Tales of Minecraft: The Curse (Remake)

1: The beginning

Swift's POV

"Swift, Swift, look at me!"

"I'm looking Fury!"

I laughed as the little girl in front of me swung from tree to tree, never slipping and not even noticing the twenty metre drop below her. She was very skilled, considering she was only four years old. She could already hold a sword, run faster than others her age and swing through the tops of the trees with ease. She swung up next to me now, sitting on the same branch I was on and snuggled up next to me. I put my arm around her and we sat there, big brother and little sister together, watching the sun slowly set.

"Have you ever seen the world Swift?" Fury asked.

I glanced down at her. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon.

"No," I said, puzzled as to why she asked the question.

"Have mum or dad?"

"No, I don't think so."

Fury sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm going to see the world one day," she said with all the determination of a four year old. I hugged her tighter.

"Yes you will. You'll see the world, you'll meet all sorts of people and you'll be the best sword fighter ever!"

She turned her light blue eyes and stared at my green ones. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yep. They'll say your name in legends that everyone will know!" I raised my hand and traced her name in the air. "Fury Richter. The best and bravest person ever!"

"With her brother Swift Richter!" Fury cheered.

We both laughed and talked of the adventures we'll have, the places we'll go, the people we'll see. The sun kept setting while we were talking until it was touching the horizon, signaling for us to go home. I climbed down the tree while Fury swung down in what seemed to be a not-very-safe way. Hand in hand, we walked home to our village.

In my dreams that night, I was running across the treetops with Fury. We jumped from tree to tree with ease, never falling and never stumbling. Ahead of us was a tree larger than all of the others. I somehow knew that this was our home, our sanctuary. Our fortress against the world.

"Swift, get up! Get up now!"

Mum's panicked voice tore me from my dream and I was almost instantly awake. Mum pulled me out of bed and thrust a large pack in my hands. I heard sounds of fighting outside our house and people were screaming. There were flickers of orange light that could only be fire.

"Mum what's going on?" I asked, fearful.

"The village is being attacked," Mum said quickly. "Put on your shoes and get your sword." She rushed out of the room.

I quickly pulled on my shoes and took my sword from its place on the wall. I heard Mum waking up Fury, who woke up fairly quickly. I stumbled out of my room, still slightly tired. Mum was putting a way-too-large blue jumper on Fury and strapped two small diamond swords to her back.

"Both of you need to run out of here," Mum said quickly, opening one of our windows. The back of our house was part of the wall around our village. Mum picked Fury up and put her on the other side of the wall. I went to follow but stopped.

"When can we come back mum?" I asked.

"Go to the cave in the far woods," Mum said. "I'll come pick you up after three days." She helped me out of the window and grabbed my hand. "Swift, look after your sister. Promise me?"

I nodded. "Of course mum."

Mum nodded, tears in her eyes. "Now run! Quickly!"

I grabbed Fury's little hand and started running away from the village. The sounds of fighting echoed behind us, making pictures rise unbidden to my mind. Fury stumbled a few times and I picked her up. "Put your head on my shoulder," I told her. "Don't look behind us."

She obeyed, burying her little face in my shirt. I carried her as I ran away from the burning village, reaching the dark forest. I kept stumbling over invisible tree roots and rocks, almost falling several times. I considered swinging through the trees but decided not to. In the dark, it could only hurt us. I ran until I reached the hidden cave in the forest. I put Fury down on the ground and pulled a cleverly disguised lever. A section of the stone wall near us opened and we went inside. The door closed when I pressed a button and a second later, redstone lanterns flickered to life. I put the pack on the ground.

"We'll be safe here," I told Fury. "We'll wait until mum comes and gets us."

Fury nodded. I went and sat down on one of the four bedrolls that lay on the floor of the cave. Fury came over to me and sat in my lap, snuggling up to my chest. I put my arms around her and rested my head on hers.

We sat like that for ages. Just a 10 year old boy and his 4 year old sister, alone.

Chapter in original book: 1