Alennia sat wearily on her horse, surveying the carnage around her with a professional satisfaction. The battle had been short: two hours past dawn and the bodies of the Saxons were being pillaged, their bodies mutilated and their ship burnt: the black smoke drifting lazily across the bay.
Alennia had led the clan for almost five months now, and autumn was beginning to draw in. alennia, despite her regret that it would be almost six months before she could shed more Saxon blood, welcomed the change of the seasons. She was tired. Her body was almost constantly aching from the frequent battles, and it seemed that as soon as one wound healed she received a new one. But more than that, she was beginning to realise that perhaps revenge wasn't as satisfying as she had originally thought.
She let her mind drift back over the last battle. Yes, the familiar blood-lust had filled her, and she had found herself throwing herself at the enemy, screaming unintelligible curses at the men who had killed her family, but afterwards there wasn't the feeling of vicious pleasure that she had felt the first few times she had killed Saxons. There was just…an emptiness, a hollow, gnawing feeling in her gut that somehow filled her with disappointment and regret, without reducing any of the desire to kill more.
She sighed, and then inwardly laughed at herself. Look at her! she was turning into an old woman. All she had ever wanted was to kill her family's murders, to show them the pain that she herself had suffered, and now she had all the time and resources in the world to do it, and she was complaining.
With a low chuckle that disconcerted the people around her, she pushed her horse forwards and walked slowly through the drifting, patchy black smoke.
Alennia sat awake on watch that night. She had a blanket pulled over her shoulders and rested against a boulder as her clan slept around her. She liked keeping watch, despite Manat and Armelle trying their best to persuade her that it wasn't the commander's job to do such menial tasks as being a sentry, but Alennia enjoyed it. in the quiet of the night, when all the weariness of the day had washed away, Alennia could remember what life had once been like. A Life before all the pain, the hurt, and the responsibility. A life she had enjoyed, she thought bitterly.
And as she sat, alone with only the silence, she became slowly aware of a presence near her. she slowly rose to her feet and crossed to the fire, acting casually, as if she was only going to build the fire up, she located the position of her silent observer.
With her back to him, or her, she put her hand to the hilt of her sword, without actually drawing it, and spoke, her back still to the woods that surrounded her.
"You may as well come out," she said in a conversational tone.
A deep throaty chuckle came from the woods. "So you can skewer me with that pretty weapon of yours?" the watcher said, a mildly amused tone in his voice. "I think I will stay where I am."
"Tristan?" Alennia asked incredulously, her voice so soft it could scarcely be heard.
"Sir Tristan, to you," he said.
Alennia laughed, recovering her surprise. "You have a knack of turning up in the most unexpected of places," she said, sitting down.
"I do my best. You usually seem to be expecting me," he commented.
"It's night – I can't see that hawk of yours," Alennia explained, her eyes still raking the darkness for a glimpse of him.
"Oh so is that how you do it?"
"What are you doing here?" Alennia asked after a moment's silence.
"I came to see you," he replied with aplomb. "What did you think?"
Alennia felt a blush rise to her cheeks, and was glad the darkness concealed it. "Well, you've seen me," she answered, hoping her voice didn't sound so hesitant as it felt.
Tristan laughed from the darkness. "I also came to remind you of your debt."
Alennia raised her eyebrows. "Persistant, aren't you?" she remarked.
"I like to have what's owed to me."
There was silence for some time, before Tristan spoke again.
"You seem to be doing a good job as leader."
Alennia shrugged. "No better than anyone else."
"Perhaps... perhaps not," was his non-commital answer.
Alennia stood up, and slowly walked towards the trees. "Why are you really here?" she asked, her eyes adjusting to the darkness as she left the firelight, until she could just make out his wiry form, leaning nonchalantly against a tree.
"I…" and for the first time he seemed to be lost for words.
"Tristan," Alennia said softly, taking another step towards him. "Tell me."
"I came to say goodbye," Tristan said with a heavy voice.
"Goodbye?" Alennia asked, her voice catching in her throat.
"I'm being posted to the east country. I'll be there for a year at least, more likely two."
"You're leaving?" Alennia asked, her heart feeling painfully heavy, though she could not fathom why.
"I have to."
Alennia stepped forwards again, until they were only inches away from each other. "You'll come back?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"If you are waiting for me, I will return."
Alennia felt a tear run involuntarily down one cheek. She sniffed angrily. She was behaving like a child! A man she scarcely knew was leaving the area, what was that to her? What apart from the gaping hole in her chest? she thought.
Tristan reached out and gently wiped the tear off her face, amazed at her reaction. He had no idea that she even cared about him at all, and she was crying for his departure? He had come to lock her face in his mind, so that if they never met again he would always have the memory of her.
Alennia sniffed again, and then raised her face to study the dark one in front of her. she felt slightly ashamed at acting like such a fool, but there was only compassion in the eyes before her; no ridicule or scorn.
She reached out slowly and touched the side of his face with one soft finger. Tristan felt a shiver rush down his spine at her touch, and he fought back the urge to hold her hand to his face.
"Come back," she whispered, and then slowly withdrew her hand and turned and melted into the darkness, leaving Tristan regretting the necessity to leave even more than he had already.
A/N – Sorry I'm not updating more frequently right now guys: I have my mocks next week, a piano exam on Thursday and exam with the Air Cadets on Friday! So I'm kinda busy right now! I will update ASAP, but any ideas as to where I should go from now would be greatly appreciated as I'm kind of loosing the direction of the plot!