Dagger

Chapter 35

The townspeople each stood an arms length apart in the middle of the dirt street. They each had some sort of weapon, whether a wooden staff or spear. They did what they could with the supplies they had.

Kieran and Forest stood before the townspeople, both of them had their weapons in hand. Kieran's eyes looked at all the townspeople. "The day is quickly approaching, so lets make good use of the time we have left. If we work hard enough I have faith that we'll be ready in time," he nodded. "Now then, let's all pair off. During the battle you'll have someone you'll be facing, although you might find yourself with two or three opponents. It all depends, but today were going to be doing more one on one battles. Forest and I will demonstrate."

    Kieran turned towards Forest and held up his kunai. Forest got into a fighting stance and readied his dagger. Kieran threw his kunai and Forest quickly leaped out of the way. His kunai sadly fell to the ground. It had been a while since Forest and Kieran had battled. He couldn't help but be entertained by him missing. 

    Forest crouched close to the ground and watched as Kieran went to pick up his kunai. The second Kieran took his eyes off Forest, he lunged and kicked his leg. Kieran caught himself before he could fall. He swiftly turned to fully face him. Forest then lunged forwards hoping to strike him, but Kieran somehow blocked him with his kunai. Kieran had tried to strike Forest from above and at many other angles, but each time Forest had blocked him.

    The townspeople watched quietly with awe as they fought gracefully.The only sounds that filled the street was the sound of their weapons clashing.

    Sweat had formed along Forest's brow. Kieran's chest heaved. They stood still for a moment, their weapons still drawn. Before Kieran could flinch, Forest had slid beneath his legs and stood up behind him. Kieran pretended not to realize. As Forest was about to strike, Kieran had quickly turned around.

    Forest was frozen, his weapon held in midair and his mouth gaping. Kieran's quick motion had caught him off guard, and his kunai had scratched Forest's cheek. He let the cut bleed. He was in too much disbelief to do anything. There in the doorway of Sophia's house, stood Melody.

    She clung to the doorway for support and Forest ran. As he did Kieran called, "Hey! And I was just about to win too!" He then noticed Melody and nodded in understanding. He turned back towards the townspeople. "We can learn a few things from that. No battle is perfect, but I'll tell you a few things to avoid."

His words became muffled in Forest's ears. Melody's fingertips turned white as she grasped the door frame for support. He wrapped his arms around her waist just before she lost her strength.

He looked down at her and smiled although he was concerned. "What are you doing out here?"

She weakly smiled. "I wanted to see you."

Forest smiled. "Come on." He carried her back to Sophia's couch.

He laid her down on the couch again and he sat on the floor, close to her face so they could talk.

Sophia entered the room with some medicine. "Oh hi Forest," she then observed the scene before her and put her hands on her hips. "Did she go out? Melody I told you, you're too weak right now. You need your rest."

"I know, but I don't really know what's going on and I don't really know you..." Melody trailed off.

Sophia nodded. "I understand," She then handed the medicine to Forest. "Make sure she gets this before you go."

Forest nodded. "Thank you."

Sophia smiled and left the room. Forest looked back at Melody. She looked at him slightly confused. "Where am I? What happened?"

Forest told her everything. Who Sophia was, where they were, what they were doing, and the battle.

"Is that a little too much?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, kinda. How long was I out for that much to happen?!"

Forest calculated in his head. "A few weeks, maybe even a month..."

Melody's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah. You had me worried there for a second." He let out a small breath and his face looked sheepish as he admitted his worries.

"Only a second?" She asked teasingly.

Forest smiled and scratched the back of his neck, suddenly flustered. In all honesty he thought about her a lot. "Well, no, not exactly a second..."

She smiled and laughed. "I thought about you a lot too. Actually there was this one interesting time."

Forest looked intrigued. "Oh yeah? What was it? Tell meeeeeeee."

Melody smiled at his childishness. "It was nothing. Nothing happened I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on! You can't just spring that on a guy and not tell them!"

"Fineeeee. I'll tell you." She playfully rolled her eyes even though she smiled and didn't seem bothered with the fact that she had to tell him.

He waited for her to continue, but she never did. "Ok, then tell me!"

"Alright. So, when I was captured I thought I was going to die. At that moment all I could think about was how I would never get to tell you that I love you."

Forest's mouth hung open in surprise. He was also ecstatic. She loved him and thought about him just as much as he did her. His eyes sparkled as his eyes danced across her face. He smiled.

She smiled back, out of nervousness. "What?"

His smile grew larger. "Oh nothing..."

She playfully punched his arm. "What is it."

He leaned closer to her. "It's just that I love you too." He brushed away the hair on her forehead. Then he remembered her medicine and he held it towards her. She groaned. "Come on, you have to."

She looked at him, then took the medicine from his hand. He kissed her forehead. "Now get some sleep, ok?"

She nodded as she swiftly took the medicine and then closed her eyes. He smiled to himself. This girl was certainly something...