This is it. Alqa waited for the warriors around her to start moving, she was with the Yisra of Begter. She looked back at Qotoiyan and he gave her the most reassuring glance he could. He looked calm, like he almost always did, but now there was fear in his eyes. It felt like forever until finally the first warriors of the Yisra of Begter began moving. Alqa spurred Nergui on and joined them. They rode forward, slowly. Alqa couldn’t see what was happening in front, but she heard the twangs of hundreds of bows and the yells of wounded and dying warriors. Alqa saw the warriors in front of her kick their horses into a canter and she did too. “Nergui, you’ll be alright. You’re doing great, keep it up,” she said to Nergui. The warriors in front of her took out their bows, Alqa copied them. Then they began to turn, Alqa saw the Baltui. Oncoming but turning and riding parallel to the Qutu.

She was parallel to the Baltui. Now it felt more real than it ever had been before. A warrior in front of her took an arrow to the neck and Nergui had to swerve to avoid the rearing horse. Everything around her was chaotic. Arrows whistle all around her, she raised her bow and pulled back an arrow. She released and it was instantly lost in the constant rain from both sides. Again, another arrow. Just keep loosing. Every arrow brought her closer to an empty quiver, yet she did not know if she had killed anybody and it brought her no peace.

They began to turn and the warriors stowed their bows and slowed their horses. They returned to the carts where a group of warriors were waiting. Alqa, Qotoiyan, Baatar and Taben stopped their horses next to the carts and warriors rushed over with arrows and horns of milk or water. “How was your first pass Alqa?” Taben asked.

“Confusing,”

“Are you alright?” Qotoiyan asked.

“Yeah,”

“Oh, so you’ll ask her if she’s alright but not me?”

“She just answered. Give me a moment. Besides, you’re wearing armor,”

“Don’t do that again. Baatar, how are you?” Alqa said.

“I’m fine. They didn’t hit me,”

“Is everybody alright with going back in when the Yisra comes back around?”

“Yes,”

“Yeah,”

“Yeah,”

They waited, resting and letting their horses rest. Alqa tried to stand as close to Qotoiyan as she could and he noticed. He held out his hand and she took it.

“I promise that you’ll be alright,” he said.

“You remember our deal?”

“Of course. No way I could forget that,”

“What deal?” Taben cut in.

“Were you part of this conversation?” Qotoiyan asked.

“What deal? It clearly concerns my little brother,”

“You will find out if the three of us survive,” Alqa said.

“Do I get to know?” Baatar asked.

“If the three of us survive,”

“Hey. I hate to mess up your conversation again. But I see Bulerq’s war-regalia,” Taben said. Qotoiyan released her hand and looked at Alqa.

“Bulerq is my father’s favorite horse to ride,”

“Thank you,” Alqa said. They joined the column as the Yisra of Begter rode by. They made their way back towards the front, the roar of battle growing louder with every step Nergui took. But something was off, the bows were quieter. As Alqa got closer, the ground began to shake even more than it had been and a deafening thunder overtook all other sounds. Alqa couldn’t see what was happening, but the Qutuq warriors in front of her were beginning to scatter, and then she saw it. A wall, a holey wall, but a wall of Baltui warriors, galloping towards the Qutu. Alqa turned Nergui to the left, not thinking about what was actually the best way to go. It was only a few moments before the Baltui reached them, and when they did, all around Alqa was brutality. Warriors and horses alike screamed and died as the weight of the Baltui charge collided with the disorganized Qutu.

Somehow by the grace of Agaa Iija, Alqa and Nergui made it out to a calmer area. She looked around and her stomach dropped. “Qotoiyan!” she called desperately trying to locate him. Hopefully the other three were together. “Qotoiyan!” she called again. She had no way of knowing if he was alright and she was more scared than she had ever been. What if she lost her chance at having a family again? Her desperate cries didn’t bring forth Qotoiyan. She really had to go in there? She spurred Nergui on, drawing her sword and casing her bow.

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She rode through the utter chaos, trying to find anybody she knew. Then Nergui suddenly turned and then stumbled, whinnying in pain. The whole world seemed to slow and Alqa pushed herself off Nergui to get away from the falling horse. She tumbled to the ground, dropping her sword. Get up! Her brain screamed to her, but everything hurt. She listened to her brain and stood up. A warrior armed with a hooked spear was charging towards her. Alqa laid as flat as she could and waited to die. Warm liquid splashed onto her, all over her back. She looked up just in time to see Baatar fall beside her. “Baatar!” She crawled over to him.

“He has armor,” Baatar said.

“You’ll be fine,” Alqa said, half pleading Agaa Iija and Maisuya.

“N-no. I don’t think–,”

“You’ll be fine,” Alqa insisted. She pushed her hands onto his bleeding stomach, trying to staunch the blood flow. He groaned, all she was doing was covering her own hands in blood. She had never repaid him a gift. What was she going to do? Suddenly, she had an idea, to give him at least part of what he had wanted to begin with. She leaned over and kissed him. By the time she pulled away, he was dead. A roar erupted behind her as the warrior charged her again. Immediately Baatar was thrown from her thoughts, and she waited to die beside him, without a suitable weapon close enough there was nothing she could do. Suddenly the horse veered away as an arrow embedded itself in its neck. She watched as the horse weakend and the rider dismounted. The horse stumbled and fell at the same time another arrow struck the rider in the stomach and he fell backwards.

Alqa looked back, Taben gave her a smile. “We’re even!” He rode off and Alqa rushedback to Baatar. She looked up just in time to see the warrior standing up. He drew an axe and began sprinting at her, screaming and howling. She scrambled towards her sword but he was faster. She barely avoided the axe and grabbed his wrist, twisting it until he dropped the axe, but he grabbed her and pinned her down. She struggled, trying desperately to push him off, her heart pounded in her chest as he held her down, she reached for her dagger and tried to grab it, but her arms were being held too far away to easily reach it, she finally managed to draw it and she instantly jabbed it up into his stomach, through his wool and felt overcoat. He screamed in pain but did not stop. But what did happen, was she felt a steady drip of blood onto her lower abdomen.

The warrior suddenly was yanked off of her. Qotoiyan was on him so quickly, and he raised his axe and brought it down. “Stay off her!” again, he raised his axe and brought it down, repeating the phrase.

“Qotoiyan! I’m alive. He isn’t!” Alqa yelled to him. Qotoiyan paused and got off him. Grabbing her dagger and wiping the blood off on his tsud sleeve before handing it back to her. She sheathed it and grabbed her sword.

“Come on, we have to get you out,” Qotoiyan said.

“I’m not leaving him!” Alqa shot back, pointing to Baatar with her sword.

“Alqa. I swore a blood oath. I am not going to fail. Let’s go. I want you to get on Tagdur and get out,” he said. He looked to the right. “Bes iyi yaamgii,” Tagdur was gone. Qotoiyan looked at her. “Guess we’re walking,” he grabbed her wrist and began pulling her back towards the Qutuq camp.

They ran for what felt like forever, luckily nobody blocked their path or tried to attack them. Then Maisuya acted again. Six dismounted Baltui warriors stood in their path. Alqa froze and raised her sword towards them. The Baltui began to sprint towards them and Alqa instinctively stood in front of Qotoiyan in a vain attempt to protect him. Suddenly Alqa saw the horns and antlers of war-regalia behind the Baltui and in a few moments, they were all on the ground. The Qutuq stormed through, trampling and killing any Baltui in their way. She barely managed to pull Qotoiyan out of the way of a horse. Thank you Agaa Iija.

They turned to continue and a lone Baltui, likely an Ärchgekui was standing up, Alqa sprinted at him. She dropped her sword and grabbed her dagger. She was on him before he knew what was happening and she jammed the dagger into his eye, he screamed and fell limp as she hammered it as deep as she could with her fist. She pulled it out and gagged. The eye came with it. She quickly scraped it off on his shoulder and wiped the blood on his sleeve and stood up.

Qotoiyan caught up with her and they finally made it to the arrow carts not long after. Seeing the blood on them, a couple warriors with bleached white armbands rushed over to them. Alqa sat down and leaned against one of the carts, as the battle-fury wore off she felt a searing pain in her ankle and grimaced. The pain was like nothing she had ever experienced. One of the warriors gingerly touched the blood on her abdomen. “Not mine,” she said.

“That’s good, does anything hurt?”

“My ankle,”

“Alright,” he said. He touched her ankle and she grimaced. He looked at it and touched it more. “May I take off your boot?”

“Yes,” Alqa said. He pulled off her boot and looked at it, she did too. It was purple in a few places and looked a little swollen.

“You hurt it, but it's not the worst I’ve seen,” he said, turning back, “Haya. Get the walking sticks,”

“On it!” Haya said. He ran off and was back soon with two metal reinforced wooden pools with iron handles nailed on.

“Try standing,” the qiger said, putting her boot back on. Alqa lifted herself, she tried to stand on her ankle but excruciating pain shot up through her leg as soon as she put any of her weight on it. He quickly handed her the walking sticks. “Don’t put weight on it, and avoid strenuous activities until it’s better,”

“How will I know when it’s better?”

“It won’t hurt and won’t look like that,” the qiger said and walked away.

“Wait! How will I know where to return these,”

“Eh, you can keep them!”

Qotoiyan walked over to her. “We should take you back to your yurt,”

“Fine,” Alqa said. She led him to her yurt, very slowly. He opened the flap for her when they got there and she went in, she had expected him to follow and when she took off her weapons and laid down, she realized he had not. “Qotoiyan! You can come in,” Alqa said, he entered the yurt and took off his weapons, sitting down next to her.

“Is there anything you want me to do?” he asked.

“I want to sit vigil for Baatar and Nergui. Can you be there with me?”

“Of course,”

Alqa laid her head back. She was doing her best not to cry, but her ankle hurt and now Nergui was gone too and Baatar. Qotoiyan must have seen her tearing up. “It’s alright Alqa. I promise I won’t judge you,”

Alqa sighed. “You’re right. I trust you,” Alqa said. She finally relaxed and let herself cry until she fell asleep.