Plunging The Knife

The hot sun glistened over the desert plain. The clouds shadowed the clear blue sky; the day was bright and sunny. This was very common for the deserts of Halana. Fifteen year old Piper had lived in the desert since she was a small child. Her family was very poor; they could only afford a Cobb Built home. The house itself was nice, affordable, but still nice.
Piper had grown accustomed to living in the home. Her ears had been trained to withstand the constant crying of her younger sister. She had been raised believing that families should stay together. Many of the families had stayed together, forming a traveling caravan together.

She would always remember the day her parents blessed her with her first Pegasus. His mane was ebony black, his coat was a glorious white. His wings were more magical looking than ever. They shone a silvery white, matching his body. In Pipers village when a child is given a Pegasus they receive magical powers from their Pegasus. Her tribe raised the best Pegasus horses and unicorns. Though, unicorns are much different than Pegasus.
Unicorns were very rarely seen, they had been used as war horses back in the Veliopian War. Those times seemed like so long ago, when in fact, it had only been a year.

Piper woke up early in the morning, she had always been an early riser, she fed her sister and went outside to feed the animals. By that time her mother had taken her sister, so she was free to spend time with the Pegasus horses. Saburo her Pegasus was eating leftover hay in his stall. She patted him on his forehead and fed him his grain. As soon as Saburo finished his grain he flapped his wings mightly and with a fast, carefree gallop flew off into the sky. Piper watched in amazement as Saburo soared through the air. She was not yet advanced enough to ride him, but she did love having him for a friend. It saddened her a bit too though, he was already trained and she couldn’t ride him.

She took lessons on her horse Valencia. Valencia was a beautiful buckskin mare. A hunter by genetics, just like Piper. The two were getting good at listening to each other. And were very adaptive to each other’s behavior. Piper and her family had never had a runaway horse, but the more fear was having horses stolen. Theives came by all the time. Because they were constantly moving and living in a wagon, they made themselves very easily stolen from. It hadn’t happened yet, but it could.

It was that afternoon that sent Piper into a frenzy of worry. She had finished cleaning up the horses leathers and set them on the wagon wheel. Her mother and father were lying out in the grass asleep with her baby sister. Piper began to climb into the wagon when she heard a sudden noise. She stopped, listening for the sound. Her ebony black hair hung in ringlets around her face. The sweat dripped from her brow. She heard a twig snap, she reached inside quickly and grabbed her bow. She placed an arrow and readied herself to fire. She scanned the nearby brush, looking for any traces. Suddenly, everything was very quiet. Piper went down on one knee, she used her eyes and ears very sensibly. Listening for the smallest detail, another twig! She raced around to the other side of the wagon. She waited and watched. She then heard a piercing scream, she ran around to see what it was. Upon rounding the corner an arrow flew straight and true and hit her in her right shoulder. The force of the arrow knocked her backwards and she lay there gasping for air.

Pain surged through her arm and shoulder. Intense heat accompanied the pain. She was gripping her bow, she readied the arrow once more, getting ready for another chance to fire. She saw the first man, she got up to her knees and set her target. The pain pulsed through her arm, she could barely grasp the bow. With one swift motion she pulled the arrow back and fired. With the release came the penalty, the pain nearly caused her to buckle over. A glance up revealed another stranger slitting the throat of her mother. One beside him was killing her baby sister. The neck snapped so easily. And with it escaped a vengeful sob from Piper.

She collapsed onto the ground, her world went black and with it a thought full of pain and worry filled her mind.
It seemed like she was in the dark forever until she saw a small beam of light. She felt the gentle warmth of someone’s touch.

When she woke she was laying beside a fire, her wound was bandaged and a blanket had been laid over her. Piper had the sudden thought to sit up, but when her muscles moved the pain returned and she decided to wait. A few moments went by before she heard footsteps, she looked before her to see a stranger emerge from the woods. His dark form was shadowed in the moonlight. When he sat down in front of the fire she saw his face.

“Who are you?” she asked timidly.

“No one you should fear. “ he said plainly.

“Are you the one who killed my family?” she asked more strength to her voice.


“No, I’m not.” his brow furrowed, “I was traveling this way and saw the slaughtered bodies. I was going to give them a proper burial. But I noticed you were still alive. Your wounds were not severe, but without medical attention you would have died.”

“I’m sorry, I should be thanking you. But after what happened I’m just not ready to trust anyone. Not yet.”
A soft sob escaped her, she covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle it.

“You’re going to be alright..” the man whispered softly. His voice was very kind.

Piper could not help but think of herself as alone. She was alone, the images of her mother and sister being killed came back. And she began to cry even harder. The man touched her arm gently at first. She gripped his hand and continued to cry. Suddenly she needed someone to hold her. She pulled herself up to him and leaned against his strong chest. He wrapped his arm around her and comforted her in his arms. Piper continued to cry uncontrollably. The man just held her, his patience was comforting to her.
It occurred to Piper that this nameless man had shown her an odd amount of mercy. She looked up at him with such heart and smiled.

“What is your name?” she asked softly.

The stranger looked at her with remorse. “My name is Edoya, and I’m going to take care of you.” he said a tear making it’s way down his cheek.

Piper looked to him, this man would care for her? She was an orphan now, she would never be able to accept the death of her family.

And she would get revenge. She needed to for her family, it was so important to her.
Night after night haunted her with the memory of her sisters death. Her mother’s as well. Edoya would not tell her how her father died, he said it was too gruesome and that she wouldn’t want to know. Piper admired Edoya, his tanned skin gave him a wise look. His short black hair fell in tendrils around his face. His chest and arms were covered with body art. The intricate circles and patterns attracted Piper. Looking at him, Piper brought herself to the thought that Edoya couldn’t have been more than a few years older than her. But he acted like he had crossed the world more than once.

In light of her apparent new life, Piper gave herself a new name. She was determined to leave her bad memories behind. The new name she gifted herself with had more meaning than she even intended. She began to call herself Sora, which meant “Sky” the thought being that she was leaving all the bad and going towards the good. Or at least trying.

Edoya didn't understand her need for revenge, but he still followed her. Sora who was this young fifteen year old girl. Piper now only exsisted in the smallest part of her heart, though Sora and Piper were one in the same only Sora, who was filled with hate and anger, could control the mind and body.

“I want to find the men who killed my family.” Sora said softly sitting next to the crackling fire.

“I will help you, but I beg of you, do not get carried away. You can only search for so long before it becomes an obsession.”

“Why are you even coming with me?” Sora asked rather shortly.

Edoya turned his head to look at her, his gray eyes looked silver in the moonlight.

“I'm coming, because I believe that God has sent me to you. Or perhaps he sent you to me.” Edoya spoke as he stood from the fire. He seemed in that moment to be stronger, more than just a lonesome traveler. The stance he took, portrayed about him a type of warrior in him. Perhaps he had been a warrior, now a rogue to the international law. Or perhaps a thief, who found it in himself to do some good every now and then. Sora couldn't really bring her mind to conceive on the possible options this man was portraying. She was only thankful that she wasn't going to be alone.

Sora insisted they begin traveling as soon as possible. She had an eagerness to find these men. Edoya begged her to wait, if she couldn't ride a horse they couldn't travel. Sora took Edoya's advice and agreed to wait three days. On the second night, while they were sitting around the campfire Edoya asked her a question.

“What do these men look like? “

“What?” she asked abrubtly.

He repeated the Question, Sora smiled.

“Oh..um..” she thought back she had only seen the two, but she tried to think of what they looked like. “Well one had long black hair, green tunic with chain mail covering the chest. He looked like he came from a different continent. He had a moon shaped scar over his right eye and a tattoo of the All Seeing Eye on his left hand.”

Edoya nodded, “And the others?” he questioned.

“I only saw the two. The other one was big, muscled. He had armor on his chest and black pants with an emblem on them. I didn't see it up close. His head was shaved and he had numbers on his right arm. “ Sora sighed deeply.

The pain in her shoulder had receded but she was constantly firing her bow for practice. Edoya advised her to take it easy, but Sora wasn't going to listen. Edoya smiled and shifted the logs in the fire.

“What about money? Did your parents have a lot of money on them?” he asked.

Sora felt that feeling in her stomach, the feeling that you're about to cry. “They had at least 200 dollars on them.” she said her voice low and quaking.

Edoya sat beside her, feeling the need to be fatherly to this young girl.

“I only ask because I want to help you find these men.” he said wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Making sure not to touch her hurt one. She smiled up at him, usually when you meet someone you take precautions but Sora figured if this man had saved her, he obviously wasn't going to kill her. And he seemed very honest, but she still watched him carefully and he acted like he would be surprised if she didn't.

Edoya changed the bandage on Sora's shoulder and commented on the swelling. Sora brushed it off and said plainly, “I have to practice with my bow. If I can't target and fire, then I can't kill them.”

Edoya looked at her with a loving eye, “Will you be able to kill them? Despite your injury. Will your heart be able to take it?”

That question haunted Sora that night. She hardly slept because everytime she closed her eyes she dreamed about the killings. And she always woke up crying, and like always Edoya was there. Sora decided she had to be strong, there was no way she could go through life waking up in the middle of the night experiencing nightmares.

That morning she told Edoya what she planned to do.

“I'm letting them go.” she said softly.

Edoya nodded, “I understand, you're doing the right thing. Killing another person isn't what God intended. And I have fears that if you do, you in turn will not sleep any better than you do now.”

“I am turning their descriptions in to the Authorities. When we reach the grasslands in a week, I'm informing them. Hopefully they'll find them and bring my family justice. In the meantime, we're going to a friends place. Well he was a friend of my father, there I will train to use this bow more efficiantly. And when the time is right, join the Army and fight for my country.”

Edoya smiled, “I will be with you the whole journey, until God tells me to do otherwise.”

In truth Sora was thankful he had not decided to let her go on alone. A small thought in her head had brought her to the decision. And the fact that her mother would have let the bounty hunters take care of them too. Sora felt good knowing about her decision. Now to make the journey to Edo Mountain to train and just live life.

She was still an orphan, but maybe someday that will change.