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Nine years ago

It was over

The as finally over, and the thought had twelve-year-old Ahmad delirious

For the past two hours, he and the other children had hidden themselves under the wooden tables at the unfire and screa new to them, today had felt different Ahs were to come with its ownas one razed by a sickening cacophony of desperate violence

Ahmad had feared such noise would never end

And yet it did

Relief was a burning sensation in his chest as Ahe from the distance, and joyous cheers exploded froht of the royal banner The trucks ruin to weep It was a heart-wrenching sight, and Ah

The as truly over then

He would no longer need to hide No longer need towith his friends like they once did The as over, and their tribe could finally reclaim their peaceful lives in the desert

Looking around, Ah back and forth to bring water to wounded soldiers

His heart swelled, and because he also wanted to show his gratitude, Ah space and broke into a run There was only one jar of clean water left inside his fa with the cleanest towel he could find

Ahmad searched for a soldier who had yet to receive assistance, and the one he found required zigzagging through dead bodies Such a gory sight ht've curdled other people's storound were all rebels, and so as far as Ahmad was concerned, these men deserved to die over and over for the way they had pointlessly murdered members of his tribe

The boy finally reached the soldier he had set his sights on: he was tall and powerfully built, and he was staring down at a decapitated corpse

"Alsyd?" Master?

Ahmad offered the towel and jar up, in case the soldier wanted to clean his wound "You are still blee—-" The boy's voice died when the man slowly turned to face him

Ah before him was none other than Sheikh Altair Al-Atassi The man was a member of the royal family, but doest and bravest hero, and the realization had Ahain as the sheikh bid him to rise