In the quiet of the increasingly late night, the sounds of crickets and the ticking of the wall clock grew more audible. However, the thick aura of tension and panic that was once palpable began to subside. The beautiful archer girl who had previously fainted, named Val, started to open her eyes.
"Val, are you awake? Thank goodness," I exclaimed anxiously, holding Val's hand tightly, which felt slightly cold.
Outside, a tumult of tearful relief echoed, indicating concern from various people for Val. The clan leader who had been waiting outside along with Orion immediately exclaimed, "The girl has regained consciousness. We need to summon a nurse from the adjacent tent. Nurse... nurse... the girl in treatment tent 2 has awakened." The man quickly rushed to the first tent and requested the nurse to promptly check Val's condition.
"Hector? Where am I...," Val weakly asked, her voice filled with determination demanding answers as she tried to turn her body.
"We're in the treatment tent. You fainted earlier. Don't force yourself, you still need to rest," I said, adjusting Val's blanket and pillow.
The medical staff promptly entered and began examining Val's condition.
"Her condition is stable now. Let her rest here tonight, and she can go home tomorrow morning," one of them said.
"Okay, thank you," I replied quickly without taking my eyes off Val.
A minute later, Val suddenly rose from the bed with strength, her eyes widened, asking with panic and concern, "Hyperion, Hyperion, where is he? Is he okay?"
I poured some water into a glass and handed it to Val, then said, "Drink some, wet your lips, you must be thirsty. Yes, he's fine. He's in the next tent, his wound is a bit serious, so he might need longer treatment..."
Val fell silent for a moment, then her pale lips began to tremble, tears started to fall from her eyes. "This is all my fault. Wherever I go, I just keep bringing misfortune to those I encounter," she said softly, continuing to blame herself.
I knelt before Val, then said firmly, "Val, look at me. Don't bow down, look at me!"
Val slowly raised her head to look at me, still shedding tears. Gently, I wiped her tears away, hugging her and saying, "Listen Val, stop blaming yourself for everything that has happened. Why do you blame yourself for an accident that occurred while you were trying to protect your friend? If anything, without you, the situation would have been worse. And about Hyperion... Of course, his injury has nothing to do with you, because he himself decided to protect you. You shouldn't blame yourself for everything that happened," I paused for a moment, feeling ashamed and unworthy of the words I spoke, then continued, "stop crying, and don't make the man in front of you feel so guilty."
Slowly, the emotional tears began to cease. Like rain gradually subsiding and the sky beginning to reveal its beautiful colors, a smile started to blossom on her pale face. Yes, her smile was like a rainbow, faintly shining and illuminating the sky, reflecting the struggle and newfound courage that emerged after the stormy night passed.
Unconsciously, I began to smile and said, "Look, you're more beautiful when you smile. Forget about what happened yesterday. Rest, I'll stay here with you." I got up and gently helped Val back to her bed, then gave her the blanket.
"No," Val suddenly replied, "....you must not accompany me here." "Why?" I asked, surprised.
Val responded firmly. "Of course, because you need to go back to the barracks. We're already hours late, do you want the barracks guard to worry about us being absent, and do you want to double your punishment?" Val said, smiling slightly.
"But, you, you, haven't...," before I could finish, Val cut in, "Relax, I'm fine, there's a nurse in front of the tent who's on duty. Also, the clan leader will help watch over me tonight. You, go home, don't worry too much about me. I'll go home myself when I'm better," Val insisted.
"But, I don't even know where the barracks are...," I said, trying to find a reason to stay with her. "Oh, that's right, Orion will guide you, you both share a barracks, he's waiting in front of the tent," Val said, pointing to Orion who had been standing in front of the tent, observing us the whole time.
"Come on, you still need to walk quite a distance, don't waste your time anymore, also, tell the women's barracks guard that I'll be back tomorrow," Val said, trying to convince me, patting my back, and waving her hand to urge me to leave.
"Um...," I still didn't want to take a step.
"Come on, you're a warrior, not a nurse, this isn't your place, go," Val said, jokingly.
With a heavy heart, I obeyed her.
When we reached the front of the tent, I turned my face to her, then shouted, "Remember Val, take care of yourself. I'll come back here early in the morning!"
Then, accompanied by Orion, I began to walk home.
"Are we still far?" I asked Orion, who had been silent, looking down all this time.
Orion answered shortly, "More than 3 km."
"Oh okay," I replied, looking at him. Stooped with empty eyes, his shoulders slumped, his lips trembling.
We continued walking in the middle of the very dark forest road with a small flashlight owned by Orion, and in silence. I could hear the sounds of crickets and the hooting of owls decorating our steps, while occasionally hearing the howling of wolves from the dark forest breaking the silence of the night.
Orion, who had been walking without saying a word, suddenly turned his face towards me and said softly, "You know? Val is like a sister to me." Orion stopped for a moment, then continued speaking when his strength had gathered, "For years, I have always owed her, wherever it is, when I am attacked or humiliated, she is always in front of me defending me, she is truly kind, not... too kind," he said softly.
Then our steps stopped when Orion's tears began to fall on the ground, "You know? I regret it so much, and all this time I've been blaming myself every night? When can I be strong and be her shield? It's truly undeserving, truly undeserving, for a man to hide behind the back and shoulders of a woman, and cause her harm," Orion said, sobbing, showing his deep regret.
In the enveloping silence, guilt once again gripped my heart like invisible shackles. I was once again tossed in the sea of regret, but resilience was the only path I chose. With every breath, I tried to calm myself, hoping to give a little warmth to Orion who was by my side. Although the night sky covered the stars, I promised to be a small light that still shines in the darkness, even in the tormenting silence.
But before I could speak to comfort him, Orion had already spoken, "Back then... once... when I was attacked by a group of clans from the northern mountain region, she unexpectedly came to rescue me. And she... she... fought alone against 9 of them. And... I was just like yesterday, cowering in fear, while my friend fought for me. Val, she managed to defeat them all, but... she was stabbed deeply in the abdomen, when she faced their last, quite strong and ferocious member...," his sobs colored the atmosphere even more somber, "...and she, while holding her bleeding stomach, still fought with all her might, and defeated him. She was very weak and pale from losing a lot of blood, and she still turned and smiled, asking me if I was okay, and... of course, it wasn't me who wasn't okay. She fell to the ground, and it took 5 days to treat her deep wound before she fully recovered."
Orion continued to speak haltingly, trying to wipe away his tears, and I felt sad and helpless listening to his story. However, I tried to gather all my courage and strength, to give him a little strength, trembling slightly, "Come on, Orion, let's forget about that for a moment, dawn will come soon, and we haven't reached the barracks yet. Let's continue walking..."
Orion didn't reply but just nodded and kept walking. That night was the longest night of my life, the stars seemed to hide in their blankets, and the moon hung in the sky emitting a faint white light, coloring our journey.
We continued along the road until we finally reached the foot of the hill, "Up there, the barracks...," Orion said shortly.
We slowly climbed the hill, and not long after, we saw the shape of an old building standing tall and sturdy at the hilltop, a bit old but still well maintained.
"On the right, the women's barracks, and on the left, the men's barracks. Let's go to the women's barracks first to report Val's condition," Orion said briefly, pointing to the women's barracks building.
"Okay," I replied shortly, and we walked towards the women's barracks.
From a distance, faintly, I could see a figure, it seemed like the guard of the building. And slowly but surely, I began to see her more clearly. She was not wearing her helmet, and I could see her long whitish hair blending with the gleam of her armor, reflecting the moonlight shimmering along with the gentle breeze.
"An old tough-looking woman in armor?" I murmured in confusion, astonishment, and deep surprise.
Unconsciously, now Orion and I stood right in front of her.
"Two young warriors, one I know and one I don't. How could you be out at night? Are you trying to get punished for sneaking out?" the old woman shouted in front of us, glaring.
"Um... actually, it's, Val,...," Orion tried to explain but his words were stuttering so much out of nervousness, and he was cut off by the old woman. "What kind of warrior are you, can't you speak more clearly? They're so bad they can't even defend you here," the woman said bluntly, indicating her firmness and toughness.
Feeling sorry, I took over for Orion to explain, "Let me introduce myself, I'm Hector, and he's Orion, we're both friends of the warrior under your supervision named Valkyrie. We just wanted to report that Valkyrie was exhausted and fainted after being involved in a dispute with a group of people yesterday evening and night, so now she's being treated. She said she might be able to go home this morning."
I felt as if I had undergone a great struggle when I managed to utter those words in what seemed like an eternal two minutes. With all my gathered strength, I spoke relentlessly, without pausing, and sweat poured down my face.
The woman stared at me sharply, and in her gaze, I felt an indescribable tension. I was at the peak of tension, unable to predict what would happen next. However, suddenly, without a word, she turned away and entered the building, leaving me in confusion and deep exhaustion.
I found myself trapped in a situation where I didn't understand what I had just witnessed, and what I should do next. Before I could find the answer, the old woman emerged again, with two glasses of water.
"Here, drink up, both of you, Val's friends, you must be tired," she offered two glasses of water to us, yet her face remained flat and intimidating.
"Thank you," we said, then started drinking.
Before we could finish half of the glass of water, I noticed a change in the woman's demeanor. She began to smile, her facial expression softened, and her previously sharp gaze now felt warmer. With gentle movements, she shook her head, as if to express that all tension had subsided, and the atmosphere became calmer. It made me feel somewhat relieved, although still cautious of her every move.
"I suspected something had happened to her, she didn't arrive at the right time...," the woman suddenly broke the silence. ".... Val is a tough woman, but she does tend to trouble herself at times. I hope she can pay more attention to herself, and live life like an ordinary warrior," she continued.
"Well... thank you for at least letting me know, I've been worried about her since last night," the woman continued, smiling at us.
I was surprised to see how the old woman could change so drastically, like a girl when she smiled. With a little surprise, I replied, "Thank you again for your concern for our friend, Val. In that case, allow us to bid farewell and return to our barracks." My voice sounded somewhat hesitant, as I still remembered the firmness and fierceness hidden behind her current friendly appearance.
The woman nodded understandingly, and we both saluted. Without much more conversation, we withdrew from her presence and moved towards our barracks.
"Not too far, just about 300 steps from the women's barracks," Orion suddenly informed me as we hadn't walked too far from the women's barracks yet. I became curious about what kind of guard I would encounter in the men's barracks.
In short, we are now standing at the entrance of the men's barracks, when I saw an old man in armor, standing tall and his eyes blazing, very intimidating.
Not even five feet away from him, we heard his shout cutting through the silent night.
"Hey you two, disrespectful warriors, dare to return only at dawn, now do 200 push-ups in front of me," he yelled fiercely.
I tried to explain the events of last night, but the man ignored it.
"Now, or I'll add to your punishment," he said fiercely.
Orion tapped my shoulder, and when I looked at him, he shook his head, signaling not to resist and just follow the orders of the old man.
My heart screamed, "Oh my, with my body so tired, after facing such intense evening and night, not to mention I haven't finished my Kartoffelsalat on my plate because that jerk suddenly caused a riot, now I have to do push-ups, and 200 times?"
With mixed feelings and half-heartedness, I followed his instructions, realizing that the situation didn't allow for resistance.
One, two, three, four... ,...., come on, pass by
Every count passed with the burden on my shoulders feeling heavier; partly because of my completely exhausted physical condition, and partly because of the inner struggle I was facing.
The grass in front of the barracks that I touched felt colder than usual, making my hands tremble. Even the sweat continuously dripping down made my hands warmer than it.
I felt as if I was trapped in time, one full hour of doing push-ups felt like a hundred years.
Fatigue crept into every fiber of my muscles, my breath was uneven and irregular, my heart pounded as if it wanted to jump out of my chest. However, suddenly, the old man appeared in front of me as I sat exhausted, creating an even more tense atmosphere.
I saw his shadow, then looked up, and was surprised to find that he did the same thing as the old woman earlier, offering a glass of water.
"Drink," he said shortly.
Without hesitation, I gratefully accepted the glass of water. In the overwhelming exhaustion, the water felt like a gift from heaven, refreshing every cell in my body. In the deep fatigue, it felt like drinking from a heavenly spring, providing freshness to all senses drained by exhaustion. In an instant, I felt my strength and spirit surging back.
"Now, I'm ready to hear your story, explain quickly," said the man impatiently, staring sharply at us.
Realizing how exhausted I was, Orion dared to explain this time, although somewhat stuttering and trembling.
After hearing the explanation, the man understood, and smiled, then said, "I'm proud of you, it should be like that. Yes, come to think of it, when I was young, I've been in situations like that too..."
I was surprised again to see the unusual change... an old man who was previously so fierce, and even almost "scared me to death," could now be so composed and smile.
"Well... but punishment is still punishment. Maybe the man next to you already knows, but you're new here, so I'll tell you. Anyone who's late returning to the barracks, the curfew is 8 PM, can't enter and must sleep outside. I'll only provide a blanket and a sleeping mat," said the man firmly, making me so surprised?
"What? Even there's a trial like this again after what I went through? Shouldn't the man understand after Orion explained to him? Doesn't he have a heart? Can't he show a little mercy towards us?" my heart screamed, and I became so upset.
Suddenly, with gentleness, Orion nudged me slowly, trying to bring me back from my frustration and burning anger. His gesture wasn't harsh, but firm enough to draw my attention away from drowning in emotions. His eyes, full of care, radiated warmth and concern, attempting to soothe the fire of anger burning within my heart. A small smile curved his lips, signaling hope that all grievances and anger could be resolved with a cool head and understanding.
"Let it go, as a warrior, we must always abide by the rules. That's the ethics we hold. What can we do, but let's prepare," Orion whispered to me with understanding.
"Prepare for what?" I asked, puzzled. "A bonfire, because it's been so cold lately," replied Orion. I immediately understood, then we bid farewell to the barracks guard, ready to gather firewood for our bonfire.
"Let's walk down halfway down the back hill, there's a small forest there, we can find firewood for our bonfire," Orion explained. I just nodded.
We arrived at the small forest Orion mentioned, and how happy I was to find many branches and pieces of wood lying on the ground. I quickly gathered them all and piled them up.
"Let's go back," I said impatiently to Orion. Orion smiled faintly and shook his head, then explained slowly. "My friend, not all branches or wood we find in this forest can be firewood. We need to find wood that is really dry to be able to burn," he explained to me while sorting through the wood and branches I had gathered.
"Ah... that's true, I'm really tired," I said with a little embarrassment. I became so emotional because of fatigue and didn't think rationally anymore. But, Orion was always composed. He might be weak in combat, but his emotional maturity deserved applause.
"Look... this wood is very damp and feels heavy, not good. And this...," Orion said while tapping the wood he lifted, "...good, quite good. It sounds loud."
He continued, "...and look there are cracks and peeling on the surface of this wood, it's dry enough, and good for us to use for the bonfire."
Understanding what Orion explained, I immediately sorted through the wood based on the criteria Orion had explained. Finally, we were done!
I felt relieved and so excited and happy - I kept thinking that finally I could go back and sleep soundly. As I stood up and prepared to step out of the forest, Orion pulled my hand. "Wait a minute, let's go a little deeper into the forest," said Orion.
Confused, I asked, "What else do we need? Isn't the firewood we collected enough?" Orion smiled and then said, "Let's gather some pine seeds so we can start the fire more easily. This speeds up the burning process." While explaining, Orion quickly picked up the pine seeds scattered on the forest floor. I helped him, although I couldn't match his speed. "That's enough, now let's go back," Orion said to me again. I nodded and we climbed back up the hill.
Long story short, we finally returned to the barracks. The old man then said jokingly, "Wow, you guys are quick. I thought you would only come back when the sun rises."
We didn't pay much attention to his words, immediately we arranged the branches and wood we had collected, then piled up some pine seeds in the middle. After that, with the friction of the flint, after a while, sparks began to appear, creeping and piercing the darkness of the night.
As the fire began to blaze, its light radiated, driving away the darkness surrounding our barracks. Its warmth swept over our bodies, providing relief from the chilling night. We sat around the bonfire, warming ourselves.
Then, the old man came carrying our sleeping mats and blankets, "Here are your sleeping supplies. Hurry to sleep because there are tasks waiting for you tomorrow."
He said briefly and then walked back to the barracks door.
Feeling so sleepy, I didn't linger long to enjoy the warmth of the bonfire. With a soft voice, I said to Orion, "Goodnight, friend." Orion lightly returned the greeting. In the darkness of that night, we found comfort under the star-studded sky. Without burdens, we fell into a peaceful sleep, cradled by the soothing tranquility of nature.
Disclaimer:This story is purely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, institutions, or events in the real world is purely coincidental. The author has endeavored to present information related to scientific applications and facts as accurately as possible, yet it cannot be avoided that certain modifications have been intentionally made for the sake of the storyline.It is important to note that scenes in this story are not recommended to be imitated without professional supervision as they may pose risks to oneself or others. Interpretation of this work is the responsibility of the individual reader, not the author.Therefore, it is advised for teenagers to seek guidance from parents or caregivers when reading this story.Additionally, it should be noted that all images used in this novel are solely for illustrative purposes to enhance the context of the story. Depictions of characters from image to image may not always be entirely accurate or exact due to AI-generated technology.