Bonded | Completed | Short Story

Bonded: Part 1

War. A three-letter word that has destroyed more than anything else in history. War was many things. War was waged. War was brutal. War was won and it was lost, but there was one thing war was never. It was never kind.

The sounds of war rang in her ears. Along with the sounds of her own panting breath as she knelt on the bloody ground, trying to catch her breath. Her spear was lodged into the ground and she leaned on it heavily, helping support herself. Her other hand wrapped around her side, fingers wet where a shallow slice below her armor leaked blood. Despite her exhaustion, her eyes watched the field, ready to defend herself if attacked.

"Vada!"

She looked up as a woman called her name. Eiselda, another from her spear line, stood atop the hill, looking back at her with concern etched on her features. Behind her, her partner Bjorn stood at her back, her spear buried in the belly of a Keleon soldier. The hardened leather armor of the enemy was no match for their spears.

Vada pushed herself back to her feet, steadying herself with her spear. She raised the spear towards her friend to show she was well enough to continue fighting, hiding a wince as the motion pulled against her wound. Luckily, Eiselda was too far away to see it and nodded as she turned back to the field. Bjorn stuck to her back, circling her partner to ensure no attacker struck from behind.

The two of them had an advantage on the field. Bonded- the Ylfray called it. Two soul mates, perfectly matched, and unable to ever hurt one another. It was a romantic idea, but the Ylfray had always valued its use on the battlefield. Another warrior, physically unable to hurt you, was the perfect partner to battle. They could spar and train with real weapons and never cut a single hair. With the danger of friendly-fire removed, she had seen Eiselda and Bjorn fight with tricks no other warrior pair could safely use.

It was also an entertaining party trick. There had been many drunken nights in the camp where they threw knives or axes at each other. They could take the sharpest of weapons and even still, they glanced harmlessly off each other's skin. 

Vada envied the pair. Her own Bonded eluded her, though, it wasn't for a lack of trying. Her fingers were marked with slivers of scars from attempting the Bonding Ceremony. A few potential partners had still suggested marrying anyway, as many never found their Bonded. A non-bonded couple could still be perfectly happy. Vada always refused. Romance did not persuade her, but tactical advantage. 

Biting back against the pain, Vada jogged after her fellow soldiers and crowned the hill to see the battle still raging bloody below. The sun dipped low on the horizon. She had rested long enough. She pulled the visor of her helmet down across her face, brandished her spear, and charged back into the fray. 

Kel soldier by Kel soldier fell to her spear as she hacked and spun through the lines. Sweat poured down her neck and back, sticking her underclothes to her skin, but rage and adrenaline kept her going. That is until, her spear struck the belly of a soldier and instead of driving through, it drove to the side. The soldier's sword came down and severed the spear in two. The snap echoed through her helmet and she retreated, still holding the useless wooden butt. 

She stared at their belly, where the leather armor had been cleanly pierced, what should have been a direct path to their spine, but the skin was unmarked.

The soldier pushed forward, forcing her to drop the spear and draw her sword instead. She parried, but after a few strikes, knew the Kel was more skilled with the sword than her. Vada stepped back, again and again, her retreat through the battlefield forced by the skilled swordsman. 

Strike after strike, she deflected until- her heel struck something behind her. Her momentum carried her back, causing her to stumble. The ground struck against her back. Her sword swung up to block the Keleon's blow, but too late. 

The clang echoed in her ears as their blade struck down her sword. 

She didn't even have time to send a prayer to the Goddess before the sharp blade slid across the skin of her neck. But the pain never came. The Kel collapsed on top of her as their sword sunk in the red mud, instead of her neck. 

"Helsif-" she heard a male voice say as he yanked the sword from the mire of trodden grass and mud. 

Her own hand grabbed for her hip, where a dagger was sheathed. Just as he brought his sword down again, she thrust upward with the dagger, straight between the panels of his armor. Again his sword sunk into the mud beside her. A victorious smile crossed her lips as she considered his own clumsiness had been his undoing but- her hand did not grow wet with blood. Her knife should have stabbed straight into him.  

They both stopped. His legs straddled her waist as they both gasped for air. She retracted her knife from his armor and he looked down, noticing her attack it for the first time. He hadn't even felt it. He looked back at her and she could see the glint of eyes behind his visor. 

"Yan ik kine?" he hissed, raising his sword again. This time, he stabbed it through the gap in armor between her arm and shoulder, as if only her neck was blade proof. Once more it slid away and he cursed. 

"Yan ik kine!? Helfaun!"

Helfaun - Witch. A word she understood. 

Goddess above, no. Vada cast her eyes heavenward, silently asking the Goddess for forgiveness for whatever sin had caused this curse. Not the enemy.  Not with someone she couldn't even understand. It wasn't possible. 

Her mind grappled for any Keleon she could remember from obligatory lessons as a child, but like most children, it had only been the swear words that held her attention. 

"Secfah-" she spat back with clumsiness in her pronunciation. Bitch, the only Kel word she could remember at the moment. 

Just then, the blare of horns broke over the battlefield. Dusk had arrived and the battle was over.  He sat up, head whipping around as if to complain personally about the bad timing. With some resistance and not missing the chance to finish the closest enemy, the two sides began to separate. Some turned back to begin scouting for the wounded. 

Vada used the moment of his distraction. She sat up and rolled, using his own weight to pitch him off of her. He rolled into the dirt and scrambled to his knees, his sword outstretched towards her as she got up.

"Bonded," she spat, the word having never tasted so bitter on her tongue. No. He couldn't be. She refused to believe it. He also seemed to not believe, or not understand, as he still didn't lower his sword. She wondered if the Kel had a word for the Bonded, for she knew the Goddess still bound those who were not her followers. 

"The battle is over-" 

They both started. He scrambled to stand as Eiselda and Bjorn came up behind her. Bjorn, the one who had spoken, held her spear readied towards him. "Leave her," she said. Her voice left no room to argue. Even if he couldn't understand her words, he understood her meaning. Slowly, he lowered his sword and began to sidestep away from the trio.

"Three against one-" Eiselda said, "-no one would notice one more." Her eyes darted between  Bjorn and Vada, as if to accentuate her meaning. 

"No-" 

The two women looked at her in surprise. Even Vada was shocked that she had spoken so quickly. "The battle is over. Let's go," she said quickly, leaving no room to question her. Eiselda and Bjorn glanced back to each other as she turned away to climb back up the hill. 

At the top, she paused. She glanced back over the field, watching as the Kel soldier rejoined his line. She watched as he looked back as well. For one moment, they held each other's gaze. Then, as if both caught doing something wrong, they quickly looked away and went their separate ways.