Wings Of Chaos

Rusalka I

Her feet hurt as she ran, ran through the forest, evil men were after her and she did not know why. They were hunting her with their horses, but she kept running, hiding wherever she can.

She heard hissing sounds and she looked down at her three barely even one-month-old dragons, they were scared as she was too. Suddenly she heard a horse and a white horse blocked her way. She could not help but scream letting go off her dragons as the figure held her arm pulling her to him. She screamed loud as she tried hard to pry her arm out of his grip. Her dragons were screeching hurting her ears as they cried for her.

"Please let me go! I am a nobody! Please!", she creamed at the top of her lungs trying to get free. She couldn't see his face as he was wearing a black cloak, but he just rumbled something as he sped off. She watched scenery change so fast as she looked behind her to watch the other two following behind them. And she sighed seeing her dragons in their arms and screaming for her. What could she do? She could not save them...

She watched the trees fly by like a blur as they were going somewhere she did not know. Suddenly she saw they were approaching a small cottage and as they neared it the horse stopped with a nigh. She could feel the man climb down and then he started to lower her and that was when she started hitting him.

She let out a terrified scream as his hood fell off revealing his disfigured face. His mouth was sewn shut, he looked just as scared as she were.

"Pestilence won't hurt you. Nor can he hurt any living being... Unless he opens his mouth, then you'll die of sickness", a dark but calming voice spoke making her turn around.

She saw the two black figures already at the entrance of the cottage. Pestilence walked away from her and readjusted his hood, walking towards the two. He was standing beside the quiet figure as he moaned and motioned to the talking man in front, "You're our sister. We came here to assure your safety".

The tallest one said, "I'm known as Death, these two are twins, Famine and Pestilence, they're harmless". "Dad wants me to come to Serbia?", Rusalka asked hopefully, how cannot a 10 year old dream of meeting her last living parent, her family she dreamt about. Her mother always said that her father was an evil man and he will never want her.

She wants to try to change her father and her big brothers are here too, there is hope! "Not by his orders. Father is suspicious of stepmother and he does not want anyone to come near you. He is alarmed because of these three little beings you're carrying around", Death said giving her the three dragons back as the twins agreed.

No, she thought frantically as she clutched her dragons to her.

"They're the only things left of my mom! Please don't hurt them! They did nothing wrong!", she said as she remembered the day they were born. Her mother on her deathbed gave her three eggs to protect and care for. Hatching them was not fun, the fire was too hot and she felt like she was suffocating. Their claws hurt her as they clung to her, they were so small and yet hurt her. Fitting in her arm perfectly but they were hurting her, drawing blood with each step they took. She knew she should name them but she could not, not yet.

She remembered her mother's tales of house Moloch, their dragons and wars, she always played being the queen of Serbia and making her father proud but now he wants her dead. He left her mother as soon as they consummated her. Never stuck around even when she told him she was pregnant. "You shouldn't hope you'll see him. I am so sorry my little bird but daddy will never be with you. Us women have to stay together forever, hm?", her mothers smile lit up her whole face with happiness, but hiding pain.

She was always cheerful even when life was hard. Being born as an orphan was no fun for her so she made everything possible for her only daughter. "I'm just a child", she told them as she sat on a chair, "I should be dancing, singing, playing, and not running away. I want to be normal, have a home and parents who will love me. I always dreamed of a big castle, me in an elegant dress, father beside me as he declared me his, you all smiling and beckoning me to come play. Those big white doors are still my dream".

She started crying and felt a hand on her shoulder, she saw Pestilence beside her and she cried in his chest all night.

She did not know when she fell asleep or when they put her on the soft bed. She opened her eyes again trying to wake up as she tried to stay up. Where were they? Was she dreaming? No, I do not know this place so I was not dreaming. She looked at the wooden walls, hw their mahogany color was almost too dark, it was perhaps old. The room was so small, it adorned just the small bed, a dark table and four chairs.

"I see you are awake", she was brought out of her reverie by Death's voice as he was leaning on the doorframe. She quickly got off the bed as she noticed him making him chuckle. She did not know where he was looking due to the hood.

"Could you remove your cloak?", she silently asks waiting for his response with hunched back. She might be afraid, she was.

She watched him take off his hood revealing pale white skin. He looked so sickly, she thought as she tried not to gasp. His slick back black hair was so thin and yet thick, she could not describe it. His pale washed blue eyes stared at her. He looked middle aged with the lines on the face. His tight diamond jaw was mesmerizing while his cheeks were sharp. His face was tight but it looked good on him.

"I was born cursed", he spoke so richly that she sat down on the bed to listen carefully, "I was only a newborn when my mother died... I never knew why but father tried very hard to not tell me, always hiding the truth. At my fifth name day I found out from my mothers mother that I killed her. I was cursed by a witch and I became this, shedding my name and becoming Death. This is who I am".

He stopped talking as he approached the cage where her dragons were thrashing inside. She looked at him getting up remembering she had to feed them. As she opens the cage she watched Death sit down on one of the chairs staring at the three dragons who in return stared at him and screeched.

"I am sorry", Rusalka spoke to the three as the black red one hissed demanding food while the green and bronze one just stared at him. She looked around, running towards every single corner to look for food. Nothing.

"I knew they need to eat, watched Aleksandar feed his with fish meat", he spoke up and she stopped in the spot watching as he put chopped fish on the table only for the dragons to look at him. Aleksandar? She asked herself who that was as she came to the floor to give the dragons the meat.

"Who is Aleksandar?", she asked him as she put the meat in front of the black one as he tilts his little head at her, "Fire".

"He is your brother also, eight years older", he said and she only nodded as she kept telling the dragon the same word. She was trying hard to make them breathe fire. Wasn't that what dragons do?

"Maybe he is still small. Aleksandar told me his were breathing fire at about six months old and flew at one years old"

She was surprised as she quickly turned to him with hopeful eyes. "He has dragons?", she asked gleefully as Death smiled nodding.

"They are now six years old and their heads are about his height so they are large"

She didn't know dragons were that big... She wished hers won't get big and stay so small and cute... How would they look like? Would they be strong? What was Aleksandar like?

"Aleksandar is the spitting image of our father"

"Tell me more stories"

"Not now I need to write Aleksandar so he would come and help us"

She was going to meet him? Another family? A family that has dragons like her! Would he like her?

"He might be the only one to save your life from father"