All Cloaked Up For You

Prologue- The East and West War

The sun shone brightly down on the crumbling walls of  West Sterling, shared with East Sterling as a bustling city filled with promise and prosperity. West Sterling lay in ruins, split in two by a bitter feud that had descended upon the Sterling many years ago. The streets were now silent, the only sound being the occasional gust of wind. There were no people to be seen, nothing to indicate that the city had ever been anything but desolate.

Amidst the rubble, two figures stood facing each other, a woman and a man. They were the last two people who remembered the city before the split. The woman's face was a mask of anger and bitterness, while the man's was full of sorrow and regret. The tension between them was palpable, and neither spoke, their silence only broken by their heavy breathing. They both knew this was the end of West Sterling, the city she had once called home.

"NO NEVER TOUCH ME AGAIN" Vatherina Tumbleweed yelled out while releasing her hands from a man. "Vatherina, please. I never meant to hurt you." Andrew Herrington said while chasing after Vatherina. Vatherina's pace was faster. She couldn't trust this man anymore. "Vatherina please stop and hear me out," Andrew said desperately. Vatherina stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her arms are tense and she looks up at Andrew. Andrew sighed before he made a word.

"I love you, Vatherina, I hate that I hurt you like this," Andrew said. "Love me? You burned my government, you burned my land, and you sent your men to West Sterling and kept my family hostage." She scoffed and walked towards the distance and stopped at her manor. Her eyes teared up from the rumble. "Look, my house. It's burnt." She said in tears as she climbed on the manor's steps. Her eyes looked down at the ancestry carving on the porch. She touched it with her hands and then dug it out with her fingernails. 

"Vatherina, look. It's not easy. My dad is strict. He would never allow us to marry." Andrew said. Vatherina looks at Andrew with a distrustful look. "And here I am thinking that we will love each other enough that we will leave our crowns behind and flee. I guess I am the only one that will be willing to do that." She said. "Vatherina. I know. I want to throw my crown away too. If I leave my crown and leave with you, my dad will wreck hell on West Sterling. I have to stay" He said. "WELL, MY LIFE IS ALREADY HELL ENOUGH RIGHT HERE" Vatherina screams and tears roll off her precious cheeks.  

He paused. He hates seeing her weep. He understands he fucked up her life by agreeing to follow his dad's demand for bombing West Sterling. The guilt he has is infinite. There's nothing he can do to fix her constant weeping and anger towards him. Does he choose his dad or the love of his life? He hesitated momentarily, he wanted to hug and comfort her one last time like they did when she snuck into his estate. He wants to embrace her. He doesn't want to lose her. Also, he feels one-sided. It's the enemy's daughter he is in love with. 

He walked closer to her. His embrace once warm and energetic turned to a living nightmare for her. He caressed her hair and sat beside her hopelessly for a last kiss. She flicked his hands away. She never even looked at him. She built up regret inside her heart. "Vatherina. Please. Look at me. I miss those brown eyes of yours. Just please Vatherina. I need you. Forgive me" Andrew said. This time she looked. Her face was dirty with rumble. Her dress was fucked up. 

The eyes were not brown anymore, it's fading in color. The once vibrant things she sees in life are gone. She has only the ancestry carving on her hands that stands out in red, purple, and black. She rosed her voice. "I TRUSTED YOU, I LOVED YOU, AND I SOLD MY SOUL FOR YOU. I WANT YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE" Vatherina said in a grieving tone, pushing Andrew away and standing up to walk towards the river where the water became brown. 

"Vatherina. Please" Andrew said still wanting Vatherina and walking after her. Vatherina turned around. "No. I declare for a breakup." Vatherina said. Andrew's eyes are wounded. He does deserve it though. "Vatherina, you don't have to do this to me," Andrew said pleadingly. "No. You will leave at once" Vatherina said not even looking at him or giving him one last kiss. Andrew looked at Vatherina's black hair one last time.

Vatherina held onto her family ancestry carving. She gathered her people back again to try to rebuild the West Sterling. Andrew's heart is feeling sick. Sick to the heart. He grieved about the breakup. As both separated into their paths they thought to themselves. "Am I capable of love after you?"

Timelapse- West Sterling became a wasteland, and the government didn't have enough to pay for repairs of the West. They only managed to make small one-story houses for each family. The river that used to flow clearly like diamonds turns dewy brown. People in the wasteland wished for the old times when they were as rich as the city itself. They turned greedy just like Vatherina's son, Joe Tumbleweed, who is the mayor of Wasteland present day. 

Andrew Herrington's land grew richer and richer and became the city of Sterling itself instead of the rich. Andrew's son, Vincent Herrington, is now taking control of Sterling's government. Andrew wanted his son to be named after Vatherina his true love, he wanted his son's name to start with a V. Vincent Herrington also now has a son, Alexander Herrington. They ruled many successful businesses in Sterling's government. 

There are always new problems, Joe Tumbleweed was raised as a leader promising people he would fix the wasteland. He lied, he had a greedy goal to make his empire and rule like a monarch without Sterling's constitution. People grew aware of the lack of government in the wasteland and it became a dangerous and corrupted place to be in.