Aelis

• Sarah Lasher, Grade 12, Otto-Eldred Jr/Sr High School
• Short Story
• 2001

Finalist in the '2001/2002 Schools Short Story Competition - Magic and Mystery Theme' competition

Aelis waited. Her deep hazel eyes gazed across the field. The rolling sea of wheat almost matched her shining hair, both set afire by the sun. She waited. The magnificent creature beneath her twitched and moved with restlessness. Aelis placed a hand upon its neck and it stood still as the mountains in the distance. They waited.
A quick movement on the horizon caught her eye. She slowly shifted her sight in anticipation. She saw it again. She was sure of it. Her chest tightened. She knew it would not be long until she saw him. Smiling patiently, Aelis turned and headed home. Tomorrow, perhaps.
The next day she sat in the same place and waited, just as she had countless days before. This day, however, was different. Today she knew she would finally set her eyes upon him. She had prepared for this day since she first appeared, undergoing training and classes so that this day, this moment soon to come, would be perfect.
And then she saw it. The huge crimson banner flowed and snapped in the wind, but the emblem was clearly identifiable: a black quarter moon and the silhouette of an arrow-shaped lance head. It was the symbol of Nachmann, king of Thekla, a territory overtaken by Sybil.
Suddenly he appeared, tall and regal. Her breath caught. The lance at her side rang as Aelis unsheathed. The armored dragon she rode upon reared up, flapping its wings and sensing her tension. The thousands of soldiers behind her sensed it, too, and prepared themselves for her command.
Aelis watched intently as the king gave his signal and his men poured into the golden valley, charging toward all the legions of the Sybil Empire. She needed only to nudge her dragon and it leapt into the air, responding almost by its master’s will alone. As if they were one body, Sybil’s soldiers charged their enemy, some flying, some riding, some running, all women. Both armies moved like huge rushing waves. In an instant they collided with a thunderous crash.
* * * *
The battle had lasted for three days. Many had fallen, but numerous still stood. The battlefield was a crazed flurry of bodies and lances. Aelis sailed above, fighting valiantly, but her eyes always searching. Nachmann was her real enemy, and she longed to face him. In an instant her dragon fell out of the sky, its left wing impaled with a black lance, Aelis flew off its back and began searching, scourging the mass around her to find him. Gradually the masses cleared, and there stood a tall, dark man in flowing crimson robes. Aelis lunged in rage, and a lance slid easily into her unprotected back. She fell.
Kneeling in the kingly robes before the soldier who delivered him from death, the man dared to speak.
“My Lord Nachmann,” he began, trembling. The king stood over him, disguised as a plain foot soldier.
“Evil is vanquished, man,” Nachmann said. “We are free.”