The Blood King's Bride

The warriors stood aside, watching the now empty warzone. They remained silent, trying to take in what had just happened, then immediately, they all cheered loudly. "YAHHH!!!" they shouted, pumping their fist and weapons up in the air. Some of them

rushed to each other, embracing themselves in a hug. Elena and Calhoun looked at them, a small smile etched. They allowed them this small moment of victory, even though they knew it wasn't the end of the war. Elion came out of where she stayed, heading towards Calhoun and Elena

while Aaron supported her. She had a mischievous smile on her face.

"That was a great plan you had there." Calhoun said, walking towards her with Elena

right behind him. "It was dirty, not at all honourable, but it did the job."

Elion exchanged looks with Aaron, then she turned back to face Calhoun. "Thanks." She

said. Elena looked at the both of them suspiciously, but she remained quiet.

"Thanks to you, we were able to create enough time for our men to rest. We know that

this is just the beginning of the war, but this goes a long way. Hopefully, the next attack doesn't come until a few days pass."

"Yeah. We all hope for that." Elion said. "We have learnt something from this fight

though. We have been able to study the moves of our opponents; how they strike, dodge and attack. There is every possibility that they may change their attack mode for the next fight, but if they don't this would go a long way to help us defeat them faster."

"Why don't we take this inside?" Calhoun said. "We can discuss war tactics in the tent. I

would think it's far better than out here."

"Yeah, let us go in." Elion agreed. She turned back with Aaron assisting her.

Calhoun waited for Elion and her partner to be a few feet ahead of them before turning to Elena. She had been quiet since the war ended, and Calhoun was worried.

"Hey, are you all right?" he whispered to her, heavy with worry. Elena didn't know what

to say to him. Was she alright? She couldn't describe what she felt, but she knew she couldn't blame anyone. She was the one who had insisted on fighting in taking part in the war. She looked up at her husband and smiled.

She never got tired of seeing his handsome face. Though his face had splatters of blood, it

did nothing to hide his handsomeness. His reddish-brown eyes looked at her with worry. His hair wildly surrounded his face, stuck to his skin with blood and sweat.

"I'm fine." She said, her voice soothing. The last thing she wanted was to make Calhoun

feel like it had been a mistake to bring her to the war in the first place. She knew that she didn't regret her decision, but the war had broken something inside her.

Calhoun knew that something was bothering Elena, but he didn't push her. The environment they were currently in wasn't suitable for their talk. He made a mental note to

disturb her later when they have privacy.

They arrived at Calhoun's war tent, and they all took their seats. Aaron sat next to Elion;

Elena took a seat adjacent to them while Calhoun sat at the head of the table.

"I would have loved for us to have a little rest, but we don't know when the Allikans plan

to strike again, and so it's better to be well prepared for anything." He paused, giving them time to gather their thoughts.

"As we have experienced, the Allikans are very strong opponents to fight against. We had been fighting them for weeks. First, it started once we left the entrance to our kingdom. They stood proudly, waiting for us and gave us no chance to get ourselves, attacking us immediately after we left our kingdom. It was a hard battle, but fortunately for us, we already knew they were waiting at the entrance, ready to strike us at any moment. That fight alone took days before we finally came to the wastelands." He paused again, folding his hands atop the table.

"When we arrived at the wasteland, there was no one there save for us. But we knew not

to be too relaxed, as the Allikans could come upon us at any time. We were right in our thinking, as they tried to attack us the next day. By then, we had set up our shields and were prepared for an attack. Once the fight started, more of them came pouring in. That is one of the things I noticed. They are not as organized as properly trained soldiers. They attack as a mob, not like a synchronized group."

"I also noticed that too." Aaron said. "It was what made it easier to see their mode of attack. They may not fight like a group, but apparently, they all share the same fighting skills." "It does make one wonder if they train like soldiers, or they simply select them due to who fights best." Elion added.

"I thought the same too." Aaron replied. "The fight was hard, and even a bit hard since

our soldiers are not trained to take on a group of people who attack randomly. But then again, it also works in our favour as we are easily able to decipher their moves and attack them. It makes me wonder though, was this just a ploy? The war continued for very long, yes, but it was much too easy to defeat their men. Were they sent as a distraction? Or were they simply trying to figure out our strength?"

Unable to sit still, Calhoun stood up and began to pace. "This situation has been running through my mind too. If it is as we suspect, what is their motive? What do they hope to gain? Do they have another attack up their sleeve? Do we have to change our war strategy?"

"For the last question, I think we must change our war strategy." Elion said, her face serious. "Now that I think of it, there might have been some of their men around who watched the war. They are not enough to simply start a new attack, so they must have simply hidden,

studying our attack movements just as we do theirs. They might be waiting for the new badge of soldiers waiting to come and attack, or they simply want to watch what our actions for the next few days will be."

"Yes, you are right." Calhoun paced a bit again, then came back to stand at the head of the table.

"Tell our men, that in the process of rejoicing, they should not lose concentration and

should instead be alert. Our enemies can attack us at any time. We must be prepared to fight at any time. Tomorrow, we would go over new strategies to employ for our next battle." He said, his expression determined. "They wouldn't get us unawares."

Elion and Aaron went out of the camp to pass on the message, leaving Elena and Calhoun

in the room. Calhoun walked over to where Elena sat, crouching in front of her.

"We are alone now. Tell me what is bothering you." He said, gently holding her chin.

When she was about to deny it, he quickly cut in.

"I am your husband, love. If anything bothers me, I would share it with you. Shouldn't the same go for me?"

Elena remained quiet, keeping her eyes down. Calhoun simply studied her face. His wife looked conflicted. She probably wondered if she could tell him what was wrong with her. "You know you can tell me anything," Calhoun said, squeezing gently on her chin so she could look up at him. "Please tell me what is wrong."

Elena stared at him, slowly losing her resolve. She sighed then leaned into his touch. "I guess I was not expecting it." She started, pausing to arrange her thoughts. Calhoun simply remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"Like I knew what was going to happen, I expected what I was going to see, but perhaps

in the end, somewhere inside me, I wasn't ready for what I ended up seeing."

"Are you regretting partaking in the war?" Calhoun slowly asked.

"No." getting uncomfortable, Elena stood up from where she sat, and Calhoun made way for her to pace. "I was afraid that if I tell you this, you might make me simply sit out this fight. But I want to be part of it. Something deep in me tells me that I have to be part of it. I just wasn't prepared for the blood, the gore. Human lives are wasted, just like that. At that moment, when I fought out there, I realized that the soldiers were not so much different from livestock. The only difference is that they are giving up their lives for their country, but this makes me think; what is the point of it all?" she turned to look at Calhoun.

"I don't like war, but you can trust that I would do everything to make sure that we come back as winners. The death of our warriors would not be in vain.

Calhoun had occupied the seat Elena sat on immediately she stood up. He stretched out

his hands towards her, signalling her to come towards where he sat.

"Come over here, love." He said, wiggling his fingers. Reluctantly, she walked over to him. Once she reached where he was, he quickly dragged her onto his lap.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "What are you trying to do?"

Calhoun held on tightly to get, wounding his arms around her waist, causing her to lean

against him. With her side facing him, he kissed her head softly.

"You worry too much." He said, smiling softly. He kissed her head again.

"This is all too much to take in. I understand. You forget that this is also my first war."

"Yours is a different case." Elena replied, grateful for his embrace. "You have taken on

beasts and other dangerous beings that are far more powerful than the people we fought today.

You are used to seeing bloodshed. I thought I was, hence the shock. I would never be able to get out of it. Don't know if I ever will."

"I don't think even I would find it normal for you to feel okay." Calhoun said, his voice

soft. "I remember my first kill. I could feel the rush, but the sight of the blood haunted me for

days. It's normal. I'll be more worried if you didn't feel anything at all."

Elena sighed, fully leaning against him. "I'll get over it. It might not be now, but I'll get over it."

"I know you will," Calhoun whispered to her. He gently turned her around to face her, to stare into her eyes. He couldn't get over the lovely woman in front of him was, his wife. She was the most precious being he had ever set his eyes on, and his heart had become wholly dependent on her. How can he tell her that somewhere deep inside him is filled with dread, that this may be the last time he would ever see her? He was scared of her demise, and nothing easily scared him. But he would not give her another thing to worry about. His wife fought beautifully on the battlefield. He would use that as a consolation to remind himself that she could take care of herself.

He leaned towards her slowly, placing his lips gently on hers. He would never tire of the overwhelming feeling each time he kisses his wife. All the blood rushes to his head, muddling every thought in it. He gently brought his hand to her hair, caressing it even as he dragged his hands through it. She has tied her hair into a ponytail to make her fight easily. She leaned into his kiss, into his touch, moaning as their hands surrounded themselves, comforting them, grounding them in the love of each other. They would never get tired of this. This addicting feeling; they would embrace it fully.

They finally broke their kiss, leaning their foreheads against each other. They remained like that for a while, wallowing themselves in each other's presence, when they heard it. It was undoubtedly the sound of a thousand marching feet.