Elliot and Renna Gwenneth were sitting alone in their house, doing as they had done for the past month, worrying. They knew that they might not ever see Iris again, and that was enough to make the two of them cry. Which they did, a lot. Elliot knew that his daughter was not fit for war, or the like, and would probably be killed in the fighting.
"What if they find her out and kill her? What if she's already dead, Renna?"
Iris's father sunk in his seat a little bit. His sister looked at him, noting that the dark circles under his eyes had grown even larger and even darker. She had no doubt that hers probably looked close to the same. She went over and placed a hand on Elliot's shoulder.
"Let us hope she is not."
A single tear fell down Renna's cheek. A little surprised at it, she wiped it. She had no idea that she had any tears left.
"This almost reminds me of..." he began, but was interrupted.
Renna stopped him. "Don't say it."
She sat down on the small couch adjacent to Elliot's chair.
They sat in silence for what felt like ages. They would have sat in silence much longer, if they hadn't heard the loud rap on their front door. They were both confused for a long moment, as no one had visited them in a very long time. Renna got up and answered the door, not wishing to be bothered. When she did, she gasped.
Kayde was looking her straight in the eyes, waiting to be let in. She immediately, if not frantically, welcomed him in, and led him into the living room where Elliot was located.
The sight of his daughter's mentor made him want to jump up and do something. He did not know what. It took a minute for any of them to speak. Kayde first held out Elliot's sword to him, making her father's knees buckle. He felt like he knew why he was being handed back his sword, because Iris had no use of it anymore. She was dead... the thought alone made a lump rise in his throat. He looked around the dark room, and then ducked his head.
"So, she's gone then?" he asked in a silent voice.
Kayde's lips twitched amusedly. "Have you no faith in me?" He sobered. "No, sir, she is not. She is back at the soldier's camp... completing her training."
This still did not comfort Elliot in the slightest. He knew that training was not in depth there. He also knew that his daughter was feeble... weak. The last time he had seen her, she had been crying. She was the most fearful of girls that he had seen and also one of the most cynical. He still loved her no matter what, but she was far from a soldier's make."
"Is she doing... ok?" Elliot could not find the right words.
"Quite. She does not need your sword, though. I figured that you would like it back."
This time, Elliot took the sword and looked over at Renna. She was sitting there, blank-faced, trying to take in every word that Kayde said. Elliot pulled the sword part-ways out of its scabbard, noting that it had been sharpened since he'd seen it last. He quickly sheathed it again, and waited for anything else that Kayde may say.
"Your daughter is a soldier among the rogues, Elliot, and she is doing you and your family proud. Try and remember that."
This was something that they did not expect him to say.
"She stands as Ingred Gwenneth, a decently talented rogue of the new recruits. I have been helping her as much as I can. Take comfort, your daughter is a fast learner. More people than I are impressed with her progress..."
An inkling of pride swirled around Elliot's heart, threatening to grow even larger. Still, he did not smile.
"So she has a chance?" he asked.
"She does."
"What?" Renna finally spoke,, "How? She is only a woman. She is Iris."
Kayde turned to her and then back to Elliot, trying to prepare an answer that might satisfy the question. It took a minute, and he could tell that the tension had grown every single second of his silence. Finally, he spoke.
"She's far more than that, I believe. See for yourself when this is over." A light smile traced his mouth.
"You believe that she will return? You believe that she will survive?"
He gave them both a curt nod. "I believe it's possible." At that moment, Renna jumped up and ran over to give the guardian the tightest hug that he had received in a while. When she went back to sit in her spot, Kayde continued the conversation.
"I can honestly say that I am proud of her. Either way, I figured that I would come to you and give you what I guessed you lacked: hope. However, this is all that I can give you. I believe your daughter will return to you one day. Then again, no one knows what the future will bring."
He began to walk off. Renna stopped him before he was able to exit the room.
"Thank you for the consolation."
He gave her a simple nod.
"You are welcome. I have to go now, my family has not heard from me in a long while."
Renna understood and motioned for him to go. They sat in silence and listened as Kayde's footsteps grew lighter and lighter until the front door opened, and then closed. After that, they still were quiet. Renna simply got up from where she was sitting and walked over to Elliot. She offered him a hand and helped him up as well. When they were both standing, they enveloped each other in a tight hug.
"She's alive..." Renna whispered to Elliot.
"For now." The words were grave, but there was a semblance of hope somewhere in his eyes. She simply hugged him.
It was almost a moment of peace.
----
Back at the camp. Iris was going through another training session. General Zayn was speaking of defense tactics that Kayde had already taught her.
Because she already had been practicing these techniques, her eyes and her mind seemed to be wandering despite her best efforts to stay focused. She stared at her surroundings from General Zayn to the very tall and very cut up wooden practice posts. She stared up and down their lengths and noticed that one had a single arrow sticking out of the very top.
"What are you looking at?" a rogue beside her whispered after Zayn had stopped speaking.
She cut her eyes, and pointed at the arrow up top. It was even more curious, because these were not the archery training grounds. General Zayn's eyes immediately whipped to the arrow that Iris was pointing at, and then back at them. He smirked a little bit.
"I see you noticed my arrow. I was wondering when someone would."
His voice boomed across the grounds. He was almost humored at it. All the rogues now had their eyes on the arrow.
"It's been there for close to two years now. I tried to use the arrow as a training technique for everyone in the camp. Wanted to see if anyone had the power and determination it took to go up there and get it for me. As you can see, no man had that kind of resolution, though many did try. Maybe one day it will eventually fall down."
He then stopped his reminiscing in its tracks and started rehearsing with the rogues. Iris did not look away for a long moment.
When Zayn stood in front of her after helping most of the other rogues, she could have sworn that she saw his eyes light up in exhilaration. However, it was only for a second before he began reviewing the technique with her. She excelled at it only because Kayde had already helped her practice what he was trying to teach her. Their daggers clanked together with each move she tried and she swiftly dodged the attacks she could not block.
"Very good, Ingred," was all the praise that the general gave her.
Training ended an hour late because Zayn decided to teach them two other lessons. The other rogues seemed to be doing way better than they were doing on their first day. It didn't take much for Iris to notice, either. Maybe it was pride, or something like it, but she wanted to prove herself even more than she already had. She stood there long after everyone else had already gone to their respective cabins, staring at the arrow and at the dusky sky.
The general's words were ringing through her ears as if he were still standing there speaking about it.
No man has ever been able to get that arrow she thought to herself, what if I can get it? She waited until no one was in sight, knowing that she would fail a lot before she succeeded, if she succeeded.
When she was sure that no one was around, she began to climb. The first try was a miserable one, like she'd expected, because the post had nowhere to grip. She shimmied up about five feet before her hold gave out. When she fell, she hit the ground hard enough to send a dull pain through her body.
The second try was even worse. She failed many, many times. In fact, she was still falling from the pole by the time the moon breached the sky. Still, that didn't matter to her, nor did the purple bruises that were splotching her skin. She kept trying for a long while, doing her best to wrap her body around it and slowly slide up.
Eventually, she realized that even though this might be the safest way to get the arrow, it was not the way that she was going to get it.
She did not have to guess why none of the other men failed... because they didn't try everything. Iris stared up at the arrow, barely able to make it out now. The sky was incredibly dark now, as some clouds had covered up the moon. The only lighting she had now were the torches that lit the premises, and there weren't many.
Her next idea was dangerous... and it took up a good amount of time to get the nerve to actually try it. She pulled her daggers from their sheaths, hoping that the steel would be strong enough to support her. She was glad that she did not weigh so much now.
She took a long breath before stabbing the first one into the post, and then the second. She stabbed them completely in, and one hand after another, slowly made progress upward.
The blades didn't seem to waver due to their make, for which she was grateful.
This new and dangerous stratagem led her farther up the pole than she had been able to get before and then even beyond that. It got to a point where she would be seriously injured if she fell, and it did not help that her arm muscles burned like a hot flame. She almost felt as if they were ripping apart. She still had longer to go, about twelve more feet to be precise. It felt like she had been climbing for hours and hours.
She was beginning to fear that she would fall which made her question whether or not she should admit defeat, relinquish her weapons, and slide back down the post. She then thought of how ignorant she would look if she had to go get new weapons because she'd lost hers halfway up a practice post.
She also thought of being the only one that was able to retrieve the arrow, and that helped her to keep going. She changed positions before beginning upward again. Instead of walking along with her hands, Iris decided to completely wrap her legs around the wooden pole.
She used all of the strength that her legs could provide to ease the strain of her arms. With all of her might and all of her grunts, she finally had scaled the post. She did not let go of her daggers until she was safely sitting at the top.
Before she plucked the arrow from its spot, she glanced down, feeling immediate vertigo. She knew she might get sick to her stomach if she were to stay up there any longer. She quickly sheathed her daggers, grabbed the arrow, and readied herself to slide back down.
It was a long process safely wrapping her body back around the old, unadorned pilaster. She slid down faster than she expected and nearly lost her balance twice. When she was standing on flat ground again, she simply stared at the arrow.
She had done it. It wasn't easy, but she had accomplished a feat that no one else had. With a little haste, knowing it was getting late by now, she walked to the General's office. She wondered how she would give it to him, what she would say to him, and vice versa. She found it impossible to plan, so she would just have to wait to know. When she reached the run-down cabin, she noticed a light in a small crack.
He's here she thought to herself.
With two short raps on the door, she heard a voice -his voice- telling her to come in. She watched the puzzlement in his eyes when she approached his desk. She then decided she would say nothing to him. Instead, she just looked into his eyes and dropped the arrow on the table right in front of him. When he saw it, she watched as the shock registered on his face. When he looked up to say something... she was already walking out the door.