Storm Sisters

Chapter Fourteen

~1~

(15 years prior)

Jenilee and Kara

In the whole of it's two thousand year history, the walls of Westwig had never been breached. If nothing else, that was the kingdom's crowning achievement. They were not conquerers or particularly fierce warriors, but they could withstand a siege longer then any enemy thus far was willing to wage it.

Having been built butted against the base of the Tula mountains, with their harsh cold climates and steep cliff faces, the topography was too extreme for any invading army to approach from the rear. So the vast majority of resources could be focused on defending the front wall. And this wall had been built to be the highest and the strongest in all the world, deemed to be impenetrable.

So all that the people of Westwig needed to do to survive a siege, was to stock enough provisions so that their prospective invaders would runout of food before they did.

And like every siege they'd faced in the past, they'd felt confident in their safety when the armies of Corinth marched to their doorstep.

And so it had been, for six straight months, the walls of Westwig withstood a constant barrage of assaults from the Corinthian armies. Day after day they charged the gate, attempting to scale the walls with massive ladders, only to be met with hot oils and arrows that persistently thwarted those attempts.

But then, something changed that gave Corinth the upper hand at last. The technology by which they were able to finally breach the walls had never before been witnessed by the the people of Westwig, and its immense power would never be forgotten afterwards.

That day, Jenilee was with her mother, queen Sarafin, and her younger sister, Kara at the church, caring for the sick and injured. While Kara was too young to be of any real assistance, she went along attached to her big sister like a shadow.

And though their father insisted that they stay tucked-away in the safety of the castle's keep, the girl's mother would not hear a word of it. "If our subjects are to suffer down in the muck of this war, then it is our duty so suffer right there beside them." she'd say.

The pews had all be cleared out of the church to make room for the injured masses to be laid in rows amongst the debris and rubble. The smell of rotting flesh hung rank in the air, attracting the gathering of flies by the thousands. It was a full-time job just to keep their maggots from infesting the wounds.

"Kara, Stop doddling and come help your sister apply pressure to this leg." Queen Sarafin called to her while she played with her dolls in the corner. Kara made a face of disgust as she approached her sister holding what was a badly mangled leg of a man writhing in agony.

"Go on child, take hold of his shin." Her mother directed her. "I don't want to touch it. Its disgusting." To this the queen simply responded with an intense glare that threatened more then any words could.

Kara reluctantly grabbed the man's shin as she was told and he cried out. The queen placed a slot of wood between his teeth for him to bite down on while she made the correction. Then, together with Jenilee they pulled the leg until the protruding bone fragment, receded back inside the skin and into alignment. The man strained against the pain, causing the veins to swell in his neck, before he went limp with loss of consciousness.

But before they could wrap it in place, a bang rang out, so loud it shook the earth beneath them, shattering the stained glass windows of the church. Instinctively the girls fell to the floor for shelter.