Ships Come Sailing

I knew the war was over when ships rose on the red horizon with the sun. From the second I gazed upon the first full sail, I knew it was all over. Those were not our ships. The physical craft was from my home, there was no mistaking that, but our men were not coming home. Their bodies would be food for carrions.

There was no time to mourn loved ones now; I had to ready myself for battle. Warning bells echoed over the hills, but they were useless. There was no one left but me. My neighbors had all fled into the hills. Friends begged for me to follow, but I could not. The soldiers needed to be stopped our they would hunt my people to the edge of the earth.

Her father left for war. Her brother left for war. Her husband left for war. And when he was old enough, her unborn son would leave for war. Yet for that to happen, Corrine needed to survive today.

When rumors that war was brewing on the far off coasts reached their village, her husband Gareth took her aside.

“They say this will be the greatest war of all time,” he said, drawing his wife into his arms.

“And the bards will sing of your deeds until the sky falls,” Corrine spoke with a song in her voice, but it was gone now. It left when Gareth sailed away. Those two women were no longer the same person. Seven long years changed everything about Corrine.

“But if I fail, you must be ready,” and with that Corrine became a woman warrior. She always knew how to fight in order to defend herself from the rogues and thieves that traveled in the forests and roamed the edges of the hills. Her brother had given her a knife for her seventh birthday, just before leaving for his own war. Gareth gave her a gift as well, a long sword. It had been customized for her hand, each detail perfectly crafted.

She caught her reflection in the blade as she waited for the ships to land. Corrine was not a spectacular beauty; she was average looking. But the air around her made Corrine stand apart from everything around her. The men on the ship could see it as they yelled back and forth to each other. Many laughed a lone woman standing up against a fleet of tested warriors, but they were stuck by the malice in her eyes. Corrine lifted her sword as the commanding officer ordered his men to take her.

I was ready for this, ready since Gareth kissed me good-bye. My sword sung as it drank warm blood for the first time. NEINA, the hungry. We were both hungry for the invader’s death. They were not going to take me, my home, my land. They had already stolen enough. It was my turn.