Of Fire And Flame [On-hold]

Chapter 1

The silence here was refreshing. Pure and undisturbed, unlike home.The sky looks so beautiful in the high branch of a tree. I close my eyes silently savoring the moment. I dread the moment when the bells toll, indicating that it was 6pm and time to go home.

The town below me was buzzing. I bit my lip thoughtfully.

Should I go home earlier?

Parents shout as they call out to their playing children. A horn sounded and my blood ran cold. I quickly let myself down. Everyone was gathering at the town square.

"It has come again.. " the town head says quietly. " The choosing."

16 year olds had grim looks in their face. I had a straight face on.

Every 2 years a four sixteen year-olds go missing. Never to be seen again. Enraged parents stormed the forest around, I but it was a foolish task, only few came back alive.

"All those who are 17 years or older will guard the houses of those who are 16. Quickly to your houses. "

Lucky me! I was turning 16 tomorrow.
But, I had never been special.

Shuffling and faint whispers were heard from those who were rushing to go home.

The choosing chose only the odd ones out. This year it was Jess, Reema, Keifer and Harold. I was nearly part of the list but I never did anything odd, or so they thought.

I walked calmly toward our house near the edge of the woods. I saw my brother standing there. Running towards him I squeezed him tightly.

"Go easy little sis." The laugh that I missed so much came out of his lips. They had been training out in the woods for a year and I missed him badly.

"both of you get inside. You, Mady stop escaping your chores. " I sighed a bit and walked into our house. It was simple and sparse. Bland and boring.

The air was chilly inside, due to the fact that our windows were open. You could feel the unease of the whole village, it felt like a veil that covered you.

A piercing scream rang through the town. I instinctively ran outside and located the source pf the scream. Harold was unconscious on the ground and a woman shook with fear beside him.

An ugly gash ran from his left shoulder to his right hip. A cut was visible in his thigh.

"M-Madeleine come near m-me." I softly walked towards him and kneeled. It was impossible, i could not staunch the bleeding. My hands were dyed red.

"You have such pretty blue eyes. Look at them with t-those cold e-eyes of yours when you kill them. " his bloodied hand grazed lightly against my cheek. And his hand went limp.

"Madeleine. Get out of there." I glanced back to see my brother with a stone cold face. It started raining and the blood was washed off my hands.

I passed by closed doors and windows. Scared faces peering out each one of them. My fate was sealed and we all knew it.

~♥~

My wet red hair stuck to my back and I started folding the clothes I wore that day. It was starting to get boring. I finished school 2 years early and needed to go to an expensive school to continue my education.

My hands trailed over the pocket of my dress as I felt something hard inside it.

"Aish"

I pulled out a soggy piece of paper. It was wrapped around a pure red gem pendant. My eyes widened at the sight of such a precious gem. It was rare for a beautiful gem this size just given away.

The only time I saw a gem this big was when merchants came to us a day before the twelfth month starts. They were asked how they got here, the only answer a smile and then they were gone the next day. The gems were always too expensive for us to afford.

Our family was poor. We were orphans. My eldest sibling ,who is older than me by 7 years, Nicholas is going to a school for hunters to learn and when he graduates, hopefully, support us. My second eldest sibling, older than me by 5 years, Saya dropped out of school at the age of 14 to help around the house and cook.

Me? As i told you I already finished all the average school work and needed to go to a prestigious school for snobby, rich, brats.

My parents were both gone. My mom died when i was 2 and my dad disappeared when I was 9.

I sighed at my tragic life. I chilled at what Harold said earlier that evening.
I slipped into my bed and gazed out at the human figures holding torches guarding around 20 houses or so.

Sleep was a heavenly feeling for me. Escaping the harsh reality and falling into a blissful numbness.

~♥~

'beautiful eyes... look... kill.'

Pain erupts in my right arm. And I look to see. Blood.

Wonderfully crimson and shining.

Two red eyes look at me from the darkness. They seem to get bigger until they swallow me.

A/N

Hey I rewrote the book and currently put this on-hold due to some stuff