Ravaged An End of Days Novel

Chapter 22: Lauren: The Girl Who Fell for the Valkyrie, Part 2

22

The Girl Who Fell for the Valkyrie, Part II

Lauren

This is what I remembered from after the war:

The Fae warriors I had been raised around, they were the ones had gone war with the Vikings, who crashed uninvited in our land and went forward with their crusade.

The battle between our forces, and theirs lasted for several days, almost seemingly without an end in sight.

Each night, I heard their screams, and it haunted me, since I knew that at any moment that those screams could have been my father.

He had left me to fight in the war. He had left me to protect me. It was his duty to not only the family. But to the Fae Courts as well.

It was on the morning of the fifth day, early in the 1600s, when I finally found my strength. Using all of what I had in me, I went looking for my parents.

I had to know. I needed to know, and to see if they were alive. I didn't want to be alone; not when I was only nine years old.

Walking outside of our home, where the fires had burnt the ground and turned it to ash, I wondered aimless, still sleepy, as I tried to find them.

There were bodies everywhere. Bodies on top of bodies. The high-ranking Fae that had survived the battle, some were gathering the bodies. Others were gathering reports on why this attack had occurred.

There was one official, whom I could never remember his name, that saw me, and came over to me, seeing that I was a survivor.

"Oh my god!" He shrieked from happiness. "You're alive."

"Where's my mother?" I asked worried and confused. "Where's my father?"

He was silent for a moment, and I saw that he was trying hard not to cry. "What's your name sweetie?"

"My name is Lauren." I said sheepishly. I was still trying to figure out what happened. "My dad, he was called Cornelius. Did..." I broke into a small sob.

"Lauren," He knelt and met my face, even back when I young, and didn't quite understand the horrors of the world, I knew one thing, Kindness; and this man was that. "My name is Ja'von."

He was beautiful black man, even if he was Fae. It didn't matter. I found the world beautiful.

"Where is?" I asked him, still trying to figure out where he was. "Can I see him?"

"Lauren...." He said gently, trying to keep his own emotions in check. "He's...not here." He said slow.

"What?" I gasped from the horror. "No!"

Instantly I ran from him, as I moved about the city, looking everywhere and anywhere I could, trying to look for him. When I finally stopped, I was by the outer edge of the city, where there were even more bodies as well. Although I only cared about one.

His.

"Daddy!" I loudly cried. I constantly tried to wake him up. "Daddy! Come back! Please come back!"

"Lauren," Ja'von said after finally looking everywhere for me; he dropped to meet my sad eyes, that were full of tears. "I'm sorry, but your father died."

It just couldn't be true; there was just no way.

"I fought alongside your dad during battle," Ja'von started again, being very carefully with his words. "You know what he told me?"