The Great War

X

1739—

I look around me at the deserted town, old shops now boarded up and left desolate. The townsfolk, the humans, declared all of us monsters, bloodthirsty monsters after a string of murders hit town all of the sudden a few months ago.

Then the assumed perpetrator happened to be an Orc warrior from the 1500 purge days. He had ounces of proof showing his innocence, but he was still sentenced to death, his lynching cause uproar. Chaos in the 'monster' minority.

Buildings destroyed. The days of the purge returning. The peace binding forgotten by the hands of humans. It's now the second month of this, numbers of non-human creatures dropping severely in town. The thriving once happy village I grew up in no more. Just a ghost town.

I quietly tiptoe towards Ceres' family Café, the door boarded off and the sign swinging off its boards. How it came to ruins so fast was what shook me. I look around me before slipping into the alley and squeezing through a small opening we created at the side of the building.

"Oh, thank god." A voice strained out as I'm enveloped into a warm hug. I smile against my lover's shoulder before he pulls back. His hands cupping my face as he presses a sweet kiss to my forehead. "Are you okay? What took you so long?"

I place my hands delicately at his wrists and smile up at him, "I'm okay, father took a while to leave this time. His days are getting shorter and shorter, we don't have much time I'm afraid." I explain to him, he sighs and turns us to face the others. Smilla and Cora, fresh faces to our group, were only introduced a day before the purges.

Smilla was Ceres' girlfriend and a celestial like me, an angelic presence from old Norse. It was unfortunate that they came to Faith Hollow and now remain stuck.

Cora was a pureblood angel and moon sister to Smilla. Her twin brother, Achilles, was up in Olympus where she was meant to be but got stuck down here when the purging started. It was just too dangerous for any of us to return to the realms for safety.

Cora stood from her seat, her body long and rail thin yet elegant as she moved. "I'm afraid she's right. Our time runs fewer and fewer every day. The purges are getting far worse, bloods being spilled in the streets, what feels like, every minute. If you want to do this, you have to do this now." She explained with a firm monotone voice.

𖤐

I quietly leave the cabin, my mother's old wedding dress misting past the ground as I run off, my skirt bunched up in my hands the best I could get it. I run past the town and more into the woods off to the side of the old church.

"Hurry up!" Ceres whisper-yells as soon as I got past the church. She took my hand in hers and we both rushed off towards the school. Or the once school. I laugh in relief as it comes into sight.

Excitement bubbling off me when I see my friends standing on top of the stairs that lead into the building.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Ceres mumbles with a small grin as she and her girlfriend help pick up the train of the white dress.

"Are you excited?" She asks, looking up at me. I nodded furiously, picking at the skin on my fingers, anxiety building up, over-taking my happiness. Something felt awfully off.

"Are you okay?"

I nod immediately and mask the anxiety with a smile, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?" She slowly nods, not really believing me. We enter the school and quietly scurry past the main room back to the pool.

"Are you ready?" Smilla asks me, walking around to my front, fixing my makeup.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I release a breath as Ceres bunches up the back of my skirt and helps me up the steps, my feet bare. Heels aren't something to run in.