Surrender
The wyvern rider wondered what he was doing here.
He was a man of average height. He wore a set of plate mail armor covering his chest and brown pants with leg guards. His eyes were piercingly blue, and his hair was dark green. Most notable about his appearance, however, was the straight line of gray running through his green hair, a trait that ran through his family.
"Heath!"
He was a member of the elite Wyvern Knights of Bern, a division which flew wyverns into battle. Heath's green-skinned wyvern, Hyperion, had been with him ever since he had started his training. Heath was spectacular with a lance, and Hyperion responded to his movements and commands so deftly it almost seemed as though the two were one being.
"Hey, Heath!"
However, Heath had always been an honorable man, even as a soldier. He refused to attack women and children no matter what, along with any civilian men if they did nothing to harm him. His objective now...was to raid the Ostian fortress in front of him and capture a light-green-haired boy, by force if necessary. Heath didn't think he could bring himself to do it.
"God dammit, Heath, answer me when I call you!"
The army had been acting like this since last year. Instead of defending their country like they were supposed to, the knights of Bern were invading the outlying lands left and right. Several divisions were burning villages. Heath even heard stories of soldiers mercilessly slaughtering civilians. He didn't want to stay in an army that did such things. Even now, he was considering just giving up and—
"Ow!"
Heath snapped out of his reverie as a fist collided with the top of his head. Rubbing his forehead, Heath looked up into the eyes of his blond-haired commander, Eubans.
"You can't be daydreaming in the middle of a battle, idiot!" Eubans shouted. "Now go out there and secure our objective!"
"But, sir...there are women and children in this group. I cannot attack them..."
"Then attack the men! Come on, get in there!"
The siege of the Ostian fortress was not going very well. The enemy army had been much stronger than anticipated, attacking them with both powerful weapons and magic.
Heath and Hyperion flew to the side of the fortress.
I can't do this...this isn't right...
Hyperion neared the side gate.
I can't do this...
Hyperion flew through the gate, into the fortress.
I WON'T do this.
"Hyperion, hold."
The wyvern flew low to the floor and then landed.
It was then that a blue-haired man rushed into the room, hefting a large battle axe. He took one look at Heath and charged.
Heath held up his hands, dropping his lance. "No, wait! I do not wish to fight!"
Seeing Heath drop his weapon, the man hesitated. "What's with that wyvern then, huh?" he asked.
"I...I wish to surrender to your group," Heath said.
The man laughed. "Surrender to us?"
Heath sighed. "If you do not wish to accept me, then—"
"I didn't say that. We'd be honored to have you in our army. But—" the man pointed the tip of his axe at him, "—if you do anything even somewhat suspicious, I will cut you down where you stand, without hesitation." He shot Heath a threatening glare.
"Thank you, my lord," Heath said.
"Drop the formalities. I don't care for such things." He looked Heath up and down, sizing him up. "So," he continued, "what's your name?"
"I am Heath of Bern."
"Bern?! You guys came all this way just to attack us and get killed?"
"I-it was not my decision, er..."
"Hector," the man told him.
"Yes, it was not my decision, Hector. I have thought the Bern army unjust for over a year now, and I have now decided to leave them, as you can see."
"Well, then, Heath, you chose the right side. Now why don't you go out there and we'll see what you can do."
"I-I can't attack them," Heath said. "My friends...they are out there. And besides...I'm still wearing their colors. I'll probably get attacked by your men."
"True," Hector replied. "All right, stay inside then. I'll tell the other people that there's a green-haired guy who surrendered, but I'm not sure if everyone will hear. Just keep your guard up."
Heath nodded.
"But remember," again he glared at Heath, "I'm watching you. Don't think I'm afraid to use this," he said, pointing at his axe. "And if that wyvern causes any trouble—"
"He won't," Heath said confidently.
"Fine. You might want to hide, your friends might show up, you know." He ran off to rejoin his army.
Heath dismounted Hyperion, picked up his lance, and followed Hector. With Hector leading him, he was not attacked by the other army, although several stared at him and his wyvern. He saw several women as he passed, wondering what they were doing fighting.
Finally they came to a back room. Hector ordered Heath in.
"I'll get you when this battle's over," Hector said.
Heath nodded and led Hyperion in. Hector closed the door and left.
Heath sat down against the wall, looking at Hyperion. Having ridden the wyvern for so long, Heath had learned to read the wyvern's emotions from his eyes. Right now, Hyperion was giving him an inquisitive look. Apparently he didn't understand why he wasn't killing those people out there.
"We're on their side now, Hyperion," Heath explained. "I can't fight for Bern anymore—they've become evil."
A sad look.
"I know you'll miss the others," Heath said. Contrary to popular belief, wyverns could actually be quite tame creatures. Although they fought fiercely, outside of battle they could be domesticated, but many people did not desire a wyvern in their house. Wyverns could become friends with both humans and other wyverns if given time—Heath and Hyperion were prime examples of this. Hyperion was also friendly with the other wyverns in Heath's division, and it looked now like he missed them.
"It'll be alright," Heath continued, patting Hyperion's head right between the eyes like he liked. Hyperion's sad look stayed, however.
Heath heard an explosion outside, presumably from a magic spell.
"Just be glad we aren't out in that," Heath reassured him. "We'd be dead by now if we hadn't surrendered."
This seemed to brighten Hyperion's mood somewhat, but the wyvern looked away from Heath, the sad look still in his eyes.
Heath sighed and looked to his side.
"I guess we're fugitives now..."
Like all stories like this, Heath is going to end up with one of the girls, as many of you have probably already guessed. The pairing's already set, so don't ask me to do a certain pairing.
Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. I'm a bit unsure about this story—hope your reviews change my mind.
-TheOneAndOnlyT