Kai sat at the edge of the field of golden wheat, on the banks on a small stream that ran it’s course, hidden in the yellow stems of the field. He sat, his broad sword stabbed into the Earth, at his side and his shield - scratched and bruised from battles - on the other.
Crying, his head in his hands, he relives the moment over and over when his lady was dragged from him by the enemy - he dragged in the other direction by his panicked horse. He feels the emotion of failure, shame, and grief overwhelm him in a wave like a tsunami hitting the beach every time.
“Kit…” He thought to himself, “Why did this have to happen…what kind of knight am I…? I swore nothing would ever happen…” Another wave broke over him, shame. “To see your face at least one more time…and apologize for my un-kept promise…there isn’t even a book large enough to fit all the things I would say…if I had only said them first…fear and idiocy kept me from speaking them…and now your gone, Kit…How could I ever see you again, face you even if you did come back? How could you escape them…? It would be a miracle…but that can’t happen, it’s all my fault, I’m sorry Kit, I’m so sorry…. But to see your face again, I would say how your company kept me from fearing the loneliness, the smile you possess that keeps my head high, the understanding eyes that chases away my meek shyness-“ “Kai?”
He jerks his head up from his hands as he hears a voice in front of him, familiar to his ears and stabbing into his mind. He blinks numbly as Kai looks up to meet the bruised face of Kit Laili.
“KIT!” He leaps to his feet and steps through the stream to embrace her in an over-powering sense of joy. “Now! Now I can tell her…” He shouts at himself. He steps back, smiling broadly and opens his mouth to say the most important things he can think of, the things he thought he would never be able to say to her, the things he thought was too late to tell. “Kit………I missed you…” He stops and realizes he had no way to tell her.