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S. A. A

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We made our way through the people and they pulled us to them, joining us in their dance. The atmosphere was hot due to the many bodies stood close together and I briefly wondered if this was what it was like to attend the university parties that all the students talked about so often. Ayla tightened her hold on my hand as I dipped my head back and relished in the feeling of carelessness, my eyes closed as I swayed to the music.

I tried to keep my eyes on Ayla, but in the haze of it all, we were torn apart and suddenly, I was in the arms of a masked stranger. The music pulsed on as I stared silently.

"You have an affinity for falling into my arms, it seems." He joked and the sound of his voice, coupled with those hazel eyes, I knew who it was.

"Emut." I murmured, gazing down at his attire. He wore a sheer red mesh tank top, that was lined by a large gold U-shaped usekh collar. On his upper arms, he donned a large gold cuff as well as on the bottom cuff of his three-quarter pants. Markings of patterns were made in black ink on his cheeks. He wore a gold mask on his face over his eyes, but it failed to conceal his eyes that shone like embers of a fire.

He smiled at the fact that I recognised him before gazing down at my attire.

"You look..." He said slowly.

"Good? Ayla's beat you to it." I snipped back jokingly and Emut laughed.

"I was going to say 'beautiful', but 'good' works too." He mused and I blushed at his words, not used to being complimented, especially by a male.

I cleared my throat and gestured around us to the dancing crowd.

"Well, it seems strange to be stood still when perched in a dancing crowd." I commented jokingly in a bid to change the subject.

Emut glanced around before turning to me, an eyebrow raised.

"Then let's stop standing still." He said simply and I smiled at his words.

He kept a respectable distance between us, I noticed, before reaching his hand out and putting his palm against mine. His hand was significantly larger and I could feel the roughness of his hand, a show of how hard he works.

We circled each other, like during sword training, but different. He smiled slightly as we moved, using his other hand to motion between the two of us.

"I just realised we're matching." He said with an airy laugh. I looked down to find we were both wearing a form of red before laughing.

"Oh? It seems so. Although, I do think I wear it better." I joked, using my hand to flick my hair over my shoulder. Emut raised his eyebrow again, before clasping my hand in his own and twirling me slowly.

"It also seems fitting that the colour of red denotes arrogance." He slipped back and I turned back to face him, a curious look on my face.

"It denotes to love as well, but also anger. Why do you think that is?" I asked absent-mindedly, gasping out of shock when Emut dipped me, his hand on the nape of my neck and one clasped around my wrist.

"Because you can't have one without the other." He said simply, holding me effortlessly. I smiled at his jab.

"I think the same goes with you and Demir." I retaliated with a small laugh and Emut lifted me back up before placing his palm against mine yet again.

"Then, pray tell, why is he all the way over there?" He asked haughtily and I turned my gaze to the outskirts of the crowd to see three masked males stood together on the side, deep in conversation. It wasn't too hard to distinguish between the three.

They all had donned a similar outfit to Emut, perhaps out of tradition. The first I noticed was Abrax, that much I could tell from the difference in the complexion of his skin which was significantly darker. He wore a white tank top, outlining the broad plains of his chest, a gold usekh collar and gold cuff on his arm. His gold mask concealed his eyes and on his cheek, there were markings made in ink with drawings of ancient patterns.

Demir was stood beside him, wearing a navy blue tank top that complimented his wide shoulders with a usekh collar and gold mask. He, too, had markings on his cheeks that I couldn't decipher. His black hair lay tousled, resting at the top of the mask.

Lastly, was Arun who was talking animatedly and was the only one with distinctive golden locks that nearly touched his shoulders. He was significantly shorter than the other two males and wore the same outfit, but instead in yellow as well as a flower crown made of blossom petals.

"You recognise them?" Emut questioned and I nodded wordlessly as I gazed in their direction, listening to Arun as he spoke. It was as though Demir felt my gaze and his silver eyes looked right to meet mine, a blank look on his face. He stared for a second then, his eyes giving me a once over before he turned back and continued with his conversation, a stoic look on his face as he spoke to Abrax.

No doubt uttering another insult

"The first day you wanted to leave." Emut's voice rang out and I snapped my head back, processing what he said. I didn't know what to say to his words, so I merely stayed silent, looking up at him and waiting for him to continue.

He looked over at all the villagers as he spoke, a serious tone to his voice.

"Is that still the case?" He voiced out his thoughts and I knew he was worried about the plight of Aaru, just as Maya had been.

I shook my head at his words, looking down as I spoke.

"I don't know what I want anymore." I said honestly and I felt a weight lift at the admission.

I heard Emut let out a small sigh and I looked up to see a serious look on his face.

"The other day you said you didn't want to be the prophecy." He simply stated, waiting for me to explain what I meant.

"I-"

A deafening explosion followed by screams burst through right next to us and Emut pushed us to the ground, his arm shielding me as he looked around, now in full-fighting mode.

"Grab the weapons." He called out, standing up and I shuffled off the ground, looking around as Abrax hauled a large straw bag of weapons, dropping it down in the centre, a grunt leaving his mouth as he looked around angrily.

Maya chose then to make an appearance, a scowl on her face.

"Finally." She spat out aggressively, tearing the bottom of her dress until it rested mid-thigh. She reached into the bag and pulled out her daggers. Demir came then, holding his glaive and looked to Emut with a nod.

Ayla nudged me with her arm, a scared look in her eyes and her bow and arrow in her hands. I looked from her to the villagers running in panic as random explosions went off and then the Chigaru came charging in, bigger and brawnier than the last we had encountered.

Emut spoke then, his voice rushed but steady.

"You know what to do." He said, his eyes gazing into every single person stood around him.

Demir spat on the ground, a scowl on his face.

"Kill them all." He bit out and then Emut ushered them away, drawing his sword up, a stony look on his face.

He ran then at a speed I couldn't quite comprehend. The Chigaru converged in on him and I watched as he raised his unarmed hand, grabbing a Chigaru by the arm and flinging him 10 feet away, his body bending strangely over a food cart. Impassive, Emut raised his shoe, kicking a Chigaru in the ribs and I grimaced at the cracking sound that resonated over the villager's screams. He stabbed him as he fell on the ground, killing him instantly.

I staggered backwards, looking around at the sheer panic as people ran. I wish I could too, but I didn't know the place as they did. I had nowhere to hide.

I leaned down behind a table of food, hearing the sounds of Maya as she shouted vile obscenities at her opponents. Looking up, I saw the mop of red hair as she spin-kicked a Chigaru down, stabbing him viciously and I watched as his legs raised in response with every single stab before dropping with a loud thud.

A Chigaru came from behind her then and wrapped an arm around her neck. She struggled at this, punching his arm, but to no avail; he wouldn't budge. I nearly jumped up instinctively to help, but stopped when she reached behind with a hand and placed a palm flat against his face. He screamed then and smoke wafted from his face in cloudy puffs. He staggered backwards and Maya let out a cough then, kneeling on the ground. The Chigaru seemingly composed himself and moved again to attack Maya again as she knelt down, but he dropped down suddenly, an arrow in his back.

Maya's head snapped to look at this and she smiled in an upwards direction before running off. I looked to see Ayla perched on the top of a house, shooting arrows at a speed that I wish I could master. Chigaru were shooting down like flies and turned to her direction, throwing arrows of their own. I watched in worried anticipation, but Ayla vanished into thin air before reappearing on an adjacent building and resuming her arrow shooting.

"Hanna!" I screamed at the sudden hand that appeared on my arm but sighed in relief when Arun's worried face came into view.

"Let's get you out of here!" He screamed over the noise and I scrambled out from under the table and took Arun's hand as we ran, ducking as we did. We moved to turn left but Chigaru came piling in and we ducked into a house. The sound of Arun's heavy breathing was prominent next to me and I kept my grip tight on his thin fingers. I peered out the window, seeing the familiar face of Demir.

He twirled his glaive effortlessly in his hand, the sand around him spinning erratically. I watched as his midnight hair flopped up and down with the wind, a crazy smile on his face as Chigaru surrounded him. One made the mistake of getting too close and Demir swung his glaive with his left hand, effectively cutting him in half. The blood sprayed like a hose, hitting Demir's face and ruining his markings, but he paid no heed and moved forward, a silver glimmer in his eyes. He grabbed a Chigaru roughly by the hair before throwing him to the ground and I watched how sand engulfed the screaming man, burying him alive. I watched as Demir smiled at the sound.

"It's clear! Let's move!" Arun let out, pulling me and I moved hurriedly with him, making sure that I didn't slip against the falling debris of houses and bodies of Chigaru across the floor.

"Where to?!" I screamed as we ran, but Arun either didn't hear me or chose not to respond. The sound of crumbling stone made me snap my head to the right and I saw Abrax barreling a Chigaru through a house, the debris falling around them. He raised his axe and flung it forwards, hitting someone square in the chest before moving forward and body slamming another, letting out a loud growl as he did.

The sound of it sent shivers up my spine. I felt the warmth of Arun's hand disappear and turned to see that he was picking up books off the floor. I ran to him, hauling him up.

"We don't have time!" I shouted, pulling him up and suddenly I was being yanked from behind. I kicked hard but stopped when seeing Emut. His clothes were slightly torn and there were a few scratches on his face. The familiar friendly face made me break down and the feelings came pouring out, all at once.

"What do I do?! I don't know what to do?!" I let out, looking around at the disorder and panic. Emut held his sword at the ready, but the look in his eyes told me he knew how I was feeling. How helpless I felt as I looked around at the happiness and hope of these villagers being destroyed. He rested an arm on my shoulder, a determined look on his face.

"Save one. Just save one." He instructed, his voice gentle yet deep and I nodded at his words. He knelt down and grabbed a sword from a fallen Chigaru and I took it. He smiled slightly at this before turning back to the attack.

I turned back and grabbed Arun, who was still struggling with the books. He relented this time and I moved us to the outskirts. A blood curdling scream made me snap my head back towards the village centre and I turned to Arun. He looked at me with hooded curious eyes.

Just save one

"I have to go back." I whispered and I ignored him calling my name as I made my way back into the carnage. 

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Hope you guys liked it! Let me know how it was!

I will be updating weekly now so make sure to add to your library to get the notifications!

S. A. A