Of Sea and Sky (development)

Rosemary's Backstory

FreezingPhoenixHP READ IT
also thank you for all the ideas and I'll stop being mad (probably)

(Rosemary and Livana are 7)

(Media section: Rosemary's bird)

***

"ROSEMARY!"

Rosemary stood at the top of the burning staircase, her stuffed bird in her arms and her parents beside her. The door was torn off, and the windows were beyond shattered. Below her stood her mother, arms outstretched.

"Daddy?" Rosemary looked up at her father, tears making trails in the ash on her face. "How are we gonna get down?"

As she spoke, the stairs creaked, a few of them collapsing. The flames only seemed to grow stronger, and her mother kept glancing at the door like she expected someone to come in.

Rosemary watched her father bend down to her level. "Rosemary, your mother and I love you very much." He said, blinking away tears of his own.

Rosemary tilted her head. "I know you do!" She grinned. "And I love you too! I love you and Mama and Basil and-"

She was cut off by her father abruptly picking her up. "Now, we're gonna play a little game, okay?"

"Okay..." Rosemary was a little confused. How would a game get them down the staircase? But of course, her father was very smart. She grinned again. He'd get them out of there soon.

"Remember when you said that you wanted to be a bird, like Basil?" he asked, motioning to the bird that she still held.

Rosemary nodded, and her father went on. "I'm going to toss you up in the air, just like we do in the backyard. You're gonna pretend you're a bird and Mama's down there to catch you. You ready?"

"I'm ready!" Rosemary answered, not quite understanding why her father was crying.

"Three...two...one...FLY!" Rosemary was in the air for just a few moments before landing in her mother's arms. Looking back up, Rosemary smiled at her father. "Okay, now you come down!"

But he didn't jump. He didn't run. Instead, he smiled at his wife and daughter. "I love you so much." He gave them a sad smile before his face grew serious. "Take her and run. There's another village not far from here." He said.

Rosemary's mother hesitated for a moment before he called down again. "RUN!"

And with that, a sharp crack sounded from beneath him, and the stairs collapsed.

Letting out a strangled "NO!", Rosemary's mother turned and ran into what was left of their now-burning town. Rosemary gasped as she saw all the other houses covered in flames, and strange figures running around with the other residents. Hearing a gunshot, Rosemary buried her face into her mother's shoulder, but she could do nothing to block out the screams.

They ran far away from their house, dodging other people and pieces of what were once homes. Rosemary tried not to hear the moans, the desperate pleas for help.

Daring to look up, Rosemary saw one of the unknown figures running towards them and raising his weapon. He fired a few shots, and Rosemary heard her mother gasp before they both fell to the ground.

"Mama?" Rosemary picked herself up, moving closer.

Her mother looked up, coughing. A few spots of red fell to the ground. "Keep..keep running." she said, wincing slightly. "There's a...another town not far away..."

Rosemary could only watch as her mother pulled a last, desperate breath in before she collapsed, motionless.

"Mama?" Rosemary called, tears filling her eyes. She let out a small wail, causing the person that shot her mother to turn back around.