The Female Warrior

Chapter VIII: part i

Roland's POV

"Good morning, chief. Did you sleep well?", I asked when I saw him come into the eating room for breakfast.

"Yes, Lord Roland. It was a really good night indeed."

I continued to eat my food when suddenly, a warrior came in, breathing heavily a little, signalling that he had been running for a while.

He bowed slightly in front of the chief and said his message. From the Swahili I had been learning from Amana, I got a glimpse of the message. He greeted the chief and said something along the lines of a tribe accepting an offer.

The only sign that made me see that it was good news was the smile and nods that came from the chief, so I went on with my food.

"Lord Roland, that neighbouring tribe I told you of a while ago has agreed for you to go there and hunt. The chief of that place is expecting you, and he has an old deal he has to close up with me. The weapons will be provided for there."

The amount of happiness that surged through me was immense. I could finally go back home now.

But that would mean that you are leaving Amana here.

The smile that was about to break out on my face became a slight scowl. I was going to go back to my people, and leave Amana here....... The notion of it all made me sick. I wanted to be with her, but would she even agree if I asked her?

"Lord Roland?"

I got out of my reverie to see the chief looking at me with concern written all over his face.

"You don't look quite happy about the news. Anything wrong?"

I quickly shook my head, and plastered a fake smile on my face.

"No no, chief. I am happy about the news. It's just that I'd grown quite fond of this place. It's such a shame for me to say goodbye so early."

The chief let out his signature laugh, seemingly pleased with my response.

"Don't worry about that now. You can always come back whenever you want. You are welcome here."

I nodded my head and stood up. After thanking him again for the help, I went to my hut and rested.

A couple minutes later, I heard a knock at my door. I opened it to see Amana standing there, but there was something different about her today. She wasn't avoiding my gaze as she had been doing for the past few days. She looked brighter, more full of life. She had a small bag carried on her back, which made me wonder why she had it.

I also wonder what happened last night.

"Good morning, Amana."

"Good morning, Roland. I talked to the chief a while ago. He said that we are to go immediately. A carriage has already been prepared."

I went into the hut and packed my clothes as well. When I was done, I looked to see Amana staring at something at a distance, making me see her from a side view.

She was just beautiful. I really couldn't get enough of seeing her, but the idea of me leaving this place made me look down.

Stupid infatuations shouldn't be taken seriously anyways.

"Roland?"

I looked at her now, not knowing what to say to her. I decided to test her.

"You do know that after this hunt I'm going back home, right?"

She smiled softly, and looked down then nodded her head.

Was she happy because I was leaving? That I was out of her way to be with Enzi?

"How do you feel about that?"

Her gaze rose to meet mine, and a small line had taken the place of the smile. She seemed to be deep in thought for a while, her eyes searching mine.

"Am i supposed to feel something, Roland?"

I felt like I had been given a punch to the gut. She didn't feel anything for me, then? I really couldn't let myself go through with this rollercoaster while she didn't care. I picked up my bag and made my way out. Just as I was about to get past her, I whispered.

"Nevermind my question. I don't need to know what you think about it anymore."

🌬️🌫️🌫️🌫️🌫️

The carriage was of medium size, enough to fit about three people at once comfortably. The chief had assigned a few warriors to go with us, but I told him that Amana was enough. She was the strongest female warrior they had, and I was positive that there would be no need for that many a warriors.

We had a servant who was leading the carriage to the tribe, which led to Amana and I sitting alone in the carriage. I made sure that i didn't look at her, or spare a glance, because I knew that I would end up doing things I shouldn't do.

She initiated conversation about God, and how she truly was fascinated by all this new knowledge she was receiving. One of the many things I loved about her. She was always curious for more knowledge. So, I began to tell him about God, Jesus, the devil and how we were all in the midst of it all. Most of the times she'd stop me, and make me explain deeply about certain topics and areas.

The trip was a long one, which had to be about four days on carriage. On our second day, she taught me more Swahili, and, to be honest, I was getting better at it. Sometimes, we'd have a flowing conversation in Swahili only. The longest I'd gone so far was ten minutes. I knew that it wasn't much, but I was quite proud of myself of the achievement.

As the second day turned into a night, clouds began to rise in the east, bringing hefty winds with them.

"It will rain soon."

I nodded in agreement at Amana's statement. Travelling would be even more difficult with this rain heading our way. As the time passed, the sky became completely overcast, lightning being broadcasted in the sky every now and then. Rain suddenly poured down and the carriage stopped.

As I was about to ask Amana what was wrong, lightning suddenly struck a tree close to us, and I crouched down a little from the unexpected occurance. Just when I was about to ask if she was okay, a loud crash resonated in the night and rain was now pouring heavily into the carriage.