Divine Warriors - Irene the Matron

Mini Scene 1: The Fury

I arrived at a small village, peering past the small spiked gates to look into the village.

A guard walked up to me, his helm covering his whole face.

His sword was unsheathed.

"Halt! Who goes there, intruder." A gruff voice reached out.

I lowered my head and spoke calmly.

"I am Irene. I am here to help."

The guard immediately reared back. "Lady Irene! M'lady, my apologies, I did not recognize you in the clothes you are wearing..." his voice trailed off.

"It is not a problem." I responded, keeping my voice steady.

More guards appeared beside me and guestered inwards towards the village interior. I started forward.

That's when I saw her, and the moment I did, I knew she was important.

A short young girl with piercing purple eyes and dark skin stared at me as I walked across the clearing.

But as guards surrounded me once again, I lost sight of her.

"Lady Irene. We request your help," the head guard kneeled down before me.

"A neighboring village has been picking off our people in the dead of night. None of us are willing to leave the town, in fear of being ambushed."

Another guard spoke up, "And we don't have enough soldiers to fight back. We are being cornered, and our children are scared."

Just then, a delighted screaming child ran by me, playing a game with his friends.

The guard flinched.

I thought about the problem. This village could be lying, after all the children seemed not at all scared.

But if it was real, I could train the army to fight back, maybe figure out a peace treaty.

But first I needed to learn both sides of the story.

"Where is the other village?" I asked.

Numerous guards pointed in a direction west of their village. I nodded.

"I will see what I can do."

At the Other Village

The girl was following me.

I could see her long orange bronze hair masked by the trees, but then it disappeared as I looked back.

"Stop, intruder. Who are you?" The other village's guard walked up to me, carrying a glinting sword and shield.

Two dark brown eyes stared at me warily.

"I am Irene, and I have heard of your village and the problems it has caused," I said without fear, knowing that confidence would end in better results.

His face scrunched up with anger and words burst out of him.

"Those dirty traitors! They break from our town after one of their own killed our lord! They deserve to suffer as much as we did."

I stayed silent but put up a hand to stop him.

"Who is your lord now?" I asked.

"We have a substitute, Lady Menphia, who has volunteered to step in as lord until someone else takes the position permanently. The deceased lord did not have any descendants, and left no will for us."

"Why isn't Lady Menphia going to be a permanent lord?"

The guard shook his head. "She wants a better family. Her town hasn't exactly treated her the best because of... well, no one knows who her parents are, and we aren't exactly friendly to strangers."

She is only stepping in as lord now because she knows duty, what's right and wrong. And I truly believe she wants this town to live peacefully."

The bushes rustled behind me, and the brown haired, purple eyed girl walked out. "Thank you Clover. I can take this from here."

The guard, Clover, nodded and started to walk away. "Of course lady Menphia."

At Menphia's Home

"So were you spying?" I blurted out. Then immediately regretted such harsh words.

The girl stared at me seriously and shook her head. "I saw you on the road there, and recognized you right away by your necklace."

I reached up and fingered the handmade purple, gold, and white crest. Shaped like a delicate three petaled flower.

I continued. "From lord to lord, tell me, how do you feel about this situation."

If I expected a self-controlled answer, I was mistaken.

Menphia broke out in anger, "They are no more than rabid dogs. They killed our lord, then ran off to build their own town. They constantly threaten us with stealing our food, and killing off more of our townsfolk."

Her voice was filled with passion, like there was a rushing river of fire inside of her, craning to burst out and run free.

"It isn't right! They treat us like scum, when we had taken care of them, and fed them from the bottom of ashes to the freezing lakes. And this is how they repay us?! World purity has become so twisted. Nothing is righteous anymore."

But their are villagers in that town who were forced to go live there, or were beckoned by fear. They deserve a second chance. They never meant to cause any harm."

Then she stopped and breathed for a second. Her eyes suddenly cleared of the anger she had before, as she looked at me.

"But now you're here," she whispered. "We can save them both."

I smiled at the spirit of this young girl. Her violet eyes shimmered. "Yes. I am here now. And we are here to save, together."

This was my objective anyways. My life's goal. To choose the most just side, and free this world from the state it is in.

Who am I to object?

Menphia, such fury hidden under her soft exterior.