The War of Sand

Prologue

Prologue

His cut up lip moved rapidly, eyebrows furrowed, tears falling. I couldn't understand what he was talking about.

It's important, right? My thoughts flitted by. It has to be, otherwise why would he be yelling at me so desperately?

But I couldn't hear what he was saying. I only saw his lips moving to form words that etched pain into his eyes. I tried asking him to speak louder. I tried as hard as I could. But my lips refused to shape out the words. They stayed still, dry and cracked.

My eyes felt heavy. I wanted to sleep so badly. Yet I couldn't. I understood that much. He didn't want me to leave.

A drop of salty water plopped onto my lips. He cried over me, stroking my hair back as he cradled my head in his lap. I badly wanted to reach up and wipe his tears from his beautiful face.

He grabbed my hand; his was warm and soft. He gave my hand a tight squeeze-

-and the scene change so drastically that I was left reeling. I found myself tossed about in cold waves as a storm raged on, thunder clapping along lightning to streak across the sky.

My stomach rolled with the movement of the seas. I was pushed under the water, my lungs burning with salt. I wanted to scream. I was so afraid. I was confused. What happened? I struggled against the watery chains, forcing myself up past the surface. I gulped in air, drinking it in greedily. Rain pelted my face, sharp needles blinding me. I fumbled in the water for safety.

Cold. Cold. Mommy. Help. My thoughts were equivalent to those of a three year old.

My head smacked against something hard, pushing me under once again. I stared up at the object I recognized to be part of a boat. Mast? Crows nest? Barrel? I didn't care, I needed it. I fought the water, my short chubby legs kicking desperately. Water poured down my throat, stinging. I reached out, trying to grab onto the broken piece of ship but the water was too strong-

-and all of a sudden the water disappeared, the burning in my lungs faded, and I was thrown onto the burning sand .

My world tilted as I fell, the sky filling my vision. I laid panting on the ground as I allowed the sun and sand to brand my skin even darker than before.

I heard laughter, a man and little girl while another man's voice filled my head with his beautiful tenor of a question, flitting through my brain like a little bird. Wait, bird?

My mind wandered as the brown bird flew up high, disappearing among the canopy of trees protecting us from the soft drizzle of rain. A soft breeze rustled the giant leaves. I laughed gleefully, twirling around and turned to a boy a few years older who had a mop of short black curls similar to mine. His grin stretched from ear to ear as he let another brown bird out of its tiny cage.

"Look at it!" He giggled, his sweet high voice causing me delight. I swiveled on my little feet, craning my head back to watch the next bird flap to freedom. As soon as it was gone from view, I tackled him down onto the soft, damp grass.

I cuddled close to the boy and he kissed my forehead, tugging on my pig tails.

"You got my clothes dirty!" he accused me. "Mommy is gonna be real mad at me."

"No," I shook my head vigorously until he forced me to stop with a tug of my black curls. "Only maid."

"Only the maid will be mad? "

"Yesh! " I gave him my brightest smile, happy that he understood. "Or Da. La." I stumbled over the governess's name.

"Dahlia? She'll be super mad!" he groaned, pulling me close for a tight hug that I gladly accepted. "Now she'll give me extra lessons..."

His voice faded away as new sounds filled my head. The cool breeze turned hot and biting, not refreshing at all. There was yelling all around me, a crowd chanting a word. It smelled horrid; filth and rot filled my sinuses. I forced myself not to gag.

I was blindfolded; I couldn't see my surroundings. Instead, I tried to focus on sounds but all I heard was the mob so I strained to clearly hear what they were saying: Penitence.

My blood turned cold. Oddly, I no longer felt the desert sun blazing overhead.

Oh my god.

"Penitence."

I suddenly realized I couldn't move my arms. I jerked, but they were shackled close behind me. My ankles were as well, only looser so I could take small steps. Chains rattled as I walked, the sound nearly drowned out by the mobs screaming.

Beads of cold sweat rolled down the back of my neck. That's when I realized that my neck was bared. My hair had been cropped short.

Fear. I was overwhelmed by that feeling. I was being punished for something but I had the alarming feeling that I had done nothing wrong. I was innocent. Someone had to have framed me !

I was rudely pushed forward, the angry mob cheering for my retribution. I was pulled up a step, the blind fold ripped off. I must have been in darkness for a while because the sunlight that filled my sight blinded me to the point of pain. I had to close my eyes for a good minute before I was able to open and see fairly decently.

I wish I hadn't.

In front me was a wooden structure, a tall rectangle with its short side laying horizontally. On the the bottom... there was a half circle cut into a smaller square. It was dyed a darker color, just like the floor around it. It looked like bloodstains.

Oh my god, they're going to behead me.

Terrified, I tried to run but two guards dressed in black armor-like clothing grabbed me, pushing me forward. I screamed. I don't want to die. I didn't do anything! They shoved me to my knees and forced my upper body down so that my neck was resting in the half circle. I twisted to the left and saw a flash. A man wearing a blank white mask walked towards me with a giant, shiny blade in hand. The guards pushed me back into place before I could comprehend what the blade was for, who the man was.

I started crying. No. This couldn't be happening. That the hell was going on? I was going to be beheaded. No way. No. This had to be a bad a dream. A really sick, twisted nightmare. I hadn't committed any crimes . Why was this happening to me? It HAD to be a dream.

Please tell me it's a dream.