Kingdom of tears

Prologue

Twelve year old Zillah Irie held her two eight year old siblings, Ryker and Salem as tears rolled down her cheeks. She always tried to stay strong—for them—but this time she couldn’t. When Zillah and the twins got home from school that day they wouldn’t have guessed how much their lives would be changed forever. Their parents were dead. Shot. Murdered. Zillah knew exactly who did it. They worked for the king, and it just piling up the reason why she hated him. Now she knew, one day, she’d get her revenge.

One year later:

“Beatrix, grab Ryker and get him to safety! I’ve got Salem!” Zillah yelled over the whipping wind as she shielded her sister.
Ever since the night her parents died she sought vengeance against the corrupt King Favian. Always searching for some way to prove all the horrible things he did over the reign of his monarchy. Her parents had been doing the same thing before the king off’d them.

She did this all the while taking care of her siblings. Her best friend, Beatrix, and her family had helped her significantly over the course of a year…until tonight.
“Give me Salem! I can get them both!” Beatrix yelled back to her. Her brown eyes were filled with determination.

Zillah nodded and sent Salem over to Beatrix, joining her brother, Ryker. Salem’s dark black ponytail, which matched her siblings' hair, flowed in the wind. Her terrified green eyes flickered in the moonlight. Salem ran over to Beatrix and hugged her tight. Salem was scared for her life. But who wouldn’t be while being chased by the king's guards. The same king who wanted Zillah and all her family dead. They had evaded the guards for a while, but they would catch up eventually.

Beatrix looked up, her brown hair whipped around her face from the gale. “I’m so sorry,” she took a stuttering breath, “But I have to do this.”

She took out a dagger and it gleamed in the moonlight. Zillah gasped right as Beatrix dug it into Salem’s side. She let out a wretched shriek. Time seemed to stop. Zillah’s heart lodged in her throat. Ryker screamed in horror as Salem’s lifeless body fell to the ground. Beatrix turned and then stabbed Ryker with the same bloody blade. He too fell limp.

Before Zillah could blink, it was over, and Beatrix had fled. Zillah stammered over and collapsed in agony next to her siblings’ pale, cold corpses. The grass brushed against her knees, and the mixture of greenage and blood stung her nose. Everything she ever cared about had been taken away from her. First her parents, then her siblings, and now, the best friend she used to care about was gone.

She sat there for a long time processing their deaths. Zillah knew she had to get up, but she just couldn’t. She looked at her brother’s face, then her sister’s. Their faces looked almost peaceful. Too peaceful for Zillah to even comprehend. She didn’t want to leave the twins, but she couldn't stand to look at their bodies any longer. The sun was already rising over the horizon. The sun’s rays gleaming over the green plain. All green except for Ryker and Salems shed blood. The guards would catch up soon enough.

She carefully picked up the twins over her shoulders. Her knees buckled and shook from their deadweight. She faltered to the cemetery to where she could finally lay them down. She picked up a shovel left behind from a recent funeral and began to dig two holes. She whimpered as her tears watered the soil. She carefully placed them into the hasty, shallow graves. Her nails split and bled as she made a somber attempt to cover them back up. It took a long time, and it wasn't a special sendoff like they deserved, but when she finally finished, she laid down next to her family and simply wept. She let the tears course down her flushed face, and she choked on her breaths. Zillah vowed that Beatrix, the king, and whoever else harmed them would pay for every. Single. Hurt. Every single pain that they had caused. She would make them pay.