Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown

Part 4

     I wake up that morning with a serious headache and an aching throat. I reach for the cup of water on my bedside table and take several gulps before I get up and walk to the window. Fresh air soothes the mind.

     I sit on the long window ledge and face the river. The water runs harshly, slapping the muddy surfaces that surround it. It splits when it reaches rocks but meet again. It crashes against the grass and short trees that accompany it. The color is as blue as the sky. As I scan the river I see a red cape and curly dark hair that hangs over the red. She stands on the ashes and dead bodies that scatter the other side of the river. Her boots dig into weak bones that have turned a pale yellow. Dead skin seals the ground and spare limbs and organs hang on branches. Red smears over the rocks and the barks of the trees. Her cape is the color of that red, deep and dramatic. She turns around so I now have a clear view of her face. She looks towards the river then directly at my window. Audrey.

     "Samuel! Dress quickly, a traitor has confessed to killing your father. You must be there and give him his sentence," my mother says with her hand holding my door knob tensely.

     I turn back to look for the bright red in the midst of the dead but I am surprised to only see the red of dried blood.

     "I'll be there," I say.