As he walked through the forest in his camouflage cloak, which made him appear to shimmer, he got lost in the memory of some events of his life that he most enjoyed. His bow, which was slung over his shoulders next to his quiver full of arrows, and his sword and knife at his side reminded him of how he had gotten to this point. His training had been long and difficult, but now he was stronger and faster than ever, a master with the blade, and he never missed what he was aiming to hit. The memory of his trainer, his mentor, his friend had kept him going through the hard times. At first, he resented the training due to the arduous nature and strictness that his mentor had enforced on him. But as the training continued, he found he quite enjoyed the strict schedule of waking early, training hard, doing chores, practicing with his weapons, and doing the rounds of the nearby village that lay at the bottom of the hill on which the castle stood. Now he was off doing his own missions, checking on the surrounding villages in the section of the kingdom he was assigned to. While he missed the times when he was under the care and watchful eye of his teacher, he was glad to be on his own.
His master wasn’t gone, only retired. Having gone through the same difficult training and having served the king as a part of his specially trained spies and scouts for many decades, it was a relief to him when he had heard about the retirement of his old mentor. For he had gotten older, too old to continue the hard life of a soldier constantly on the move, despite all of his training.
As he continued to walk along the trail through the woods, a sound made by many people began to grow louder and louder. His smile grew bigger and bigger, and when he saw the clearing at the end of the path, he paused just long enough to calm his nerves, then stepped into the clearing. As he looked around at the smiling faces that peered at him, his heart filled with joy, gladness and thanksgiving at all the Lord had given him and all of the blessings he had been given. And as he went to stand beside his mentor, his friend, his brother, he was even more grateful for everything he had been through and all he had survived. And as his lovely bride appeared from the same path he had just traveled, his breath was taken away. And he knew he could never let anything take him away from her. He made a promise to himself that he would take extra care during each and every mission because he never wanted his wife to be without him, nor he without her. He loved her with all his heart, and he would do his best to always return home to her. But only the Lord knew what was to happen over the next month.