Waking

                                    

                                          
Winn
                          
I watched the battle from the doorway. Unable to leave one of my only friends. Kal was like a god. He cut down each man like death incarnated. Then John joined him and they were like twin storms, tearing down trees in the forest. It was gruesome. It was mesmerizing. It was death. Carnage lay at their feet as blood pooled across the broken marble. For the first time, I knew that the rumors about Kal were true. It all made sense now why no one saw Kal as a woman. When I found out I began to notice a few things. Kal never had any form of stubble on his chin, his hips swung just a little too much when walking, and in plain clothes, he had just a few too many curves. Now I know why no man would see that. They would not be able to admit that a woman was that skilled, that powerful.
                          
The last man falls under Kal's sword. I see he him turn, looking for anyone else. Kal straightens and speaks to John. I am too far away to hear the words being said. I am also too far for my cry to reach Kal's ears in time as I see the man at his feet lunges. Fear fills my heart and dread causes my stomach to clench. As he falls, I see another chunk of ceiling fall, somehow landing on Kal's shield but still causing his arm to hit his head and his head to hit the ground. He doesn't move.
                          
I do. My legs carry me as fast as they can. One guard quickly beheads the already dead man with an underhanded swing. The rest circle around. John falls to his knees and drops his sword with a clatter. He presses his hands flat around the knife, debating whether or not to pull it out. I almost slide into the two as I hit my knees on the blood saturated floor.
                          
"Do not pull it out. It is helping to keep the blood in." I command, my voice on the verge of panic.
                          
"Conner! Go get the healers!" Conner hesitates.
                          
"Now!" Johns voice booms out.
                          
I move to look at Kal's head. I peer into his closed eyes, they are unresponsive but he was breathing. I feel the back of his head, it was tender but nothing felt broken. I think the blow just knocked him unconscious. Footsteps come running towards us. I look up and I realize what is about to happen.
                          
"John," I say in a harsh whisper.
                          
"I know. But it is this or his life." John says in a defeated voice, head bowed over Kal's prone form.
                          
"It may very well be his life either way," I say.
                          
"This will at least give him a chance, even a small one." 
                          
Tears form in my eyes as I stand to make room for the healers coming. I rub my face and step away. I head to the archives, hoping to find something to save the life of Kal El Ward.
                          
 ___________________________________________________________________________
                          
Lena
                          
I stood paralyzed, clutching Alexander's arm. He stood bravely in front of Mother and I while palace guards closed in around us.  Swords were drawn as people panicked and tried to escape the hall. Kal almost patiently waited for the man sliding down the rope from the ceiling, then lashed out with a sword to dispatch him. Kal was astounding, almost beautiful in the haze of blood that surrounded him. A warrior with little qualms about what his duty was. 
                          
"Do you still question his knighthood Mother?" Alexander asks quietly of the Queen. She does not respond.
                          
Silence falls. At this distance, I cannot hear Kal but I see the man rise from the floor and drive a dagger into his stomach. Alexander tries to turn me away but he is too late. I see Kal fall and the blood start to pool before I am yanked from the hall and swept through the castle to the royal family sitting room, one of the safest places in the castle. The walls were built twice as thick and deep in the heart of the castle. Food stores were there in times of emergency along with weapons. Men took up stations inside and out. Mother casually moved to pour herself a glass of wine and sit gracefully on one of the large ornate couches.