The Boy in the Field (35 page)

“Where? Why?”

You didn’t wait for an answer before running to the door. If he
had only just gone, you could still catch him. One lone figure was on the
street outside, walking away from you. He carried a canvas bag and wore a heavy
coat. He was dressed to leave. Barefoot, you went after him, ignoring the stone
chips sticking in your soles. You reached out for his hand as you drew level.

“Ethan, don’t go.”

He stopped and shook his head. “You have to stay. You have to
look after Noah.”

“I have to look after him, but you get to walk away? Why? How
is that fair?”

He looked away from you. “I can’t deal with it. You asked me to
stop and I didn’t stop. I hurt him and he’s never going to forgive me. And you
shouldn’t either.”

“So rather than facing it like a man, you’re going to run
away?” You threw your arms to the sides. “You’re going to leave me to deal with
the mess you’ve made, leave me to struggle with an aggressive, hundred and
seventy pound man who can’t walk himself to the bathroom?” You shook your head.
“Thanks, Ethan. I love you too.”

“Masuki…”

“Walk away from me, Ethan. Go on.” You held up your hand,
showing him the wedding band. “Show me what this means to you.”

“He loves you,
masuki
.”

“I married
you
.” You shook your head. “If you really
can’t cope, then call in the medics. Let them deal with him.”

“He’ll be arrested. We’ll never see him again.”

You smiled. “You’ll never see him again if you run away. Or
worse, you will and it’ll be when he hunts you down and kills you for always
abandoning him when he needs you.”

Ethan wiped his eyes on his sleeve. “I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you can.” You took his hand. “We can do anything. We just
need each other.” You pulled him behind you as you went back towards the house.
“He needs us.”

* * *

It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t quick, but Noah was getting
better. He was often moody and violent; more than once you had to separate him
and Ethan when their arguments became heated. When he was alone, you sometimes
heard him crying. As soon as you entered the room, he would deny it, hide that
it had ever happened, but you still knew.

He would never be a soldier again, but he began to walk once
more with the aid of a wooden frame. It was bad news for his fights with Ethan,
which only became more vicious with his increased movement, but it was a good
sign for his recovery. So long as you continued to treat him with the radust
the way Ethan’s medic friend had shown you, he wouldn’t get any worse. All you
could do was keep trying. Maybe one day he would forgive you.

The End
(Back to start)

The peacekeepers flanked you as you stepped towards the cage,
their hands on your shoulders, ready to pull you back. You wrapped your fingers
around the bars and shouted, resisting their attempts to move you away.

“Please! Don’t do this!”

Ethan looked up, but Vapasi still had his back to you. You
shouted again.

“Noah! Please!”

Vapasi swung his blade at Ethan. Ethan moved only to block the
attack, not to retaliate.

“If you ever loved me!”

Vapasi raised his hand and Ethan bowed his head, letting the
tip of his sword touch the sand. They had called a halt. The crowd were on
their feet, shouting and booing. You tried to ignore the insults they threw at
you. Vapasi approached you, coming to stand the other side of the bars.

“I love you. Please don’t make me watch this.” You looked him
in the eyes. “Don’t kill my brother. Please.”

“You are free to leave the arena,” he replied. “Go ahead.”

Behind him, Ethan moved towards you, standing three feet to the
right of his brother. “I will surrender if you are concerned for your pride,”
he said. “Or I can fight you until you break me. But I will not hurt you,
Noah.”

“Call me Noah again and I will take your
droha
head off
of your
vasa
shoulders.”

Choice:
238. Ask Him To Let Ethan Live
or
239.
Ask Him To Let Ethan Surrender

For a moment you didn’t move and the peacekeepers ushered you
back to your seat. In front of you, two blades flashed through the air, Vapasi
striking and Ethan defending. The dull scrape of metal on metal filtered
through the shouts of the crowds. While Vapasi looked determined to cause Ethan
as much pain as he could, Ethan never let his guard drop and never retaliated
with an attack of his own. You supposed his lack of armour had made him more
careful.

Their feet drew rings in the sand as Vapasi tried to force
Ethan into a corner and Ethan evaded. He was doing well until Vapasi began to
strike harder, each blow aiming to knock the weapon from his hand. They came in
close to one another and your saw Vapasi’s free hand move to his waist. Ethan
stumbled back, clutching his middle, blood gushing through his fingers. Vapasi
turned, holding his sword and a dagger over his head. The crowd counted down
from five as Ethan fell.

You could feel the roar of the crowd, but you couldn’t hear it
over your own voice screaming. Ethan lay motionless in a corner of the ring and
you rushed towards the cage, wrapping your fingers around the bars. The
peacekeepers opened the gate and Vapasi walked out while medics crouched over
Ethan.

As he passed, Vapasi grasped you wrist, pulling you along with
him towards the preparation area. His glove was wet and sticky. Blood stained
your skin where he was holding you. He opened the door to the changing room and
pushed you inside.

“Are you happy now?” you asked, sinking onto one of the benches
and cupping your head in your hands. “Are you satisfied?”

“I am,” he replied, sitting down and taking off his helmet.
“And I’m sure the people of Kinel will be too.”

“They would have been just as happy to see you dead. They don’t
care who pays, just so long as someone does.”

“He left us,
parahi
. He left us and this is what he deserves.”
He unfastened the straps on his armour and laid the pieces on top of his kit
bag. He then looked back at you and sighed. “I was just trying to look after
you. You’ve always had nothing. I wanted to do better. I just wanted to give
you what you never had.”

“All you needed to do was love me.”

He held out his hand and beckoned for you to sit beside him.
You shook your head and instead, he went to you, sitting beside you without
touching you.

“I’m going to have more time soon and more money. Maybe once
you’ve stopped being so mad at me, we could get married.”

You sat up and turned to face him. “Are you proposing to me?”

He shrugged. “I suppose I am. What do you say?”

Choice:
248. Yes
or
249. No

You frowned and approached him. He tipped his helmet back,
showing his face to you. He was bruised.

“I need your help,” he said. “Noah is injured.”

You frowned. “What do you mean?” Then it struck you. “Oh.
Ethan.”

He nodded and replaced the helmet. “We never made it to the
arena. He launched himself at me before we had a chance. There were no guards
around and I really hurt him. So I smuggled him out of the arena wearing his
armour. I’m sure they’re looking for me, but they think I am Vapasi, so I’m
supposed to be looking for him too. I’ve been looking for you.”

“Where is he?”

“At home. He needs your help.”

Choice:
240. Go Home
or
241. Walk Away

You walked away. Whatever had happened between him and Ethan,
you didn’t care. Or didn’t want to know. You weren’t sure. You had to fight
tears whenever you thought about it so you just tried not to remember that it
had ever happened.

It was the last time you saw either of them. You avoided reading
the news for months in case you found out the result of the fight or saw
Ethan’s name in the obituaries. You stopped talking to anyone who might have
mentioned it, abandoned all of your friends, quit your job and leaving the
town.

Your new life was quiet. You took up a position as a governess,
caring for two small children whose father had been taken by the war. Their
mother was like you, eager to forget about the whole conflict and just do the
best she could for her children. Something about them reminded you of the
twins, both getting up to mischief and blaming each other. When they went to
school, you would do the washing and tidy the house. It was like the way things
used to be before the war. It was the way things were when your life had been
good.

The End
(Back to start)

“Please,” you begged. “Just let him live and I will never ask
you for anything again.”

“As you wish,” he snarled, pushing himself away from the bars.

The Peacekeepers pulled you back from the cage, forcing you to
sit. Vapasi held his sword over head, encouraging the crowd to cheer. You saw
Ethan’s lips move, then stop, then move again – he and Vapasi were speaking.

They ran at each other and the peacekeepers clutched your shoulders
to keep you seated. Their swords met, chiming with each impact, but not
striking each other. They were like mirrors of one another, each attack
perfectly met. You were surprised by how well Ethan handled himself. Even with
no protection and a shoddy blade, he was managing to fend off Vapasi’s attacks,
until Vapasi stuck harder, knocking the blade from his hand. Ethan twisted,
planting his shoulder into Vapasi’s chest. Blood appeared on his arm, skin
broken by the metal plates.

From then, Vapasi gave him no chance to recover or collect his
blade. You shouted as he drew more blood, beating Ethan back into a corner of
the cage. Ethan pushed back, but his attacks were useless against Vapasi’s
armour. He fell beneath a barrage of punches. When Vapasi stepped back, Ethan
didn’t get up.

You stood, shaking the peacekeepers’ hands from your shoulders.
Vapasi was pacing the cage, counting down from five on his fingers. You could
feel the roar of the crowd, but you couldn’t hear it over your own voice
screaming. Ethan lay motionless in the corner of the ring. The peacekeepers
opened the gate, allowing Vapasi out and the medics in.

Choice:
242. Follow Vapasi
or
243. Go To
Ethan

“Please. Let him surrender.” You wrapped your fingers around
the bars, clutching until your knuckles went white. “If you feel anything for
me at all…”

“He cannot go free.”

“I don’t care, so long as he is alive.”

He snarled. “Very well.”

He pushed away from the bars and raised his sword again, the
crowd cheering as they once more prepared to fight. The peacekeepers pulled you
back from the cage, forcing you to sit. You saw Ethan’s lips move, then stop,
then move again – he and Vapasi were speaking.

They ran at each other and the peacekeepers clutched your
shoulders to keep you seated. Their swords met, chiming with each impact, but
not striking each other. They were like mirrors of one another, each attack
perfectly met until Vapasi stuck harder, knocking the blade from his hand.
Ethan twisted, planting his shoulder into Vapasi’s chest. Blood appeared on his
arm, Ethan’s skin broken by the metal plates.

You had seen them do this before and knew exactly which move
each brother would make next, younger versions of them acting out the same
fight in the back of your memory. It was nothing more than play fighting, their
own rehearsed routine they had worked up as children for one of their elaborate
pranks. But it kept the crowd cheering. That’s what they wanted. They wrestled
for a few minutes before Vapasi kicked Ethan in the knee, knocking him to the
floor.

“Don’t let me down,” you whispered, watching as Vapasi stepped
towards him, sword held out. “Please, don’t let me down.”

He put the tip of his blade beneath Ethan’s chin, tipping his
head up so that they were staring each other in the eye. They spoke to one
another, but you didn’t hear what they said. Vapasi dropped the tip of his
sword and kicked Ethan in the chest before moving away. He counted down from
five on his fingers, the crowd chanting along. Ethan didn’t get up. They
cheered.

The peacekeepers moved to unlock the gate of the cage, allowing
a pair of medics to attend to Ethan. Vapasi gestured to you to follow as he
walked across the floor and towards the preparation area.

“Are you happy now?”

You nodded and put your arms around him as he stopped at the
changing room door. His armour was warm to the touch and damp with sweat.

“Thank you.”

He took his helmet off and smiled. “You’re going to visit him,
aren’t you?”

You nodded. “I have to.”

“I’ll tell them to expect you.” He squeezed you. “I love you.”

* * *

“I’m going to die in there,” Ethan said when you visited him
in the holding cell in the Ethigos courthouse. “I won’t get the luxury of
solitary confinement now they’ve heard everything they wanted to hear from me
and no one survives long in Verata.”

You sat beside him and held his hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t
save you.”

“You tried. That’s all that matters to me.” He squeezed your
hand. “I have one last request for you.”

“Yes?”

“Tell him that I’m sorry. And look after him. You’re all he has
now.”

You nodded. “Always.”

The End
(Back to start)