Lost

Story by Bayrd al'Syeen for Project Gaidin's Death Match Week 1.

In the shadows of a dimly lit room, Baryd smiled to himself as he casually prepares one of his best knives for use. The metallic smell of of the still wet blood permeated the air of the room. Basking in the scent, he took deep inhalations. “Smells like victory,” he exhaled with a sigh.

Stacked haphazardly beside him were the corpses of his defeated foes from the Top Gaidin competition. He reached toward the nearest one ....and was kicked awake by something large standing over him in the faint light of his shared barrack room.

“What is it, Lord Marrow Gaidin?” It was Baryd’s mentor. He was fully dressed and motioning for him to get up and do the same.

“Dress and prepare yourself, Recruit. You've been summoned to the Amyrlin’s study. I have other matters to attend, so I trust you know the way.” With that, he turned on his heel and strode from the room leaving Baryd to prepare himself.

Lightly closing the door to his room, he jogged through the hallways making his way to the Amyrlin’s study. Finishing up the ties on his shirt and bracers, he checked Broomhilda hanging from the steel loop at his belt as well as the small throwing daggers sheathed on the opposite side.

Walking up to the doors he smiled slyly to Mieri, an Accepted. She seemed to be working at the Amyrlin's door that night. “Uhh, Hi Mieri. I was called up- is the Mother inside?”

Mieri smirked playfully, “Of course she is, Baryd. She summoned you to her offices.” Before he could reply, she went on, “If she summoned you in the night to her offices and than was not there, that would be foolish, no?”

“Of course-” he replied.

“Of course it would be,” she continued. “So are you calling the Amyrilin Seat a fool, Baryd al'Syeen?”

“No I’m-” he began.

“Going to be late for your summonses,” she interrupted. “Now go!” He thought she had the wisp of a playful smile on her face throughout the short conversation.

Peace!, but that women is all over the place. She lets me steal a few kisses and than does nothing but talk down to me. Women. Azi would know what to do..

Shaking his head, he made to move past her but she grabbed his wrist and motioned him to come closer. She stole a quick kiss and continued in a more hushed tone, “I heard them talking; be careful you big bear.”

He smiled to her and continued into the office. When he got in, the scene in front of him was chaos.

“Already in turmoil, your going to have to Travel there and get in and out as fast as possible Adriana, this girl is of vital importance to the Tower. She could be the strongest Aes Sedai of our generat-” Their conversation cut off as he entered the room.

“Ah finally, the boy your sending me with is here Mother. Honestly could not one of the Gaidin be spared?” she sniffed.

“No, Daughter, there are more pressing matters, and now that our guest has arrived it's time to go. Please explain to him the situation on your way to the Traveling grounds.”

With out a word, Red Sedai strode from the room. The Amyrlin stared at Baryd, raised her eye brows and motioned for him to follow her. Making a hasty bow, he made to follow the Red sister. He gave Mieri a pained look as he passed her and had to jog a bit to catch up with Red's long, purposeful strides.

“Let's get something straight. I do not think I need you to come along with me and the only reason you are is because the Amyrlin has commanded it. Also, I do not want you to get under my feet. So when we are there you can protect my back, but you must do as I tell you when I tell you. Understand?”

“Yes, Red Sedai. But where are we going?” he asked.

Shaking her head, she removed her flask from her belt and sighed softly, “First thing's first. To the kitchens to refill this and then to the room that we sisters have set aside for Traveling. Then off to a little country in the East where some houses are squabbling over rights to a throne, and by squabbling I mean an all out war which I intend to drop us right in the middle of, so we can swoop in and rescue some damn fool girl from being killed by her aunts, uncles and cousins.”

He missed a step at ‘all out war’ and after he regained his footing he had to quicken his pace to keep up with the Aes Sedai. He began checking his weapons again, glad he brought them. Eyeing the sword at her waist, he nodded in appreciation thinking to himself, She looks to keep the leather well oiled, and not a hint of rust anywhere. She also wears it with a sense of knowing. That sword belongs to her.

Without a word, they made their way in and out of the kitchens and to the Traveling grounds, and were stepping out into chaos in no time.

Throwing up her hand as they stepped of the hole in the air and into what appeared to have been a court yard in some grand estate, Red didn't even flinch when several arrows bounced off the bubble of Air she had made around them.

“Hurry, you better keep up with me boy!” she yelled, taking a swig from her flask as she made her way into the house.

Taking a few quick lefts and rights they made their way to a door that looked like it had seen the wrong side of an axe. Closing her eyes, Red placed her hand on the door and in seconds, it exploded into ash blowing into the room to reveal of all things a man with a sword at his side. Crying? is he crying?

“NOOOO!!! My Helenna they took her!” The man screamed, not even giving notice to the huge man with a hefty axe and the obvious Aes Sedai bearing down on him.

“Stop your crying and tell me where she is, you woolheaded idiot!” Red yelled, sheathing her sword and drawing her flask.

“They took her! They will hold her till the secession is over then surely they will kill her! They will never allow one like.. her to take the throne. Even though she made no attempt at it, they said she ‘could’ make trouble and..” Everything else got jumbled together in between sobs and sniffles.

“Come on man, quit your sniffling. I will find her, and she will be safe. I can still feel her in the house, we must get to her before they get too far and I can no longer track her. If she was born with the spark I can see why the Mother wants her.” Red said almost to her self, replacing the flask at her belt and redrawing her sword before sprinting from the room.

Dragging the man to his feet, Baryd shoved the sword into his hands and pushed him out of the room ahead of him. Once they were out, he stopped his sniveling and he found his footing.

They turned a corner and saw Red dangling men over a balcony’s railing and lowering them before letting them thump to the ground, “You're lucky she told me not to hurt anyone too badly!” She dashed up another few flights of stairs and came to a stop at the end of a long hallway. Seeing armsmen with two different sets of tabards fighting outside of what Baryd assumed to be the master bedroom from the great oak doors.

Red must of known the lady’s colors because she picked off the men of one side easily by flipping their helmets off their heads and thumping them with clubs of air. Without stopping, her voice boomed before her, “Out of the way!” She threw open the doors to the lady’s chambers.

Inside was a battlefield of its own; men lay dead all around the room and near the back of the room on a balcony, behind three injured armsmen was a man in fine ornate armor with a dagger to a young women’s throat. “Come and closer and your precious Helenna dies, Ingvar!”

From behind Baryd came an animalistic growling and something flew by him in a flash of steel. Ingvar crashed into the armsmen with a wordless cry, instantly cutting two down.The third went down with little more effort.

Red moved to help, but before she could weave something a cry of pain came from behind as archers loosed down the hallway into the men still standing just outside the door, forcing her to turn to defend herself just as Ingvar made to clash the Lord, who pulled from his waist a Heron marked blade. They danced in circles, the Lord switching stances and sword hands, playing with Ingvar. The lady Helenna got to her feet just in time to see her love run through, pushed from the hilt of a sword and flung against the balcony’s railing by an armored boot to the chest.

Baryd moved into the room with all the speed he could, but was not able to reach the three before Lady Helenna crashed into the men, tears streaming down her face, carrying them all over the railing and down into the courtyard below where Baryd and Red Traveled to into this nightmare not minutes earlier. After they hit, Helenna embraced Ingvar and they kissed as they died in each other's arms.

Looking down at them, Baryd hadn’t noticed Red was standing at his side. “Touching”, she said. “Come Baryd, there is nothing more we can do.”