Tests of the Apache

V

The fire rages around the children, the crackling of the dry wood drowning out their terror filled cries. The flames arch higher into the noonday sky like a sinister hand clutching at the air. The young women stand still in their own horror as their eyes lock on the sight of the burning hut full of innocent children. Lea's head whips towards the Ragina, her eyes blazing hotter than the fire in fury.

"What are you doing?!" She screeches, barely managing to hold herself back from lunging at the seemingly insane woman. Her anger grows as the woman turns her head slowly to look at her, a small, sweet smile stretching across her lips.

"Save them." The Regina says, her voice dripping with innocence as she turns to address the girls still standing in horror. "Remember you have to reach them before they burn." She says in a sweet, grandmotherly voice.

Lea internally rolls her eyes. "Like we don't know that." She mutters as she sprints towards the maze of stone walls that easily reach over three meters tall. Her hands close over the hilt of a double sided sword  as she passes the rack of weapons positioned a few meters from the entrance of the maze. Suddenly, realization washes over her and a sly smile rises on her lips. 'She said to get to the other side of the maze. She didn't say how.' She thinks as she spins on her heal and  rushes back to the weapons rack. She quickly pulls off the bow and quiver before turning back around and dashing back at the maze. She glances quickly over her shoulder to see a few of the girls springing into action. She slings the bow over her shoulder and sheaths the sword as she runs, giving her full use of her hands.

As the maze looms in front of her, she gathers all her strength into her legs and using her momentum launches herself at the wall. Her hands barely find purchase on the top edge. With a grunt of exertion she pulls her self up and onto the wall. A high pitched scream of agony rips through the air, reminding her of her precious task. She sprints down the wall, leaping over a small gap as she makes a beeline for the small army between her and the bonfire that was once a hut.

She slips the bow off her shoulder and puts an arrow to the sting. With a twang, the arrow leaves the bow and embeds itself in the knee of one of the men blocking her path. She leaps again, moving her center of gravity onto her toes as they barely grasp the edge of the next wall. Catching her balence, she resumes her sprint and fires arrows at the men as she runs along the long stretch of smooth stone, wounding them so that they are unable to slow her down by attempting to fight her.

The largest gap looms before her and slips the bow back on her shoulder as it draws closer. She waits until the last moment before leaping off the wall and launching herself at the other wall. Her left hand slips from the stone and the fingers of her right hand barely finding purchase. She swing her other hand up as her right one begins to slip. Suddenly a hand clutches her wrist and hoist her up. Her eyes meet the green eyes of her flame haired friend and she briefly nods to her.

A handing Neema the bow, she unsheathes the sword and they sprint down the wall one behind the other. With a flying leap, they backflip off the wall in front of the army that had dwindled down to half. Without hesitation Lea charges into army, deflecting their bows with ease as Ren picks them off from a further distance. Within moments, she had broken their ranks and was charging toward the flames.

The sight before her stops her tracks and unchecked furry rises in her chest and fills her body with unrestrained strength. She charges into the flames, ignoring the flames licking her skin with their sweltering breath. She tears into the hut and quickly lifts the bundle of children, trying her best to reduce the amount of pain induced by the ropes. She rushes them out, protecting them with her body from the flames that stretch their fingers out to touch the soft exposed skin of the children.

Setting them outside of the ring of fire, she dives back into the hut to pull out the others. She hisses as her arm is touched the flames and feels the air begin to shift around her. Within moments of her stepping out of the hut, the frame collapses and the fire arches to the sky.

She crouches down in front of the children, the knife she always kept in her boot slicing though the thick ropes that bound the children together. With that task done, she looks over each child, assessing the severity of their wounds. She feels the air stir next to her and glances up at the newest arrival.

"What do you need?" Ren asks, her voice slightly shaking with the fear of the past events.

Lea quickly assess her friend before nodding to her. "Water and clean rags." She says before returning her gaze to the children. "And quickly." She says sharply effectively snapping her friend out of her daze. She listens as the hurried footsteps grow quieter as the girl scurries away. Her attention returns to the children quaking and crying in terror. With a sigh she sits cross legged on the ground and opens her arms to the children. "Come here, little ones." She says and they draw closer to their savior. The smallest of the children instantly claims her lap as two others rest their heads on her legs. Two more claim each shoulder and the others settle for just being near her. She wraps her arms around the crying child in her lap and softly hums to them as she awaits the arrival of the bandages and water.

Minuets later, Ren returns with two healers in her wake, each carrying supplies. Lea gently nudges the children and they move away from her, granting her access to her limbs once more. She takes a small pail of water and a rag and gestures the smallest child back over. The girl crawls over and Lea goes to work on healing their burns with the salve the healers had brought with them.

Grey eyes watch the young woman interact with the children and notes the way she looks at the children under her care. Her eyes flash to the flame haired girl and a soft sly smile rises on her lips. "Bring the redhead to my room when they are done here. Also, I want my daughter back in her room before the sun sets." She says, her eyes moving to the smallest of the children being tended by Lea's gentle hand. "I want Lea to be pushed the hardest. The other girls will suffer, yes, but she will feel as if she is being tortured." She says before spinning on her heel with her cloak fanning out behind her. She stops for a moment and chuckles softly at a thought before walking down the hall without a sound.