“Moving targets are a little more difficult, alright?” Oliver crouched down and positioned Mariyah’s feet properly while instructing her.

“What if I hit their toes?” she clutched the knife in her hand nervously.

Oliver chuckled and stood beside her. “You won’t, I promise.”

She bit her lip as she looked across the field at Marcy along with Gil, and David, who Mariyah had grown close to. They each grinned at her as they held their tall planks beside them. She could hear Jos and Steph mumbling annoying comments as they sat in the grass behind her.

Oh, God…“This is going to be a bloodbath, I hope you all know.” She called out to her friends.

“Yeah, you all better say your prayers!” Jos shouted.

“I’d be more worried about us back here if her knife throwing skills are anywhere close to her bowing skills.” Steph laughed.

Mariyah swung around, pretending to throw the knife at the two brothers, giggling as they jumped. “Be quiet. My bowing has gotten much better.”

Oliver smirked and nodded his head. “That’s true. See? You can hit moving targets with an arrow, now do it with a knife. I promise you, you’ll do fine.” He gave her a smile which she returned as he backed away.

“Ready?!” Marcy and the others pulled their planks in front of them and readied themselves.

Kai, standing off to the side, silently backed up many steps with a blank look.

“Oh, God.” Jos mumbled.

“Go!” Gil shouted, and soon all three were running across the field.

Mariyah gulped and chucked her knife at one of the planks, missing.

“That’s okay, don't stop. Keep going till you hit!” Olly encouraged her from the side.

She inhaled deeply and stared at one of the targets. Thankfully, only an inch of their feet appeared below the planks. She threw another, and then another, missing each time until she threw one more.

A thud was heard.

She gasped and looked at Olly with a wide smile, “I did it!”

David fell backwards with his plank. “Finally!” he shouted.

Oliver clapped his hands and nodded his head, “Beautifully done!” He held his hands on his hips as he leaned back looking up at the sky. His face straightened and suddenly he stood up straight, a new seriousness shown on his face.

Mariyah’s faint smile disappeared as she saw his expression change. “What is it?” she asked, only to be motioned quiet by him. She stood quiet, listening carefully until she finally heard a sound in the distance. The sound of hooves.

“Get back to the village, everyone!” he shouted to the others. He looked at Mariyah, “Get inside- Get back! Go!” He grabbed her arm and began to run, pulling her back towards the village. “Marcy, cover the crops!”

Mariyah picked up her dress and ran with him, confused but doing as he said. “What is happening? Soldiers?!”

He pushed her gently into the closest tent to them. “They’re too close, I can’t risk you running. Stay here until I say, Mariyah. Don’t come out no matter what. Do you understand?”

She nodded her head silently and climbed into a large chest that sat in the tent beside a makeshift bed. “Be careful, Olly,” she whispered. She looked up at him once with wide eyes as he looked down at her with his green, serious ones.

She wanted to speak but held her tongue, and it looked like he felt the same. He gave her a nod and exited the tent.

“We’re getting paid a visit, everyone!” Oliver shouted to his villagers.

Mariyah could hear the muffled voice of young Dyelan groaning, “I thought they’d stopped coming.”

“Everyone, continue about what you were doing. Pay them no mind unless spoken to,” Peter’s voice announced.

Soon, the sound of prancing horse’s feet were clearly audible, and she could hear them coming closer and closer. The closer they got, the less she could hear them over the pounding in her ears.

And soon it came to a stop.

“Greetings!” a loud voice declared.

Oliver’s voice took charge, “Can we kindly help you with anything?” Mariyah’s eyes widened in the dark chest. Why is he being so bold?!

With the long pause, Mariyah could imagine the glare the soldier must have given him. “We’ve come to see how things were here. To see how you were holding up with the stopped rations.”

“Oh, we’re doing quite well. Kind of you to care though.”

Mariyah winced at Olly’s loud attitude. How could he be so confident?! She clutched her pendant in her hand tightly.

“Hm. You all almost look as if you’ve fattened up...how’s that work, eh? Rations stop and bellies grow? What are ya doin’? Eatin’ each other?” The sound of more grown men laughing boomed.

“Haven’t had to resort to that yet, but that’s a good idea. Thanks for that.” Olly replied.

Silence.

The sound of feet hitting the ground and two footsteps forward. “You think you’re funny, kid? Answer the question. How are you fattening up when rations have been stopped? You all were once droppin’ like flies not more than a few months ago.”

“Since you kind men have stopped spoiling us with your delicious portions of a slab of meat and rotten cheese, we’ve turned to the forest for gathering. Mushrooms...you’d be surprised at their protein. Maybe a few of you boys could use some as well.”

A harsh grunt. “You listen here, boy. I’ve killed for less. Watch your mouth, and know your place, beast.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

There was a loud sound as if something hit the ground followed by sounds of Oliver coughing. Olly! Mariyah pressed her hands against the chest and pushed up slowly, but the tent doors were closed, and there was no use.

“What-” he coughed again, “What’s that wagon for?”

The soldier replied with a chuckle, “Figured you’d need someone to clean up the starved based on our scouts at the other villages. But it looks like you’ll eat them for us instead. Especially with winter comin’.” A horse neighed. “Until next time, beasts.”

And then, clicking of hooves filled her ears once more until she heard no more.

She quickly pushed open the lid of the chest even more and rushed out. After poking her head out from the tent, she saw Olly standing in the middle of the village, rubbing his neck. No soldiers in sight.

“Olly!” She shouted, running towards him. “What did they do to you? Why do you speak like that to them?!”

Peter waved his hand off as he walked away with the dispersing crowd. “No bother tellin’ him to shut up. He backtalks the guards every visit. I’ve learned the more I try to shut him up, the louder his mouth gets.”

Mariyah watched as Peter walked away and looked again at Olly. “Oliver, why? He could have killed you!”

Olly finally looked at her and shook his head. “So long as I have a smile on my face, they won’t kill me. They want me to be weak and afraid. It’s how these mad men work.” He dusted his trousers off and began walking away, Mariyah following closely behind.

She stretched her neck and stood on her tippy toes as she examined his face, “Did they hurt you? I heard a noise.” She moved her hands to gently get him to look at her, her eyes wandering every inch of him quickly.

He gave her a bit of a sweet smile, noting her concern. He shook his head. “One hit. Barely felt it. Don’t you worry.”

The two looked at each other for a long moment. She felt as if his eyes were speaking to her, but she couldn’t decide what they were saying. She wondered if hers were telling him anything too. Secrets she wouldn’t voice, let alone allow herself to think about. Part of her hoped they were. She wanted him to know what she was too scared to accept. But she knew better in a time like this.

She swallowed the nerves in her throat at his stare and looked away. “Okay. Good.”

He nodded his head towards the treeline. “Let’s get outta here.”

“Oliver,” Mariyah began quietly as the two of them walked away from the village. “Don’t you think there has to be another way?” she asked.

“Another way for what?”

“Another way to live. Don’t you think we can do something? Instead of just sitting here and allowing them to banish and treat you all like this?”

“What are you saying?” He squinted his eyes, trying to understand.

“I mean...I don’t hear much about anyone fighting back,” she said with sympathetic eyes. “I just wonder if you all fought, or resisted...maybe things could change.”

Oliver looked at her with his lively yet sad green eyes and stopped in his tracks. “Come with me,” he said. He changed direction and brought her past the village, and into a field she had never seen before. Large willow trees were scattered around, underneath their canopies she saw small wooden crosses, stuck into the grassy ground.

Oliver remained silent as he looked at them all. “Under each cross is the body of someone who tried to fight. Someone didn’t want to go without a struggle. My father,” he pointed to a cross that was withered down, and rotting, “He led a group of men and tried to attack when the soldiers paid one of their visits. It almost worked too. But the soldiers had just a few too many. My father died with a spear in his throat.” The boy’s eyes glistened as he spoke, “I don’t want anyone else going out that way.” He looked into her eyes. “Is it better to die fighting or to live as long as we can, even though it’s in persecution?”

She looked at Oliver for quite some time before sitting down onto the grass. “I’m sorry, Olly. I never knew that.” She understood what he was saying, but her heart did not settle. There would soon be no living at all if they continued to stay in this state of submission. She continued to ponder his question silently in her head. The idea of fighting back rested in her heart and would not leave her mind. She brushed her hair behind her ears and looked to the graves. She counted twenty-three.

I know the answer,” he said, finally. “I know the truth.” He sat beside her.

“What do you mean?”

“I know what needs to be done. You have the right idea, Mariyah. I know you do. I just don't want to believe it. The second we start fighting back is the second that more death comes for us. I don’t know how I could bear to watch anymore of my people die. I fear feeling more sorrow. And I know many people feel the same way. Shifters feel no hope anymore. We are greeted with death in every corner.”

She looked at her feet, in thought. “But if we don’t fight back...they’ll still kill us off eventually. We end up dead this way too, Oliver. There is only death on both sides. Why not fight to hopefully give ourselves a new option? Peace? We need to. That way we have a chance at life at least...” She breathed in deeply, “They think we’re weak. They think we’ll just let them throw us around like rag dolls and watch as they kill all of those around us. And so far...they’re right. Because the king has done a painfully good job at making us feel as if we have no choice.” She looked at Oliver’s father’s grave. “Except for your father and those men…they fought back. They showed them.”

Oliver turned to Mariyah and watched her expression. “That’s dangerous thinking, Mariyah,” he said to her, his eyes full of care for the girl. There was a long pause. “But dangerous doesn’t mean wrong.”

“Would you ever? You, yourself, I mean?”

“Ever what?”

“Ever fight back? If there was a resistance, a rebellion...would you join?”

He stayed quiet for some time before answering. The cool breeze swayed the branches of each tree. “I would.” He looked at her, finally. “I would for my mother. And for my people. I think we’ve all sat silent long enough. It’s about time something happened. About time someone steps up. I just don’t know if I’d have the sense to be the first one. I don’t want any more pain than I’ve already seen, but I would follow. I would.”

She bit her lip in thought.

“What about you, Mariyah? Would you?” he asked with a smirk.

She scrunched her lips to the side as she pondered. “I would like to think I would...As long as my parents weren’t in danger...I would join a rebellion.”

He nodded his head, watching her. “I think you would too. But that’s the danger of these thoughts. Like I said, it always comes with death. Fighting back is never an easy win. Many of our people would die.”

“Yeah, but they’re already dying.” She shrugged her shoulders, “And maybe not if we used our advantages. Those soldiers would not know what to do if an entire army of Shifters attacked. We have the upper hand, I mean, we can become animals.”

Oliver puffed out a sigh and tilted his head. “I suppose, you’re not wrong. Though it almost feels too late to fight back.”

“No, it can’t ever be too late.” She said with a smile.

Olly returned the smile. “Hopefully not.”

She breathed out a sigh and nodded her head, not wanting to talk about it anymore. It felt too dark, and she wanted to go back to enjoying her time with Olly. No more talks of how horrible their situation truly is. “They’re just thoughts,” she said. She turned her gaze to the forest around them. “Look, Oliver,” she said as she picked a small pink flower. She walked to his father’s cross and placed it on top of the grave. “There.”

Oliver blinked quickly, staring at her. “Thank you,” he said. After a long silence, he looked up at the setting sun and stood up beside her. “Let’s get back?”

“But it’s much more peaceful here.” She frowned slightly as she looked around them. As heavy as this place was, it had a stillness to it that Mariyah enjoyed.

“I know,” he said in a heavy voice, almost as if it pained him to leave.

She walked beside him, the two beginning back towards the village.

As they walked closely alongside each other, she felt the back of Oliver’s hand brush against hers as it hung by her side. And then again. And a third time too. She inhaled as his pointer finger slowly looped into her pinky. Her heart skipped as she looked down at their hands.

He stopped walking for a moment, keeping her in front of him as he looked at her, noticing how much she wanted to stay. “I’ll make sure you come back here next time. We can sit out here for a while if you’d like.” Her heartbeat was quickening now as she felt his finger squeeze hers for a moment.

She looked up at his face, her finger squeezing his back. “I’d like that,” she said quietly, almost in a whisper.

His lips formed a faint smile as he looked at her with burdened but bright eyes. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. Let’s go.”

She nodded her head and continued to walk with him, his finger remaining locked around hers as they returned.