tales of Suchita

Back to back we stood
You with your sword
Me with my hands raised
Calling upon the power of the Gods
As we faced our mortal enemies.

It did not matter I had been trapped in this tower
It did not matter you had once been my mortal enemy
It did not matter I had been on my way to my execution
Or that you had been on your way to execute me
In this fight, we were on the same side.

Once the enemy was reduced to ash
We made a run for it
Towards the forest
Nature our only recourse
As we prayed for a reprieve.

You knew the forests better than me
So guided me to a cave you said would be safe
I asked you then why I should trust you
Your quirked eyebrow made me frown
But you said instead: because I am running away too.

It seemed we had had the same idea
Despite what part of the fence we had previously sat
Just different ways of approaching it.
We both wanted tyranny to die
Regardless that it bore your father’s face.

Within that cave we hatched a plan
Divided though we may have been through class
United we were in the face of a common goal
Working well together
Not letting our brashness come in the way.

I tested your resolve
While you tested the veracity of my plan
And once both of us were satisfied
We made to leave our sanctuary
Onwards to our quest of freedom.

We arrived at the castle
You armed, me in chains
As we walked through the front door
Into enemy lines
With razor sharp focus, and equally sharp weapons.

You declared your father was yours
And raced up the staircase
Your loyal soldiers at your back
While I made my way downstairs, to the dungeon jails
To free my loyal soldiers to aid our attack.

The tyrant’s soldiers collapsed at the dual attack
The taking of the throne far easier
Than either of us had anticipated
Making the victory somewhat sour
Because of how foolish we felt.

Was that really all it had taken
To beat back the tyrant?
A coordinated attack that it hadn’t anticipated
Helmed by the tyrant’s ward
And a down on its luck magician?

Was that really all it had taken
To beat back the tyrant?
A show of solidarity
Coming together of minor foes
To fight the ultimate one?

The aftermath of the battle took
Us away from each other
As you had to do your duty
And I had to stand by mine
Joined though we were through the threads of fate.

As fate decreed, we met again
Months later on another quest
And you said with a laugh
We shouldn’t meet like this
And I said: You should have come to me sooner.

Stubborn though we were,
It took fate three more tries
Of running into each other
Before we realized
We were meant for more than just questing.

We fight about it now
But it was I who said it first
That it was high time we came together
You were the only one I could tolerate enough
To have at my side for any length of time.

Always the practical one
You said, what about our kingdoms?
And our people?
What about the little detail
That we were leaders in our own right?

My answer to your concerns was a shrug
And it was settled just like that.
You’d do your bit, and I’d do mine
Together, we’d run our kingdom
Like the renegades we were.

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As a patron to the Fantasy genre, it would have been blasphemy for me to write 26 letters and not include a letter that had magic, swords and a quest. Call this a self-indulgence. I do love a good quest story wrapped up in fantasy elements.

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Written as part of AtoZ. For more, check the Theme Reveal 2020 – 26 Letters of Love.