Victory's Heartache

It was weeks before the war between the kingdoms of Diabila and Arabran. My brother and I were on our daily dragon ride to view our kingdom to ensure everything was well and safe - at least that was the excuse we gave to our father. We were really racing our dragons to an open field that was surrounded by trees. It was there that my brother could train me in fighting.

My father had always objected to the idea of me training to fight, but my older brother, Tristan, saw it as a great opportunity to protect myself if the need ever arose. I looked forward to my training every day. I miss it so much now. Using a bow and daggers was fun for me, but my favorite was using a sword. My sword fit perfectly in my hands like it was destined for me. The way it glided through the air with each precise swing seemed to prove how it was meant to be.

The thrill of fighting itself was exhilarating. In the palace, life was so boring with the same dull routines every day. Before training and dragon riding, I never knew what it was like to have my pulse racing. Convincing my father to allow me to ride a dragon took years, so it wasn't a surprise that he said no when I asked him to allow me to study self-defense.

That day, I went through the techniques I had learned last session. Tristan complemented me on my form and critiqued some of my aiming. For that practice session, he taught me how to fight with a sword while using a shield. Before we went home, we decided to spar. It was a close match, but he won.

We raced to the palace on our dragons, and I won, so he owed me his desert. My favorite desert was to be served that night. Chocolate lava cake was one of the things that made me happy in life. It was my mother's favorite desert also.

My mother had passed away from an unknown disease when I was around 8 years old. Our people in Arabran had mourned for days over the loss of their queen. The death of my mother took the greatest toll on my family. We each had different ways of dealing with the pain. My father drowned himself in work, my brother hung out with friends more than family, and I consoled in Matilda. Matilda was my personal maid. She was more like family than my own because they were pushing me away in their mourning. Sometimes I think the reason they ignored me so much was because of how much I looked like my mother.

My tenth birthday was when my family started to piece themselves back together. Tristan and I became closer than we ever were before, and my father spent as much family time as he was able to do with his hectic schedule.

During dinner, all was well until we had a visit from one of our spies. He came bearing terrible news, as spies tend to do. He had heard that the kingdom Diabila was planning an attack to capture our land.

Diabila had spread rumors that their land was infested with demons. Some rumors had even said they could control the demons. Although none of those rumors were proven true at the time, they were still feared by many. Our kingdoms weren't overly friendly with each other, but we certainly weren't enemies.

My father didn't believe what the spy had reported, so he asked the spy for proof. My father would always have his men practicing, but he didn't want to over work them for some lousy rumors.

Three days later, the spy returned with a pixie who had gone with the spy to get proof. The pixie showed us what she had seen by using one of her spells. The Diabila kingdom was indeed planning an attack. At this news, my father started training schedules for the knights that were more intense than their usual routines and he equipped the citizens with weapons along with knowledge on how to use those powerful tools. My brother started training me harder, but we had less time since he, too, was getting prepared. When the Diabila Kingdom attacked, we were determined to be prepared and make them wish they had never waged war against us.

Two weeks had passed before Diabila attacked. My kingdom had the upper hand at first, but then night came. It was then when we found out the rumors were true. Hordes of demons that were being controlled came in great multitudes. It seemed like it would be the end and for some, it was. Many lives were lost. During this time, I kept thinking about how I should be fighting with my people instead of waiting for it all to end. I felt so useless being trapped in the bunker. Alas, with the guards here with me I had no way out unless I used force. When the urge to help got too strong to ignore, I knocked the guards out of the way and made my escape.

Geared up for war, I rode my dragon as fast as possible to fight beside my brother where I would feel most confident. When I reached Tristan, I saw many demons surrounding him. I jumped off my dragon. Side by side, my brother and I fought bravely, but in a split second my world was ruined. A demon had bit Tristan. The poison from its fangs reached his heart in a matter of seconds. I saw his body go limp, and he fell to the ground.

Full of rage, I fought harder than I had ever fought. Demon after demon after demon, I let out all my pain and anger. There was no hope. We were losing. Then the sound of a war horn was heard coming from the sky. In the south hundreds of dragons with riders were flying to our aid. Then another war horn blared, but this time on the ground in the forest to the north. Ogres and mages joined the fight. In the morning, the Diabila warriors and demons retreated knowing they could not win this battle. It should have been a time to celebrate our victory, but too many had lost someone dear to them.

By the time my father found me, I was hysterically crying over Tristan's dead, cold, lifeless body. At seeing this sight, my father fell down to the ground beside me, bringing me into his embrace while silent tears rolled down his face. For the time being, he was too emotional to realize, by the sword in the holster on my waist, that I was in the battle fighting. I was left unpunished, but the death of my brother was punishment enough.

I would have rather given up the kingdom than have had to lose another person I held dear. My world had seemed to stop when he died. It never went back completely the same way as before. It's still painful to think about my brother. Sometimes I wish I had seen the demon lunge at him so I could have killed that disgusting creature before it sank its murderous fangs into Tristan. I try to cherish the memory of Tristan and think of all the good times with him like he would want me to, but I will always feel heartache due to his passing.