Put back together

5. Give up

Trigger warning: Fire and swearing ahead.

Fire.

The city was on fire.

The castle was on fire.

The flames shone almost as bright as the sun.

Everything was burning.

The people were rioting.

Roman couldn't breath. He couldn't move. All he could do was watch as his home was destroyed right in front of him.

He needed to get back to the castle. He had to make sure his family was save. He had to-

But you can't.

A voice whispered at the back of his mind.

You have to go. You have a misson. Save the kingdom.

He didn't want to listen to the voice. He was about to dig his heels into Elysians stomach and ride back when he felt a hand grab a hold to his arm.

"Let go of me! I need to get back! Let go!"

"No! We have to go! I how you feel, okay? But we have to do this! It- You won't make it back in time anyway! We have to go." Patton stopped yelling. He sounded desperate.

"But-", he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Part of him knew that Patton was right. The other part was staring at the flames and was terrified that he would lose everything.

"You're right. But- I can't just- What if there will be nothing left when we come back?" Romans voice cracked.

"There will be. They will be working on repairing everything and everyone will be fine."

It didn't occure to Roman until much later, when the sun had disappeared for the night that Patton had been trying to convince both of them.

The small fire they had lit was slowly burning down. Patton had fallen asleep a while ago. Despite the exhaustion weighting him down Roman couldn't sleep. He had the weird feeling that they were being watched. It made a shiver run down his spine but it was better than thinking about the fact that maybe he didn't have a home to return to anymore.

The tree he leaned against moved a little in the wind. Except there was no wind. Roman slipped his hand into his pocket and closed it around a iron dagger. There were no monsters on this Island but forests always were strong magical places. He tried to remember if they had damaged a tree or plant. Anything that might have angered them. It was always better to be prepared than to be thrown around by a tree unexpected.

He came up with nothing. Maybe the tree had just moved without a reason. They sometimes did that. He heared a whisper in the air. The trees were talking. It was quiet but he tried to focus. Trees often knew things humans didn't.

"...second one down..."

"...lies...the two kings..."

"...the clock is running..."

Roman frowned. He couldn't make sense of the conversation pieces he heared. It sounded important. Probably some tree business. Part of him had hoped that he would hear something - anything - about what had happened with his family.

When Roman woke up again the sun was already shining through the leaves and a few birds filled the air with songs. He grogily sat up and streched. His back hurt. Trees really didn't make the best of beds. He supressed a jawn and realized that he was alone.