To Love War (Day 4- “No, Stop!)
I stood on the edge of the cliff, looking across the battlefield below us as the people below cut each other down without remorse. I shuddered slightly as a wind blew my gray cloak in the wind, stopping as the red-cloaked figure stepped closer to me, shielding me with his larger frame.
“I hate this.” I mumbled, looking across the field.
“I know.” He sighed, looking down at me. “But you know that we can’t interfere with this.”
“I don’t see why not.” I looked up at him, furrowing my eyebrows at his soft brown eyes. “You’re the literal Horseman of War, couldn’t you just-?”
“Absolutely not, Bradford.” The black-cloaked figure’s voice cut through the air, sharper than the large sword she had in hand. “We all made an oath to never stop the whims of mortals. We merely balance the forces of nature.” She turned her head towards us, her silver eyes piercing through my soul. “Nothing more.”
“Of course, ma’am.” I stumbled over my words as I bowed, thankful to break eye contact with the severe woman. “I apologize.”
“Do not apologize for being human.” The small figure in the white cloak turned to me this time, her blonde hair spilling out of the hood. “Even if you aren’t one.” A mischievous grin spread across her face as the red-cloaked figure let out a hearty chuckle.
“Nerys, don’t antagonize the poor pixie.” He managed between his guffaws, placing his hand on my shoulder.
“If you two are quite finished goofing around,” The black-cloaked woman spoke again, forcing silence around her, “I believe the battle has concluded. Let’s go.” She began walking down the hill as soon as she was done speaking, being quickly followed by the woman in the white cloak (who had to take much longer steps to keep up with the gigantic other woman), while I hung back with the red-cloaked figure.
“You alright, Kelly?” He asked, nudging me. “You look like you’ve seen Death.”
“I have, Dames. And her name is Bhertz.” I let out a nervous laugh, glancing off to the side. I was hit with immediate regret- the field below was covered in blood and broken bodies, painted all hues of orange and pink by the setting sun.
“Hey, Kells. Up here.” Damien put his hand on the side of my face, making me look up at him. “It’s not a pretty job. But that’s why we’re here.”
“So other people don’t have to be,” I sighed. “I know, Dames.”
“Well, I was going to say so I could make it prettier, but that’s probably better.” Damien smiled at me, his eyes crinkling at the sides as his bright smile stood out against his tanned skin.
“Oh my god, you’re terrible!” I couldn’t help the laughter from bubbling up in my chest as I looked up at him, feeling my heart beat against my chest.
“KELLY, DAMIEN.” Bhertz’s voice boomed from across the field, making me jump away from Damien’s hand before shuffling down the hill. My face heated up as Damien quickly caught up to me, throwing a hand around my shoulders, laughing heartily at my reaction to… Bhertz.
Later that night, I laid awake in my tent, staring at the top for what felt like hours. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw another face. Another person suffering, starving, dying from dehydration-
I sat up, glaring at the pale gray cloak hanging in the relatively small tent. I could almost feel it mocking me, staring at me as I wanted nothing more but to desperately shrink away from it. I let out an annoyed grunt as I stood up, pulling a long coat over my pajamas before leaving my tent, walking towards the middle of our small camp. I was surprised to find the fire still lit, alongside Damien, staring into it with tired, sad eyes.
“You can’t sleep either, huh?” I asked, sitting next to him. He jumped, blinking a few times before his eyes settled on mine and a small smile spread over his face.
“Nah. Not tonight, anyways.” His tone betrayed his facade as he turned back to the fire, staring into it. “It really isn’t a pretty job.”
“Nope. But that’s why we’re here. So you can make it prettier.” Despite the joking tone in my voice, I couldn’t help but feel my face heat up as he looked at me.
“Hey, Kells?” His voice was soft as I slowly looked up at him. I wasn’t sure if I had initially sat closer than I intended or if he had scooted closer, but our faces were close enough for me to pick out the tiny details of his- pale freckles across his nose, long eyelashes that were so thin you could rarely see them, and his eyes-
My god, his eyes looked exhausted. And yet, so loving.
I couldn’t tell who leaned in first- but I know my hand tangled into his dark red hair as his arms wrapped around my lower back, both of us slowly pressing our mouths together. The moment stretched on longer than I thought possible as I moved closer, deepening the kiss in any way I could. Soon, much too soon in my opinion, we pulled apart, breathless and flushed. Damien’s kind smile returned as he put his head against mine, crinkling his nose up.
“Next time, I’ll buy you dinner first.” He chuckled.
“How about we skip straight to dessert?”
The road was long and hot the next day, though our robes helped slightly with the sun. I adjusted my hood to more fully cover my neck as I saw Nerys peek over, a sly grin on her face. She wouldn’t say anything, not with Bhertz at the front of us, but she could certainly think it pretty hard. I smacked at a mosquito on my neck, hitting the bruise. I flinched, sharply inhaling before glaring at her.
“Are you summoning bugs to mess with me?”
“Bradford Kelly, you offend me!” Her hand flew to her chest in faux shock, making me crack a smile. “I would never abuse my powers in such a trivial way!”
“Yes you would, Nerys.” Bhertz’s voice chimed in, sounding slightly more casual than usual- although it still sent a chill up my spine.
Our conversation carried on in its joking, casual tone, until we all noticed a large dust cloud in the distance. Bhertz made a motion for us to stop, and so we pulled our horses to slow before stopping altogether, waiting as the dust cloud approached.
Soon enough, we were approached and surrounded by around twenty other riders, all of whom had their weapons drawn. One rider approached Bhertz, wearing a ten-gallon hat and a golden six-pointed star, staring her down.
“Can I help you?” Bhertz’s voice was calm and stern as she talked. Nerys pulled the white fabric of her cloak over her head, reaching for her belt as the man glared at each of us in turn. I did the same, letting my hand brush over the copper set of scales in my bag.
“Yes, actually.” The man’s voice was gruff as he pulled out his cigar, puffing the smoke into Bhertz’s face. “Y’all are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, right?” He approached Bhertz even more, getting far too close to her personal bubble as he eyed her up and down, disdain in his eyes. “Death,” He moved towards Nerys, leaning down and scrunching up his nose. “Pestilence,” He moved towards me, the scent of tobacco nearly suffocating. “Famine” He turned to face Damien, not moving his horse while his expression turned from disdain to pure hatred , “and War. You’re the one we’re here for.”
Damien blinked as his grip tightened on the sword affixed to his hip, looking the man up and down. “For what reason?”
“For wha- for the reason of killing our families, you bastard!” The man dropped his cigar as he yelled at Damien, approaching him quickly enough to startle Damien’s dark red horse.
“You’re the reason we’re in the middle of a damned Xenowar!” He shouted again as the crowd moved in. Bhertz and Nerys backed their horses up slightly, glancing around at the other riders. I, on the other hand, couldn’t tear my eyes off of Damien, who seemed… completely shocked at the man’s words as he continued screaming.
“Hey, back off!” I shouted, approaching the two men. The stranger quickly pulled out a pistol, leveling it between my eyes. I stopped, giving the man a glare. “If you know who we are, you already know that a bullet will do little more than enrage me.”
“Stay out of this, boy.” He spat, glaring daggers at me. “I’m only concerned with your murderer of a friend, here.”
“Famine.” Damien’s voice was steadier than I expected, bringing my attention to his face. “Leave him be.”
I was silent for a moment before nodding, backing up and taking my place next to Nerys.
“So, you accuse me of killing your people. What exactly do you want out of this?” Damien’s voice was flat, his hood pulled over his face.
“You. Your life for theirs.” The man grabbed the front of Damien’s cloak, pulling him forwards.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Nerys scoffed, getting the man’s attention. “You haven’t the authority to make such a bold demand!” I nodded, staring at the man as he gritted his teeth.
“Oh? Is that so?” He looked towards Bhertz, looking more furious by the second. “Hey, Death. You wanna tell your little buddies rule number seven?”
Bhertz was completely still, silent as a grave for nearly a minute after the man’s question. “Rule Seven,” She began, her voice much softer than I had ever heard it before, “States that at any time, a council group of mortals may decide to retire any Horseman early, given that they believe his actions to be unjust.”
“What?!” I shouted, leaning forwards on my horse.
“That rule hasn’t been invoked in centuries, child.” Nerys’s voice was harsh as her horse stepped forwards, her hand visibly shaking as she gripped the item in her bag. “What proof have you of your council?”
“What proof?” The man grinned, sick and twisted. “Look around you- nineteen riders, with me as twenty. We’re your council, and we have each judged War as guilty of the murder of over three million people of this world, including fifty-seven members of our town.”
I gripped the reigns of my horse, ready to charge forwards. My vision went red- this bastard really thought he would get away with this? As soon as I moved to have the pale horse below me charge, however, I felt a strong force keep my hands still, a gray haze surrounding them. I looked towards Bhertz, my heart dropping as her hand was outstretched, covered in the same gray haze.
“Famine, stay your hand.” Her voice regained its composure quickly, giving me a warning tone before she turned to the man with Damien. “Surely we can come to a compri-”
“Death.” Damien cut her off, his head still down. “Rules are rules for a reason. If they truly believe me to be guilty-” he pulled down his hood, his chin high as he met eyes with the stranger, “Then so be it.”
Bhertz was silent. Her mouth fell agape, searching desperately for words as the stranger smirked, motioning for Damien to follow as he began moving back the way the group had come. The rest of the group circled the two, many of them not taking their eyes off of us. I turned to Bhertz as she watched, fire filling my veins.
“We have to do something!” I shouted, “You’re not seriously going to sit here and let him be killed for this, are you?!”
“No, he has a point,” Nerys spoke up this time, her tone far more grave than usual. “We can’t just sit idly by, Victoria.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Bhertz raised her voice, straightening her back. “The rules clearly state-”
“To hell with the rules!” I yelled back, jumping off of my horse.
“I am not letting some fucking arbitrary rules written by some senile old monk stop me from saving the man I love!” My hands flew to my mouth as the word left my mouth, sudden panic hitting me as Bhertz slowly lowered her hood to give me a wide-eyed stare.
“Yes, I know developing intimate relationships with the other Horsemen is strictly forbidden, but… but I don’t care.” I felt my throat swell as I stared at the ground, hot tears welling up in my eyes. “He’s one of the only people I’ve ever been able to love, and I’ll be damned if some entitled mortal takes him away from me!” I shouted, turning to re-mount my horse, taking off before either of them could move to stop me. I felt my horse stumble as another gray haze moved over its feet before it fell completely, throwing me off. I slammed into the hard dirt below, scraping every inch of my body as I tumbled. I heard a commotion ahead of me as thundering hoofsteps pounded towards me, a pair of strong arms lifting me off the ground. I felt a pair of calloused hands grab both sides of my head as I was enveloped in a crimson cloak, the thumbs brushing my cheeks as I looked up at Damien one last time- his brown eyes were filled with tears before he leaned in, pecking my lips in a quick kiss before he was yanked back by multiple riders.
“I’m sorry.” The words were silent as the men dragged him off, his eyes never leaving mine.
“No-” My voice was hoarse as I stumbled forwards, feeling a sharp pain in my left ankle as my dusty blonde hair fell in front of my eyes. I soon felt another pair of arms grab me from behind, pulling me up with a black sleeve as I attempted to reach Damien- he reached back, his fingers outstretched, to no avail. “No, don’t!” I croaked, openly weeping as the black-cloaked figure pulled me further onto her horse, keeping a tight grip on me as they began moving, heading away from the group of riders.
I could feel the moment he died. His head removed from his shoulders in one fell swoop. I weeped until I passed out, still being carried on the back of a black horse. I resumed my duties the next morning, and performed them exactly by the book- stone-faced. Cold. Calculating. Never weeping for the ones my powers affected.
Just as they would never weep for ending a War.
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