Ré's Sacrifice

Chapter 17 war

We all stared at him. "You mean we're going to kill them!" Charlié asked. "Yes, if we have to then we must". "But there are more soldiers than you could handle by yourself" Ebony said. "I will have Charlié to help me" Evan smiled. "I will come too" I said stepping forward. "No" Evan replied "you and Ebony must stay here, where you will be safe". "No! You will be killed!" I said. Evan looked at me. "How do you know?" He asked "we will dig a trench and hide there for days, ambush them when we're ready, Now come on Charlié". "No!" I screamed and grabbed his coat. There was no way I was letting him take my Charlié away from me. "You wouldn't take him! Please!..please..He has helped me through so much..I have already lost Amélie..I don't want to lose Charlié too.." I begged and cried. Evan stared sadly and apologetically into my eyes. His eyes were deep and behind the pain was hatred and anger towards the soldiers. "I will be alright Ré" Charlié stepped forward and held my hand then he pulled me aside.. "Please don't leave me" I whispered. "Don't you dare trust him on this, He will abandon you, He will flee to save himself". "You don't know what will happen to us, none of us do, now let me go so I can fight" He said. His voice was surprisingly rough. I let go of his hand and stepped back. "Fine..go then" I said. Charlié gave a last look at me before turning his back on me and leaving with Evan out the door.

I stood there for a while taking it all in. Then I could hold it all in no longer. I screamed and threw an empty wine bottle across the room. I felt so angry! I wanted my life to end. I didn't see the point of living anymore! Then I heard a sweet voice behind me and froze. "Ré? Ré? Are you okay? Please calm down..I'm here". Ebony..I nearly forgot she was right behind me the whole time. I turned to face her. She looked as worried and scared as I was. I calmed instantly. "I'm so sorry Ebony" I said apolitically. She wrapped her arms around me. "It's alright Ré..I know how hard it is" She stroked my hair.

She was right. Everything was so hard then. I had every right in the world to be worried. I had no idea if it was my beloved Parents who killed Amélie, I didn't know if Charlié would survive, I had to decide to help them fight or stay with Ebony.

We both sat down against a wall. At first we stayed silent. Then I rubbed my neck. I felt a hard chain around it. It took me a few seconds to realise what it was. My locket. That thing had been around my neck for 5 years. I reached down to touch the locket. I had forgotten all about it. It had kept me alive for 5 years. I pulled it up by its chain and looked at it. It was still in its fine shiny state. I smiled at it. I knew my Parents were inside it and for a moment I felt proud to be their daughter, then I remembered what they had done and my smile faded.

"What's that?" Ebony asked. I sighed and looked at her. "Its my locket..well..it was my Mothers but..its all I have left of them..". I told her. Ebony smiled. "May I take a look?". "Yes of course" I said. I took a deep breath. I hadn't opened it for years. What if the picture of my Parents had faded? Or disappeared?. I opened it anyway and was relieved that the photo of us was still there. "These were my Parents" I told her. "They still are Ré" Ebony said softly. I didn't reply. I just stayed silent. "Its okay Ré, I know how you feel.." She said. "Look..it doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that you, Evan and Charlié stay safe" I said. "Oh Ré..Is that you?" She asked. She pointed at the sweet 6 year old girl in the photo. She looked nothing like me. She was well dressed. Well-fed. Rosy and beautiful. It took me a moment to realise it was me. "Yes" I whispered and closed the locket. "I had a life a lot like yours when I was little" Ebony told me. I was suddenly very interested about Ebony's past. She had never told me about it before. "What were you like?" I asked "when you were little?". "Well..My Parents didn't want me, I mean they were too busy to take care of me, so I went to live with my Aunt, She raised me well and loved me for who I was, She let me have lots of toys and read me stories each night" Ebony told me. Then she looked at me and smiled. "When I first met you..I knew I had finally found someone to care for". I smiled back. Then a thought crossed my mind. I held the locket in my hand. I looked Ebony in the eye. "If anything happens to me, will you keep this for me?" I ask in a silent whisper. "I promise, nothing will happen to you Ré" Ebony responded. "I know, But if it does, if I die, will you keep this safe?" I ask. "Yes, I promise to keep it for you" Ebony said. We hugged each other and stayed silent.

Outside, soldiers were yelling at each other and people. I heard gunshots going off and people screaming. I began to tremble. Ebony held me tighter. "I'm afraid" I told her. "I know Ré, I know, but it's going to be okay, I promise" She replied and kissed my head.

I tried to block out what was happening outside. I heard explosions and children crying and I covered my ears and shut my eyes. I knew I had to be brave, for Ebony. Inside though I was terrified. It was all too much for an 11 year old to handle. At least Ebony didn't leave me. I knew she was the only one who would never leave me.

"What are you thinking about?" Ebony asked softly. I didn't look at her because I didn't want to see her reaction when I told her. "Death" I said slowly. It was true. I was thinking about what came after death. Was there a heaven? Or was there nothing? I hoped Amélie was happy wherever she was. "Do you believe in God?" I asked, mostly to myself. "Yes I do, my Parents don't, but I do believe he's real and waiting for anybody who goes to heaven when they die". "I believe in him too, Mama and Papa used to take me to Church on Sundays, we used to pray and hope for good things to happen, but one night, I didn't pray, and..I think that's the reason bad luck came upon my family and they left me" I said sadly. "No Ré, absolutely not, that is not true..Your Parents loved you so much, It wasn't your fault they left you..I think they had to, soldiers ordered them to fight the war and if they refused, they would be killed.." Ebony told me. "But they left me alone.." I said. "I know Ré.." She sighed. I cuddled up to her and after a while, drifted off to sleep.