Rain

Wura retreated back into her tent as she continued to brush her hair. She was completely perplexed. Why was it raining all of a sudden?

There had not even been a single warning or indicator that the sky had planned to let down a shower today. If someone had told Wura that it would rain at this time of the year, she would have laughed and refused to believe it, but now, all she could hear were the clear sounds of the showers falling from the heavens above.

Wura sat down on her bed as she shook her head. She still felt as if this was just too strange. Of course she knew that weather was unpredictable, but they were in a season where showers were not to be expected.

But then again, rain was a blessing, so maybe this was a sign that things would soon return to normalcy soon. Oh Wura could only pray deeply in her heart that that would happen soon. 

They all needed the kingdom to return to a state of normalcy. That would indeed be a very gracious blessing from heaven.

Initially, Wura was worried that the rain would become heavier, and destroy the temporary homes that the people were living in, but the rain still seemed light, so that became the least of her worries.

She began to think about other things, like how collecting rain water right now would be good to save for her bath tomorrow, that way they did not use up all their fresh water.

That was such a good idea, and she really wished that one of the the castle maids who prepared her bath and meals everyday was here so she could immediately take advantage of the fresh water from heaven, but alas she was not. Wura was sure that the poor girl was probably sleeping at the moment.

Wura initially considered going outside to collect the rainwater herself, but then she decided that it was not such a good idea. For one, she knew that Mero would be against her being alone outside in the night, and secondly, he did not want her to get sick, and if she was being honest, ever since this war had started, she had felt herself being more stressed than usual, and that made her more susceptible to catching colds. She had noticed that for a while now.

So going outside was completely out of the question, she guessed that she would just have to let the water waste on the ground then.

Wura closed her eyes and shook her head. She could not lie that the gentle sound of rain falling outside was not soothing. 

It was like a gentle lullaby, reminding her that regardless of how tough situations seemed to be at the time. As long as the seasons were there, the seasons continued to change. It was the same in life, there would always ben different and distinct seasons in life, and even though they were tough, you could always rest assure that they would inevitably come to an end.

Wura smiled as she thought about that. She remembered how she used to sit in her room on rainy nights like these and just stay in bed and wonder how her life would be in the near future, and to be honest, she had never expected a life for herself like this.

As she continued to brush her hair, each stroke softer than the last, Wura felt herself drifting off into slumber.

She was almost asleep when she was abruptly jerked awake with a the loud sound of the crashing thunder. Wura was startled as she opened her eyes quickly and dropped her hairbrush.

To say that she had been scared was an understatement. The thunder came with no warning at all, and accompanying it was the sound of heavier rain.

Wura shook her head as she knew that she was right, she had a feeling that the rain would not remain that light. She thought that it would stop, but no, it only increased more by the minute, and with it, the strong sounds of wind blowing increased as well.

Wura could feel the wind blowing harshly against her tent. She was a little bit worried that her tent would be loosed from the ground and blow away.

But to her relief, that did not happen at all. Whoever had set up her tent made sure to pitch it very wonderfully, even though the wind and rain was so harsh outside, she could only hear it and not experience it.

Wura started to worry again, but this time not for herself, but for the tents of the other people down in the valley. What if their tents were not strong enough to withstand this violent weather?

That would only displace several people again. The mere thought of that happening saddened her heart. She wanted to go and check on them, but she knew that she could not go outside. For the sake of her own safety and everyone else's it was best that everyone remained where they were until the rain stopped.

But that still did not stop Wura's concern, she was extremely concerned. If the rain was going to cause them more harm than good, it was better that they all prayed that it stopped soon.

Wura placed her hairbrush down on the table and she stood up from her bed with a sigh. She could not go to sleep right now. She wanted to be awake just in case anything happened, that way she could be aware.

Wura was slowly pacing around her tent when she heard strong flapping sounds that seemed to be fighting against the wind. Wura furrowed her eyebrows. She was sure that it was not the wind making such a sound, rather something else had to be.

Wura did not know why, but she felt as if that was the sound of someone's tent that had gone flying away with the wind.

She really wanted to go outside and check, but with the rain getting heavier and much more violent than before, she just could not risk it.

There was a difference between being scared and being careful, and she was being careful at the moment. If anything happened to her, it would affect a lot of people, that was why she finally understood Mero's point of view. 

She was in charge, she was in control of the Kingdom and even though their priority was to protect the Kingdom, the head of the Kingdom also needed to be protected as well. So that meant that Wura could not take any decisions that she was unsure of the outcome.

She had learnt the hard way that sometimes listening and staying still was the best thing to do, even though you strongly felt otherwise.

Wura decided that pacing up and down would do her no good, she would only become more worried each passing moment. So she walked to her bed and sat down, silently praying that the rain would cease soon, or else, the amount of damage caused by it would be unimaginable.

In the midst of her silent prayers she suddenly felt a familiar presence around her, even though she was alone and that caused her to be more attentive to her surroundings, she opened her eyes as she was silent and she could promise you that she heard the sounds of heavy footsteps right outside her tent.

Now who that person could be, she had no idea, at first she thought that it was one of the guards, but that did not make any sense at all. It was currently raining heavily outside, and no person in their right mind would go out into a storm like this.

Now with that thought in mind, Wura was certain that she was not alone, someone was outside her tent, and the mere thought brought shivers down her spine. 

She could not help but think that maybe it was an assassin sent to kill her. That was the only thought running through her mind, for all she knew, the East's soldiers were still around in the area.

Maybe they saw this as a perfect opportunity to murder her? Wura could not help herself as several dark thoughts enveloped her.

She did not know what to do, but she made sure not to make a sound. After all, whoever was out there was unsure that she was in here, not unless he or she came in. 

In the midst of all her fearful thoughts, Wura did not hear when a warm familiar voice had called her name over three times receiving no reply at all.

"Wura." called Mero as he had no other choice than to enter into her tent when he had received no reply from her.

"Mero???" called Wura in a mix of relief and surprise when she saw him enter into her tent a little bit too hastily.

She instantly got up to meet him, filled with relief that he was here.

"I called you several times and you did not respond, are you alright?" he asked, his eyes filled with worry, for a moment he was unsure if she was even in her tent.