Short Stories

Memories

"Red! We don't care about "if we had trained more often..." stuff so knock it off." Aerin complained. Red shot her a glare before Ashton replied.

"Well I mean we all could train sometime, he's not wrong. But we don't need to be as obsessive over it as him, so cool it you two." He snickered. Red started to admire one of his pistols.

"What do you think, Sky?" He asked distractedly.

"What?" She asked quickly, coming back to attention. Aerin laughed seeing her surprise.

"What's wrong? You've been zoning out for ages." Ashton asked as everyone's attention shifted to Sky as she became very interested in the floor. It was a few moments of silence before anyone said anything.

"It's alright. Just thinking about my family. Or what was left of it before everything I suppose. Kai would have been old enough to be nearing the end of his training as well as Eliza." She replied with a small laugh but the sadness was still present in her voice.

"Kai? Eliza?" Ashton questioned. Still staring at the floor, Sky hesitated as if to wonder if she could continue to talk. Instead she just nodded.

"My little siblings. Kai was around 13 when he died, Eliza was much younger than us when she had died. My parents, Ayden Sol and Autumn Luna, they died protecting them. When Destrain had attacked the kingdom, it was been a good day or so I thought. My lessons and training had been canceled for the day, so I spent it with Jayden. At the time she was my best friend. But we were together when guards had come running for me to tell me someone had invaded my home. I left Jayden in what I thought was a safe spot before running back home. The entrances were destroyed, things were on fire, walls were starting to crumble, slowly falling around me. I ran down some halls and found a trail of blood leading to the throne room. Hoping it was just that Eliza had scrapped herself and been walking without noticing. Hearing a scream in the same direction, I ran to follow the trail it had left. When I entered the large room, the carpet was wet with something. Following the sound of laughter, I saw Destrain sitting upon my fathers throne. In front of him was my family. All of them had been brutally murdered. A pile of my dead family while Destrain laughed. I haven't forgotten the looks they still wore, the emptiness of their eyes, the horrible amount of blood that soaked my mothers blonde hair red or dyed their clothes and wings blood red. Destrain had made a small motion upon seeing my reaction immediately and I was caught by two of his "friends". Yet Destrain thought it was funny to have me find him on the throne over the bodies of my family. I lost it all back then, especially my family and freedom as I was taking as a prisoner of a now dead war and Destrain made sure I had paid for everything ever done to his family." Red had put his pistol down long ago and Ashton was silently listening as Aerin watched Sky stare around the room avoiding eye contact.

"I'm so sorry. I can't tell you anything to help." Ashton started. "To say he was a bad man is beyond a understatement. We all have faced this stuff. Well Aerin not so much but the three of us have. It's alright."

"Yeah, the most I've seen is Ashton with that demon virus." She laughed slightly. Red looked up before smirking a bit.

"Well I would say training takes my mind off it but I know someone's gonna yell." He stated.

"Red! We don't train like you!!! Stop trying to force us to!" Aerin yelled trying not to laugh.

"I'm just saying!" He countered holding his hands up honestly. Aerin smirked this time.

"Yeah you wouldn't be saying that if I took out a water pistol now." She taunted. His eyes widened a bit.

"Please don't." He begged stepping back from her. Aerin continued to smirk as she took out a nerf gun and shot him in the arm.

"No but I got you anyway." She taunted.

"Run Aerin." Ashton told her as she took off running with Red following behind her. Laughing Ashton and I went to follow them.

"We better stop them before a nerf war breaks out." He said. I shrugged.

"Honestly I wouldn't mind. As long as they don't murder each other." Hearing Red yell at her for probably hitting him again, we sprinted up the stairs to join in the fun.