Return

Prologue

"Run!"

Her shout was muffled by explosions from outside, but the urgency in her tone seemed to get the point across to the three...four girls huddled in a corner. They moved together to the back of the room, one opened the secret door to escape through and they were gone, the trap door swung shut behind them and it was as if they had never been there. She leaned more dutifully against the already barred doors as loud, powerful shouts came from the other side. Bracing herself she was silent, listening. This war had been going on for only a few months, but already the results were disastrous. Thousands were dead everywhere and it seemed people were just dropping like flies now. She let out a breath, a tiny part of her wishing she'd fled with the girls though the rest of her screamed to stay, to defend, to fight and to die if it came to it. Letting them down and allowing them to be killed just wasn't an option to her, the idea seemed worse than that of dying herself.

"One! Two! Three!" The doors were hit from the outside, the force making the wood creak and throwing her a few feet away. Shaking her head she got back up and pushed up against the door again, waiting for the next impact. Upon the third strike, she realized the men were using a battering ram to try and get through. And they soon would. Another hit sent her stumbling forwards with the boards splintering behind her. Her ears rang from the explosions that seemed to be coming nearer. The ram thudded against the doors again, sending her hurling, and an earsplitting crack followed. She scrambled up to the door once more and pressed herself against it to try and keep the beastly sounding men out, grunts and shouts coming from beyond the doors. A crack, followed by another and the boards began to give; the sound reminded her of chopping logs for a fire, they were using an ax! She kept to the doors, waiting in agony for the moment the boards would simply snap behind her. Hoping, praying that the girls were far enough away, she faced the doors and stepped back. She was ready to face the intruders when the boards gave way.

A torturous few minutes later, two of the boards snapped and a hole appeared between the two doors. She watched as a pair of axes hacked at each side, digging into the boards and then being pulled out to do it again. Frozen in place, she watched as the men hacked through the heavy beam she'd used to bar the doors. The tall, tacky seeming doors swung open and she saw the leg of one of the ugliest, broadest shouldered men she'd ever seen go down. She was the only one left in the building alive, the four girls hopefully had made it through the tunnels and were running to the safety of the forest by this point. There was a makeshift fort there they'd started working on in the early stages of the war, before it'd reached them. She thought of the provisions there and hoped the girls would last, knowing one of them knew her way with a bow fairly well.

Stand your ground. The only thought that now flew through her head as she watched this unfurl around her. Don't show that you're afraid. Her heart raced as one by one the brutish men began to file in, three, five of them. Then, suddenly, light erupted from the entrance! The men were sent flying into the building and she heard many cries of pain when they smashed against the stone walls or floor. A yelp of her own escaped from her as she hit the floor only a few feet away from where she'd been standing and then everything went blank. She felt lost in her own head, the pain had her reeling.

Her eyes fought to open, vision blurry and her ears ringing as she pushed herself up. Things started to clear and black scorch marks became evident on the stone floor. But why would they blow up their own men? Unless, unless another party has joined the war. She got to her feet and wobbled uneasily, gazing around slowly as her vision continued to sharpen. Her eyes landed on the silhouettes of slim, tall appearing people, she couldn't place male or female...yet. Watching the newcomers as they entered the building, her legs gave out under her and she fell to her knees. Clearly her fall had caught their attention though, since they started towards her. Like the stone all around her she fell onto her side, head smacking on the floor and a shout managed to reach her ears before the ringing enveloped her and everything began to fade.

     Fade away... To nothing... Nothing... But...black.

***

The four girls fled, the ground shaking as explosions went off behind them. They reached the treeline and the eldest started to lead the others to the second fortress, they'd all learned the directions. The safe house. She pushed a strand of black hair out of her face then turned to look back at the other three, "Are you three alright? We'll be there soon."

"Val, what's going to happen to Azalea? Is she going to be okay?" The smallest of them, Iriene, quizzed and the girl's expression showed everything. Terror. Worry. Valerie shook her head, she didn't know what would happen to their guardian. Only then did she realize that none of the girls had actually answered her question from before, though she figured that if they were asking about Azalea they were okay enough to make it. She focused back onto the path she was leading them on, ducking around a branch just before it smacked her in the face. The short distance was coming to an end, the small cabin-like shelter coming into view through the thinning trees.

"There it is!" Chloe called out, pointing with the gazes of Abigael and Iriene following. Valerie nodded silently and kept going, making sure the girls wouldn't find themselves with too many scars just from the walk. The trees started to thin out, opening to a clearing where the cabin sat. The four of them reached the cabin and entered without a word, Valerie checked around the small building before she let the others go much farther than the doorway.

"Okay, we're safe. we won't be able to stay here for long though. Maybe a few days at most but don't get too comfortable. Got it?" She turned to on the three girls as she spoke, eyeing each of them. Watching them nod she walked back across to a small closet. In it she found a number of thin blankets, rope, a bow and what looked to her like long, curved daggers, though she didn't dare grab them to find out. Hands shaking slightly, Valerie grabbed four of the blankets and handed one to each of the girls. 

"Now sleep, my guess is we'll be hunting for our own food while we're here. You'll need to be well rested and focused." Valerie tried to keep her tone light, knowing they all needed some way to find peace while the terrible war raged not so far away. All four of them curled together with their blankets, using arms to rest their heads on and each other for comfort.

"I hope Azalea's okay." The quiet words came from Abigael, though each of them would be thinking it until they saw their guardian again. 

"She will be," Chloe assured, "She's Azalea Wiltz."