The War General

44

When I came to I woke up lying on my back in a field of sunflowers. The long coily tresses of my hair are spread wild around my head like a halo while I lie in a all white sheer dress. It was soft and flowy, naturally catching air whenever the wind caresses the material.

It wavers in the wind.

God I missed the wind.

I slowly sit up my body feeling stiff, like I had had been lying in fetal position from hundreds of years. Taking my time I look around finding myself in such familiar surroundings.

The only place I knew in Unity that grew sunflowers this tall was Danid. This place was just a few miles outside of Margie and Richard's castle. Surprisingly enough, with hardly any upkeep the flowers were able to bloom and flourish beautifully. I could say that I hated seeing the flowers just as much as I hated being back in Danid but I didn't. When I was brought back to life the last place I expected to wake up was here.

Maybe it was because of all the memories I held as a child with a maze of sunflowers blooming in every which way during the crisp spring mornings. Most of them were good, often times I would find myself sneaking out of the castle playing hide and go seek with one of my favorite maids. Her name was Tessa and she was a lovely raven haired, brown eyed woman.

She had a smile that could light up anyone's dull afternoon with a son that she cared for dearly. Around the time my sister started to become cold and distant and my grandmother became too fragile and sick to see me I would seek Tessa out. Because other than my grandmother she had been one of the kindest people I had ever known. My memories of her are short and clipped but when I opened my mind the memories of her are almost fresh and raw.

Like I could reach into the back of my mind and pull out all of my forgotten memories. Even the small ones.

And that's when it hits me.

A reason why a memory so small such as playing in a sunflower field seemed so fresh in my mind.

I've nearly relived my life over a thousand times.

Going through each smile, each cry, each tear, each laugh and each beating a thousand times until I could get it right. Until I prove to Shyra and Tatsu's God that I was worthy enough of another life. That I was strong enough to withstand the power they had blessed me with.

Reliving my life over and over again somehow made me realize just how strong I truly was. To have lived a life like mine only to be poisoned by a arrow made for my dragons to take it away.

I smile, a warmth spreading thick through my veins and right up my spine.

I stand on my bare feet, my loosely fitted dress sitting just right above my feet swaying with me.

My head feels so much clearer and just to make sure I haven't gone mad I feel myself. From my eyes and mouth that had bled dry and stained Unity's marble floor to my side that had been caved in from the blow of a poisoned arrow.

I was alive.

Living and breathing.

This was it, I was really back.

And with my head held high and a newfound confidence in my step I head towards the castle.

The kingdom is abandoned, there isn't a living soul on the street or a shadow lurking through the windows of the massive brick buildings. I knew a year and a half had gone by when I was away with my grandparents and mother standing between life and death in limbo.

What I didn't know was how long I was gone while so was reliving my life. When Tatsu and Shyra's God told me that there was a possibility of me getting stuck in my life cycle and that each time I was reborn it would be harder and harder to come back I went into such a fragile state.