The One Left Behind: No one left
A King Arthur Fanfiction
By: sing-it-out-loud
A/N: This took me a week to write this chapter so I hope you enjoy. Please send reviews! Thank you and happy summer!
Zylla was riding home from visiting her friend Leena in a neighboring village that was two days away. As she rode, she reflected on her life since her brother and friend left.
Everyone misses them dearly but normal life continued on. Adina has grown a lot and is a faithful guard dog and companion to Zylla. She is still uncomfortable around most people except for Leena and her family. When she turned ten, Zylla stared training in the art of the sword, daggers and bow and arrow. Now at thirteen, she is better than any boy her age. Even though she is a great fighter, Zylla does not enjoy it.
As Zylla rode into her village she received very few greetings. Usually the townspeople would ask how the neighboring tribe is doing but not today. Almost everybody was busy testing weapons and doing other tasks that were done to prepare for battle. But why would they do that when there was no battle? This confused Zylla. She dismounted off her horse and raced off to find her parents. She found them at home dressed for battle and in a comforting hug.
"Mother, Father, what ails you so? Why does it seem that everyone is preparing for battle?"
Her parents broke from there embrace. They motioned for their daughter to sit down.
"Romans are on they way. They are ready for battle," Zylla's father informed her.
This confused Zylla further.
"But why would they? They took Ayden and Tristan to serve them seven years ago!
This time her mother answered. "They see us as a threat because we openly appose them and are known for being a tribe of great fighters. Some of our people attacked a small cavalry of Roman soldiers at the dead of night last night. They are out for blood now."
Zylla was so shocked by the news that she couldn't even respond. Her parents took use of her silence to give her more unbearable news.
"We know that you are a great fighter," started her mother. "But we do not want you to fight," her father finished.
"Why!" Zylla cried out. She does not like fighting but her entire tribe would be so she was not about to leave them.
Adina, who was napping at the time, raised her head to look at her mistress.
"We need you to ride to the other village and tell them of what happened. You also must be alive to greet your brother and Tristan when they return. The tribe is unanimous with this decision," her mother choked out. She was on the verge of tears. She did not want to leave her daughter on her own. But she knew it was the right choice.
Zylla was crying silently but nodded to show that she understands. She know that it is just as hard for them as her.
Both of her parents hug her. When they released their daughter, her mother gave her a satchel filled with provisions and clothes. Zylla's father gave her a set of twin swords and daggers that he had crafted for her. It was a bittersweet, unofficial goodbye. There was a sudden knock on the door. The family stiffened thinking that it was Romans.
Then someone yelled, "The Romans are nearly here!"
Zylla and her parents panicked at the news. Even Adina was and growling it the warning. The family and canine rushed out of the hut. As they looked they looked to the east they saw they could see a blur of red. It was the Romans. Her father ran to retrieve his daughters' horse. Zylla and her mother hugged for what could be the last time than ran off to prolong the arrival of the Romans. A couple minutes later her father appeared with her horse, Eifela. Her father urged her to get on. Once upon her horse she gave her father a melancholy look. He lifted his hand to her cheek to console her.
"Ride straight on and tell Tyto of what had happened. Be brave my child."
"Yes father," Zylla managed to choke out through her tears.
"Never forget what our tribe as taught you. Remember where you came from," were her fathers last words to her.
Zylla never got to respond because her father slapped the horse into a canter up towards the woods. Adina ran beside them. The horse didn't stop until its rider was safely inside the forest perimeter but close enough for Zylla to see her village. She dismounted from Eifela and pressed herself against the thick trunk of an old fir tree. She watched her tribe draw their weapons as Romans came flooding in.
Then the fighting began.
Red cloaks and fancy armor mixed in with war paint and bare skin. Blood of both Samaritans and Romans coated the grass. Zylla's brown doe eyes followed her parents closely. She winced whenever the enemy managed to nick one of them. Zylla was watching her father when her mother's screams pierced the air. Both Zylla and her father frantically searched the crowd for her mother. When she was found; both were horrified for her mother had been decapitated. Her head lay only a few feet away from her body. Zylla collapsed to the forests' dirt floor in distress. Her father saw the horrific site of his wife and became enraged. He attacked any Roman near him. He was doing well until he was struck from behind. He fell to the ground but managed to what strength he had left to crawl over to his dead wife before taking his last breath.
Zylla lay in a heap on the ground sobbing over her parents' death and the defeat of her tribe. For what seamed like hours she sat there crying her eyes out. After a while her tears subsided and her breathing became normal. That's when she noticed the musty smell of smoke. Adina must had smelt it too because she started barking. Zylla got up, dusted her self off and looked at her village. She gasped at what she saw. The village had been set ablaze by the Romans. Almost everything had been engulfed in the flames. She had to leave the forest… now. In a rush, Zylla gathered her belongings and fled the forest and what little was left of her home.
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It took Zylla two strenuous days of traveling to reach her destination. During that time she had to endure sleeping on the uncomfortable muddy ground all while being sopping wet from the dense rain that started about an hour she fled her home. So on top of grieving for her lost family and home, she was wet and sore. She was also feeling a bit light-headed and her vision was fuzzy. Yet she continued on.
As she rode into her friends' village many people gave her looks of disgust or sympathy. Sympathy came from those that she knew. The only person who looked genuinely worried was a girl of about sixteen with brownish-blonde hair in a neat plait that came running to help Zylla off her horse. It was her best friend Leena.
"Zylla! Are you alright? What happened to you?" Leena asked frantically.
Zylla started to say that she was fine but was cut off by Leena.
"Don't you dare say that your fine! I know you better than that and this is a serious matter!" she scolded.
By this time the entire village had stopped whatever they were doing and gathered around the two girls. Many knew Zylla and were curious to why she was here when she left only a few days ago.
The crowd parted as Leena led Zylla to her family's hut in the center of the village. Word of Zylla's arrival and her appearance must have traveled because Leena's parents, Moria and Tyto, were waiting for them.
Once inside Leena led Zylla to her pallet and told her to sit as she and her mother tended to the petrified thirteen year old girl.
"What happened?" Tyto asked.
Zylla was about to respond when there was a sudden thump on the door. It was Adina. Leena got up and let her in. Adina made a beeline for Zylla and started licking her as a way of comforting her. Zylla smiled lightly at the gesture. Tyto cleared his throat to get the young girls attention. She looked up and remembered once again all of the current events. A frown graced her face once again.
"Romans attacked my tribe. They killed everyone then burned the village down," Zylla told them solemnly all while giving the no details.
Both Moria and Leena's eyes widened at the explanation and hugged her.
Tyto- ever being the non emotional one- said "Rest here and regain your strength. A few men and I will ride to neighboring villages to spread the news."
He strides for the exit with purpose but then stopped and hesitated at the door.
"I offer you my condolences Zylla. You have a place here with us now."
Zylla nodded sleepily. All of the recent events and the traveling are starting to catch up wit her now that she is sitting down. As soon as Tyto left Zylla collapsed and went into a deep slumber.