Protector of the Crown

Prologue

Prologue

"Gemma, you have to go! You need to keep our girls safe! I will hold them off as long as I can!" my father cried, pulling my mother into his arms and whispering in her hair, "My love, the only way to give our daughters a chance is to leave this place, but you need more time to escape. Let me stay back and make sure you get the time you need, I can hold them off while you run."

"William," my mother whimpered, burying her face into his chest, "I can't leave you."

"Those girls are a part of me, my love. A part of you and me, they are our future," my mother let out a sob while my father held her tighter, "I'm so sorry, Gemma, this is all my fault. I stood against the King."

My mother pulled back, her eyes locked onto his, "You did what was right. You have always done what was right. The King, he's killed so many."

"As I've always said, it's better to have tried and failed than to stand by while wrongdoing is being done, right?" he shrugged, smirking. I recalled him saying the same thing to my sister, Anne and me many times, "I just wish my deeds never hurt your or our daughters."

My mother smiled briefly, touching my father's stubbled cheek tenderly, "No matter what happens, I am and have always been so proud of you."

Her smile quickly fell when a loud banging broke the silence. My older sister, Anne, pulled me to her. I was only 7 and she had just turned 10, she always took the role as my protector.

"Gemma, go!" my father screamed, reaching for a gun.

"Will!" my mother cried as she grasped Anne and I in her arms, squeezing us tight.

"I love you," my father said, "Run."

My mother whimpered and pulled us towards the back door.

"Father!" I screamed as my mother pulled me away from my hero.

My father fired his weapon. I pulled free from my mother and ran towards him. I couldn't leave my father, my role model. I ran towards him as he shot a King's Protector who was breaking down the door. Before I could call for him again a shot rang out and the world fell silent. My father reached up and touched his chest, his fingers grazing the dark red blood that was spreading across his shirt. Slowly, as if the world was moving in slow motion, he lifted his head and locked eyes with me.

"Run, my little dove..." he gasped, then fell to the ground.

My mother reached me and grabbed my arm. When she looked up she screamed, a blood-curdling scream that would etch itself into my deepest nightmares. More men broke down the door and my mother pulled me away and we ran.

We ran through the woods as fast as we could, but we weren't fast enough. The men found us and held weapons to us, the three remaining members of House of Luther.

"Gemma," a man with dark skin and a soft voice called softly as he approached my mother, "Stand down. Will is gone, don't make a mistake that will take your girl's mother away from them."

"You killed him, he was your friend!" my mother screamed, tucking Anne and I behind her.

"It wasn't me," he said quietly, looking to the ground, "But I have a duty and I cannot ignore it. I am bound by blood."

"Your duty is to your family! He was the closest thing you had to a brother, Jonah!"

"Gemma, please. Make the vow to the King and they won't kill you, please Gemma..." The man said, tears in his eyes.

"I'd rather be with my husband," my mother pulled out a handgun and aimed it at the man next to Jonah.

Several shots rang out as my mother pushed me to the ground. When it was quiet I got up. Blood poured from my mother's body, soaking the earth beneath it, and her beautiful, warm, chocolate brown eyes were wide open and void of any life. I looked for Anne; I needed my big sister, my protector, my best friend...she too was covered in blood, her arms locked around my mother in her final embrace.

I looked up to find that Jonah's face was empty, staring at the bodies of my mother and sister. Before the pain could settle into my heart, a sense of rage washed over me. They had taken everything from me.

I grabbed a rock and screamed, my young voice echoing among the trees as I rushed towards Jonah, raising the rock to strike. I was small, but tall for my age. I wouldn't be able to kill him, but I'd make him feel pain.

Jonah stared at me in shock, but before I could reach him the butt of a gun struck me against the head and I fell. I could feel the leaves under my body as my vision began to darken. The last thing I remembered before the world went black was Jonah saying, "Take her to the compound. She'll make a strong Protector."