The Change of Rivalry

Elric waited anxiously for a soldier to shoot him from behind. His legs were wearing out from running, and now, stealing the bow seemed a bad idea.

‘Why did I steal it?’ he pondered, panting, ‘Well, it’s better than mine at least’ responded his mischievous mind. The bow was gorgeous – the best he had ever seen. The maple frame and linen string were the best combinations he knew. But now, he couldn’t let his consciousness go, for even a single sound he made could alert the soldiers.

After stealing the bow, he wanted to put it to test, and animals were the only things left to try his bow.

He glanced back and realized that the forest’s tranquil and musty air had returned and the soldier’s who were behind him left no clue of themselves. He took another glance at the bow in his hand.

‘It’s the end for a poor creature today; only the god knows who it will be’ he grinned.

He held the bow with pride, as he loaded it with an arrow from his quiver. He crouched behind a tree as he waited to sight a living spirit in the deepest corner of the forest. For the first time, he felt proud of himself to have stolen the bow from the merchants.

It was about a minute later that Elric heard footsteps. His ears reached out for the sound, his heart racing. The problem was, he couldn’t tell if it was from behind or ahead of him. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past his ear. Gasping, he leapt aside.

“Looks like you got caught, Elric,” said the archer. The ray of light flashing through the foliage revealed the army general’s face. The jerk had shocked Elric, and he lay on the ground with his chest heaving in and out.

He remained silent for a few seconds, gazing at the general advancing slowly.

“Maybe not,” he responded after a long pause.

“You still think so?” the general chuckled. His voice turned stern “Return the bow back, Elric. There’s no point trying to escape,”

“I’ll show you the point in escaping; I can save my life,” Elric grinned as he thrust the bow forward at the general's leg, tripping him over and making his way ahead. He could hear the general groaning as he ran. All Elric knew now was that the general would shoot him. He knew the general would take some time to recover from the pain, but he couldn’t stop. The general would probably be a couple of furlongs behind him, and it was best to make as much progress as he could on escaping before the general recovered.

 It was a mere assumption with which he jumped high trying to grasp a tree branch. Still, the general probably had anticipated this move.

He shot right at Elric, and it pierced his arm, creating a gash in his left arm. He let out a blood-curdling scream as he dropped down and clutched his arm tightly. The pain rippled through his arm, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Elric frowned looking up at the tress, for trees weren’t an option to escape with a wounded hand. He kept shoving the tree branches aside as he ran, and it was a long run after which he knew he had a chance to escape.

At a distance, he could see the light. He could only depend on hope for life now. He was nearing the light; he could say it. But dread filled him when he heard the general’s deep-voiced yell from behind. And he knew that the general could run considerably faster than him.

 He sprinted with all his force while the pain became nearly unbearable. What lay ahead was a cliff.

‘A cliff?!’

It nearly became hopeless for him, when his mind shot to him the worst idea ever. There was hardly a chance that the general would fall for this, but he felt it was worth a try. So, with a hammering heart in his chest, he ran the last stretch as fast as possible, and the general’s heavy footsteps grew louder. The cliff was nearing. If this didn’t work, then he knew he had no chance of survival.

He jumped.

His heart skipped a beat as he grasped the edge of the cliff with a grunt. Small pebbles went rolling down the cliff. He nearly let out a scream when his hand almost slipped off the dusty rock. His legs flailed in the calm wind. Flowing below were the harsh waters of a river.

The general, unable to control his momentum, lost balance and began dropping down the cliff.

It was at that moment when Elric’s hand shot down to grasp the general’s hand. The general stared at Elric’s hand in disbelief. Words refused to leave him.

“Why?” he asked Elric, his minding forgetting the fact that he was dangling from a nearly three-thousand feet high cliff. But his mind could merely hold the fact that the man he had gone to kill had saved him.

“I don’t kill people though I lure them into traps like these” Elric said, smiling, “What’s your name,”

“Morris,” the general smiled as Elric pulled him up. His hand slipped.

“NO!” Elric shouted out.

“I’m here,” Morris said, hanging on tightly to a protruding rock, “How do we get out of here,”

“I have done it many times, but never with another person on my side,” Elric shouted back.

--14 years later--

Elric glanced down as he signalled Morris from atop an oak tree. He nodded as he loaded an arrow. Elric strained his eyes as he waited quietly for a creature to arrive. It would be the end for another animal today – perhaps a deer or even a moose.

It was one another of the duo’s hunting campaigns, and they were sure they would have the best catch of the year today, for it was the day that mattered to them most. Elric held his bow proudly, the bow that had earned him a friend, Morris.