Write to Rank: 2023

Blue Belt: Love Amidst Carnage

It wasn't uncommon for Enya to have her hands inside a dead body. After all, someone had to create potions and monsters. It certainly helped that she and her friend were the best Necromancers around. They only had 20 minutes before government officials would arrive on the site. She couldn't shake the familiarity of it all while she moved through the newest battlefield.

"I'm so sorry." Duke's brown eyes held an immense amount of care. "I couldn't imagine my hometown like this."

"It doesn't bother me." Enya began with the owner of the general store. Before, Craig kept the store meticulous with each nook full of merchandise. Now, his blood sprayed across misplaced wooden figurines that toppled toward the green carpet. "I haven't been back here in 10 years. I barely recognize it."

While she laid him on the counter, memories of Craig giving her caramels for free passed fleetingly. The incision was smooth, and she sheathed the scalpel quickly after.

"You're as heartless as ever." Duke smirked while he peeled Craig's fingernails off.

Enya tipped her black hood and curtsied. "The highest of compliments."

They went to work, scraping the intestines, collecting liquid samples, and searching for valuables. When Enya's bloodied hands grazed Craig's pocket watch, her vision turned gray, and she experienced the first vision of the day.

The jewelry store's merchandise glistened in the sun. I'd be unveiling the general store to the entire city in just a couple hours-though it still felt more like a dream than reality. I had to find something to fit the moment just right.

The air was stale inside the shop. Before I looked for any accessories, my eyes met the oddest woman I'd ever met. Her brown curls sprawled over the cases while her face smushed against the glass. It was alluring how she seemed oblivious to those around her. She was so different from me in a way that drew me to her. So much so, I asked for her help finding the right piece.

That day, I left the store with my wife-to-be and a pocket watch that would outlive me. If I had more time, I could have polished it once more. I could have held those curls and told her how much she meant to me. If only...

Enya's vision returned. Craig was incredibly sentimental, especially when he discovered her necromantic tendencies. The days of free caramels were over after that. She shoved the watch into her bag. It'd fetch a good price in the next town.

"We better go." Duke freed Craig's eyes from his skull. "Though I'm sure the government would love to catch a couple necromancers today."

Enya grabbed several other valuables before they exited to the center of the battleground. Dozens of bodies were strewn across the dirt clearing. The enemies, much fewer, were easy to identify by their black outfits. On the other hand, the only thing that identified her towns' soldiers were blue bands around their wrists.

Her hometown used to be one of friendly smiles, waves, and everyone knowing everyone's business. Enya was always a topic of gossip as the only necromancer to come from the town in the last century.

The sound of military boots hitting the ground shook her back to reality. The officials were going through the homes, cleaning up bodies and muttering profanities about necromancers beating them to it.

While they walked through the carnage, Duke didn't spare the bodies a glance. Soldiers never had much and what few items they did often weren't worth reliving the memories of. Enya glanced at the left hands of each of the soldiers. It didn't take her long to find a band that she recognized.

Even dead, her fiancée looked no different than when she'd left him at the altar 10 years ago. She moved her hand over his, feeling his draining veins on her fingertips. Even in death, she could hear his jokes and laughter. It made her want to run just as she did on their wedding day. He'd always told her she was perfect in every way except her necromantic tendencies. Her family and him agreed that if she were to just hide them, she would be the ideal wife, daughter, and mother. She could live the scripted life she was meant to.

"What are you doing?" Duke asked, stopping several feet in front of her. "We have to go."

Enya didn't bother to respond. The ring was the same one she would have slipped onto her fiancée's finger. She wondered if he'd worn it all this time, waiting for her to come back.

"Enya, are you listening to me?" Duke asked.

She knew they had to leave, but she had to know why he still wore the ring. When her fingertips brushed the cold metal, her sight grayed.

It was perfect. The city center was caped in white with silver decorations just as she wanted. My family held their hands together as if they were praying for everything to go right this time. I'd done the same prayer again and again until this moment. Even now as I waited for my bride to walk down the aisle, I sent prayers to a god I didn't believe in. I crossed my fingers, wrote signs for good luck in the air, and avoided the color yellow for the past week.

This time as the band played, the bride walked down the aisle toward me. My world lit up seeing her there and I couldn't help but imagine what it would have been like the first time with Enya. What our life could have been if she hadn't left. I willed myself to be happy. To speak at all the necessary parts. To crack a joke and cause laughter to ricochet through the crowd. But as the wedding band found my finger three years late, I couldn't help but feel the same sorrow as the day she left. Even now as I die, I can't help but wonder what part of me wasn't good enough for her.

Enya held back a laugh as her vision returned. Of course he'd think that. He never knew how much she yearned to be a necromancer.

Duke stood in front of her, and several government officials dressed in green marched toward them.

"State your names!" One of them with stars on his heart bellowed.

"We're citizens of the village," Duke returned, fake tears in his eyes. He glanced back at Enya as if to tell her to run.

She shook her head before turning her fiancée over and inserting her scalpel into his chest. The blade slashed through each artery with ease.

"Stop!" The soldier with stars repeated. "Step away from-"

He and the rest gasped when she held her fiancée's heart in her hands. It'd make an incredible monster. The best part was this time he'd have no mouth to tell her she was wrong. A smile grazed her lips. While the soldiers shot arrows at them, she placed the heart in her bag, grabbed Duke's hand, and ran.

Word Count: 1184 words.

Prompt: 1.2k words - Fantasy and Action Mashup.