Aaron looked around him, as his family and he trudged to the designated venue.  He was of the house Mythia and at that very moment, all 13000 members of that great house were making their way to the place where the great fight would take place. They were making their way...to meet the members of the house of Satapia. There, all would be settled once and for all. The great blood feud that had plagued both houses for years and which originated deep into their ancestral lines would be solved, be settled that very day...once and for all.  Personally, Aaron thought the fight unnecessary- why carry on a feud centuries old? But yet he had no choice but to participate in what would prove to be a bloody mess for he could not disobey orders. Besides, it was for the sake of his house. Aaron pursed his lips in grim determination as he dragged his feet along the sandy path. Entering the set venue, a cavern of some sort, Aaron was greeted with a sight that unnerved him. A huge army, not loosing to them in terms of numbers, stood before them, all armed and standing ready for battle. The members of Satapia were indeed many and the army they formed, formidable. A murderous atmosphere settled as both sides studied each other. As tensions rose, the two sides readied for battle that they had come expecting. Then, as a young, battle-hungry teenager rushed out from the Satapia crowd and attacked Aaron's uncle, the fight lounged into full gear as both houses attacked the other. Aaron fought with all his might, slashing side to side, falling members of the opposite side by the minute. He continued, taking countless lives, inflicting countless injuries all for the sake of duty. He loathed the violence that he was brought up by, brought up to witness every single day. He loathed the violence that ruled his world, loathed how every minute conflict was to be solved by brute strenght. But yet here he was carrying out the very act he despised all for the sake of his beloved house. He sliced the head of an attacking warrior before he was faced with an enemy of immense size. He was a giant, towering over the already tall Aaron. Glaring down, he wore the armor of the Satapia house. As he raised his sword, something behind Aaron seemed to have caught his attention for a slight second. Taking this chance, Aaron swung his sword around to have it meet with that of his enemy.  He pressed against his enemy's sword and now they stared at each other face to face. Then, in lightning fast movement, that giant of a man pushed Aaron backwards with all his might and being the stronger of the two, succeeded. Aaron stumbled back only to receive a stinging stab in the side. He could feel the hard metal of a dagger deep in his flesh and the pain it caused. Using the last of his strenght, he turned around and struck the one who had plunged the dagger into him before unconsciousness claimed him. But...then everyone had been up and fighting. Now they were all... 

        

    At this, an image of the ones he held close to his heart appeared in his mind's eye. He saw his mother, father and...a girl that always carried a lovely smile on her face, no matter what happened.  She was one extremely close to his heart, his confidante, his beloved, his soon-to-be wife. Panic took hold of him as he thought of his family and  fiance. Where were they? He rushed through the sea of bodies in search of his loved ones, not caring for the pain his wound was causing him. He searched and searched, enduring the overpowering stench in the cavern. The fear he felt showed itself clearly in his eyes. Panic-stricken, he didn't know how long he was there, among all the dead, but he was lost in his mission to find his loved ones' bodies. But as he worked, he began to loose hope. There were just too many bodies and the sea of them seemed never-ending. As a feeling of helplessness settled over him, a single tear escaped the cover of his eyelids  and rolled down his cheeks. Was his family really not to be found? He sniffed in despair and turned to go when he saw something that caught his eye-a sparkling diamond ring among the bloody mess. Hope and surprise filled him as he recognized the engagement ring he had given his fiance, GuiGui.  He rushed over, clambering past bodies, till he reached the ring of his fiance. The ring lay settled upon a delicate hand surrounded by dead bodies, it's owner buried under her companions. Seeing this, a certain something took to Aaron's heart and he started frantically tossing bodies aside, in hope of uncovering GuiGui. Finally, GuiGui's face was revealed to him. Her face was bruised and on top of that, entertained cuts and wounds that ran deep. She was bleeding, and his heart hurt to see her in such a state. He pulled her to him, hugging her, his hand cupping the back of her head. But to his confusion, he felt something...sticky, wet... He pulled his palm away and to his utmost horror, saw that his entire hand was covered with fresh blood, blood from GuiGui...GuiGui's hair was matted with the viscious blood that refused to clot, refused to stop.

 

       'GuiGui,' he whispered, his voice soft even burdened with pain. He hugged GuiGui with all his might, his second tear rolling down his cheek. What a terrible day this was to make Aaron, a warrior of the highest degree cry not one, but two tears. Warriors did not easily shed tears as it was deemed a sign of weakness. But no warrior would be able to resist tears should they be faced with such as the situation Aaron faced now. Squeezing GuiGui tight against himself, he hoped frantically that she was okay. He felt her heartbeat and a relief flooded over him. But his relief was short-lived. GuiGui's body jerked with sudden movement before falling back against Aaron, limp.  Grabbing her by the shoulders, Aaron looked at her with a worried expression on his face that was almost instantly transformed into an expression of pure fear for GuiGui's mouth was covered with blood and his shirt too was stained with the blood she had thrown up.

 

      'GuiGui!' he shouted, patting her lightly on the cheeks. He was tempted to shake her to try and awake her from her slumber but he resisted for he knew if he did, she would be weaker then she already was. 'GuiGui!' he shouted, patting her slightly harder this time. At this, GuiGui's eyes opened and she mouthed Aaron's name upon seeing his handsome face. She smiled a weak smile, her hand reaching up to cup Aaron's face with frail movement. It was a loving gesture, full of tenderness and love.  She stared deeply into his eyes, savouring every moment she had with him. At that moment, as she stared into those deep eyes that she loved so dearly, events of their relationship flashed before her eyes. The happy times she had spent with him, the difficult times that they had gone through together, only to emerge refined and strenghtned. A tear rolled down her cheek as she reminisced the past, basking in those loving memories. She remembered the time when she was a mere nine-year-old. She had been bullied by the school bullies. With her mediocre skills that she had had back than, she had not been able to fight them off. Aaron had been twelve, but even at such a young age, he had rushed up to defend her. Yet, being the kind person that hated violence, Aaron had not fought those bullies. Instead, he had taken the beating for her. Since then, she had admired him and when they had finally become an item when she had turned  nineteen, she had been delighted beyond all means. But they had only been dating for two years when...they had to be separated...by this great battle. Another tear rolled down her cheek as she looked at the charming prince of her life. He looked wrecked, tired and pale. Blood was smeared over his right cheek and a long bloody line adorned his left. Her heart ached to see the wounded state her beloved was in. Then, her eyes fell to the huge gash in his side and her eyes opened wide in horror. In her fear for Aaron, she tried to sit up straight but fell back before she could do so. She was too weak. The toll battle had taken on her and the injuries that had been inflicted on her were to great and she felt her life ebbing away. 

 

'Aaron...' she whispered weakly. 'I...I...I have to go first...Take care.'

 

'No...No...Gui...' Aaron whispered, the pain in his heart almost too great for him to bear. He grabbed her hand, which had dropped to her side when she had tried to sit up, and placed it against his cheek. He gripped it hard, tight and now the full magnitude of his grief was released and tear upon tear rolled down his cheek as he realised he was about to loose one of the few he loved the most.

 

'Don't cry, Aaron. When I leave, I'll only go to  better place,' she whispered through a faint smile. Her lips were ghostly white, her face pale save for the streaks of blood that adorned it. 

'No,no,no!' Aaron's tears were falling even more freely now as he shook his head with great vigour from side to side. 'You won't go! You can't leave me! Please...no...' his voice trailed off until it became fainter than the air that circulated the cavern. With tear-filled eyes he stared at the girl he loved before she threw up blood yet another time and lay limp in his arms. With a shaking hand, he brought a finger under her nose. There was...no breath. He grabbed her wrist but...there was no pulsing movement to be felt. GuiGui truly was dead...gone...forever... That moment, he literally felt his heart break into a million tiny little pieces that she had helped sew together so many years back. He remembered the time when he had staggered back home, heartbroken at the break up he had just experienced. GuiGui had comforted him, given him the warmth he needed to recover, to allow his heart to heal. She had sewn that broken heart together She had given him the warmth he needed and...a new love.   At that point of his break up with his previous girlfriend, he had not cried; now he did for what he held for GuiGui was love, true love. He cradled her in his arms and looked upon her sweet face with blurred vision as he remembered the sweet smile she carried all the time especially on that eventful day...

 

'So... Did you enjoy today?' he asked her, a hopeful expression on his face. 

 

'Hmmm,' the girl said thoughtfully, pursing her lips and looking away.  'I loved it!' she exclaimed, whipping her head round to look at him before giving him a huge hug. 

 

'Thank you, Aaron,' she said blissfully. Aaron smiled in return and pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead in a smooth romantic gesture. Then, in fluid movement, he was on his knees, a ring in his hand.

'GuiGui, will you...' he swallowed nervously before continuing,' Will you marry me?' A shocked GuiGui could do nothing but stare at Aaron, stupified, flabbergasted at his question. It was a question of great multitude but GuiGui knew that she no longer had to consider it further. She knew that Aaron was the right one for her. Looking at Aaron, a huge smile, the largest she had ever smiled in her life broke out as she nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. Aaron grinned and enveloped her in his strong arms.

 

'I love your smile so much,' he whispered into her ear and somehow, he knew, he felt that she was grinning. Breathing in her scent, he etched that beautiful memory deep into his heart where it would forever stay.

 

A tear dropped on GuiGui's pale face as Aaron realized he would never see that smile again. He cupped her lovely face with a bloody hand and a faint smile played on his lips. He knew he would join her soon, and probably all his loved ones, for he was aware that his casualties were not light. As he felt life slowly ebb away from his weak, tired body, he grabbed GuiGui's hand and held it in his. He smiled blissfully. His death would soon come and dieing in the presence of the one he loved was more than enough. A heaviness, cloudiness took to his mind and fatigue threatened to overcome him. He stole a last look at the beautiful girl next to him, etching the image of her into his heart and mind before dozing off into deep sleep, deep sleep from which he would never arise from...

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how is it?