to understand where he was and why he was here. He clearly remembered walking toward the mall. Then the image of the small boy being harassed because of his clothing came to his mind.

He remembered walking away after he helped tell the bullies to leave the boy alone. Then, as he turned a corner, his mind went blank as he felt a sudden, sharp pain erupt from the back of his head. Slowly, difficultly, he remembered waking up earlier and seeing a girl in clothing similar to the boy's he'd helped.

Anger rushed through him as a realization dawned on him. They had kidnapped him! He was probably unconscious for almost a day, total. No doubt his friends would be worried sick. Yumi was probably worried or, he hoped not, furious at him for not showing up at the dance.

He had to escape!

Climbing to his feet, he kept as silently toward the door as he could. Reaching it, he slid the door open just barely a hair's breath. Standing there next to the side was a nearly bald man who wore the robes of the boy and girl. Before sliding the door close, he noted the katana hilt that was protruding from the man's waist. Taking several quiet breaths in an attempt to slow his fast racing heart, he tried to fight down his own fear at what he was about to do.

Then, in one swift motion, he yanked the door open entirely. Swinging his fist around, he buried it into the man's gut with as much force as he could muster. Apparently it was far more than enough, the man bent over on Ulrich's fist instantly, gasping for air.

Not losing a moment's time, Ulrich withdrew and kicked out. His knee connected to the man's face and sent him back into the wall he'd been standing next to. Hitting his head on the wall with enough force to knock a horse unconscious, he slumped quietly down to the floor.

Ulrich quickly pulled the man into the room before someone arrived and saw what was happening. Inside the room, he stripped the man of his robe and sword. Dressing quickly, Ulrich quickly left the room in his disguise.

Hurrying down the wooden hallway and pass several other doorways similar to his own, he saw a doorway open to the outside. As he reached the doorway, Ulrich almost screamed in surprise and frustration at what he saw.

The building he had been in was located in the center of a small village of similar buildings. The moonlight shone down like a false dawn, illuminating the small stream that flowed down the center down. The sun was slowly crawling over the horizon of mountains and incredibly high ridges and cliffs for as far as the eye could see. He was definitely not in his hometown anymore.

The entire village was awakened from his furious scream of outrage.