Lingering Blood

Midnight

This is my first story ever attempted. However, I've been writing it for over a year and still make edits and fix ups whenever I go and re-read through it. My main inspiration came from the song Attack by 30 Seconds To Mars. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1: Midnight

 

Bang! Bang! There it was, the familiar knock upon our wooden door. This occurs nearly every other night here. You'd assume that I would sleep through the commotion by now, yet I still find myself waking up in alarm. The visitor is always here for my father, who happens to be the most significant man in town, at least, to those who know of him. He is the leader of the Coercion fortress on the outskirts of town. However, I'm not supposed to speak about what ensues there, so you'll have to keep this a secret. My father threatened to take my life if I couldn't control my tongue about this masked community.

The Coercion fortress is a grand castle. It stands alone overlooking the city just up the hill. I go there whenever my father desires me, as he claims that it is the safest place I could be in these challenging times.

Our home is awfully small, meant solely for one individual. I slept in the front room where we spent most of our time eating and conversing. My father had his own room in the back merely for sleeping. Obviously, my father was an incredibly wealthy man, yet he determined that we required a place where we can "lay low" and conceal ourselves if needed.

Shortly after the knock, my father came out from the back room, appearing as if he'd been awake all along. I immediately sat up on my elbows, watching him from my small cot. He reached for the front door's handle, his old eyes rested on mine before he unbolted it.

"Columba, I'll return in the morning," I heard him whisper in the dark. He ambled out the door and closed it behind him.

He'll return in the morning, perhaps, except he'll leave shortly after again.

I laid back down and pulled the blanket over my body. I was alone now, nonetheless. It was nothing first-hand to me, or something I haven't grown accustomed to. My mother had died shortly after childbirth and my father has his duties. Being left alone became mandatory on my part.

I'm obligated to live with my father simply because I can't leave him until he marries me off to some shrewd man that he becomes fond of and deems will benefit us. Most girls get married when they are 15, but the marriages don't usually last too long. It's not always about love. If a family isn't receiving what they require from the marriage any longer, they will split the unity, regardless if the pair fell in love at some point. Past 15, and I have yet to be handed off to another man.

Enough about that.

A Little History of the Coercion Bureau:

Nearly 50 years ago, the Slavia family claimed the throne in Ciyra, the capital of our land. The last family line had fallen without an heir or proper bloodline. Therefore the balloting for the new king was out. The results were narrowed down between my grandparents' family, the Anatlynn's, and the contrasting Slavia family. Unfortunately, the Antalyn's did not win the entitlements to the throne. The Slavia's had the advantage of being distant relations to the previous family.

However, the people of the land soon regretted their decision.

The Slavia's initially promised a new age with new outlooks of trade, politics and economics. Starvation and vagrancy would be an idea of the past. And, most importantly, war between other lands would cease to exist. However, the first decree of the king was a harsh raise on taxes. People went along at first, assuming it was only necessary. As years passed, the high taxes did not only remain, but continued to grow. More and more people fell victim to becoming homeless and the death rate began to soar in those who could not afford foods or medicine.