BLADE Chapter 5 – AniontingProsper
CHAPTER FIVE: He has always been resilient
He watched the sunrise turn the night to day and watched the sunset turn day into night. The sun and the moon rotated its spot, day in day out, turning days into weeks and weeks into months.
Like an old man living out his retired years, Blade lived out his days in the cottage, surrounded by the cricking of the crickets and the howling of the winds, the rustling of the leaves always following closely.
While his heart was on the window, always hoping for when his father will come home, his current days could be said to be one of the best he had ever had for he could do the things that were in his heart which was reading. If it wasn’t for his father’s rifle on the wall of the cottage, hung there like a trophy, he wouldn’t even remember that he was an assassin who had blood on his hands, be it guilty or innocent.
He was sure that the Citadel would have forgotten that he existed as Viper had fully taken over his responsibilities.
Vesper never failed to give an update every week on what was going on in the Citadel. The boys that were smuggled into the Citadel by Elder Hans, were already green Caders. More like he was building an army for himself- In Vesper’s voice.
He sat down on the swing he sat on as a child. He remembered that it was only once he sat on that swing, and that was when his father was trying to encourage him that he was not an abandoned child, back when he questioned his mother’s reasons for dumping him in such a place.
Now that he had adapted so well, he wondered why he ever thought like that as a child. It was not as though his mother ever showed him the love he needed.
His mother raised him on the cold mountains, where snow fell throughout the year. Maybe that was why his mother’s hair was pure white and her pupils were silver like that of a blind person, but no one had a clearer vision than his mother. She could see so well, that she knew when his speed was slower than usual.
She hated him to be idle. He was always on the field, dancing with a wooden sword in the name of martial arts. His flexibility being worked upon was one of the worst days in his life, he remembered entering extremely narrow cracks between snow ridden rocks just to pick a pebble she had placed there the day before.
Days of him running after butterflies just to kill them with a sword, each day, he had to kill not less than twenty butterflies on the other side of the mountains which wasn’t like the back of the mountain that was always cold. The land below the mountains had spring, autumn, summer and winter unlike the back of the mountains where he grew up. The days he failed to kill twenty butterflies; he wouldn’t have any sleep that night. That kind of trained not only his speed but his nimbleness.
He gave up on receiving love from his mother when she smiled at a baby in her arms and struck him with a sword when he tried to come closer to play with them both. He had always had the mind of a lone ranger ever since then and but as a child he still hoped that his mother will love him if he worked harder. So, he worked himself like an ox, day in, day out, to the days of practicing with a gun, still, she didn’t even bulge.
Finally, when she got tired of the ‘unqualified child’, she gave him to his godfather, who took him in, accepted him into the Citadel.
“The Blue Caders are the newly recruited ones so their only missions are to train. The green Caders are the ones who go out to collect information from the powerful. They aren’t allowed to kill anyone. The Red Caders are more skilled than the two Caders below them but they are not as fast and a little messy. They go through more vigorous trainings but not many get to advance to the next level. The Brown Caders are more skilled. These are the ones who kill ministers and Ceos in a neat and sophisticated way.
But the most expensive yet rare and the true guarantee to whatever job given to them are the Black Robes. They are rarely seen but when seen they’re known to cause serious havoc before going back to hiding”
He still remembered the speech he was given that day with the rest of his Blue Cader. It was an introduction worth listening too.
He thought he had found a home, until he was asked to wear some blue uniforms, and the training he had dreaded all his life now had to be doubled to beat over six hundred blue Caders.
From dangerously sparring with each other to testing one’s cold bloodedness, to sparring in groups to test ones determination for a mission to succeed, to going through incredible hot pools to test one’s height of endurance, all he had in his mind during those days was moving to the next Cader so his father could reward him with a day of rest.
The day he finally leveled up to the Green Cader, they had all rejoiced, dining and drinking with cheers and Melody. That was the only day he had to socialize and make friends, learning their different backgrounds. That was the day he knew Vesper and Kilo.
Unfortunately, there was a sneak attack that night and half of them died, for some had blurry vision while some weren’t in the right state of mind to defend themselves from the then Black Robes.
Kilo died while protecting them both Blade and Vesper and that was how they survived the test that tested their level of alertness. Then they had to do the Pindo and then they had to do the Kai Maiter, which was the battle to the death. With each mission they overcame together, they became closer and closer. And together they moved to the Red Cader and then to the Brown Cader, where they were separated by individual missions and had the freedom of choice to choose the kind of mission and test they wanted to do.
He smiled when he remembered how Vesper’s face beamed with joy when he saw that leveling up to the Black Cader was a choice and he didn’t have to go through the mission of sparring with an Elder.
Sparring with his godfather was no easy feat and it was by a slim chance he survived but he could finally reach the top that he had always wanted to reach.
He remembered how much he hated being bullied by the Black Robes then who threw their weight around and trampled on the hands of the rising ones. So he wanted to be a Black robe to challenge them but how funny life works, they were dead before he got there, so his reasons for working so hard became invalid.
Now that he was reminiscing on his past, he realized that he had worked so hard for a life he thought he needed but never actually wanted. Same goes other way round.
The Aura the then Black Robes emitted as their Robes swept the floor behind them, leaving a trail wherever they went, the freedom they had, the beauty of their swords and guns, and their hairstyles gave off this bossy vibe that attracted him more but their character appalled him, so he thought, when he got there, he would make that change. But most of all, he wanted his mother to know he was not an unqualified child. So, he worked tirelessly.
But all of that were not even moving Blade anymore as he found himself yearning for a better life. A life that was more normal.
Power and fame, came with it’s burdens and with heavier responsibilities that the world didn’t see and didn’t care about. Everyone was running towards it, but not many will be able to stay there for long because Power is just like an ancient wine. One sip and you’re intoxicated. Only to those that are interested in sipping the wine.
He had reached the height he had always wished and yearned for, funny how it doesn’t interest him anymore. The bows of the other Caders seemed to be quite attractive and exhilarating but to him, not once did it move him.
Alas! He had worked for nothing.
Anytime he slept, he dreamt of himself, going to high-school with two younger brothers and their father who looked too young to be their father, telling he and his brothers to be good in school.
Those dreams made him yearn more for a normal life. But still, he couldn’t leave his father behind in such hell hole. He’d rather be the ladder his father would use to climb out.
Vesper was out on a mission, so there was no one to keep him company. He had to admit that he felt Vesper’s absence, even though he wasn’t lonely.
He was alone but not lonely. Not only does he enjoy his own company, he also loved peace and quiet.
He slowly moved his butt on the swing, controlling the movement with his heels, the wind blowing his hair into different directions, while he was immersed in the book he was reading. The hunchback of notre dame. The sorrowful story of the lady, Esmeralda, had his heart in pieces.
A few times he would laugh out loud and a few times he would wipe an imaginary tear. Books were already turning him to a psycho, who saw things other people couldn’t see till they looked through his eyes.
Slowly and slowly, time quietly walked past him, till the sun finally retired to rest. He didn’t drop the book until he couldn’t see what he was reading again. So, he was forced to drop the book and put on some lanterns as the whole compound was now pitch black. Even the moon refused to come out.
As he headed indoors, he felt footsteps approaching the cottage. He stood still and waited for the person to show up, the pen in his hand had already assumed the identity of a weapon.
He was about to attack when his godfather burst into the open, bending over, the fair short legs that hung from his back could be visible even in the dark.
“Father?” Blade called unsure, dropping the book and pen in his hand and rushing towards his father.
In broken breaths he told his son, “Quick, get inside… Don’t worry…about me…I’m right…behind you”
In obedience, he ran into the cottage and looked for the oil lamp they had, in a hurry to put it on. His father entered shortly after that and slammed the door shut behind him, revealing unto his son, his bloody appearance, and the little girl on his back.
Blade first took the young girl from his back and laid her on the clothed couch, her wet hair totally covering her face but he was less interested in that.
He looked at his father and the questions loaded in his mind were about to spring forth but before he started, his father held his two arms, and looked up at him,
“There is no time for questions. Listen once and listen carefully. Your days in the Citadel are officially over. As soon as the coast is clear, take the girl and run as fast as you can, don’t stop till you get to the City. Remember, this is not the time to fight back-“
His father coughed heavily, putting Blade in more Panic.
“Can you at least tell me what’s going on, Father?…Why are you this bloody-“
“Why can’t you just listen just for a moment? Lenora is now your responsibility. Be sure to raise her well. This is not a time to fight back-” His father wheezed in pain.
“Why don’t you sit down, Father? You’re bleeding for Christ sake!”
“Do you ever listen to me?! There’s no time!” His father scolded, coughing immediately after.
His father’s blood was beginning to drip on the floor and because of that he didn’t want to walk towards the hiding place.
“Quick” He said to Blade, pointing towards a wall, “Move the picture frame on the wall, it would show you a stairway that leads into darkness, follow the stairs and walk down the dark alleyway. It leads directly to the Valley of skulls…the other gate of the Valley of skulls has a highway, a bus is there waiting” His father ran the instructions like a machine would.
“What’s going on?” He tried once more to get an answer, but the answer he got was the child thrown on his back like a bag of rice on the back of a laborer, before he was directed to the wall.
“Quick” His father croaked, his throat was dry and he was starting to cough out blood.
In obedience, he did as his father said. There was indeed a dark stairway behind the wall. He had grown up in this cottage but he never for once thought that something like this existed.
Just as the wall closed, separating him from his father, he heard the door burst open.
There was peephole in the wall, large enough for two eyes to see through.
He looked through the wall and saw Elder Hans, with a gun in his hand and his Purple rope that was decorated with gold lace as the Robe of an Elder should be, sweeping the floor behind him, and his silk glove standing out in the not so dark room, for the lamp was getting dimmer as the moment went by.
Elder Hans sat on the couch that the girl his father brought once laid, his father seemed to be trying hard to stand still.
“Pardon me for not welcoming you on time, brother”