The Crown of the Dead

The Fire of Midnight

The smoke, the smoke was all it took to tell, to tell the flames were hot. They scorched so hard and wood boards fell from the ceiling. Alice heaved so hard, shaking her lover awake as her bottom lip trembled. Raven sat up, grabbing at Alice as the smog rose higher, making them gasp and stumble out the room. The two women tried to get out, and Raven knew that it was no candle that started the fire that awoke them, it was no fireplace fault that caused this castle to become ashes. Raven held tightly to the girl in her arms, dragging her down the stone and wood stairwell, the two in their nightgowns covering their faces so they didn't have to breath more smog then they had to. Of course it clogged their lungs and made their throats bleed.

Raven scratched at an exit like a puppy trying to get in the door, trying to make it to safety for the both of them but by every minute the flames grew higher and ate more air then a fat king. Raven got to the lowest floor she could get them to but it was still quite high, get she had faith she could get them out in an okay form, or at least get Alice out alive. Alice seemed to be more of a priority then she did, at least to herself. Yet she couldn't imagine what they'd do to her if the angry mob found her, they would burn her at the stake. As vicious and medieval as it was, but people are savages, people are monsters and it couldn't be truer. Everyone remembers the great America, and the great fall. America, the richest country the face of the world had ever seen, yet it all went away so fast.

America The Great never kept its citizens happy, no free education, college, or health care is probably what set almost everyone but the richest citizens into extreme debt and poverty. America died in the flames of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, body shaming, and just general disrespect towards everyone that wasn't an old, white, bible thumbing, Muslim hating, racist, sexist, men. Old men like that ran that country into the dirt and six feet below the surface with dirty politics and blood money. Of course there were men that tried desperately to save America, a man called Robert Sanders. Oh that man did try but his effort went up in flames after a dirty politician did a campaign against him, making him seemingly disappear after election day. So America hope and spirit burned and so did Raven's great castle.

Raven grabbed her lover by the shoulders, pulling her into an empty study room, climbing over a desk to the open window. She peered over the edge, Alice in her arms, they glanced at each other and they glanced at the fall from the window to the floor. A leg would probably be broken, or maybe an ankle if they were lucky enough. Worst case scenario one of them would fall on their heads and die, or break their spine. So Raven pulled herself to the edge and fell off, as she did the weight on her lap lifted and Alice was pulled back. As she fell she saw a tall man with greying hair poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. Raven had to swallow back her tongue as the man watched her fall, and Alice screamed a blood curdling scream. Her beautiful pale skin peeling and melting off her bones. This memory would be so painful, this one would keep her up at night more so then others. All she could wander is what did she do to deserve this pain? Whatever did she do to deserve such a painful life like this; this life was a curse and she wished she could take it all back. A restart, a do over. Just to tell her mother that she loves her, her brother, father, the baby, and Alice all the same. Because everyone she'd loved had passed away and met a tragic fate, and she would too one day. Yet first she hadn't suffered this life enough yet, and she was too much of a coward to end it for herself. All she could ever do was feel sorry for herself and take her emotions out on others. only of course with the help of a mighty powerful blade.

The fiery soul owning woman knew what she would do, she knew what she must do, and that was kill. Kill the man in the tower that killed her true lover, and everyone who lead the rebellion, she had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, and no one to impress. Not that she was ever trying to impress someone, that's something she never even tried. Yet she knew that Alice wouldn't be happy with the direction she was going to take, but Alice knew her, and she knew what she was going to do, even though she wouldn't like it. So Raven passed out on the land below her, not breaking anything, she was already broken, but when she would wake up her body would ache like she'd broken every limb in her body and one cardiovascular organ, but she'd still pull herself up, brush herself off, and walk away from the horrific scene. She'd try to forget, and she'd try to hide away in the shadows, a repeat of the same damn war, but this time it would be so much different.