The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Prologue

Prologue

Four years ago

"The truth was a mirror in the hands of God. It fell and broke into pieces. Everybody took a piece of it, and they looked at it and thought they had the truth." – Rumi

I had the broken pieces of truth, but at the time, I didn't comprehend it. All I knew was that Mother had abandoned me. My sin was being unaware that I was also one of those pieces.

We stumbled into an alley beside a bank of large trash bins that reeked of old fish, sour milk, and dirty diapers. Mother had a cut under her left eye, and blood trickled down her delicate face in thin rivulets. Those red tears were the only ones she shed for me. Mother could make a Botticelli angel turn away in envy. She was everything I was not, and now I was disappointing her again.

Despite the bruise blooming on her cheek and her disheveled appearance, she looked golden. I raised a shaking palm to wipe a dirty streak from her face, but she thrust my hand down with a quick, sharp movement.

Of course. How could I touch that flawless face after my sin? Her eyes—green as a spring day in a meadow—were blank. Even with danger hunting us, I struggled to find any hint of affection between us. I never would. My eyes, pale mint under a harsh frost, with keyhole pupils, were strange. My face was sharp—sharp eyes, sharp chin, sharp cheeks. The only soft feature I had were my lips, which were too pouty from all the tantrums and sulking, she said. She had locks of perfect golden ringlets, while my hair was wild, tangled, and yellow as a school bus. I was strange all around—nothing like my perfect Mother.

I cradled my hand to my chest as if she had sought to cut it off. "Mother, I didn't understand!"

She grimaced. "You were supposed to obey me without dispute. I did all this for you, Madeline. To save you."

"Why hide me at all? Why won't you tell me why? I'm fourteen! I can handle it now. I swear!"

"Shut up, Madeline!" She hissed. "Just stay still for now. I don't know if they found my portal. You're like a magnet for harm! I can't do this any longer—all this running, trying to change you—it's doing no good!"

"What do you mean, change me? I don't—"

She hissed again, silencing me. "What did I say? I wouldn't have to do this if you'd been an obedient child! It's only four years. After that, everything will be fine."

Stunned by her harsh words, I stood frozen, just as she wanted. Mother waved her arm, and I felt a painful twisting in my body. I crumpled as the pain wrenched at my tendons, misery spreading through every bone. My body was shrinking, flattening, narrowing. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming, but the agony poured out of me in a broken, desperate wail.

"Shhh! You stupid girl! Are you trying to get us caught?"

"It hurts!" I shuddered from the pain in my bones. For a moment, her hand reached out, her brow wrinkling with regret. Then a man's shout broke the moment, and she disappeared, leaving me broken—both in soul and spirit.

I sobbed, dragging myself behind the disgusting trash bins to hide from the approaching men.

From the opening of the alleyway, I heard a low growl.

I spotted what I assumed was the shadow of an animal at first. Instead, it was an overexposed negative of a husky or malamute. His eyeshine flashed red when a car drove by. I swallowed and scraped myself further into the recess behind the bins, ignoring the rotting stink coming from them. 

The creature snarled, revealing jagged white teeth as it stalked closer. I raised my hands to shield my face. A wet nose touched my cheek, and I flinched, bracing for the bite.