The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war
The soldier continues to run. He is panting now and his eyes are wild. He is terrified of everything but he tries to stay strong. It is hard for him to stay that way. He is watching his brothers in arms fall and many of them have the dead look. Their eyes are glazed over and contain that distant look. They are still and they would look natural except for the blood that pours from their lips, ears, and nose. Limbs are missing. They have probably been blown off or shot off. With the mess that surrounds them it’s hard to tell what did what. His ears are plagued by the sounds of the wounded and dying. He wants to stop moving and curl up into a ball and just cry. When he signed up for the glory of war, he never expected this. He never expected to watch the men he called brothers die. They were supposed to be the heroes. They were supposed to make a name for themselves, but the opposite is happening. They were supposed to go out in a blaze of glory and none of that is happening. Instead they are battling hunger and the cold and not just the enemy but predators that realize they are easy pickings. Even now he watches as the ravens have their fill and off in the distance wait the scavengers. You’re a monster, Veteran. I’ve watched you change from a beautiful man into this dark creature. I tried to warn you but you wouldn’t listen. I loved you once; Veteran, but I cannot love a monster. You have allowed your heart to turn black and soon the good soul you had will follow….These are the words that run through the painted man’s brain. He is in another time, a time where he was surrounded by men and the idea of running a herd was a distant dream. He had no hurries to do so. He was a bachelor and he looked forward to teasing the fair sex without having to take care of them. That didn’t mean he hadn’t fallen in love. Such things have been known to happen but in this case it was a crash and burn romance. Glazed eyes continue to stare at the ghost. He doesn’t see her as flesh and blood but as a memory. At this moment in time she is everything he feared. His worst dreams are coming true and he doesn’t know what to do. The urge to fight wells up deep within him but the part of him that is good and the part of him he has played for so long fights against the darkness that has been waiting for release. Dark painted lips take on a sneer like smile and he finally looks at the ghost with a sudden clarity. He still does not remember her but the darkness in his heart wants her. Suddenly he reaches out his maw and his teeth rake over her fine skin. Just as he does this his neck is slammed back and he stares at the intruder coldly. He is now upset. He wasn’t done with his ghost. He wanted to do more to her but he wasn’t going to leave witnesses. Then it sinks in who it is and for a moment there is a flicker of sanity in his brown orbs but it only lasts for second. Soon the darkness has returned and it has returned with a vengeance. He snarls and looks at her, but he makes no move to harm her. The part of him that is sane knows her to be the daughter of a close friend and knows that if any harm befell her that he would never see the light of another day. Veteran steps back slowly. He listens to Skraeling speak and the words Lady Glow had spoken hit him full force. Vetty. Only one lady had ever thought to call him that but he couldn’t believe it. She had died. She was gone. This couldn’t be her. There had been far too much blood at the clearing for her to have survived. With those thoughts running through his desperate mind, the darkness takes hold of him again with a delightful laugh. It has been so long since they’ve had him under their control. He has always managed to find a way to elude them. Now, thanks to the ghost they have him once more. Once he has unintentionally put a safe distance between himself and the two ladies he takes a deep breath and continues to battle the shadows from within himself. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He is not a cruel man. He never truly has been. Veteran is a soldier who followed orders and he was good at that. It wasn’t until it was too late that he realized what he had done. That guilt has followed him ever since. “Ghost or not, you now belong to me.” His words are cold and distant. He isn’t even looking at the two anymore. He has since started looking off into the distance. He is now cold and aloof. He doesn’t particularly care about what is going on anymore. All that he truly cares about is the fact he now has another lady in his herd. Which is perfect because it would appear one has gone missing. “Nice of you to drop by for a visit Skraeling. I wasn’t aware that I had put you on protection detail.” He gives her a dark laugh but seems to be in a good mood. Still, he is no longer himself. He has slipped into the half of him he had worked so hard to put away. The part that appeared shortly after the death of his heart’s desire all those years back. He stands quietly, simply watching the two. “Skraeling, I thank you for butting in when you did. I wasn’t myself.” Slowly he turns and looks at Lady Glow. “My eyes are open. The Lady Glow I had fallen in love with died a long time ago. I became what she feared most.” There is a dark laugh after these words. He is gone for the time being. The soldier that had conquered his madness has for the first time in a long time lost himself. He is trapped in the darkness he had fought so hard to keep at bay and for now cold brown eyes study the two ladies before him. Aside from the obvious difference in tone he is relaxed and at ease. He shifts his weight about as if this sort of thing happens every day. Silence like a cancer grows. |