He awoke to a sky on fire. The smell of smoke, blood and earth swirled in his head. He felt dizzy and the weight on his back was making it difficult for him to get his face more than a few inches away from the ground. He pushed, as hard as he could with his tiny body, against the weight. It shifted for a moment only to press down harder, grinding his dirt-streaked face into the ground once again.

He could hear shouting and screaming somewhere off to the right. He squirmed a little and let out a whimper. A hand clamped quickly over his mouth, a child's hand, but a larger child.

"Quiet Rihinn", the older boy hissed in his ear, "or they will find us."

The shouting was much closer now. Then a fight broke out. They could hear the men's weapons' clanging together. It only lasted a few moments. CRASH! The weight keeping Rihinn pinned to the ground became unbearable as the other boy let out a grunt. One of the men, in full armor, had fallen, dead, right on top of where the two boys were hiding. The older boy remained still despite his pain. Rihinn could hear his companion's teeth grinding in an effort not to cry out. Rihinn could smell fresh blood. He could feel it running down his face. Was it his own? The other boy's? The dead man's?

After what seemed like an eternity, the hand over Rihinn's mouth finally relaxed then moved away. The older boy pushed up from the ground, just enough to let Rihinn crawl out from underneath. Once Rihinn was free, he did what he could to help push the body off of his companion. The older boy stood up, shakily.

Rihinn was afraid. His eyes darted around to take in the full scene. They were in a field. There were bodies everywhere. Wide-eyed, he looked back at the boy, whose face was ashen, his hair dark and soaked in blood. He seemed dazed. Both boys startled at the sound of more shouting coming from the town that was quickly turning to ash.

Rihinn was exhausted. How long had they been running and hiding like this? He stared at the burning town, transfixed by the orange glow and the rising smoke. A tight grip on his arm snapped him out of his reverie.

"It's time to go. More soldiers are coming this way", said the boy. He was no longer dazed but he too looked exhausted as he began to run, dragging little Rihinn along with him.

Run.
Away from the town.
Away from the fire.
Away from the armored men.
Away from the dead.

Towards the forest.
Towards the darkness.

Darkness…

He awoke in his bed, his body sore and stiff. How long have I been laying here? He shifted under the blankets. Although he was Rihinn the man and no longer Rihinn the child, like in the nightmare, he still felt weak as he tried to sit up.

"Hold on, Rihinn. Let me help you."
Rihinn smiled. The voice was his mother's.
"How long was I out this time?" he sighed.
She adjusted the blankets now that he was sitting up.
"Four days", she said with a frown, "but, your patient seems to be on the mend. As thanks, his wife brought over enough preserves to last a year! Speaking of which, are you feeling well enough to eat?" She chuckled, "there's plenty of bread and jam to go around."
"Yes! I am starving", he replied.
"Good! But first", she said in a stern voice, "I want you to drink this tea."

Rihinn jokingly rolled his eyes, took the cup of tea from his mother's hand and downed the liquid as quickly as possible. Once he was able to stop grimacing from the taste, he took a bit of fresh bread and raspberry jam, which his mother had brought over to him.
"You know", he looked at her with exaggerated fondness, "that tea was the very first herbal remedy you taught me…and to this very day, it still tastes like absolute horse piss!", he finished saying with a shudder.
"Yes", she retorted, "but it works! Some of your colour is back already…and it sounds like that mouth of yours is back as well", she smiled briefly, and then became more serious. "You had me really worried this time. I've never seen you this ill after performing a healing. You need to be more careful."
"Bah! No worries!" he said, and then winked at her. "Lucky for me, I have the healer's healer at my service." She just shook her head and let out a sigh of defeat. He could have died, yet he still makes light of the situation.

Mother and son sat in comfortable silence for awhile. Once she was satisfied that Rihinn was alright for the time being she collected her coat and shoes. She paused by the front door and turned back to face him as he inhaled a third slice of bread.

"Your father should be returning from his trip this evening. I'd stay longer, but I don't want him to return to an empty house and worry about me. Besides, I'm sure you and that loaf of bread will be just fine without me", she grinned as Rihinn finished off a fourth slice.

He sat, quietly lost in thought for a moment. He was thinking of the nightmare. That last mad dash into the forest kept replaying in his mind.
"Mother?"
"Yes dear?"
"Are you sure I was alone when you found me all those years ago? I mean, was there any sign that I may have been traveling with someone else?"
She seemed surprised by the question. Rihinn hadn't spoken of his early childhood since he was ten years old.
"I searched the area for days after I had found you. I spoke with all the villagers. No one had seen anyone or anything out of the ordinary…besides you that is", she smirked. She paused for a long moment, lost in her memories of that day. "I am still amazed that such a small child managed to escape in that horrible time of war. You were no more than four years old when I saw you at the edge of the woods. I couldn't believe my eyes at first." She paused again. She looked up at Rihinn, "I am just so happy that destiny brought you to me. I couldn't have asked for a better son. Anyways, why do you bring this up after such a long time? She looked concerned.
"It's nothing", he replied. "Just a feverish dream, I guess." He gave her a tired smile. "You better get home. Goodnight Mother. Thank you for watching over me these last few days."
"Goodnight dear. Your father and I will come and check on you in the morning. Get some rest."

She was almost out the door.
"Mother?"
"Hmm?"
"Please don't tell father how sick I was. You know how much he worries."
She nodded, and then left.

Rihinn put what remained of the bread on the bedside table. He laid back down and stared up at the ceiling of his small cottage for a long while. He still couldn't get it out of his mind, the town on fire, the soldiers, that boy. And the more he thought about the nightmare the less it seemed like just a dream.

The beginning of Chapter 2 can be viewed at my LJ blog: here.