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Kida stared up at the massive stone wall as it loomed over her. The mere size of it shocked her, for she had not expected Hadrian's Wall to be so huge. When she had first seen the wall from a distance it looked like a small fence that the villagers at her training post used, but as she came closer it grew rapidly. Not only was the height of it impressive but the length was astounding as well.

She had been riding for days to get to her post. The future she rode the chances of finding Liam grew slim. Over the past five years she had never lost hope in finding Liam. Now it seemed as if she will never find him, for once assigned to a post, knights were not allowed to leave unless reassigned or their commander killed. She rode now to meet the man that would own her. Commander Lysander Morelus, a Roman by the sound of his name.

The four knights she rode with were replacements. Kida had watched them through out the journey. They were quite men, older by looks and battle worn. She wondered how long they had been knights for Rome. They did not acknowledge Kida, which she found good for she did not want to talk about anything to any one, that had always been her way and she intended on keeping that mannerism. She feared growing close to her comrade, not for the reason that they could be dead the next month, more for her own safety reasons. Trust was not something to be given out lightly, for people can easily betray a friend for a few extra coins or some extra food. It was too risky for Kida to be truthful of her comrades for if her secret were to be revealed by accident she would be dead before she could regret opening her mouth. It was best to keep silent and solitary for thoughts cannot betray.

The other knights made no attempt to make friends with their young shadow. Most days they rode in silence, from the rise of the sun to the setting of it. At nights, they built a fire and took turns keeping watch, actually Kida ended up taking most of the watch but she did not mind for it gave her time to think. Kida would think of her past and of her future. She imagined that things were the way they use to be; before the Romans took Liam away. She imagined how things might have been if Mira loved her and her father was not insane. In the nighttime hours, many things raced through Kida's mind that she would loose track of time.

As the days passed and the wall grew larger, it became clear that they were coming close to their destination. The edge of the wall was one of the most dangerous places to be posted for that was where most of the attacks happened for that was where most enemies tried to get around the wall. The edge posts were the most hated posts and a knight tried whatever they could to get out of being posted there, which was why there were always new knights posted there. The commander of the post, Lysander, had been there the longest, which was how he became commander. When he first came there, he was a young knight scared of battle, now a man, he had grown accustom to the life and was made commander after his own commander fell in battle with most of the other knights originally posted there three years ago. He had been at the post for the total of five years and has out lived all the knights that came there and many of their replacements.

Lysander stood on the fort wall watching for his replacements. He hoped they were not new knights, he hated new knights; they were slow and stupid and easy targets that he ended up taking care of. At the age of twenty-two, he had seen more death than men twice his age. His men considered him heartless, for he rarely associated with them. He knew he was considered hard and heartless and he did not care, for he learned along time ago that tenderness received nothing but pain in retaliation.

He was not a cruel man, just cold. He had a strict code of honor and would never beat a man ruthlessly, nor an animal, but he never allowed himself to form any attachment what so ever to. He wished to be more human but his will would not allow it.

He looked to the west, wondering where the replacements were he sent for four months ago. It had never taken them this long to get here and it was a smaller number which should give them a quicker traveling pace. It was only a three week ride to the coast, at the most a two week wait for more knights, and then the three week ride back, a total of two months at the most. The time has doubled and still there was no sign of reinforcements. Perhaps they had no more to send, but if they didn't they would have sent a messenger. The messenger could have been killed but they would have sent another one if no reply was sent within six weeks of the rider's departure. The probability of another messenger being killed was unlikely for he had riders scanning up to fifty miles west of the wall looking for any sign of a messenger.

After much thought, Lysander decided to ride out himself in search of the missing reinforcements within the next week for he needed what reinforcements he could get.

The five knights rode east. Kida wondered at the length of the trip. They had been traveling for twenty days straight and found no sign of a fort. It began to frighten Kida; no fort so close to enemy territory was bad, for she had been told that the fort should be seen in the distance near the last two days of their journey. The journey was said to be a three week. The other knights seemed to have sensed that something was wrong as well for they began to ride harder and longer; rarely stopping for sleep and rest. The horses sensed their riders' uneasiness and strove to keep up to their masters desired pace and stopped when they could not go any further.

The stretch of the wall seemed to go on for miles and miles. The commander had said that they had to follow the wall and then they would find the fort, but there was no fort what so ever. Kida scanned the horizon for some sign of life, but she saw none. By the end of the twenty-first day of travel, the other knights began to grow restless, something was just not right.

As night fell, heaviness settled around them. Kida rode at the end of the group watching the trees. It felt as if something was out there watching them. The horses felt the uneasiness in the air and spooked at the tiniest noise. "There's something strange out there. Something very strange," one of the knights said.

"Yes, it's as if the forest has eyes," another replied.

"All is not what it seems," Kida murmured. "Best keep a sharp eye out."

Lysander mounted his horse; it had been far too long something must have gone wrong with the reinforcements. He called to him what few men he had and took half of them with him. Once they came to the wall he divided his men into three groups, of about four men, and sent then out in different directions, east, west, and south. Lysander went east; if the reinforcements were on the way it would be from the east that they were coming.

Kida and the knights stopped. They were completely lost. "We must not stop," the eldest knight said. "We must push forward."

"But we are lost!" one of the younger ones replied.

"Silence!" Kida hushed them. There was something moving in the bushes.

"What? You hush me?" the eldest knight protested. "You little whelp!" He marched towards her. "I'll teach you to order me about!" He raised his arm to strike.

"Stop!" Kida shouted but the cry came too late. Before she could even open her mouth an arrow flew out of the trees and implanted itself into the old knight's chest. He gasped, spluttering up blood. He locked eyes with Kida. They grew wide and white. Slowly he fell to the ground. Blood ran down his face and it pooled around him. A fatal hit. He coughed and jerked. His eyes grew unfocused. The other knights surrounded him with their weapons drawn. The knight gasped for breath. Kida watched as the life left his body. He body jerked violently, he was dead.

At the last gigging of their fallen companion, the knights fell out of formation. Arrows rained down from the sky covering them in a thick veil. Kida used a rock as a shield and tried to think her way out of the comfortable predicament she found herself in. All around her, her fellow knights scrambled for places to use as shields. To the right of her, a knight fell, she watched as he ripped the arrow from his bosom with a cry. Blood oozed out of the wound. Kida closed her eyes; they had not been trained for this.

The other two knights cried a war cry and ran towards the forest. Kida shook her head; how stupid they were to run blindly into the front line of an unseen enemy. The forest erupted with foreign cries. Quickly following the cries the forest burst open releasing a great large army of blue people. They ran towards the three stupid knights; their weapons ready. Kida whispered a silent prayer and pulled out her sword. She took in a deep breath. "May I be protected against evil." She leaped up and charged. This was what she was trained to do.

Lysander heard cries erupt from the south. Woads? "This way!" he cried. He and his four men rode towards the cries. As they burst through the trees they came upon a scrimmage. Lysander looked around, two men laid dead. One was wounded; one was trying to run away while another one was trying to fend the entire enemy off single handedly. The commander scanned the scene. There were thirty odd some woads fighting, another ten dead and five wounded. Arrows littered the ground and blood soaked the ground. The wounded knight screamed. He held his abdomen as if holding his insides in. From the smell, the man was doomed to die, his intestines had been cut. The fleeing knight caught and arrow in the back and fell, never to get up again. The young knight surrounded by the woads fought like a lion, slicing and stabbing at anything that came near him.

Lysander and his knights rode forward and hit the enemy like a wave. Though few in numbers, the woads were frighten by the new wave of men and ran back into the forest. Lysander called his men to a halt and watched as the blue men disappeared like ghosts. When they were sure the woads were gone, Lysander turned to the lad that still stood. The lad stared straight back at him. Lysander was shocked that he did so, for few men looked a Roman commander in the eyes. He dismounted and walked towards the lad. The boy was small and very pale. It was surprising that one so small could defend himself like that.

Lysander's knights went to inspect the fallen men. They were dead. Lysander looked at his men and saw them nod. So they had found their replacements; all dead but for one. He turned to the lad before him. The boy looked at him with an inquisitive stare. He was taken back by the boy's eyes, there were as if they were looking through him; it unnerved him. The lad looked so defiant with his blade bloodied and his face set with fury.

"Stand down lad, all is well, I am a friend," Lysander said. The knight lowered his sword. "Now tell me, who sent you?"

"Commander Luca Sandrine of Post Hayden, he assigned me under Commander Lysander Morelus at the furthest eastern point of the wall," the knight replied.

Lysander examined the knight. The lad had heart and skill; he had to give him that. To defeat so many woads single handedly was no easy feat and to actually stay under such attack was admirable. If he received ten more knights with such qualities he would have a band worthy of him. "I am Lysander Morelus." The knight looked startled, Lysander scoffed. "What is the problem?"

"I have no problem sir, it's just I expected you to be as my instructors, old, cross, and scarred," the knight explained.

Lysander looked at the lad; he certainly was honest and spoke his mind. "Well, I beg your forgiveness for not being as you expected, but I do believe we are both surprised for I expected a band of knights and instead find dead bodies and a boy. How old are you? Twelve, thirteen?"

The lad looked insulted. "I am eigh…Fifteen sir."

"Fifteen? I don't believe it, you're far too small," Lysander goaded. There was something more to this boy but he could not put his finger on it. The lad had a mystery about him that he was determined to find out.

Kida charged at the blue warriors; her sword at hand ready for a fight. She clashed with the group slicing and stabbing at anything that came within her reach. Blood spurted everywhere and the cries of the dying polluted the air. Kida lost herself in the mechanics of her body, after five years of training it all seemed to be mechanical. She was so enthralled in fighting that she did not notice a group of riders ride up and scare the rest of the warriors off. She held her sword at ready and turned to the new comers. The leader dismounted his horse and came towards her. He was a young man, about early twenties at her guess. He had black hair and blue eyes. Slowly he approached her; speaking to her as if she were dumb. She watched him as he came closer to her. She slowly lowered her sword when she was sure they meant her no harm.

The man continued talking to her explaining who he was. It surprised her that the man talking to her was her future commander. He asked her questions and she replied. He seemed to find her funny and laughed at her. She hated when people laughed at her. He asked her age and she almost slipped up. Fortunately, she saved herself, but she feared another, more lethal mistake.

After what seemed like hours, the commander came to his final question. "How are you called?"

"Kiran, sir. Kiran Padu."