The Lufian Family 13

Win fights against Leofwine and Bada. With only the two of them the archers have found openings to fire into. If it’s not the head of Leofwine’s halberd it’s the end of Bada’s sword. If it’s not the end of Bada’s sword it’s a barrage of arrows. If it’s not a barrage of arrows it’s the head of Leofwine’s halberd. So far, they are yet to land a single blow on Win. He is simply too fast for them. However, he cannot fight back. He has no time to cast a spell nor to swing his sword. All he can do is defend himself and hold the two men in place.

Calliope has reached the courtyard now and caught her breath. Though she’s so close to the battle, nobody notices her. She’s insignificant on this battlefield. She knows this well. She is weak. Far too weak to do anything here. She’s not like Rolant or the soldiers who are at least able to fight. She is nothing but a burden. She’ll do nothing but get in Win’s way if she’s noticed. She knows she ought to run, but somehow running and hiding feels even worse.

She stands on the sidelines watching Win fight. He fights so desperately in her eyes. Swinging his sword again and again. Twisting and turning his body around just to match each man. He’s moving too quickly for Calliope’s eyes to follow. She wonders if the same holds true for the bandits fighting him. She’s never been made to fight. She can’t fathom his strength. Fear of if he were her enemy, the relief that he is her ally, both are entirely foreign to her. All she knows is that he disqualified himself from something as simple as family and yet he still fights so desperately to protect them. And yet all she can do is watch on the sidelines.

Again Win is suffering and again all she can do is stand there is silence watching him. There is nothing she can do. All she can do is make him bear the burden on his own. There is nothing she can say. Even if she knew the right words her voice would not make a sound. She can provide no comfort and no support for him. Her one way of communication is useless in the heat of battle. Even if she wanted to say something he would never be able to hear. Her throat burns.

She begins to flip through her notebook without thinking. She passes through the words, the phrases, the abandoned sentences and pages she left behind so Win wouldn’t see. She reads them quickly and remains sure that none could be the right word, even if she could speak them. She flips the pages and sees the words again and again—”You are kind”—and at last she reaches the next blank page, so close to the end of the notebook already. She thinks it once more, that Win is truly such a kind man. If it were anyone else there wouldn’t even be a notebook to fill. She would have been left to live in the forest alone, never speaking, never connecting. She again thinks of how much Win has done for her in such a short time, and again regrets the fact there is nothing she can do for him.

Win keeps fighting regardless. He is, of course, already aware of Calliope on the sidelines. He tries his best to draw no attention to her, who cannot fight. However, he is also not a man who can fight forever, even if there are people for him to protect. He blocks another of Leofwine’s powerful blows. However, fatigue beginning to catch up with him after a day of fighting, he falters for just a moment. He cannot push Leofwine back fast enough. Win feels Bada behind him, the tip of his blade now unavoidable.

Calliope can still only watch. She is simply too weak. Too weak to fight, too weak to find the will to move, too weak even just to talk. All she can do is bear witness. Bear witness to the end of that kind man’s life. That is her fate as somebody who is weak. And she supposes that to die fighting for others is his fate as somebody who is strong. Her throat burns and she wants to cry.

She is sure. Win will die when Bada’s sword pierces him. Win will lose the fight. His family will fall. The bandits will reign victorious and claim the spoils, herself included. Again she would be powerless. Again she would be taken captive and auctioned off. Again she would return to a life of never connecting. Again she would be in a world without a man as kind as Win. At this moment, more than anything in the future for her, she does not want Win to die.

“Spirits, protect Win!”

Calliope’s voice rings out. Even weak and shaky from disuse, it rings out. Beautifully, powerfully, carried on the air by her will alone, the desperation of her command clear, her voice rings out.

The air around Calliope shimmers with light. The lights shoot out and slam into Bada’s side. The spirits strike him with more force than even Rolant could have. He is knocked away from Win. Win presses forward against Leofwine, making even more distance. Calliope takes another step towards Bada. Bada shouts at her.

“So a little girl like you will be my opponent!” Bada, barely older than Win or Calliope himself, charges at her, his sword ready to be thrust right through her.

“Spirits, form a shield!”

The spirits gather and create a diamond right in front of her. Bada slams into it as his sword knocks against it easily. Bada tries to move to her flank and stab her again. The spirits shift and thwart him once more. Calliope turns her head to glare at him. Bada flinches slightly, the full power of the spirits now known to him.

“Spirits, bring him down.” The lights gather and slam against Bada. They drag him to the ground painfully and don’t let go once he’s pinned beneath them. Bada begins to plead.

“Please! Don’t get in my way! Don’t stop me! Don’t let him kill Leofwine! Let me protect Leofwine! Please! Please…” His voice begins to waver as the spirits don’t stop their battering. “He’s the only one I have…” Calliope says nothing to him, she has nothing to say to him.

“Spirits, bind him to the ground.”

The spirits take the form of spears and pierce through Bada’s body and the ground beneath. No blood flows from his injuries. Bada goes silent as he resigns himself. Calliope, victorious, turns back towards Win as he fights against Leofwine.