Never Forget

                                      Never Forget
 
  The darkness that spread upon the land deepened creatures that had hideous forms and bones for armor began taking over. People either became slaves to the dark creatures, or died. John Forn, a soldier for the Kings Army, the only one to survive, ran out of the castle with the princess in tow. She was the only survivor of the royal family, and it was John's task to keep her alive.
  They took refuge in John's house, a small hut in the forest that surrounded the city. He looked out the window and sighed with relief.
  "I dont think they followed us." John looked at the princess, she was in shock from witnessing her parents die, other than that, she was fine. John had a bad wound on his arm though from a blade that cut him. He sat down and took off his armor and rolled up his sleeve to see the wound a bit better and began to treat it.
  "They killed them. Why did they kill them" The princess was apparently talking to herself, but John decided to answer.
  "I dont know, my lady, but as long as your alive, they can't take over the land." He finished bandaging up his arm and looked at her "Your weak, my lady. Sleep and i'll get something for you to eat." John got up and walked out of the hut to find some fruit and animals that are good to eat. Before he left, he saw her lay down in his bed and quickly fell asleep.
John sat under a tree, he needed to think. He had the food but wondered if he could protect the princess by himself. He got up and walked back towards the hut. When he got there, the Princess was still asleep. He quickly sat down near the fire and began cooking the meat while mixing the fruits up with herbs and seasoning. When the food was done he looked over his shoulder to see the princess getting up.
  "I see your awake, my lady, here" He handed her some food and saw her eat it slowly. John got his own plate and began eating as well.
  "Sonya."
  "What?" John looked at her.
  "My name is Sonya. Royalty has no meaning anymore since those creatures captured the castle." She looked down at her food and slowly began eating again.
John looked down at his own food, "We best be well rested for tomorrow...Sonya. We need to head to the land our allies have and ask for help. They got stronger armor and weapons than us." He said and looked at the fire.
  "I know, i hope you can get us there safely." Sonya said, finishing her food and putting the plate down and laid back down in his bed.
John began eating more slowly, "I hope i can too." He said quietly.
  After he was done eating, he laid down on the floor and wrapped himself up in his cloak to keep from getting cold.
 
  John woked up and saw that Sonya was gone. He got up and looked around for a clue. He found a note that read 'went to bathe in nearby lake.' John sighed and got off his shirt and looked for a new one in the heap in the corner of his house. He was well built but didnt have too many muscles but he was stronger than a few others since he uses speed against strength. He was young as well, almost 21 years old. He found a shirt and put it on himself and left. he went to the lake and saw Sonya bathing on one side of it, so he decided to go onto the other side of the lake to give her privacy. He looked down at his reflection and saw that he had grown out his hair. He pulled out his sword and began to cut off his long hair. As he did this, Sonya was done bathing and got herself dressed and walked over to John in time to see him cut off the last piece of his long hair, he now had short black hair with a few long strands in the front. He smiled at her as he sheathed his sword.
  "You ready, Sonya?" John asked
She nodded and began following him. He had a pack that he filled with food, clothing, and tent equipment.
 
After several hours, John stopped and looked up at the sky.
  "Its getting dark, we should stop here" John said.
Sonya sighed and sat down while John got a fire ready and setted up a tent for Sonya to sleep in.
  "Where's your tent?" Sonya asked him.
  "Didnt have room for mine" He looked at her and smiled "Dont worry about me, im gonna just stand watch so that none of those creatures attack us." He sat down near the fire.
  Sonya just looked at him and saw  his eyes had sadness in them. She slowly closed the tent and went off to sleep.
John began moving around to keep from falling asleep. He looked around every time he heard even the slightest sound. Finally, he leaned against a tree and slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  When morning arrived, Sonya came out of the tent and looked at John as he slept. She smiled for the first time ever since her parent's death. She walked up to him and kissed his forehead, causing him to shake a bit and woked up.
  "Did i fall asleep?" He looked around.
  "Yes you did, but you have nothing to worry about, John. We are almost to the border and i'll make sure you get a promotion or a year off for your bravery."
John smiled "That'd be nice to have." He slowly got up and looked around "At least you had a decent sleep."
She smiled at him and helped him with putting the tent away, then they began walking towards the allies land. John looked around to make sure that they weren't being followed. He sighed and looked at Sonya who looked happier than ever. He had to smile at that.

  As it became dark, John and Sonya decided to keep moving since the border was very near. That was when John heard it. It was a loud screech, the yell of the night creatures. He turned around and saw a large group of them marching towards them.
"Oh, no." John looked over to Sonya. "Sonya, run. The border is protected by a wall that has soldiers on it, you'll be safe from there on." John yelled to her.
  "But...But what about you" She felt fear in her and was afraid for John.
  "Dont worry about me, i'll be fine." He smiled at her
Sonya began to cry, she got up to him and kissed him before stepping back, "Please, hurry into the land when you can" She began running.

She made it to the wall and saw soldiers looking at her.
  "Who are you and what do you want in the land of Hidena" The captain said.
  "I am Princess Sonya Marin of the land of Damik. We are allies."
  "We know, come on in. Tell us why we havent heard from the king when we get you to the capital." the captain said and rushed her inside the walls, onto a horse and rode quickly to the capital which wasnt far from the walls.
  She explained to the king that her land had been taken over and that she is the last one left from the royal family and how a brave soldier got her this far before staying back to handle the creatures. After she explained it all, the king looked at her and then at his soldiers.
  "We will send soldiers to your cities right away to rid your land of the monstrocities." The king said.
  "I wish to go with them, i dont want my people to feel as if i left them, and i want to see if John is alright."
  The king agreed and Sonya went out with the first group of soldiers to find John. Outside of the walls, they found that John was missing but found a trail of blood. Sonya followed it and gasped when she found where it lead. John was leaning against a tree, wounds were all over his torso and arms, his armor looked as if it was cut off from a blade. She didnt know whether he was alive or dead. Sonya decided to walk up to him, she kneeled down and looked into his eyes, they still had color in them.
"John." She said quietly.
  John looked up at her, she saw that his once beautiful and handsome face was now bloodied and had a terrible scar near his left eye. He smiled at her.
"H-hey, Sonya. I guess this'll be our last meeting" He coughed a bit from the lack of blood and spat some blood out of his mouth.
  "Dont say that, John. Will get you to a doctor and they'll help you. Please, just stay with me." Sonya was crying now and buried her head into his chest which still had his shirt on.
  He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head, "I'll always be with you, Sonya. Remember that" He smiled at her
She looked up at him and kissed him on the lips, "I'll never forget you and what you done to save our land."
  John looked up at the sky and smiled, his eyes finally losing its color but his smile stayed. Sonya got up and backed away as soldiers ran towards the body and began to lift it up, the captain looked at her.
  "Are you alright, my lady." The captain asked.
Sonya was lost in thought, hearing that brought back the time they first met, she looked at the captain. "Make sure he gets a royal burial, he saved my life and if it wasnt for him, all of the land may be in darkness." She said then walked away.

It has been 3 years since the heroics of that one man. Many made up myths, saying that he was a one man army in wars. Other say that he had special powers that allowed him to destroy the darkness around the land. But only Sonya knew what really happened. She was now married and had a young daughter. Sonya made the events 3 years ago into a story for her and never hid her lve for John when she told it. Every day she visits his grave and everytime she is out, she sees him in a crowd of people, and when she is asleep, she hears him talk and laugh. She never met anyone like him and knew she never will again. She went to visit his grave during the night and smiled down at it.
  "I can never forget you, John. You saved my life and looked like you werent afraid of dying." She looked down and sighed "I wish you can see my daughter. I wish i can see your smile" She smiled and began walking off. "One can dream at least" She said and left the church courtyard.

Above her, high on top of the big church, John watched her and smiled, "I wish i can see your daughter too, Sonya. I really want to make your dreams come true." He sighed and then unfolded his angelic wings and flew away.
 
                That was the last time anyone ever saw John alive.