The two armies marched towards each other, swords held high, ready to kill. The battlefield was already stained with blood of countless men. This was the last wave. This battle would decide their fate. Suddenly a voice called out.

“Stop!” to the soldier’s great surprise, a young boy, no older than 10 ran out onto the field, a girl of 4 or 5 clinging to his waste. He held out his arms, as if trying to hold back the men. “No more fighting!” he yelled.

“Move boy!” a soldier growled. All the men stood tense, ready to jump into battle.

“No! My father was slain by soldier’s weeks ago and my mother not but days.” The little girl started crying. “This fighting is stupid and pointless!” the boy went on.

The soldiers were silent apart from the slight clinks and clanks of shifting armor.

“What are you fighting for anyway? Honor? No! There is no honor in slaying others! What you are fighting for is gold and land. These things should be talked over, not fought!

“Look at yourselves! You are all the same! You are all humans even though you come from different tribes and clans and cities. Some of you are even fighting cousins, brothers or fathers all because of where they live!”

Some of the soldiers looked like they were starting to believe him. They relaxed their grips on their weapons.

“You don’t really believe that this mindless fighting will cause anything to happen do you!?”

The boy suddenly sank to his knees. He looked down at the grey, goose feathered arrow protruding from his heart. He fell forward onto his face,

The little girl gave a long piercing scream of anger, hate, pain, sorrow and fear.

The two armies converged on one another while the girls’ screams still echoed in the hills. They fought until there was no one left standing, all thoughts of peace killed by a single arrow.