Her Rising Dawn

Part 7- Just Like This

I let my body grief for a moment, then I buried it and began to shout orders . I'll deal with it later. If there is a later.

"We need to stop the fire before it burns the rest of the castle down!" I yelled, cupping my hands over my mouth to amplify the volume.

Gold was guarding a small group of children near one of the lakes. Lunar started running around ushering the villagers and folks to the lake. Even from afar, I could see the angry red scratch on her once beautiful cheek, and I bet 10 bucks that it would stay the same like that forever. My heart slammed against my chest in anger.

The water the soldiers were throwing at the fire wasn't enough, even with the fire brigade's enormous hose. All seemed lost, until I spotted something lying by the moat, abandoned for years. My god, it was my large water gun. The one that mom and dad had given me for my 6th birthday. The gun stood at least the same height as me, and it probably weighed heavier than the krew combined. Bile coated my tongue and I shook the thought away. Right now, there were more important things to handle. 

I picked the gun up, swaying from the heaviness of it, and filled it up with water. Then I aimed it at the fire and fired. Yes it was working! The west wing seemed pretty contained, with all the soldiers, the firemen and of course, my handy water gun. A few more sprays later, the west wing's fire died out.

Then I heard the scream.

It wasn't just a scream of fear. If you multiplied it by at least a hundred, it was a scream of agony, fear and rage. I spun around, knocking over at least 3 guards with my water gun. Oops. I quickly lowered it. The scream came from the village, and when I looked, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.

Another fire was burning wildly in the middle of the village. And it wasn't normal, unlike the fire at the castle. This fire was a deep purple. No not the kind of pleasant purple Lunar likes, but the dark violet hue that screams evil at you. For a moment I thought I could put it out with my trusty water gun, but the thought died out like the flames of the fire earlier when I saw one of the villagers trying to put it out with a bucket of water. Not only did it not go out, the fire roared at him and effulged him in purple flames. When it faded, the man was gone. Only a pile of ashes remained. 

My eyes glazed over and darted around the area. I blindly ran off away from the castle with no idea where I was going. Like my brain had switched to autopilot. I wanted- no needed- to get away from all this madness and misery. 

Sometime later, my mind began swirling. Not only from guilt, but Draco's voice. I TOLD YOU! FUNNEH YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY WILL DO AGAIN, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THEIR BREWING SOMETHING UP! It snapped me out of my dazed form for a moment and I replied, They? Who's they? Unfortunately, I was too late. Draco was gone again. I sank to my knees and buried my face in my hands, sobbing quietly. 

"-Kat. Kat. KAT!" Someone repeated my name over and over again but my mind was having a hard time functioning. And plus, my stomach was churning as it digested all the action from tonight. "KAT LA!" Finally, a sharp pain struck me and I fell to my side. Ouch. My face began to swell.  

I sat up and found Alec shaking my shoulders right in front of my eyes. Behind him was Kyran. "Funneh, are you okay?' asked Alec, his hands increasing their speed. "You ran off after seeing the fire in the village." I winced as the thought of the fire hurt my head. "I'm fine just stop SHAKING ME!" I whined. Alec released his arms from my shoulders and I bobbed around. 

Kyran stooped beside me. "How long have you been running for?" he asked. "You literally ran near one of our allies!" My eyes widened. Really? I turned and looked for myself. A cliff towered over the grassy field I was sitting on, casting it in a dark shadow. Up ahead was a glittering kingdom made from all kinds of jewels and crystals. Crystalia. Wow, it's like my feet just teleported me.

I looked behind me and I regretted it. The whole village was almost burned to a crisp, and if it weren't for Kyran and Alec's strong arms, I would have probably toppled over again. I looked away from the wreckage of the once blossoming town that I had stepped into at least 2 hours ago. 

I swallowed the bile that formed on my mouth and trying not to scream, I asked," how many survived?" 

Kyran's lips tightened to a grim line, similar to the one Lady Gisela uses everyday. "About one third of the entire krewdom population is gone. Most of them were burned alive at least. We sent some guards to check the damage and found some survivors hiding in the cavern near the lake. The castle fire has been put out, and Gold is sending out some messengers to the neighboring kingdoms for help, including Crystalia." "At least the rest of them are taking it well," added Alec. "Cook Marianne managed to salvage the emergency food packets and some other stuff before the castle burned. Lunar's distributing them among the villagers and staff. As for the castle, the east wing is a bit charred but livable. The west wing... unfortunately will take a long time to rebuild. Maybe for months. Probably years."

I nodded as the information sank in. The west wing was gone. The ballroom. The library. The battle room. The council room. Even the throne room. All gone. Just like this. One third of the population, gone. Just like this. The whole of krewdom is in panic now. Just. Like. This.

The sky began to lighten up as dawn approached. "It's about time we returned," said Kyran, watching the sun rise. "We have to check on everyone, even Rainbow." I nodded, and that's when I winced. For some whatever reason, a deep scratch lined my calf, with drops of blood falling from it. I heard Alec take in a sharp breath as he reached for his torso. A part of his tunic was shredded, and another angry and deep wound lined against his pale skin. Kyran seemed pretty beaten up too. His face was peppered with scratches and he seemed to be favoring one of his arms.

"Let's not waste any time," said Alec, sucking air through his teeth. Then, holding against each other, the three of us staggered back to the castle.