Red Water Lily

Prologue

"Rain, I love rain. I love how the cold drops of water against my skin makes me feel alive. I love how the calming sound of raindrops hitting the ground makes me forget who and where I am, how it for a moment makes me forget about this place, the place I once called home. It used to be a safe and happy place, but it is not anymore. No safety, constant fear and the only ones who are happy here are our leader and his men.

The world changed after World War III. The war destroyed the world we used to know along with ninety percent of the population. Those who survived the war and did not die from starvation or radiation found safety in the forest and villages far away from the cities, since they had become radioactive zones. The war ended thirty years ago, and people are still afraid of going near the cities, scared of what they might find there.

Along with the cities we also lost our technology, several countries, our safety and everything else that our ancestors had worked hard to build. The survivors helped each other to build up what they could. They created different groups so there would be order, those groups eventually turned into clans.

Most clans hated each other because of their differences, but there were a few clans who were friendly and neutral. My clan used to be neutral back when my mother and father created it. They did not want to step on anyone's toes since our clan was relatively new. Unfortunately, my parents died when I was ten. They were ambushed in the forest by some Rogues. Rogues are those who are not a part of any clan, they live by no rules and most of them are criminals.

After my parents were killed my brother became the new clan leader. My brother was only sixteen and most people thought he was too young, but he was a strong, intelligent leader with no fears of anything. His only weakness was his heart of gold. A lot of people took advantage of his kindness, which also ended up killing him two years after he became our leader. Kain and his men killed my brother after he decided to accept them into our clan. Kain went from being a rouge to becoming a leader in one night. He had a bad reputation, my brother was not the first one he killed in order to get something he wanted, nor would he be the last. People feared him and he knew it, therefore he used the people's fear to gain power.

After my brother was killed, Kain took care of me until I got older and was able to take care of myself. I tried to leave the clan, but Kain never let me. He even sent his men after me whenever I ran away. They were very skilled trackers and most of the time they found me within a day no matter how far I ran.

Whenever I asked him why he would not let me go he always gave me the same answer; that I was not allowed to because he had plans for me and that he did not take care of me for nothing. I did not know what kind of plans he had for a twenty two-year old woman, especially since he was so much older than me. But it did not take long before I found out that he wanted me to become his wife. The thought of marrying him made me want to throw up, I cannot deny that he is good looking, in fact; his wavy black hair with the grey highlights and his tall, firm body made him quite handsome. But there was no kindness in his eyes, you could only see his evil mind shining through them. And like I said before; he is so much older than me.

Whenever he asked me to marry him, I refused, which often led to a black eye and bruises all over my body. Eventually I went from being on adventures as the leader's sidekick to washing, cooking, cleaning and getting beaten up whenever Kain and his men felt like it. The old school where my clan lives was no longer safe for me after they removed the lock from my bedroom door. I started to sleep in a shed in the school yard. It was wet and cold, but I felt safer there than under the same roof as Kain.

One night while I was doing the dishes, he came up to me and asked me once again to marry him. I stopped what I was doing, turned around and stared at him. I took a deep breath and stared into his cold, blue eyes as I told him that I would rather choose death. He grabbed my arm, turned me around and pulled me against him. I tried to escape but stopped when I felt a knife against my throat. I felt him push the knife harder against my skin and how my blood escaped from the ugly wound he created while having a big grin on his face. I have never wanted to die, but at this point I would have accepted death. Unfortunately, he was only playing with me. He removed the knife from my throat, turned me back around, forced me to look at him and told me that he would make me his wife whether I wanted to or not. I gave him the same answer as before and spit in his face. I have never been beaten as much as I was that night. After I had crawled back to my shed and taken care of my wounds, I started to plan my escape. This time I knew I would make it. "