Golden Prologue Updated

Golden

15 years ago

Cyra laughed joyfully as she skipped through the field of grass in front of her home. The sun was brilliantly shinning above her, giving her the highest of spirits. Her long golden hair flowed behind her as she ran without a care. The smile on her face spread across her cheeks like a beacon of happiness.

“Cyra! This way. Come on!” her twin brother called to her from behind. She looked to him and smiled even brighter. She loved her big brother. Mother told her that he was only ten minutes older than her but he acted like he was ten years older. He was always there to protect her and cheer her up. He stood waiting for her, his dark purple hair spilling from his head in thick, short waves.

“Coming, Claus!” she yelled back to him. She ran to him and together they entered the small village that rested nearby. They hid between two houses and crouched within the shade of the buildings.

“But, Claus… Mommy and Daddy said it’s dangerous to go into the village,” Cyra whispered. He raised a finger to his lips and shushed her.

“It’s fine Cyra. I read about a village in one of Daddy’s books. The people are supposed to be really nice. Just watch. I know they will love you just as much as I do.” He gave her a reassuring smile and looked ahead. Cyra squeezed his hand tighter and told herself to trust her brother.

Just around the corner, she heard the sounds of people scurrying in every direction. People talked with one another in pleasant tones as they discussed various matters. She could hear the sound of children laughing in the streets. They ran with one another and screamed with excitement. Everything was so lively. Cyra could smell fresh bread being sold across the street and it made her mouth water. Daddy often brought that same bread home for all of them to enjoy.

She looked to Claus and saw his eyes full of envy as he watched the children play with one another. She understood how he felt. Although they had each other, it often got lonely during the day with the just two of them. When their parents went out to earn money for them, they stayed inside. They weren’t allowed to go out and play with other children. Cyra asked them why this was one time and got scolded for being ungrateful. Mommy told her to always cherish the things she had or else they would disappear one day and be gone forever. Cyra thought of this and felt a pang of guilt stab her in the stomach.

“Claus… I have a bad feeling about this. If Mommy finds out, she will be really angry with us.” she began to whimper and tug at her brother’s shirt.

Claus frowned at her. “Cyra, it’s going to be alright. Mommy also told us that if we stick together, we can overcome anything, remember?” Cyra did remember and could not come up with another excuse after that.

“Come on, let’s go,” he told her and started pulling her hand to follow him. She resisted for a second but then complied and tailed closely after him. Before she knew it, they were in the center of the town’s square. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. It was just as she had imagined. People bustling about their business and children laughing as they played. It was all before her and she felt complete joy to be a part of this wonderful place.

Her joy lasted for about five seconds and was brutally murdered when someone shouted from a distance, “What are those things?!” Her eyes shot to a boy around her age pointing at her and her brother. Other people began to take notice of Cyra and Claus. Their faces displayed variations of fear and disgust.

“Look at them!” people shouted.

“What’s that growing out of their heads? “

“Are those horns?”

“How disgusting! They’re monsters!” Cyra quickly moved her hand self-consciously towards the horns that had always been there. Were they really so ugly? Mommy said that they were beautiful. She said they made her special. She looked to her older brother to witness the sure terror slapped upon his face. Tears streamed down his face as his hopes were shattered by the horrible words of the people around them. Cyra started to cry when she saw her brothers face of pure despair. The peoples words seemed to muffle away and all she could her were her own sobs. She held tightly to her brother’s hand, her only source of safety. What were they going to do? They were trapped within the growing crowds of people. Each of them throwing angry glares and hateful words at them. Suddenly, a rock hit Cyra in the arm and she looked at from her sobbing to see the boy from before with a large rock in his hand. He threw it and this time it hit her in the face. It didn’t hurt, but it made her cry even more at the thought that these people wanted to harm them. More people started throwing rocks at both of them. Cyra covered her face in Claus’s shoulder, tugging at his shirt.

“Claus! They hate us! You said they would like us, but they don’t. We have to leave! Please, brother. Listen to me!” but his eyes were glazed over in a trance. He stared at the people, the tears he had shed were frozen on his cheeks. She shook his arm, hoping to snap him out of it but it had no effect on him.

Suddenly, a gust of air sent Cyra’s hair whipping around her face. She clung tighter to Claus’s arm. The wind grew stronger and stronger. The people around them grew weary, their eyes growing with fear. The wind came to a sudden stop for a moment, just enough time for Cyra’s hair to float back into place. Everything was silent, as if someone had put a hold on time. Then, an explosion of sound erupted through the square and the people around them were sent flying backwards. Men and women and children were thrown against the nearby buildings and most of them ceased to move. Cyra could see the blood flowing from their heads. It splattered on the walls and spilled into the dirt. The screams were frozen on their faces. She looked up to Claus and saw that he was blinking out of his expression from before. He peered around at the scene before him and then looked down at Cyra.

“Cyra. We should go now.” His voice was even and clear. She nodded up at him. He then led her from the square. They walked slowly over the bodies of the people. Cyra stopped only for a moment before they fled to look down at the bloodied body of the boy who threw the first rock. His eyes stared blankly into the clear blue sky. His crippled body laid awkwardly against the ground. Claus looked to her, pity in his eyes, and pulled at her arm.

They ran from the scene as fast as they could until they reached their house. When they got there, they rushed through the back door to see their mother cutting vegetables in the kitchen. She smiled sweetly to them in greeting.

“Welcome home, my loves. Did you have a nice d-?” she started, only to gasp as she saw the blood sticking to our shoes. The children stayed put as their mother studied them quietly. “What happened,” she finally asked.

Claus moved in front of Cyra. “W- We went to the village.” His eyes trailed to the ground as he said the words. Cyra watched as her mother's horror showed plainly on her face. Just as her mother was about to say something, a bell sounded off in the distance. Her mother turned towards the sound and put her hand to her mouth to cover her gasp.

“Quickly children! You must follow me.” She led Cyra and Claus outside to a hidden latch under the porch. She pulled at it and opened a door covered in dirt. She hurried the children into the small room inside. “You are to stay here until I come and get you. Is that understood?” her eyes burning into theirs.

“Yes, Mother,” they both answered. Cyra began to cry.

“There will be no crying. No noise what so ever,” she ordered. Her hand reached down and caressed Cyra’s cheek. “I love you two so much. Claus, you will protect your sister. No matter what happens, you must stay together.” She gave them one last look of complete adoration and closed the door above them, submerging them in complete darkness. 

Claus put his arms around Cyra and began petting her head gently. “It’ll be okay, Cyra,” he whispered. “Mommy will be back soon.” Cyra did her best to sniffle back the tears and nuzzled her head into Claus’s chest.

“Claus, what happened back in the village?” she asked. He stared into the darkness, thinking.

“I’m not sure.” He rested his head on hers. “I wanted to protect you from those people. I wanted to run and take you away from there but… I just couldn’t.” He shuttered as he recalled the memory. “And then I felt something inside me. It forced its way out of me and…all those people.” Cyra listened quietly. She couldn’t believe that Claus was the one who killed those people. But what else could have caused them to fly backwards like that? She hugged Claus tighter. She promised to herself that she would be there for him no matter what.

There was the sound of many footsteps coming from outside. Angry voices, like the ones in the village, broke through the cracks of the small door concealing Cyra and Claus. Claus let go of Cyra and scooted towards the door. Sitting up on his knees, he peeked through on of the small cracks. Cyra watched him sit there for quite some time until, suddenly, he fell backwards in surprise. He crawled back over to Cyra.

“Let’s move farther in, okay?” his voice was shaking. They crawled deeper into the underground room until they couldn’t move anymore. There, they waited. It seemed like hours had gone by. Cyra began to draw pictures in the dirt in front of her while she waited for her mother to return.

Just as Cyra was starting to feel drowsy, Claus took her hand in his and said, “I’m going to go outside and look around okay?” her eyes widened in disbelief

“What? You can’t! Mommy said to stay here no matter what!” she raised her voice but was still careful to whisper her words.

“Don’t worry. You saw what I did before. I’m just going to go see if it’s safe to leave. Mommy would want us to be brave, Cyra. Can you be brave for me?” He looked her straight in the eyes. She stared back into the large lavender irises. They were swirling with confidence, but she sensed a hint of fear hidden there. Cyra hesitated before slightly nodding her head. “Good. Now I want you to stay here until I come back to get you.” He placed a hand on her cheek, just like their mother did and smiled. “I’ll be back before you know it.” With that he crawled out of the room and slowly pushed open the door. He peeked outside for a moment and then scrambled out. He looked back at her reassuringly before he returned her to the darkness again.

Several minutes past and Cyra began to feel a bit nauseous. She wondered if he had found Mommy by now. Did the angry people leave already? The worry began to eat away at her so she decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a glimpse outside. Carefully, she headed to the door. Lifting her hand off the ground, she reached up to push the door open, but it started to move before she was able to touch it.

The door slammed open to reveal a tall man with bright yellow eyes looming over her. His skin was a deep purple. Black symbols covered every inch of his body. Between his legs, a long flexible tail swished back and forth along the ground. His long pitch black hair blew wildly, revealing large pointed ears. Cyra screamed and starting inching backwards, desperate to get away from man.

“Cyra!” she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the man call her name.

“How do you know my name?” she asked, turning around.

“There is not much time. Please come with me.” his voice echoed into the small cellar.

She shook her head violently at this. “No! Mommy and Claus said to stay here! I will stay here until they come back.”

“Cyra,” she gasped when she saw her brother appear beside the strange man. “It’s okay now. This man is going to help us get out of here. Please come out.” Cyra looked from the man to her brother suspiciously.

“But Claus, what about Mommy and Daddy? They will come for us, right?”

His eyes grew sad. “No Cyra. Mommy and Daddy can’t help us anymore. It’s just us now.” Tears began rolling down Cyra’s cheeks, but she climbed out of the cellar anyway. What she saw when she stepped outside made her scream in terror. The house was completely shrouded in flames. The pillar of wood were black and the roof was starting to lose its stability. The crackling fire burned high and send ash raining down on them like poisonous snow.

“We must leave now, Cyra,” the man said. He reached down, asking for her hand. She let him have it and he took Claus’s, as well. The world began to disappear. The trees in the distance faded one by one. Cyra took one last look at the village that she had once looked to with so much wonder and fascination. The village was plagued with the same flames as their house was. It roared high above the houses and turned the sky red. Cyra saw a silhouette of a giant red man in the center of the flames.

“You’re safe now, children.” And the world she grew up in vanished into nothing.