The Monster Hero

Chapter 8 - Attack

I was lying down, thinking about Mom, when Bang!

Manu came running in to my room saying, "Sir! Humans are attacking the village! We must go hide with the rest of your family!"

I look around kinda panicked.

"Quick, sir!" Manu says, "Everybody in the castle is going there, even the servants!"

I look around. My gaze rests on Mom's picture. I rush over to grab it. Manu grabs my arm and shakes his head. I rip my arm free and grab the picture. I come back to where Manu is standing and we rush out the door.

We go through the halls until we get to the servant corridors. We rush through them to the secret bunker 10 feet below the surface. We rush through the door, and Manu slams it behind us.

Everybody in the room looks in our direction. I walk over to the royal family's spot. Manu stays behind, at the door, until I motion for him to come.

Everyone else seems to have the same thoughts as me. Get their main servant and the picture of Mom. Dad has the picture from Christmas as well. I wonder why. When I come over to the royal shelter, Dad does a count.

"15....16....17....18....Wait. Where's Elliott?"

I look around. No one else seems to know.

"Sir, I saw him run past me in the village. He seemed to not know where he was headed, because he went into the forest," says a small voice behind him.

He looks down and sees a servant girl with blue eyes, dirty-blonde hair, and light brown ears. She reminds me of Mom. She may not look that much like Mom, but something about her reminds me of Mom.

Holly is what her name tag says. Holly is....was Mom's name. But besides the name, she still reminds me of Mom. Everybody is talking, except for Holly and me. I'm still trying to figure out why she reminds me of Mom and why she is familiar.

Then it strikes me. She was that nurse at the hospital. Someone knocks at the door. Everyone turns towards it.

Everyone is silent, until Dad clears his throat and says, "Who is it?"

"King Moon! The siege is over! You might want to see the damage." Says a voice on the other side of the door.

Dad nods at a servant, who pulls the door open. There is a villager on the other side. He looks panicked and sweaty. Dad pushes past all of us into the corridor. We look at each other and rush after him.

When we reach the surface, we slam to a stop. Dad is just standing there, staring. When I look around him, I see why. The village is almost completely burned down. I look behind us. The left side of the castle is burned a little.

I sigh. For some reason, I hoped Elliott's room would be burned up. I look back at the burned castle.

Wait...is that the side my room is on? I rush up to my room. A quarter of it is burned. I look around. The side with the dresser mirror is burned. And the whole wall is gone. Luckily, I didn't lose much.

Manu rushes up beside me. He places one hand on my shoulder and the other on his knee. He starts huffing and bends over.

"Wh-What are we going to do, sir?" Manu asks.

I think about it. I go to the burnt part of my room and I look out to the forest. I see a trail of smoke rising from the treetops.

"We attack," I say with an evil grin on my face. "We attack."