Xerxes by Micheal Achonye

Angs POV

POV (Point of view)

"Georgey! Where are you? The ships are about to leave and we have to go."

By the gods, Georgey should take his life more seriously. This wasn't the time to play hide and seek.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed from behind. 

"Oh my!" I pretended to care while feigning surprise. 

The little boy had been hiding behind a tent. His techniques were becoming quite predictable these days. I remembered my first encounter, it was really horrible. I had come out of the kitchen with the generals food and drinks when he jumped out with a play knife. I threw everything into the air and ran back inside thinking he was a Draka soldier. Although I got reprimanded for it, I could not share the blame with him so I took the brunt end of the short stick. He was a child after all, he was allowed to have his fun.

"Have you packed your bags?" I asked, playfully tugging his cheek.

"Yes I have," he answered laughing. 

His gap teeth reminded me of our mother. He really had our mothers look and everything. His smile, laughs, everything reminded me of her. 

A worm crawled out of the ground which took his attention. With the knife he began to stab the creature back into the ground. Reminiscing over the good old days was something I vowed to never do, but when I see him play so carefree and happy, I cannot help but smile. It was bliss. 

What was that smell?

"Georgey?" I frowned.

"Yep," he answered ignorantly. 

"Did you take your shower like I said you should?"

He looked up sharply with guilt in his eyes. 

"Yes?" he answered in a low note.

Okay, now he was lying.

"No?" he gave off in an even lower note.

You can't be serious Georgey.

"Come on, I told you to take your bath a few hours ago," I yelled out in anger. 

"It was so cold, I didn't want to take a cold bath," he quivered.

Truthfully, the weather was cold and there was no way of boiling water. Everything had been carried off by the head cook and stashed into one of the ships. A messenger boy came running to where we stood.

"Last ship leaving! Last ship leaving!" he let out before running towards the harbour.

Oh my, we had been here for awhile and the last ship was about to leave.

"Georgey, get your bags, we're leaving. Now!" I ordered, to which he gave a funny salute and huddled into the tent to get his bags. 

***

We were running towards the line and I was glad to be among the lucky few who had made it out alive. A Vladian had attacked with his dragon destroying the camp that had been set among the fields. So many had died during the attack.

Everyone knew the Vladian army didn't attack once, instead they would give off barrage after barrage of attacks until there was nothing but smoke and ash. 

"Ma'am, why didn't you follow the other ship that was meant for civilians? It was meant for the cooks and cleaners in the camp, this one is for the fighters and sorcerers only," a warm voice said.

A young general stood over me as I stayed in line. The look he gave me was one of concern and he was right. There were four ships which had been placed at the harbour. Two were meant for the civilians with the other two kept for the surviving fighters. It was a contingency plan incase the war didn't go as planned.

"I'm so sorry, I had to run an errand for the general and I lost track of time," I lied.

You're lying Ang. They could have your head for this. 

Deep down I wished he would not ask me for the name of the general to confirm my story. He seemed to notice my brother and went down on his knees.

"What is your name little warrior?" he asked with a smile.

"Georgey," answered the little boy. 

His words seemed to touch the soldiers heart, for he stood up, held me by the arm and led me away from the line.

"Where are you taking us?" I asked in fear. Was my story that horrible?

"There's a stair at the back of the ship which would lead you to the top. Stay on the ship and if you're asked any question, do not answer," he gave off without looking back.

He walked swiftly and had a stern voice as he talked. He did not look back until we had reached the rear of the ship. It was midday but the ships interior was dark.

A huge man came forth from the dark with a large hammer. He must have been seven feet tall to be honest.

"You have no right to be here Sergeant. Generals orders," he rumbled, his voice sending chills up my spine.

"Would you relax Jung, they're not with me. They were sent on an errand by General Kol and they missed their ship. You don't expect them to stay in line with those sweaty men out there," the young general retorted.

Okay, this lie had been dragged on for too long. First off, I had not given the name of any General to the Sergeant and secondly, he made the lie sound more convincing than I had made it seem.

Jung looked at me with cold hazel eyes like he was searching my soul for uncertainty. I felt tiny when compared to this behemoth of a man. The gods forbid anyone who dared to pick a fight with him. His hammer would not hesitate to be buried into their skulls. 

It was almost a minute now and he had not taken his eyes off me nor had he blinked. I thought I was finished until his eyes wrinkled into a smile. 

"Welcome aboard miss... um, what should I call you?" he asked. 

Still shocked at what just happened, I found my voice and gave him my name. He nodded and stepped out of the way for the three of us to get into the ship. 

"Now remember what I told you. Do not talk to anyone," the young general reminded me.

I looked back to see him standing away from the ship. Was he not coming with us? Why would he risk his life and rank to put us on this ship if he would not join in?

"Why are you standing there?" I asked. "Are you not coming?" 

He smiled, melting my heart away. His smile was warm just like his voice and it gave off a homely vibe. I fell in love with him for that smile. I did not want to lose him just the way I had lost my parents.

"I'm a Sergeant my lady and it is my duty to help others like you get to your destinations safe. I'm a warrior for a reason. My life is nothing if everyone isn't safe," he replied with fervor.

I felt bad for him. What did I know? I was nothing but a cook whose destiny was to cook for men like him to eat and fight our wars for us. I would never be strong or brave or even courageous like him. Someone tugged on my sleeve and I looked down to see Georgey pointing out to someone. Who was it? 

Looking back at the ship, I could see Christian, Flegel and Summer playing at the top of the stairs. They were his playmates and he was itching to join them. Well, we were already safe, there was no need to worry.

"Alright, you can go and play with your friends, but don't go too far," I warned the little boy before giving him a kiss.

He screamed with glee and rushed up the stairs almost toppling over the broken ledge at the bottom.

I guess it was time to say goodbye to the Sergeant but as I turned to see him one last time, he was gone.

With nothing but a memory of the Sergeant, I walked up the dark stairs to face the busy ship which had begun to fill up with sweaty warriors covered in blood and soot. 

***

The ship smelled of burning wood. 

Where was Georgey? I couldn't see him anywhere on deck. Had he gotten lost in the crowds or had he somehow gone off the ship to look for me? I was losing my mind. I wouldn't mind going off the ship to look for my little brother.

"Angy!" I heard a familiar voice call out.

Following the sound of his voice I found him waving over to me as he played with his friends. It wasn't safe for him to be on the deck with tired and angry warriors marching around. 

There had to be someone that I knew on this ship. A cook, a young cadet, anyone that I had done a favour for.

"Angy?"

I was so lost in thoughts that I hadn't noticed the yellow haired boy, General Kols son, Robin. 

"Hey," I let out, faking a smile.

Well, since he was here and I needed someone to help with Georgey, I could ask him for a favour and pay it back whenever he wanted it.

"Is there any safe place on the ship where my brother could stay throughout the journey?" I asked with a little prayer in my heart.

"Yeah, below deck with my cousin, Joey," he answered.

I had never met Joey, but he was known as a menace and a bully amongst the kids. Anything was better than nothing I guess.

"He'll be fine," Robin reassured me, whisking Georgey and his friends below deck.

Walking to the hull of the ship and looking over, I heard the ships horn go off as it began to set sail for Volak. I hadn't been to the Stone island, but I had heard that it was the safest place in the Capital. 

The ship rumbled and groaned as it began to speed up. Capalu was now behind us. We would soon be free from the curse of fighting everyday and not knowing when we would die. 

There was someone waving at me from the island. Wait, was that the Sergeant?

He must have stayed back with a few other warriors to fight the incoming invasion and act as a distraction so the Vladians would not come after us.

A tear rolled down my cheek as I waved back to the valiant hero. I would never see his warm smile or hear his warm voice again. It hurt me so much for he had risked his life to help me and he was not done with his duty. He would act as a decoy to aid in our escape. He was a true hero. He knew that he would lose, but he stayed to fulfill his duty as a warrior. Even though the odds were not in his favour, he would keep on fighting until his last day. Somehow, I wasn't worried. I had a hunch that I was going to see him again. Maybe I would, maybe I would not, but either way, if I did see him, I would give him a kiss and thank him for saving our lives.

He kept on waving until a fog covered the island. Looking onto the vast water, I felt the ocean breeze kiss the tears on my cheek. It was cold and dry. I cleaned the tracks of my tears to avoid anyone from asking me questions. I would be brave for Georgey, I would be brave for me.

Using my eyes to search the ship, I could not find anyone that I knew... Oh wait, wasn't that the spear boy, Xerxes?

I was happy to find him alive. For awhile I thought he had died with the other warriors on the field.

As I walked up to him I could not help but notice how much he had grown. He was now a warrior with a different look in his eyes. In camp he was known as 'the guy who was always in his head'. He always thought up things and brought up ideas that didn't make any sense to any of the warriors in the field. But his ideas were what had helped them retake Capalu from the hands of the enemies. We were fleeing now, but with enough preparation and out of the box ideas we could take on the King, even in his own war field.

"Hello," I said with a smile.

He sent a smile my way before casting his gaze to the empty space beside me. He was looking for Georgey.

"Georgey is fine, He's below deck with some friends. You're that spear boy right? The one who walked around with Lady Queen." I know, so many questions, but I had to make sure it was him.

His eyes dilated a bit making him frown like I had brought up something unspeakable. He shifted his gaze to the ocean before smiling once more. 

"Yes, I am. I'm glad you're safe," he gave off coldly.

Yes I was, but for how long. We were moving to a different place to start over and we were still unsure of our safety. I held the hull of the ship as I propped myself to keep from swaying with the ship. I could not get the pictures of the men who would die out of my head. The men who had stayed back to act as some kind of decoy against the Vladians second raid. The tears seemed to rush out and I bit my lower lip to hide it to no avail. It was fruitless, just like my efforts to help in this war.

"Xerxes, why do we have wars? All this senseless violence could have been quelled a long time ago. I would still have my parents, you would have been in your hometown with magic and everything would have been - normal."

I said those words but immediately regretted it when I saw him lost in thoughts. Classic Xerxes, I'm pretty sure he was thinking of some crazy idea on how he was going to win the battle again. Sometimes I wondered what went on in that big brain of his. Smiling at the beautiful future which laid ahead, I whispered an 'it would be alright' before it was shattered by an eerie scream. 

"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhhhh! They're here! The Vladians and the Xaj are here!" a woman screamed in fear.

The woman who had screamed pointed out to the ocean and she was not wrong, the Kings army had us surrounded from a distance. They were taking no survivors. The Xaj had already begun to create hurricanes with the dragons getting ready to burn the ships to ashes. We were doomed. There was nothing anyone could do about it.

This was where my story should have ended. But I kept having some glimmer of hope that something good was about to happen and no matter the odds, we would survive this battle.