A Deal With the Enemy

Chapter 1

The midday sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky as multiple wagons, each pulled by two sturdy camels, trudged along the empty desert. For miles and miles, as far as the eye could see, lay nothing but rock, sand and the occasional desert plant, barely peeking out of the cracked ground. Every so often, movement in the soil or a flicker of a shadow among rock crevices were the only indications of life, as whatever creatures that could survive in such inhospitable weather made their way to shade and protection.

At a glance, it was glaringly obvious that these were not typical caravans, nor were the travellers the typical merchants or traders. Atop each wagon stood a large cage with white cloth loosely draped along its roof for partial cover from the elements. Within each cage, there was a hodgepodge of individuals. People from all walks of life were huddled together, mostly looking the worse for wear, their clothing stained with the dark colours of mud, dirt and blood. Wealthy or poor, beggar or noble, it didn't matter to those that had taken them. They were all subject to the same fate.

The detainees glanced fearfully out of their cages at the men in white travelling on camels beside the wagons. Apart from the eyes of their captors, every inch of their skin was covered by white cloth. Once in a while one of the white clad men would lash out with a whip, striking at the cage bars and terrifying any unsuspecting victim leaning against it.

In one of the cages, seated between a skinny beggar and a quietly sobbing farmer, was a young soldier wearing the warm yellow-gold coloured uniform of the country of Aura. Just below his right shoulder was placed the insignia of the Healer corps. Even covered in dirt, his striking looks stood out amongst the rest. His shoulder length platinum blonde hair was further bleached by the burning rays of the sun, and his skin was noticeably sunburned. Alert, light brown eyes constantly searched the surroundings as if looking for a glimmer of hope in this rather desolate situation.

The young man pondered for a moment how he ended up in this cage. As a Healer, he was stationed near the border between Aura and the large stretch of desert that his people called the Desolate Lands. The current war between the neighbouring countries of Aura and Blue brought skirmishes to the shared border between both nations but for the most part the border near the Desolate Lands was relatively free from dangers, or so people thought.

One moment he was strolling along a quiet path in the border town he was stationed at, and the next, someone had snuck up behind him and knocked him out! He had only awoken a day later with a splitting headache. By then they were already many kilometres away from any visible civilization.

Fed up with looking at the never-ending scenery of sand without even a hint of a rescue party, the young man turned back to studying his fellow prisoners. There were five wagons in total, each carrying roughly a dozen people. From what he could see, most of them were civilians kidnapped right off the streets by these white clad men; however, one young man caught his eye.

He wore the navy-blue uniform of the enemy nation of Blue. The blond man immediately recognised it since both Aura and Blue were currently at war. Looking at his stronger build, the blond deduced that he seemed to be a soldier with experience in swordsmanship or some other form of weaponry. He wore no armour, as it was likely taken from him upon his capture. Unfortunately, he appeared to have sustained an injury on his leg and was seated rather awkwardly, leaning toward one side.

The blond man took a deep breath. This soldier was the enemy. Even so, the enemy of one's enemy is a friend, thought the blond man in slight desperation. After nodding in agreement to himself, he began to formulate a plan. The only way he would survive this situation is if he teamed up with someone. It did not matter if the Blue soldier was injured, for he was still far stronger than himself, a mere Healer. The blond exhaled in frustration. Although he was not very good at fighting with a sword, it wasn't like he was completely helpless. His skills in archery were excellent, although that would be of no use in close combat. Besides, he did not even have a bow and arrow with him.

The blond man glanced at the towering mountain range still visible to the right of the wagons, in the distance. Some of the mountains were so tall that their tips were perennially covered in white snow. This was the mountain range signifying the end of Aura's borders and the start of the desert. Beyond those mountains lay his beloved country but with each passing day they were taken further and further away. If he did not act soon, he would never see home again! Strengthening his resolve, but not without some apprehension, he decided to talk to the soldier somehow, at night.

The caravan continued its arduous journey through the sun-dried land, never stopping even for a moment. The cloudless sky mercilessly gave no barrier against the burning sun's rays. The further they travelled, the rockier the ground became. At times the wagon wheels climbed over mid-sized stones, sending its human cargo tumbling about and clutching desperately at the bars of the cages.

Eventually at dusk, the white clad men chose a spot to stop and pitch a tent. At night, the prisoners were finally allowed out, cage by cage, for a short while to eat and exercise their cramped legs before being forced back into their miserable abode.

Unfortunately, the blond man's cage was the furthest from that of the Blue soldier. This continued to be the case for the next two days. Frustration welled up in his heart as he watched the soaring mountains become ever smaller behind them, eventually disappearing altogether from view. During the journey, some of the prisoners began to feel unwell, most probably due to the harsh and stressful environment that none had endured before. As the only Healer amongst them, he used his knowledge and skills to help relieve their suffering as best he could.

At long last, on the fourth night of his capture, luck finally shone upon him as both their wagons were parked right next to each other. Barely hiding his excitement, he crawled on all fours, making his way close to the blue clad man who appeared to be fast asleep. Up close, the Blue soldier appeared as young as himself. His short, dark brown hair was in disarray, standing up like a porcupine's quills.

The blond man knelt, reached between the bars of the cages and patted him on his arm to awaken him. When his eyes slowly opened, the other man quickly introduced himself, "Hey, my name is Rylee. What's yours?"

The soldier shrugged off Rylee's hand. A pair of blue eyes the exact same colour of the uniform stared back at him for a moment before returning to slumber. Blond-haired Rylee stared at the man, dumbfounded for a moment before feeling his irritation rise exponentially. 'I've spent three whole days obsessively trying to have a conversation with you and you're just going to ignore me? Now is not the time to be overly patriotic, soldier! Can't you see the situation we're in?' Rylee fumed internally. He sat back down with a huff, pouting in anger. The Blue soldier glanced at him once more before closing his eyes again.

Author's note: That's it for chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it. I had a tough time copy-pasting chapters from my computer to here, for some reason, random sentences and even whole paragraphs kept getting deleted. Do let me know if you see any odd hanging sentences in the text.