Blood Red Rose (Short Story)

Blood Red Rose

The two armies clash swords in the Valley of the Damned. Bloodshed, unlike any seen before, is being spilled as an unending rage runs through every soldier on the battlefield. The stakes are high. The result of this battle will determine the fate of the lands: oppression, or freedom.

The Blood Red Rose sits on her golden throne, watching the carnage from atop a nearby rocky hill. Her breathing is shallow; she runs her hands through every inch of her body as an insatiable urge overwhelms her with the desire to fill the emptiness that takes a hold of her.

She hears the sound of clattering metal approach from behind. The red haired man, wearing a full body of armor, puts his arm across his heart and kneels. "My lady, I bring news from the battlefield. It seems two small groups have splintered off the main army and they head this way from opposite directions."

The Blood Red Rose stands and turns in annoyance at having been disturbed. "Why won't they die already? Their deaths would have been quicker if they'd stayed with the main group. Now we'll just have to show them a slow painful death. Gather your men and deal with the first group. I'll deal with the other one."

"Yes, my lady." The red haired man acknowledges her command and turns to leave.

"We don't have many men to spare. You'll surely die, you know that right?" The Blood Red Rose tests him, for she knows he is fully aware of the situation. His resolve is what she wants to see.

He turns to face her, knowing it may very well be the last time he sets his eyes upon the greatest beauty ever known to man, the crown of all creation. "It matters not what happens to me. You are our goddess and we will follow your orders till the end."

She smiles, accepting the answer he has given her. "I expect no less. Go on, I bless you."

People are weak, easily succumbed to the will of others. They are lost without someone telling them what to do, what to think, what to feel; they yearn to be led and The Blood Red Rose has filled that void, giving them what they desire. She used to be like them, lost in a world that had no meaning, a world that has taken everything from her. That is all in the past and now she controls not only her destiny but the destiny of entire nations. And she never imagined how much fun that could be, moving people as she desires, like pieces on a chessboard.

Countless kingdoms have been brought to ruin by the eloquence in her words, a lethal eloquence conveying a grandiose majesty her followers cannot help but be enchanted by. Men have groveled at her feet, unashamed to do so for they do it for their goddess, the one who deserves to have the world, the one who does not judge them, who has their best interests at heart.

And so the war is nearing a conclusion. The land has been devastated, but she will rebuild it the way she desires. Only one army remains and it is standing before her. It is time to eradicate the last remaining vermin.

******

Long before The Blood Red Rose took command of her armies, the war had already caused great devastation. Even the most remote areas of the world could not stay out of the wave of destruction, and that is where Tristan had lost everything. With his home burned to the ground and with everyone he loved gone, he vowed to get revenge. Lives were lost, but not forgotten, and even now he carries them in his heart, drawing on their memory to give him strength as he fights to end the war.

Tristan takes careful steps as he leads the others across the narrow path on the edge of the rocky hill. One false step would mean certain death. "We must make haste. The Captain and his men should be fighting by now."