It’s my turn to die. Again. I am the only one who is ever willing to die. Our castle is in flames miles ahead of us, the smell of dew fills our nostrils from the rain the night before. The sound of our armor plating clanking against each each other in the wind fills our ears. It is peacefully calm, energy surges through my veins. My friend Andrew stands tall and proud next to me, his brilliant armor glistens. I can feel the dirt compress under my feet as we start marching. The sound of stomping footsteps fills my head. Banners are waving in the front of our army as we steadily move towards our fallen castle. The enemy flags now fly over our castle, the deep blue with a triad of spades colored gold. The sight is impressive, the castle standing over the monumental hills, the very top touching the clouds. We still have several miles to go, but we already anticipate a difficult fight. Eager whispers start flooding the ranks, we are ready to climb the hills and take on the enemy.

I hear the roar of the general in the distance, and excitement draws down the lines of soldiers. The final ascent is soon. We continue forging forward, all four thousand of us, at least, that’s what it feels like. Start moving faster, the hills are about 800 meters ahead of us now, there is still silence from the castle and the surrounding city. We reach the slope, and we become weary of an assault that could come from above. My heartbeat quickens, nervous for the first time. The rate at which we move slows tremendously as we reach the middle of the slope, we are tired from our long journey. The grey clouds that hang above now look like we could reach out and touch them with ease as rain drops start pattering down on us. Our scarlet banners flutter in the wind as the flag holders at the front reach the peak. Seeing the castle up close brings the flame to my heart that reminds me what I’m fighting for. What we’re fighting for.I can’t resist the urge to catch my breath at the sight, a river of so many emotions all at once, Knowing my friend Kaleb awaits me inside one of the towers. I have to face him.
We approach the gates and still there’s nothing. The captain bangs on the wooden beam that supports the structure, and a flock of black ravens flee the area but still, no men. Andrew and I enter the building, immediately greeted by a long flight of stairs which we climb quickly. We come to a long hallway which is cut off by an opening into the murky air that was blown off the castle during its capture.

THUMP!

I feel the pain immediately streaking down my back. I turn to see Kaleb standing behind me with a bow pointed in my direction. I fall out of the opening and plummet towards the ground before I can say anything. It’s not as far as it seems, maybe a few feet, but almost instantly upon my arrival to the ground I hear Andrew.

“NO!!! GET UP SOLDIER!! YOU’RE TOO YOUNG TO BE TAKEN FROM THIS WORLD!! GODDDD!!! WHYYYYY!!!???” He kneels next to my limp figure and pushes me around, trying to wake me up with forceful shaking “no no no, you can’t be dead.” He mumbles, his hands quivering, his head low and his eyes wide open, as if scared. I turn to my left and see the little hill that we had climbed over earlier. I look up and see the play structure I have fallen from.

I can’t hold a straight face anymore, my grin spreads across the world and I laugh my heart out. As I lie on the woodchips next to the play structure, a teacher starts to approach to see if I’m okay because he heard Andrew’s antics. “Is everything alright over here?” he asks.

“Yep, everything’s fine” I say, “I was just shot with an arrow, that’s all”