Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Oath

TW: Violence and death

Luke was eleven when the riots first started. At first, his mom would lock him inside their apartment and tell him not to open the door, even for her or his dad. King Caleb had lowered the minimum wage and raised taxes on all businesses, even those that weren't that profitable. He was ruining the waters that the fishermen relied on.

Luke was of the Kingdom of Malachite, and he lived on a manmade island North of the castle called Sacrament. Sacrament wasn't the wealthiest place in Malachite. It was below the middle but not at the very bottom. It was barely hanging on, often forgotten and overlooked by the kingdom. That gave his parents a peace of mind most of their lives and for the first part of Luke's life.

But King Caleb's greediness was one not to mess with. He wanted expansion. He wanted more rivers and lakes to be made, more freshwater to be taken from his people. His ultimate dream was to have a lakefront hotel strip near the border of the Inmarcsesible Kingdom- King Ray's kingdom. But they said no. And so, King Caleb decided to fight for more land than what he wanted, starting off a ten year plan that would raise funds for war, create allyships, and train an army that would get them that land. That ten year plan started long before Luke was even aware about the political situation of their kingdom. Before he found out how fucked it all way.

Luke and his friends had gone to their first rally at thirteen. His mom was furious with him when she saw him there. His dad saying, "He's a fire, just like you," did not help anyone with anything. But Luke's mom realized she could not stop him despite taking him early, practically dragging him back by the ear after scolding him in front of his friends. He came right back every time, and so did she until they started going to rallies together.

His mom was a head organizer and was often assisted by one of his friend's parents. That friend was named Cassie, and her and Luke were inseparable since kindergarten. It always felt right being next to her. To stand in front of her when kingdom guards came to throw tear gas at them, to hide with her in stranger's basements when they were being chased. Cassie was Luke's guiding light, and his parents knew that.

And when Luke was thirteen, Cassie and four other teenagers were killed by the kingdom. Direct orders they found later. It was the peak of the rallies. Sacrament wasn't the only place throwing fire at that point, and despite the little to no media coverage, Luke's mom eyes and ears everywhere told her what was happening. There was a plan to raid the castle and overthrow the crown, but it died when those kids did.

Luke wasn't there with her when it happened. He had ran back home to get a bat just in case someone tried to hit him and his friends. Cassie told him she was going to stay to distribute water. They planned to be there for days. To stay there until the castle fell.

Luke got back to people running back home, to medics running towards the main meeting site. Luke started running faster and there, he saw Cassie dead on the floor with a bullet through her forehead. Her parents were both crying over her body and there was a castle guard was taking pictures of them. Luke raised his bat to swing at him, but his dad caught him on time and dragged him home. Luke didn't fight his dad, but he had a lot of trouble walking. He threw up twice before they reached their apartment, Luke's dad begging him to walk up the stairs.

Luke didn't cry until Cassie was buried under the ground next to other kids they had gone to school with. Some were former students of his mom, and she entered in this numbed state for a month or two. Luke and her sat still and they would go days without saying a word. Luke watched but couldn't see his dad struggle to get them to go forward.

The threatening letter they got on their front door scared them from leaving for months. His parents tried to hide it from him, but their apartment was too small, and their walls were too thin. He could feel a shift in their decaying marriage that united them to keep him safe. But Luke was all too nosy. All too knowing. That part made him like his dad.