A castle of wings and vengeance

𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓾𝓮-

-Warnings: blood, death, slight gore-

"Raven dear, could you come help me in the kitchen?" I heard my mother call from downstairs.

"Coming Ma!" I replied as I set my stuff down and ran downstairs to help my mother. Once I made it down stairs I quickly put my hair into a ponytail and rolled up my sleeves. I rinsed my hands in the sink before turning to my mother.

"What do you need help with Ma?'' I asked with an excited smile, I always enjoyed helping my mother out in the kitchen.

"Could you please set the table my dear, it would be very helpful while i finish making dinner, we're having your favorite." She said, her British accent rolling off her tongue like honey and vanilla.

I gave my mother a quick nod and with a small flick of my wrist I was able to set the table quickly and neatly. After I finished I walked back to the kitchen to help my mother finish making dinner. Once all the food was ready we took everything to the table and set it all up. Just as we finished setting up we heard a loud noise from outside and what sounded like my fathers voice before it was cut off by a loud gunshot. My mother visibly paled as my blood went cold. My mother quickly turned to me and looked at me, a serious look on her face.

"Raven, I need you to listen to me very closely. I need you to run to our room and move the carpet just a little bit. You will see a trapdoor, I need you to open that door and get in, close the door and use just a little bit of magic to move the carpet back over." She said, her voice wavering. "Once that's all done, you are to stay there until someone comes to get you. Do you understand?"

"I understand Ma." I replied, taking a shaky breath. I turned to run to my parents room when my mother stopped me. She quickly pulled me into a hug before pulling back and giving me a kiss on the forehead. "I want you to know that your father and I love you very much, and that will never change, no matter where we are, we will always be with you. Even if the stars and moon separate us, We will always be here." My mother said, placing her hand on my heart. "Now go my little star-fire, We will see each other again soon."

"I love you Ma, so much," I said, tears pooling in my eyes, I cast a look back at my mother once more before running to my parents room and moving the rug, sure enough there was a trapdoor there. I quickly opened the door and got inside, I pulled the door closed and moved the rug back with my magic. Afterwards I stopped and took in my surroundings for a moment. The trapdoor led to an underground room I never knew was here until now. There were blankets, pillows, water and food, and a few things I liked as well as some photos of me, Ma, and Pa. I grabbed a couple of the blankets and curled up against the pillows as I waited. It was quiet for a few moments before I heard the wooden door that led into our house being broken down and the screams of my mother before everything went silent once more. Tears started flowing down my face as noiseless sobs escaped my mouth. I could hear pounding footsteps coming from various parts of the house and things being smashed and broken but after a while those noises faded as well and I was left in complete and utter silence.

I'm not sure how long I had stayed in that little underground room but after what felt like forever I heard footsteps echo in the house once more as they came running towards my parents room. Panic spiked in me as I heard the carpet being moved and the door above me being opened. I was ready to fight until I saw my aunt's face come into view. I sat there frozen for a moment before relief washed over me. Tears filled my eyes as I flung myself into my aunt's warm embrace. She held me in her embrace as tears streamed down my face, staining her clothes wet as she calmed me down a bit. After a bit I pulled back a bit and looked up at my aunt.

"Where's Ma and Pa.." I asked, a sickening pit settling in my stomach already knowing the answer but hoping I was wrong. I saw the way my aunt's face paled as she bit back tears, I knew then that my answer had been correct. My vision went blurry with tears again. "I'm not going to see Ma and Pa again am I..." I said, my voice cracking.

"Oh hunny, I'm so sorry." My aunt said, her own voice wavering. She took me back into her embrace again as tears stained my cheeks once more. "Why did this have to happen, they didnt do anything wrong. Ma said I would see them again." I sobbed as I clung to my aunt. "I know sweet girl, none of you deserved this. But I'm here for you now, your uncle and I will take care of you from now on, if that's what you want of course." My aunt said to me, "I want to go with you.'' I mumbled.

I felt my aunt gently wrap her arms under my legs and lift me up so she could carry me. I buried my head into her shoulder as she walked through the house, I could see broken glass everywhere, frames were shattered and pictures and other small things littered the entire house. As we neared the kitchen I smelled the blood before I saw it. The sight made me sick to my stomach and the image would forever be ingrained in my mind. I saw the blood pooling from my mothers body as we passed. I couldn't see my mothers entire body as it was covered by the wall that separated the kitchen from the living area, but I could see that the bottom part of her beautiful white dress was stained a dark crimson red. It was a similar sight outside the house, I saw the blood but my aunt shielded me from seeing the rest. It was hard enough seeing my mothers body, I didn't need to see the lifeless body of my father laying on the ground with a gunshot wound in his chest. As we got further away from the house exhaustion crept up on me and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up again I was at my aunt and uncle's house in the spare bedroom I always used when I stayed over. I sat up in bed and noticed a bag off to the side that contained some things from my old house. It was bittersweet as I looked through the bag and put things away. After I was done unpacking I changed into a hoodie and shorts and walked downstairs to where my aunt and uncle were sitting at the table talking. When they saw me they stopped talking and looked over at me. "How are you doing sweetie?" my uncle asked me as I walked over to him and gave him a hug. "Better, thank you both for letting me stay here." I muttered.

"Of course my dear, your family and we care about you, you are always welcome here. And from now on, this will be your home." my uncle told me with a sweet smile on his face. "Is it ok if I go for a small walk, I won't go far, I just want a bit of fresh air." I asked. "Sure, we're far enough back into the forest that it's safe for you to be outside right now." My aunt said sweetly as I gave her a small smile. I walked out the back door into the aches of land and forest my aunt and uncle owned. I never understood where they got the money for the land, and why they wanted it all, but I didn't mind. I walked for a little bit before settling down by one of the Willow trees that was near the forest area. I sat there for a while with my eyes closed before opening them and seeing a blue butterfly flying near me, an orange one following soon after. A smile warmed my face as I remembered what my parents had told me a while back. "If there is ever a time when we are not with you, we will come back as blue and orange butterflies so you know we are always with you." my mother had told me, I watched as the butterflies flew around me a couple times before flying off into the endless blue sky. I knew it was a sign that my parents were with me even now, and it brought comfort to me knowing that.

For the next few months I stayed with my aunt and uncle as I recovered from everything. A few months after I had started living with my aunt and uncle I discovered he had once been an assassin and was training kids around my age to become assassins themselves. I approached him later that day wanting him to train me. He wasn't sure about it at first, but after talking to him about why I wanted to do this, he agreed. "I want to be able to repay the royal family for everything they did to me, it's only fair." I had said, to which my uncle laughed and agreed to train me. "You realize that once you start this, there is no turning back, right?" my uncle asked. "I know, but I've made my choice, and I'm going to stick with it." I said with a smile. "That's my girl." my uncle said with a smirk as he placed his arm around my shoulder and led me to the training grounds to show me around