Hesitation Of A Heart Beat

“Look, Mirabelle!”

The entire plain was filled to the brim, areas set up for the festival. All the 15 year olds were gathering at a large booth, where you signed up to try the weaponry.

“Im trying the twin daggers first!”

I was a bit scared, twin daggers were close range, as were most weapons…

We weaved through the crowd of people, all gathered to watch the 15 year olds attempts to take a place in the war, and then celebrate afterwards.

Those who found no instant talent where given their own choice of weapon and were mentored by an advanced group. This rule caused a lot of people failing on purpose to get their own choice, but most were caught.

After a bit of rude shoving, we arrived at a booth where Jesse stood, flashing everyone smiles and offering encouraging small talk.

“How cute is he?”

I barley heard Cari as we got in line to sign up for the later events.

“I mean, he is only two years older than we are!”

I tuned her out as she gushed on and on about him, his perfection, his perfect smile, his beautiful eyes….BLAH BLAH BLAH.

My interests focused on Darren a few yards away, talking with Ella, a girl a year older than me.

My heart twisted in agony at the sight of him laughing with her, a sincere smile and warmth in his eyes….

“Mirabelle? MIRABELLE!”

“HUH?! WHA…?”

She thumped me playfully on the head.

“I was just SAYING I should ask him out on a date.”

“Uh..yeah, go for it.”

I tried to sound happy, but she caught the pain in my voice, and followed my distraught eyes to Darren and Ella.

She rolled her eyes.

“Mirabelle, she’s just talking to him. Don’t over react.”

I relaxed a little.

Cari knew how much I liked him, and in one of those ‘squeal like a piggy’ girl moments I had told her he had hugged me in a random show of affection, AND he offered my encouragement for this life changing moment.

“He really cares about you, so don’t worry.”

I tipped my head, and changed the subject.

“What kind of date would an angel go on?”

“What kind of date would a demon go on?”, she countered.

We laughed at the thought of demons actually caring enough to be romantic.

“Probably on a massacre or something.”

“Ha Ha.”

We both froze and turned to look behind us in the line, where the quiet laugh had come from.

A girl stood there, long, wavy black hair, soft white skin and strikingly blue eyes.

Her voice was something that brought an involuntary shiver, it was like….a thread of silk snaking through the grass, a soft, melancholy melody of her own.

“Some demons aren’t bad, you know.”

Cari and I exchanged an uneasy glance at the hidden meaning in her words.

“In fact…”

He blue eyes turned towards the same colored sky.

“Some demons are here as spies, so I would be careful.”

She glared at us her blue eyes suddenly growing icy and cold like blue flames, as if someone lit the sky on fire, and the red flames adopted the cerulean pigment.

She stepped gracefully out of line, the walked away, her footsteps as soundless as snowfall.

“That was odd..”

I nodded but we couldn’t talk any longer. The line behind us were clambering angrily.

Without realizing it, the entire line in front of us had vanished, and the many people behind were grumpy from the heat, and wished to get out of it as soon as possible.

Cari and I looked guiltily at each other.

“WOOPS!”

We walked rather fast to cover the noticeable distance from us and a grinning Jesse, whom I was sure was anticipating a talk with Cari, whom gave a smile that would melt anyone’s heart.

“Hi, Jesse.”

Like before, I tuned out Cari and Jesse’s flirting.

Yes, they have don’t it often, and I wished they would just say they were boyfriend and girlfriend already.

I looked at the sign up sheet, trying to find a long-ranged weapon.

Archery!

And then…..

AHA!

I signed up for archery first, then I would try my luck with swords or lances. I listed the others in no particular order; they all brought me not even the slightest inertest.

I sighed wistfully. Why was I such a coward? My mother, May, was a brave warrior, so how could I be such a coward?

Surely I had adopted some, if not one, heroic cell from her!

I glanced at the first group of 15 year olds that tried swords, someone were smiling so big it was scary.

But why not be happy? Swords were honorable weapons.

Swordsmen got beautiful swords, some made out of black or white steel, with gold crosspieces. Some carved inscriptions on their swords, to make their weapons more personal, and filled in the carving with lasting paint, tracing each word carefully.

I had been given my mother’s sword, though I wished I had the guts to even consider using it.

The inscription was two simple words, that held such meaning beyond my comprehension.

‘Eternal Peace’

They could mean so much, and I craved to know what my mother’s meaning was.

The words just seemed deeper than one would guess.

Another group finished, some girls jumping up and down in sheer joy, while the guys tried to be more nonchalant about their jubilance. In each of their hands was a long, steel weapon with a dulled metal point; a lance. I guessed they had been dulled so no one could be seriously hurt in the practice.

A voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“See you around!”

Cari dashed off to join the group trying their luck with daggers.

I shook my head in wonder at her courage, then went to join the archers.

Briana, the archer instructor , paced the lines with a firm, solemn face.

“Raise your bows, and aim for the target.”

My hands shook as I drew back the arrow, but I had no time to wait for the shaking to stop.

I tried, I really did.

But I missed; the arrow pierced a tree root a few feet away from the target.

Many of the group groaned as their arrows chose their own targets.

Briana paced the lines once more.

“What’s your name?”

She had stopped in front of a girl with light brown hair, about to her shoulder blades.

The girl stared right back with solemn eyes.

“My name is Echo.”

Briana singled out a few more, then she ordered us to move on to our next ‘activity’.

Calla the swords master was not as strict, and held an open and friendly face.

“Hello, my name is Calla, and I’ll try to find those of you who are gifted with the sword.”

She pulled a white sword from the sheath, slowly with natural grace.

The sky’s reflection mesmerized me, the sword almost seemed to be made with glass, glossy and shined to absolute beauty, but this brought a despairing thought to my mind.

‘Why did she have to shine it so frequently?'

She dashed into the group, who had all been given average, dulled swords.

She slashed out lazily, I could tell she wasn’t putting the slightest bit of effort into attacking.

When she came face to face with me, I wasn’t sure what to do. I raised my sword, despite its heavy weight, and tried to swing it around.

Too bad it failed me.

By the time I managed to swing it around, I had lost a great deal of my strength, so it cuffed her knees harmlessly.

Our eyes met, then she jumped back, callin' us back into line.

“The head of this group obviously belongs to this young girl.”

One of my old friends, Aileen, took a step forward to shake hands with Calla.

Same thing; a few were singled out, then we moved on.

I was surprised to meet up with Cari for the next group, lance.

“Hey Mirabelle! I had no luck with daggers or archery. How about you?”

“I tried archery and swordsmanship, but I guess we tried archery at different times.”

The teacher interrupted us.

“Im Neva! A lance is a hard weapon to use, so you must be committed to training for long periods of time!”

Neva was like most girl instructors, beautiful.

She had white hair and deep blue eyes, yet her gaze was sharper than the pointed weapon she held.

Her assistant, a stern faced man, was like all the other guys, like something that stepped out of a painting, like something you could never believe existed, something that held such untold amounts of beauty, it took your breath away, and your heart grew hesitant to beat.

‘Do Half-Hearts feel this when they gaze at someone they care for?’

Neva interrupted my thoughts.

Like Calla, she plunged into the group, swinging her lance this way and that. I was frozen as I watched

Cari fight with her; she was, without a doubt, born for this weapon.

She ducked down, whipping the dazzling weapon so it tripped Neva.

Neva caught herself in a back flip, then cart wheeled over.

She twirled it over her head, then threw it into the air, swinging so one minute she was in front of Cari, then she was behind her.

Cari was unprepared for this move, the shock painted on her face as her target had simply disappeared.

Neva caught the lance and aimed for Cari’s throat.

Cari sensed this stabbed her lance over her shoulder.

Neva’s nettle point stopped a hairs width away from her throat, caught by Cari’s own spiked end.

The fighting went on for another few minutes, then we stood erect in line.

“I must say, our top of the class is without a doubt this girl.”

Cari bowed.

“Thank you. I am willing to work hard to prove myself.”

“The next best…”

Neva was cut off by a cry from somewhere inside the lines.

“My arm is bleeding!”

Neva looked unsure.

“Is it bad?”

I leaned out of line to see Kama squeezing her arm, crimson streams flowing down her arm and dripping onto the grass.

I didn’t ask for permission, but I jumped out of line, plucking a flower as I rushed to her.

“Look! Don’t squeeze it like that! “

I crushed the flower and spread the juices on the cut.

Kama’s face relaxed.

“That feels good…”

I nodded.

“It should. Its marigold, perfect for cuts. But this is only to last you until we get you to the Healers house.”

I ripped a small piece of cloth from my shorts, then pressed it lightly on the gash.

Neva just stood there, looking helpless.

I decided she was pretty dumbstruck, so I volunteered to walk Kama to the Healers house.

She shook her head to relive her of the trance.

“Uh..yes! Please walk her there.”

I rolled my eyes and escorted Kama across the village, to the enormous healers house…er…mansion.

I knocked lightly on the door, wondering if I would see the top healer, a girl named Rena.

Few had seen her face, and I wondered how old she was;

Many boys would get hurt on purpose or fake it, just for the chance to see her.

A girl about 13 opened the door, her hair was pale gold, and her hazel eyes met mine for a moment.

“Can I help you?”

She looked as timid as I felt, and as she spoke, her head lowered slightly to avoid my gaze.

“Um, yes. This girl hurt her arm.”

She blinked.

“Ok. Come in.”

“Both of us?”

She nodded, seeming to have caught on to my friendly and awed face, she had loosened up in a matter of seconds.

“Why not?”

I took a step inside.

WHITE.

Everything was white and gold.

The furniture, the carpet, the ceiling.

EVERYTHING!

But it was very pretty, it must be hard to keep a house like this spotless.

Most angels had nice homes, but this was incredible!

Then sadness replaced the awe struck dominance in my heart.

I knew a good bit of the rooms had to be filled with the sick and injured.

“Come on. That looks like a nasty cut, so well have Rena see to it.”

That comment nearly took my breath away.

“R-really?”

She shrugged again.

We walked through several rooms, all beautifully decorated.

On even had a fountain in the corner!

This was more like a fancy hotel.

Finally, we stopped at a rather plain white door with an aged gold knob.

It was unusual, looking at all the elegance and then seeing this aged entryway.

The girl timidly raised her hand and knocked.

“Who is it?”, a gentle voice called.

“It’s Damara. Someone got hurt at the festival.”

The door opened to reveal Rena.

She was unbelievable.

She was young and had kind, sea green eyes.

Her hair was creamy brown, brushing her shoulders, and behind her ear, to my wonder, were two eagle feathers. She had her sleeves rolled up, and she wasn’t wearing shoes;

I immediately guessed she was working on some patients.

She nodded at me and Kama.

“This should only take a moment.”

She led us to a white bed to get a closer look at Kama’s arm.

“Odd…it has already been treated with marigold….”

I smiled sheepishly.

“Im sorry, I did that. I didn’t know what else I could do at that exact moment.”

Rena tipped her head in curiosity.

“How did you know..?”

“Oh. I studied a lot of books on the subject of healing, because I don’t like to fight.”

Rena looked thoughtful.

“Then would you like to become a healer? I could use some help, since we have only about 12 people with any sense.”

I was amazed as she spoke.

“Y-yes! That would be great!”

Rena smiled warmly.

“Now get back to the festival, and be back here tomorrow at about 8am.”

I nodded, lost for anymore words.

Damara escorted me to the entrance.

“Its good to have someone my age…I get so nervous working with people much older than I am.”

I flashed her a smile.

“I can’t wait! I wondered if there was any alternative to shedding blood, and now I can help stop it! “

Damara attempted a smile, but it failed her.

“You still must know how to fight….we have to go onto battlefields and drag people to the sidelines.

Healing is even more dangerous, because we have to be concerned with our teammates, out patients, making sure our supplies aren’t damaged in the fray, and through all this, we must defend ourselves with weapons, something we are not well practiced in.”

I listened carefully, my hopes of peace and security beginning to crush beneath of the weight of the responsibility I was to take on.

And yet…

“I’m not afraid. Ill be here tomorrow.”

I went off to join the festival, feeling Damara’s eyes on my back.

‘Is this alternative the best one? Im working with Rena and will be honored. But Damara…it almost seemed as if she was warning me…’

{*** OHEMGEEEEEE!! This one was really long! But I had fun! The odd girl Cari and Mirabelle met will be a big part of the story. I have the middle and end planned, but getting to it will be hard. Ill hang in there. I wonder if I give them enough personality? I want to have people hating characters, siding with them, adoring them, being annoyed by them -.- Anyway, something I realize, but am too lazy to change, is that Damara was a bit unfriendly and really wanted to crush Mirabelle. But no, she was trying to warn her of something. Why did the HECK did I just tell you that? Because I don’t want her to be hated. Im doing it again! Typing too much. Ill leave you in peace, until next time….RATE AND MESSAGE ME WITH OPINION AND IDEAS! HEEEHEE! RANDOM COLORS!***}