• ɕhapter 6


    I don't remember exactly how everything happened from there but I'll try my best.

    The queen pulled her hand back a little more and the black stuff around her hand started moving faster. It was definitely magic meant to kill. Meant to kill me. This queen wasn't merciful enough to just turn me into a toad. No, she was dying to kill me. The blood-lust radiating from her was so great, it seemed to thicken the air and I felt as though i was choking. I couldn't breathe.

    Then, the queen started chuckling and sheer terror filled my mind. The hairs on my arms and neck stood on end as I stood there, pinned against the wall. "Oh you poor boy. So young and handsome. Too bad you'll never experience true love," she said, pausing for just a second to see the look of confusion on my face. She smirked and burst out laughing, "You really thought she loved you, a servant boy? Fool!" The queen then aimed her hand at my chest and thrusted it forward. Before I knew what was happening, blood spattered on my face and I noticed a new person standing in front of me, his back to me. I stared at the back of his head, but then something caught my eye. I looked down at his back and right between his shoulder blades... 'Oh god... th-the queens hand...' The queens hand had gone straight through his body like a knife through butter.

    I felt a burning in the back of my throat and fell to my knees. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and a couple warm tears rolled down my cheeks. No sooner did that happen then the queen pulled her hand from the body with a horrid squelching noise. The body of the man fell to the floor with a sick, damp, thud and I ended up getting sick. The queen had killed an innocent man in front of me. With a spell that had been meant for me. I looked over at the body and gagged when I noticed the horrible, gaping hole in his chest but I forced myself to go over to him. I just stared at his blank face and the dead look in his eyes. I recognized that look because I had witnessed death before. I put two fingers on his eyelids and shut them carefully, trying to be respectful so that his ghost wouldn't come to haunt me. I wasn't usually the kind of person to be superstitious but in situations like this, I couldn't help it.

    I must have spaced out because the next thing I remember is lying awake in my bed, not a single thought going through my head. I was officially traumatized. How could one person be so cruel? I just didn't get it. Then finally, just as the sun was beginning to rise, I fell asleep. The dream that greeted me that night was of the raid on my village. The one that killed everyone I loved.

    ♛ ♛ ♛


    It was about three months ago in late summer. I had been watching over my sisters. Keeping them busy while my mother washed and hung the laundry. They always seemed to get in the way when their big brother wasn't around. They all seemed to love me. I'm not sure why but they did. Even though I loved all of my sisters, Annibelle, the youngest, was my favorite. She was three years old on the day of the raid. The poor girl. She had been so afraid.

    I had been chasing all five of the girls around on our land at the edge of the town. We were playing tag and I was just about to tag the oldest of the girls when I noticed horses coming from the East, the direction of the castle, riding up. Panic swelled inside me and I froze in place. The queen never sent help to this village. There had been only one thing that they could have been coming for.

    "Brother? What's wrong? You suddenly went very pale." Said Vida, the oldest girl at the age of ten. She looked genuinely concerned, her green eyes full of worry under her messy, black hair. Our whole family looked almost alike, except for our father, he had been different but he had died of disease a few years ago.

    I shook my head and watched the horses for a second longer, "Go, get everyone and hide in the cellar. Now!" After I said that, she didn't ask any questions. She called each of our siblings in turn as I took off running for our closest neighbor's house. He had a horse, he'd be able to warn everyone faster then I would have been able to on foot. I ran as fast as I could, hoping and praying that I'd be able to get home before the horses arrived. I needed to make sure they knew I was safe.

    Finally, I reached his house and noticed him in the stable. perfect. I ran up to him, panting heavily. Before he could get a word out, I started talking, "go to town, tell people to hide. Soldiers. At least twenty of them, if not more." As I spoke, his face grew pale and he jumped up on his horse, not even bothering to saddle it. I jumped out of the way as the man drove his horse forward at full speed. I nodded lightly then turned back and started running for home, ignoring the burning feeling in my chest. i had to make it home.

    The panic was already a knot in my stomach but as I neared home, that knot tightened itself and at the same time, many more formed. The soldiers were at my house, dragging my sisters and mother out of the cellar. How had they known where it was? It was hard enough to find if you knew where it was, thanks to the tall grasses. One of the girls probably hadn't made it in fast enough. I heard Annibelle screaming my name and I saw Vida being forced into a prisoners carriage. she struggles against the men, pushing her feet against the rusty, metal bars of the portable prison. The iron-clad horses pulling the carriage snorted and reared their heads impatiently. My family. They were taking my family. I had to do something. "Stop! Leave them alone!" I shouted before I could stop myself. I was no match for all these men but I had to try.

    One of the soldiers that had been standing to the side turned to look at me. He was a big man, even beneath the big, bulky armor. His eyes were gentle and kind. He looked as though he actually felt sorry for me. "Why would we do that, boy? What's your name?" he asked, his voice was gravelly and rough but somehow, it was soothing to me.

    "My name is Felix Winter, sir." I responded, my voice sounding a lot stronger and bolder than I felt. I didn't bother to answer the first question because I didn't have an answer for it.

    The soldiers eyes suddenly went very cold and I felt to men come up behind me and grab my arms. "Take him away. Four of you," he said, turning to the other soldiers, "go with him. The rest of you, you know your orders." The panic swelled in my gut again and I started pulling, trying to get free of the men that were holding me captive but they held fast. "As for you, Felix. We'll spare your family and provide you with a full stomach if you don't fight." He turned back to him, his eyes locking on mine. All I could do was nod. My family started screaming their disapproval but I didn't say anything. If it meant saving my family, I'd do it. The men holding Vida pushed her away and she fell tot he ground with a small thud. I then felt two strong hands push me toward the prisoners carriage and I climbed in. They locked the barred door behind me and I peered out at my family with a sudden emptiness filling my heart. The four men that were accompanying us mounted their horses and the carriage started rolling with a sudden jerk.

    "Fewix! No!" Annibelle screamed, her small voice bringing tears to my eyes. She ran after the carriage, wailing and the tears streaming down her delicate little cheeks but then, her face went blank and she looked down at her stomach, her little legs coming to a halt. I followed her gaze and my breath caught in my throat. The tip of a sword was poking through her stomach, the bright red blood blossoming across the front of her dress. She looked back at me, her eyes blank. A small line of blood trailed from the corner of her lip down her chin and she opened her mouth to say something. I couldn't hear the words but I could read her lips. Her last words broke my heart and I couldn't believe that my little angel of a sister had spoken them. I fell to my knees and started sobbing and screaming my apologies, hoping that my family could hear me. The men were going to kill them all anyway. The words echoed in my head and her blank face haunted my memory.

    My little sister's last words to me were, "I hate you. You left me."


    [End chapter 6]



    Dedication: This story is to everyone who loves the touching story of a persons past, whether real or not.

    Acknowledgments: I want to give a special thanks to my friend and editor, 13sanosuke13. Thank you so much, Sano! I really enjoy working with you and thanks so much for all of your help. Also, I want to thank my little sister who was the first to read this, for sitting up with me at all hours of the night while I wracked my brain for something touching and sad.

    Thanks for reading!