Survival Kit

You ran and ran, as fast as you could but as cliche as it may sound, you tripped over the log lying there purposefully to slow you down.

They were close, you could hear their feet pounding on the ground as they ran searching for you. Some of the villagers had always had a problem with you, all for a reason. You knew it wasn't your fault but you were still blamed.

With Mark dead because of heart stroke, the goons had finally found their chance of killing you and having you out of the way, out of this village and out of their lives. Mark had died thus, your survival kit was the only thing you had left that could sustain you. Life had been harsh, with the amount of hate and disgust you had received. With only one person's love, you had grown into what you were today. Mark had taught you, that no matter what you should always have love and sympathy towards others.

Mark had been the closest thing to a family, not related by blood, but he still treated you like a daughter. They had not even let you stay with him, cry over him or be with him till the cremation ended, the goons had pounced on you in anger as if you had killed Mark. With fear for your life, you had bolted but it was a conflicted decision to say the least.

Brushing all thoughts aside, you had to focus on the task at hand. You knew if you wanted to be alive, you needed to keep running. Staying more than half of your life in this village, you knew all were skilled hunters and they would find you, track you down and kill you before you could blink your eyes.

You dashed around the forest in zigzag patterns, spreading your scent and footprints all over the muddy ground, making it hard for anyone to track you. They forgot that you had lived with The Mark Solan, the one who had taught all these people the 'H' of hunting.

As the sun rose, you kept running, pushing your legs harder, you stumbled out of the territory of what was once home. You were aware of the road ahead, the stream and the close-by villages, Mark had made sure of that.

17 years ago, when you were born, your mother and father had been exiled from the village for betraying their people, and as the saying went in your village, " Betrayers birth betrayers, warriors birth warriors.", you were seen as a betrayer too. That was one reason why no one wanted you in the village, Mark knew that but he took you under his roof, held you when you were pushed around by others and when no one wanted to touch you. He had been your survival kit but now he was gone.

Living in the south all your life, now for further survival you had to head north, towards the Ice Kingdom, which already knew of your coming. Mark had relations with far off lands, but trusted the Ice Kingdom the most. With food and necessities to sustain you in this heat and then in the cold of Ice Kingdom in your survival kit, you ventured the path, familiar at first but then lands that you had never ventured into.

A survivor running away should always expect hurdles in their path, and so had you. But what came next, felt more like a boon than a hurdle to cross. Halfway towards your destination, you had to cross the stream but you had always had a fear of water, specially after you were purposefully drowned at the age of 10. There he was, dressed in black, trying to swim through towards the other side, pushing against the current. At first glance, he seemed to be very stupid for having done that but once he had crossed over, you stood there in awe of his strength.

He looked back on the other side of the stream and seeing you standing there, he thought you were helpless and shouted,

"Wait there girl, I'll come and help you cross over." You felt like laughing loud at how cute and concerned he sounded, the way he called you GIRL. You shook your head from left to right vigorously before he could jump back into the stream and pulled out the rope from your survival kit. Tying the rope to the thickest branch of your favorite tree, you took a few steps back and soared through the sky, above the gushing stream and landed on the other side.

All the while, the boy stood there like a statue, awe written all over his face. A minute passed by and you couldn't help but blurt out your name, " Meila" as he murmured his, "Jason",

Jason had swiped you off your feet with just one look and he didn't even realize it. You trusted him and told him about your journey towards the Ice Kingdom and the grin that sported his face as he said, " I am heading there as well." made your heart flutter. And so your journey started again, without a stop. As you thought back towards Mark and your past, you couldn't help but let the tears roll down your cheeks, you had lost your only family and the realization struck hard. You hadn't had the time to vent before but now even a stranger could not stop you from howling in agony.

You looked up through your tears to see Jason making his way towards you. He wrapped his arms around you and let you cry, let you soak his clothes with your tears till you felt numb and finally gave in to sleep. The next morning, both of you resumed your journey. A day more till you would be in Ice Kingdom among more strangers but it would be nothing new, all the people in your own home were strangers too.

The wind was harsh, air biting at your skin, cold, white snow crunching beneath your feat as you wheezed a breath after climbing the mountain. You could see Jason standing at the hill top that seemed too high still, you still had more to go. Suddenly as if instinct, you felt eyes upon yourself, you looked back but couldn't see anyone in the stark whiteness of the snow covered mountain forest.

By evening, both of your feet were tired and freezing in the cold but Jason was adamant to get there before sunrise the next morning. Sun soon peaked through as you reached the gate and were received by the general of the Ice Kingdom and presented a separate room to freshen up. in the evening, the queen greeted you and Jason, providing her condolences.

As you went to sleep that night, with warm clothes on your body, with a bed as soft as cloud, you said your prayers for peace of Mark's soul. You were out like a light as soon as your head hit the pillow. You woke up startled by screams and smell of smoke. As you went to the wide and large windows, you couldn't believe the sight before you, the ice Kingdom was under attack..

With the castle of the Queen burning in the distance and fire to all the houses around you, you put on a thick coat and went out to help in anyway that you could. But before you could do anything, Jason's hand clamped around your mouth and dragged you away from the scene.

As you and Jason hid for most of the night, you couldn't help but feel uneasy. As the screams stopped and the flag of the Ice Kingdom was changed to that of the Sun Kingdom, Jason dragged you out, unrelenting and deaf to your worries. You could not believe your eyes as you saw Jason bowing in front of the Sun Kingdom's king and you realized your mistake. As you looked towards the Queen on her knees, you rushed to her aid but the guards stopped and dragged you back to the king.

You sneered at Jason, appalled at his betrayal. But it was your fault, you were the one who blindly trusted him. As the queen was lifted onto her feet, her face dejected and defeated, you looked around to the chaos and the blood that was splattered all over the white snow. In horror you stepped back from the red colored snow, soaked in someone's blood. Ashes from the burnt houses flew with the wind, the smell of smoke still prominent. Many survivors, men, women and children were kneeling as well.

You watched horrified as the queen was made to bow in front of the king, with a knife to her throat, the queen facing you and her people. The king asked, "Any last words my queen?".

The queen glared at you and sneered. The words that tumbled out of her mouth would forever change your life.

The queen shouted, " You, it's all your fault, you should have died the day you were born. The saying is correct, Betrayers birth betrayers." And with those words, the queen took her last breath.

You could hear the uproar of the Ice Kingdom's people at the loss of their queen, they had lost everything in just one night.

You really were a betrayer, you could not live with this truth and you ran towards the house still burning to burn along with it and end this forever.