Run for a fall

 

Run for a fall

 

Ψ

 

The sky had a bluish -grey look to it , the ice-cold gales bore down furiously , sloppy plains of ice covered in snow spread like white mantles on a cradle, there were no mountains nor caves, neither animals nor water, it was a desert without the warm rays of the burning sun, only the white-grayish sight of the vast ashen steppes, the icy sighs of the winds blew in many directions carrying along the chilly haze that danced just above the ground forming numerous whirlwinds , Sidana ran desperately as if racing the frosty wind, agitated, her face with a wash of snow , her heart pounding fast as chest heaved and the heavy breath could be seen in the crisp air. She ran onward while in her arms carried an infant, trying to loose the black leather cladded men, hooded figures who were running after her, she approached the border of a spacious fissure that stretched mile to mile. She came to a halt and turned her head back to check on the men that chased her, she retracted, going backwards few steps from the edge, enough distance until she felt confident to make the jump.

Then she murmured in between her teeth.

“May the Gods, help me”

She dashed ahead and leapt, a lengthy gap, landing on her feet and falling sideways on the snow, not far from the edge, her left ankle ached but there was little time to worry about the pain, the assailants were catching up rapidly. She stood up and kept running, panting. 

 

The hooded men came to the edge, they came to a standstill, one of them readied himself to leap across the fissure, but the leader raised his hand open, implying the other two to hold back, he turned his head rightward and hissed in between his breath to the hooded figure standing next to his right, the assassin stared back at his leader and nodded, then removed the black hood that shielded his face, he showed handsome, clean shaven with sharp brown eyes, the man scuffed his hand through his thick black hair, took the bow that was slung on his backside, then stretched the cord of the bow, bending it, and withdrew two shafts from his quiver attached to his back, his left arm extended with his firm grip in the bow, his jaw flexed, eyesight focused on the woman, his arms steady as he gradually motioned upwards, a wave of wind came stoutly, blowing, he paused for a moment until he could feel a calm breeze, once the sky blew a gentle wind het let loose the two shafts , they flew too quickly for the human eye to follow and landed on Sidaina’s back , she stopped for a moment, and felt as if a thousand needles sank into her flesh , she moaned and kept walking forward trying to dismiss the pain  but every step was slower than the other, she panted, shivering , strong gusts blew on her face as her dark wavy hair bonded to her face, thick manes of hair stroked into her lips, she began to feel her cloth sticking to her skin on her back, it was warm; the blood surging out of the wound soon turning icy. Cold to the bone and pierced by two arrows on her back, her body was starting to give up, she stopped moving, her knees gave way on the spot as she fixed her eyes down on her son, struggling to hold him firm, Sidana pressed him tight to her breast, leaning her neck forward on the baby’ head protecting him from the cold wind that blew down so furiously.

 

The assassins saw her fall on her knees; one of them readied himself to jump over the fissure, the void that divvied the icy steppes, the Leader with his sight focused on the wounded woman lifted his hand open,  signaling his companion not to jump.

“but sir “

The leader cut him off

“No need, if the wound doesn’t kill her, the cold will,”

Then they departed at once.

she gasped for air, her eyesight began blurry, her body giving up but kept struggling to stay alive, all that mattered to herself was her son, drawing strength from the last glimmers of her life she held her baby tight in her arms thrusting him gently against the middle of her chest, the baby’s head sank into the little gap of her large breasts, providing a good warmth to the infant.

The baby cried as if he had juts come out of her mother’s womb, it was a strong cry, loud and deep that it split the cold airstream of the midday. Her hopes of saving her son were fainting just as her life was. Her sapphire eyes waterish bright, tears filled her eyes, as the cold shaked the living out of her.  Her thoughts descended into profound memories of her life, a blackness that pulled her conscience into her past, not stopping it she let them come forth, everything that she had gone in the course of her existence. There had been hardly any peace in her life, deep from her memoirs she recalled.

 

Ψ

 

A group of nomads walked across the boundless ice lands, one behind the other in a line, each and every one fully clothed in fur hide with fleece blankets tied up to their packsacks, as they marched against the frosty blows they heard an echo that overpowered the whistle of the winds, the first three of the row broke the line, motioning, cautiously they followed the sound of the cry.

 

Snow covered her, her white robes soaked, she laid sideways on top of her right arm, not trying to fall on her back as to not make the arrows sink deeper into her flesh, in pain contemplating the last minutes of her life, her hair was thick and frozen, lips already purple hue, her mouth dried and her face with iced up cherry cheeks and nose, suddenly she heard crunchy steps; the munch of the fresh fallen snow. Making her way with one arm while the other held the baby, with her feet assisting herself she crawled up the slope as the trail of a thin smudge of blood followed, she lifted her head and saw furry figures approaching , a hint of joy lavished her face, her jaw quivering, she grinned

 “w-we are saved “

A furry figure bent and brusquely grabbed her hands, he stared at her cold hands and frowned, then he moved her head inspecting her neck, caring less, he searched for something valuable. She then shivering in a diminishing tone demanded “P-please… take the baby” he paused and gazed at her face and pulled from her neck a golden necklace with the ornament of a trident, at the bottom of its center an emerald glowed green bright.. He glanced at it, nodding as he smirked “this will sell well!” then headed off to his companions.

 

She shushed to the baby who was still crying, the last reserve of her tears turning cold washed down her ruddy cheeks. Her faced showed sad, her hopes sank into a void within her soul , she knew her time was running short, why our God left us to die like this he could have saved his son at least, she thought as her heart swarmed with her misfortune.

At that moment she heard a rushing tread scrunch the snow, the scrunch got louder, it was the man in cladded fur. The man seized the baby by its leg, The  infant hanged blubbering as the man took a small pelt that was fastened to his knapsack and wrapped him with it, one of them approached him diverting his gaze at him, the furry man heaved his shoulders “we could sell it for some gold” the man nodded. Then they parted to their companions, marching in their line and without loosing their pace they went their way.

 

Sidana laid there on the frozen plains, a void of blackness pulled her in within her soul, she didn’t struggled, her lips rendered a smile, eyes slowly shut

 

Then her breath was gone.

Reviews

[SRMarx]

I really enjoy your imagery and descriptions.

[Alexa kerrio]

I love the tone and mood of this one...you should write a whole book! You have a really expansive vocabulary and again, I enjoy the imagery and varied sentence lengths add dimension and diversity to the style of the writing. Love it