Part 5
//It’s hard for me to remember a time when I wasn’t fighting. I know that most people wouldn’t believe that he lightning count could have done anything but fight. The most peace filled days were ones I spent in the Sanc Kingdom, but even then I was fighting. Fighting to break free of those thin lines of peace that helped keep the kingdom and my family together. If they didn’t have peace, they had nothing.//
~~ The noise. The horrific noise is finally dwindling. I fear that if I lift my head up it would cause the siege to begin anew. I don’t know how much time has passed; could be minutes, could be hours. All I know is that I can stay in this spot no longer. My body aches from the torment it received today. I fear if I stay in this position much longer I will be forever molded that way.
After
carefully raising my head to peer above the bushes, I survey the area looking
for signs of the giant machines. Not
seeing anything hovering around in the sky, I run.
Away from the palace, far from my family, forgetting my best friend.
I take the path through the forest, past the place where Mayle and I had
sat. I proceed deep into the heart of the grove where only miniscule streams of
light permeate the dense canopy. Soon
the trees become unfamiliar, as I had not yet previously traveled this far from
the palace before.
My
body aches all over as I continue away from the carnage, but I keep moving.
My mind is flooded with thoughts for everyone who was still trapped
within the battle, everyone who I’ve ever cared about could be dead at this
moment and I wouldn’t know. I
wish that this disaster had never happened.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to see my mother’s smile, to hear my
sister’s laugh, even to receive the cold shoulder from my father.
My
thoughts run aimlessly as I journey forward climbing over rotten trees and
ducking under branches. I try to
ignore the abrasions and the aching of my overworked muscles, but they keep
reminding me that everything has changed. There
is no turning back now.
My
mind kept me in such a trance that it took me a few minutes to even notice that
I had reached the edge of the estate and was now walking down the road towards
the Tinley mansion. I had always
liked the Tinleys. They rarely
visited the palace, but when they did they would bring me a trinket that their
son had brought home from his travels. They
told me that he would go from place to place learning the culture and languages,
finally attempting to instill pacifism on them.
With a burst of renewed energy I run the remaining distance. At the front gate I squeeze my body between the bars of the
protective barrier. Although during
these times that fortification would serve no protection.
I
make my way up the front walkway and porch stairs as the tears fill my eyes.
Pounding my fists on the front door, I scream for someone to help me.
After what felt like an eternity the door opens slightly.
I push my way inside and grab a hold of whomever it was standing there.
I don’t care who is, all I need to know is that I am not alone.
Strong
arms lift me up and soon I feel that I am being taken down a staircase.
I bury my head further into the man’s shoulder, tears soaking into his
shirt.
“Look
who showed up on our doorstep, Mildred.”
“Oh
thank goodness he got out safe. The
poor dear,” Mrs. Tinley pulls me out of her husband’s arms and sets me on a
blanket thrown on the basement floor. She
flips my hair from my face and examines my cuts, making faces at each one.
“We need to get you cleaned up before all that dirt makes things
worse.”
My
voice fails me, my sobs are the only sounds.
Mrs. Tinley takes me into her arms, rocking me gently and cooing in my
ear. I’m not alone.
I can’t help but wish that the person who was now holding me close was
Mayle instead of a woman I barely even know.
‘Oh Mayle, please come back to me’.
~~~
Even
now those memories still plague my dreams.
Every night it’s the same, the horrible feelings of loneliness.
I never want to feel that lost and alone again.