ADURAS

Part 27: Run!

Yena wrapped a piece of cloth on both of her arms. He stared at a wooden doll in front. The black bead glittered in the sunlight, its slender body did not escape the sweat that flooded, especially on its temples and back.

A single blow to the wooden puppet, producing a cracking sound, his ponytail hair seemed to swing. Yena did the same with her right hand, the intensity of the punch accelerated even more. Alternately with his legs kicking so hard that the cracks became more visible.

The wooden puppet had been dented and many cracks here and there were even nearly destroyed. Yena exhaled and let her out through her mouth. His pale yellow clothes, looked wet from the sweat that poured down. He smiled proudly as he removed the tied cloth and squeezed the cramped fingers from his fists on the wooden doll.

"Now .. try. I've been training you guys for months. Surely it will be greater than me" Yena said.

Some of the young men looked dumbfounded, some others looked at the spirit of studying martial arts at close range. Many of them actually failed to focus by showing Yena this time.

No matter what the circumstances, they should learn this, because unwanted situations can happen. After getting training from the late Master Danma plus Shamsir— about how to fight using various weapons, now they have to learn how to fight without weapons.

Yena was seen sitting cross-legged on a wooden log with her face supported by a fist, observing the progress of the candidates. They seemed to be training hard with the wooden puppet in front of him.

After this, Yena still had many unfinished tasks. The target for 5 months, would-be altair warriors should be even stronger than before. Perhaps this is why the King chose Yena to be their coach. He cannot decide something in a hurry, there must be a purpose and a purpose.

The training was finished in the afternoon, the end of his meeting with all the would-be soldiers, in a few days they would be tested as a form of refinement from the inauguration to be held later.

Yena grabbed her black clothes from the top of the bobbin, then put them on her shoulder. "5 more days you will face the test. Don't be discouraged if you don't pass. There are still exams next year" Yena said briefly. She exhaled, reminiscing about the hard times when she was the only female bodyguard candidate.

At that time, when he was 17 years old. Yena trained on her own to strengthen her endurance. He did whatever the master teacher ordered, even something that harmed Yena was able to keep the Master from underestimating her anymore. Like following a sword fight.

The moment Yena remembered most, when she was ordered to follow the contest held by the King. The competition was already there when he was a baby, intended for young men would-be royal guards and would-be Knights. The Legendary Sword of Adura.

Yena took a winding road, very, very rocky and painful. Many people underestimate her because she is just a teenage girl. Including his own father. Only Eden, the little friend who kept encouraging.

In that competition, Yena had already defeated several youths with her unique sword style. He always used two swords, with various homemade techniques.

"Congratulations to you. You have reached the final" said Eden, suddenly in front of Yena's house. Eden has been a Knight since young, thanks to her sword talent that emerged when she was a toddler. A sword was slung to his waist.

Yena threw the old clothes into a wooden bucket filled with dirty water, then turned to look at Eden. He wiped the sweat in the temple. Soap foams stick to the side of the hair. Yena was bathing her horse. A happy grin was clearly visible on his face. "Hehe, I'm great, right?" ask Yena while refusing her waist.

Eden was watching Yena's condition now. Looks messy with foam in every corner of the hands and feet. The skin is shiny because it is wet and highlighted by sunlight. Whether you realize it or not, Yena's underwear looks bright behind her white shirt. Instantly Eden's face gave off a red tinge.

"Yena, don't you feel uncomfortable? I mean the t-shirt doesn't fit into this kind of time." Eden ignored Yena's question. His gaze was shifted on the horse before he really felt ashamed of himself.

Eyebrows raised up. Yena could clearly see the reddish color on Eden's slightly brown face. He looked at his own clothes.

"Ups! A minute!" pekik Yena, he immediately grabbed a brown bag of shopping places stored in the corner of the door of the house. Then tie it around the neck, "how? It's not visible, is it?" He stood right in front of Eden.

A few minutes quiet. Eden shook his head and pressed the ends of his two eyebrows. How could a girl be so unconcerned about her visible body shape? Not even ashamed when Eden saw clearly behind the shirt. Indeed, Eden felt that Yena was the wrong young man to enter the body of a girl.

"What's wrong? You sick?" ask Yena.

"No, I'm just sleep-deprived," Eden lied, "I want to take you to dinner with Teacher Danma before returning to duty. You want to, right?" He looked back at Yena.

"Hm, okay. It seems fun."

"Good, see you later tonight" said Eden with a smile, walking backwards and disappearing behind the bend.

"No-miss! You okay?" asked a slightly screaming young man with both hands clenched at the sides of his mouth. Directly return Yena to reality.

"Ah, sorry. Please home. Practice time is over," Yena replied with a slightly met face. He walked quickly, swinging towards the house. He so missed the late father, due to a glimpse of the memories earlier.

On the way home, Yena runs into several bodyguards who have just returned from their duties while riding a horse. Their conversation sounded faint, the city of Mitri mentioned several times. He turned back to stare at the iron-clad backs of the guards. His head was turned to the right.

"Mitri Town? Isn't that ...," muttered Yena, her brows furrowed with her hands propping up her chin.

🍂🍂🍂

The next day, Yena was already in Mitri town. Trailing the guards who changed guard in this city. He descended the horse far from the camp and took the horse into an empty open barn. He found out that King Firan had sent several bodyguards and black magicians. They took turns patrolling to check this city, heard from the horseshoe that existed every 1 hour. Fortunately Yena did not touch anything, including the human skeleton that was stretched stiff inside the warehouse front house. Something seems to be happening in this town.

The sound of the horseshoe drifted away until it was inaudible. The horse calmed down again and did not neigh again. Yena immediately stepped out, slightly closing the barn door so that her horse would not be seen. He took out a cloth mask from his celena pocket, then put it up. Yena wants to check all the houses that are here, are they the same?

...

The house of Mayor Mitri. The last place he hasn't been touched. Yena used the back door to get inside. The back door was through the kitchen, Yena walked slowly towards the stairs. Suddenly there was a man groaning in pain, not loud but still heard around here, precisely in a room on the second floor. The steps turn more slowly, with the back bent. Yena crept through the stairs. This time, Yena did not carry a sword. Too bad, that means he's not ready to fight.

The worn out room door opened slightly, Yena peeked behind it. Inside was a masked man holding the nape of his neck, two small black holes on his neck lying behind his fingers. Yena could confirm that the man had been bitten by a snake. And Yena could recognize who the man was even though his clothes changed slightly.

Suddenly the sound of horseshoe was heard, behind and in the courtyard of the Mayor's house. The man immediately hid behind a curtained but unglazed window, as if he had entered through the window.

"I'd better wait for them to leave. After that—"

"You're going to die because of the snake that keeps spreading," Yena cut open the door slowly, "want me to help?" bargained for.

Actually Yena was very curious about the identity of the masked man. Trying to get close to him by pretending to betray King Firan is worth trying.

"You? Yena the king's bodyguard?"

That's grand. Apparently the killer guy recognized her. He had to be careful because the man was carrying his sword.

"You want help, don't you? But this help is not free, yes," said Yena, looking at her eyes intensely. There's no expression there. Deploring.

"You're not kidding, are you? I want to laugh."

That sentence made Yena stupefied. It sounded silly, a personal guard of the king instead offered his enemy some help. It really has broken the oath of allegiance if only the purpose was not to want to know the identity of the enemy.

"Alright, if you don't want to." Yena got up from the squatting position. He patted his dirty heels. "I have the medicine."

"Wait on! What if I make a deal?" interject the man when Yena just turned her body.

"You changed your mind?"

"You said you had the cure?"

True too, Yena offered. If you look around, the snake bite looks unusual, little by little spread covering the skin with a dense color. On his arm that was wrapped in a hollow glove, a black color stuck to his fingers. How strange. This was exactly like his fight with the black magician 5 months ago.

"Okay, follow me" Yena replied. He walks first with the masked man. Unfortunately, two of the bodyguards had broken through the front door. The two immediately crouched down, hiding behind the stairs.

"Looks like we're gonna get caught, miss."

"Shut up! I was thinking, " cried Yena, "you can't bring out your power, can you?"

"Can't."

Ah, ja. Yena just remembered. If the man can't bring out all his power when exposed to black magic. It was fitting that he immediately received Yena's help, maybe during those 5 months he healed himself?

Yena shook her head then said, "We wait and see, where they're going." The man nodded in agreement.

While waiting, apparently two bodyguards split into a room on the first floor. Yena walked slowly down the stairs after an invisible bodyguard figure, her arms waving backwards, instructing the man to follow her. The stairs involuntarily creaked a few times causing noise.

"Hey!! Stop y'all!" Shouted a tall bodyguard.

The two of them looked back, a bodyguard caught them who were already on the verge of the exit.

Yena immediately ran in a splash while grabbing the man's arm. They ran while holding hands. "Quick! Hurry along! We have to run!" peekik Yena's.

However, unfortunately the shout of a bodyguard had invited all the enemies including some black magicians. Yena turned around, front and back no more gaps. While there were some archers as well and Yena did not carry a sword. Finished already.

"Damn!! I should have brought Er'dura," Yena muttered as she squeezed her head.