The Shield of Heda

Wanted

I hadn't even opened my eyes yet, I just knew I wasn't in my drop-pod anymore, and that scared me. Taking a risk I peaked one eye open and what I saw made my stomach drop.

I was in a prison cell of sorts, it looked to be about nine feet by nine feet in length and width. There weren't any windows though so I couldn't see where I was. The only light that was being produced, was by four torches in each corner of the room. The room itself smelt musty and rotten, I couldn't even see anywhere that I could relieve myself.

I read about prisons in some history books that Mr. Kane had given me. Was I a prisoner? I hadn't done anything wrong! Looking around I noticed that I wasn't the only person in this room. I could see an outline of a person near the one door of the room. Or atleast, I thought it was an outline of a person. It was in the shadows so I couldn't see it properly and it wasn't moving at all. Maybe it was a statue?

Moving closer to the bars, I was about to touch them when the shadow near the door suddenly lunged forward with a spear aimed at my face. It was defintiely an outline of a person then. They were covered from head to toe in thick black leathers with fur in some places and had a helmet made of bones covering his face. He was terrifying.

"Nou touch the bars!" The person yelled at me, completely frightening me. His voice was rough and very deep, it was the stuff of nightmares. After scaring me to death, the person went back to being a statue near the door.

I backed away from the bars slowly and found a corner to curl up into a ball and cry. I missed Mr. Kane, I missed my gray walls, I missed my books. I just wanted to go back to my bed and sleep.

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I don't know how long I was curled up in that corner for, it could have been hours for all I knew. I was cold, tired, hungry, and scared. I didn't belong here, why couldn't the council send an adult to Earth? This is no job for a little kid, is it because I have no family? Is that why they sent me? The thought alone made me cry even more. I felt completely unwanted.

I heard the door slam open and I snapped my head up to see a tall and massive figure striding towards the bars of my cell. The torchlight illuminated his face and he only made me more scared. He had long black hair that fell past his shoulders and a bushy beard that had several braids in it. He was wearing heavy leathers for armor with a black cloak and had a pauldron over his left shoulder. There was a red sash crossing from his shoulder to his hip and you could see an axe handle sticking up from over his other shoulder.

He stopped in front of my cell with an angry expression on his weathered face. I could feel an aura demanding respect surrounding this man. Whoever he was, he was in charge. "Chon yu bilaik!" He yelled at me, causing me to jump and scramble to my feet with my back up against the bars, trying to distance myself from this monster of a man.

Growing impatient with my silence the man once again yelled. "Chon yu bilaik!

"Please... I dont don't know what you're s-saying." I sobbed, still trying to distance myself from him.

The man looked at me intently for a few moments in silence. As if he was studying me. He must have found what he was looking for because he motioned for the guard to open the cell door. Once the cell was open he walked towards me slowly, as if he was trying not to startle me.

The closer he got the more scared I became, I crouched down and put my face in my knees and cried. I could see when his legs stopped in front of me through my knees. I hugged my knees even tighter, wishing I was back home on the Ark.

"Do not be afraid young one." The man said softly. I lifted my head and saw that he had crouched down in front of me so he was eye level. He still had an aura that demanded respect around him but now... it seemed warmer, almost fatherly. The same type of aura that James felt around Mr. Kane.

I still kept me guard but my fear was slowly dissipating. The feeling he got from this man was the same he got from Mr. Kane and it made him feel safe.

"Are you going to hurt me?" I asked fearfully, trying hard to keep my voice from wavering.

The man let a soft smile grace his weathered face before replying. "No young one, I won't hurt you." I could see nothing but honesty in his dark grey eyes. I knew I could trust him.

"What's your name young one?" He asked me calmly.

"My name is James." I whispered softly, searching his face for any signs of mistrust. "What's your name old one?" I asked, instantly regretting saying it incase he got offended. But to my surprise, he laughed.

After laughing for a solid minute, he gave me his name. "My name is Matthew, young Jane's. Now tell me, what are you doing in my city?" He asked seriously, staring into my eyes. Honestly it felt like he was searching my soul for any lie, like he could read me like an open book.

I could feel that I had to be honest with Matthew, I knew he would be able to tell if I was lying to him. "I don't know, I really don't. My people sent me down to Earth to see if it was survivable. I didn't have any control where I landed, I promise I didn't!" I said honestly, trying to show him my honesty with my voice.

His eyebrows rose with my words, to be fair though, I would have trouble believing a little kid fell out of the sky as well.

"I believe you James." He said after a minute of silence. "My guards and I saw your ship crash, and when we got to it, we found you, Unconscious. We were very startled to find that a child fell from the stars."

Honestly I couldn't blame him, I'd be surprised too if I lived on the ground and saw anyone fall from the sky. "I'm from the Ark in the sky... it's dying. They sent me down here to see if Earth was survivable." I said sadly, the more I thought on it, the more upset I became. No one his entire life except Mr. Kane had shown him kindness, the Ark just sacrificed him because he had no one that would miss him.

He looked surprised by my words. "They sent a child down to see if the Earth was survivable?" He asked incredulously, as if he couldn't believe it.

"I'm an orphan, they sent me down because no one loved me so no one would care if I was to die." I finished sadly, all I ever wanted was someone to show me how much they cared about me. I spent my entire life ignored in my old room, the only visitor that I got was Mr. Kane, and that was why I cared about him so much.

Matthew looked angered by what I said. "No child should be uncared for young James." He said with conviction. "Get up." He said, suddenly standing to his full imposing height.

I scrambled to my feet, confused by what caused this change. Matthew saw my questioning face and eased my concerns with just a few words.

"James" Matthew said, staring into my eyes with a smile that said he was planning something big. "You will be my second!" He declared, like it was some big reveal. At this point I was looking at him like he had grown a second head.

Seeing my face, he rolled his eyes. "That means that you will shadow me, I will be your teacher of sorts. You will be the greatest warrior in the city under my tutelage!" He finished excitedly, expecting me to share his excitement... and I did. Finally someone had taken an interest in me, and the reason isn't to be someone's sacrifice.

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AN: If I use trigedaslang I will post it and the translations in the authors note at the end of the chapter in which I used it in. Also, again I apologize for my poor writing skills, I am still new at this and if you see any mistakes, please point them out! Any criticism is appreciated greatly. Thanks for reading!

Chon yu bilaik! - Who Are you!

Nou touch bars! - Do not touch the bars!

PS: James doesn't think about his room on the Ark as being a prison because that is where he has grown up and all that he knows. Its just home to him, that's why he mentions reading about prisons. He doesn't actually know there are other people in solitary, he never thought about there being more cells.