Azura The Key

PRESENT

”You are getting sloppy half breed ” the figure replies still keeping the hood over his head. That voice sounds oddly familiar and why is everyone in this region referring to me as a half breed? They seriously lack creativity.

”My blade soon to be embedded in your chest and my dagger about to be stuck in your shoulder begs to differ ” I say as I unsheathe my twin blades. ”Besides, that was just a warning shot and seeing as you refused to take heed, the real fun is about to begin ”

”Oh, this pesky thing? Here you can have it back ” he says then plucks out the dagger and throws it at me, I raise my sword to deflect it and it hits it with a clang. ”If you were paying proper attention to your surroundings, you would have noticed me since you sat underneath this tree but I guess it is too late now. ” He said feigning pity.

”Are you ugly or extremely disfigured in the face? ” I can tell from his body language and the way he slightly loosens and tightens his grip on his machete that my question has thrown him off balance.

”What? ” he splutters angrily

”Well, I just assumed that it was either of those two; seeing as we have been talking for a while now and yet you still have your hood over your head or maybe you are just shy. Are you shy? ” I say trying to poke the bear and hopefully make him sloppy I can tell that it is working because he angrily rips off the hood and my eyes widen briefly as I take him in before schooling back my expression but he caught it; he smirks.

”You look like youve seen a ghost ” he said still smirking evilly. ”But I guess in a way I am. ”

This can be real; I killed him. I cut his head off right outside the market. You do not recover from a beheading at all, much less in just two weeks. His eyes are completely white and they are glowing, his arms are now covered with markings that glow white as well and he has a tiny turtle shell strung onto a rope and tied around his neck. I am still processing his impossible return and recovery when he advances forward.

He is less sloppy than before, twice as cocky and almost as fast as I am; key word being almost. But still for the first time in a long while I am engaged in an actual fight for survival; I have almost forgotten what an actual fight feels like. He is right; I have gotten sloppy.

As our swords clash and clank against. each other, I see an opening and go for it. Somehow, he anticipates my move and counters it. I faintly register pain in my cheek, followed by blood dripping from the wound. He sliced my cheek open, any deeper and he would have cut it off.

”I will aim a bit lower and deeper next time. You know, to repay the favour ” he winks before licking my blood off his blade and staring straight at me.

”There will be no next time ” I say while dropping one of my swords and charging towards him. I aim for his eye and throw my second dagger; it hits its mark then I swiftly behead him again, if you blinked then you might have missed it again. His body drops to the floor.

Lesson five: every time you unsheathe your blade, someone has to die; who it will be is up to you.

I rip off a piece of my cloth and wrap the head in it then proceed to make a fire and burn it.

I roughly wipe at my cheek while standing in front of the spitting flames; the last time someone got close enough to drawing blood was when I was twelve.

Maybe be I am getting sloppy and distracted. Once the head is sufficiently burnt, I put out the flames and proceed to find somewhere else to sleep; someone or something might have seen the smoke or perceived the odour of burning flesh.

After walking for miles on end, I find a place to lay my head down for the night and take a seat. My nose scrunches up as a certain someone appears a couple minutes later

”You know if I did not know first-hand how bad you are in combat, I would find your disappearance very suspicious ” I say while leaning against the tree bark.

”You threw a dagger at my head! ” he said exasperatedly ”Was I supposed to stick around? ” ”No, you were supposed to duck ” I say, watching as he tried not to strangle me in his mind.

”I do not know about you but when I see a dagger or any object flying in my direction be it sharp or blunt; I leave and ask questions later. ”

”You could just say you are a coward. It is far less elaborate. ” He disappears into mist but reappears back again soon afterwards still pouting.

”That is a new record Membe, do you love me that much? ”

”No ”

”Self-deceit is a slippery slope ”

”Are you going to keep getting on my nerves just so that I will not bring up the elephant in the room? ”

”Yes, is it working? ”

”No, you need to go home Azura ”

”Why? Why do I need to go to a place that I do not know, a place that rejected me before I was born? ”

”I understand how you feel but maybe it would shed more light on who you are and what your other abilities could be ”

”You do not know how I feel, you do not what it feels like to not fit in or to constantly live in fear of closing your eyes and being vulnerable; not knowing if that day is your last. ” I take a deep breath to calm myself down and prevent another forest fire or thunder storm; mother died before she could teach me to properly channel these powers. Another blessing from my father.

”Membe, this is the last time you will bring this up; I am not going to that place and DONT you ever refer to that place as my home ever again. ” He gulps and disappears.

I find it funny how memories of a place I have never seen nor steeped foot in still manages to haunt me in my dreams. How the mere thought or mention of the place is enough to chill me to my bone and simultaneously fill me with immense anger.

I am Azura, I fear nothing on this earth. I fear nothing below or above this earth but that place is enough to make me feel the fear that I was born without and lose control of the rage I was born with.

I have faced the harbingers of death and the servants of the gods without quaking or batting an eyelid but I hear the name of my village and suddenly I turn into rainbow of emotions.