Sorry it took me FOREVER to put this on here!
I've just been preoccupied with other stories at the present time...but I decided to come back to this.
Let me know if you want me to finish this or just send it into the "forget-about-it" pile
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PROLOUGE
Flames licked the sky and stained it a crimson red. Trees burned black before her eyes and the walls of her home burst into ashes. “Come now, Dara.” Her mother urged her, leading her by the shoulders while she held her brother by the hand. They wove through the part of the forest that hadn’t been claimed yet by the fire and moved as quickly as they could with a four-year-old boy in tow. She saw the frantic fear in her mother’s eyes as she glanced behind them every few moments, making sure that the other’s weren’t following. “Dara, move.” Her mother scolded when Dara stopped to gaze at the treetops. Her mother’s mouth fell open in fear as the leaves wrinkled and turned to dust right before their eyes as the fire leaped from one tree to another. “Dara, Michael, run!” she shouted and her children took off. Dara saw her brother slow and quickly took him by the hand. She heard her mother’s labored breathing behind her but didn’t dare slow down.
Smoke filled her lungs and fire danced in her eyes as she raced forward, Michael bursting into sobs, as his feet grew numb in the chill of the night. “Keep moving!” They heard their mother order but her voice sounded farther away. Dara glanced behind and saw her mother limping a few yards away. “Stop, Michael,” Dara demanded. “We have to help mama.”
“No, please,” their mother called, panic rising in her voice. “Don’t stop!” Hooves of horses pounded on the earth and their mother screamed. “RUN!” But they were too late. Riders appeared, trotting from the smoke like phantoms of the grounds. Their mother came quickly to shield Dara and Michael. “Please,” their mother begged, tears swimming in her eyes. “Take me, but leave the children.”
The leader stepped forward—a helmet with plumes of blue feathers attached to it sat a-top his head—stared at her with a grim expression. “You know the law, Sara.”
“Oh god, no!” Sara fell to her knees. “Oh, please!”
The feathered man fell back, disgusted by the women’s behavior. “Get to your feet,” a foot soldier snapped, hauling Sara upwards.
Sara trembled, tears staining her face a ruddy red. “Just leave the children,” Sara begged, but the feathered man would hear none of it. Michael clung to Dara with sniffling sighs. But as his mother was hauled to her feet again after she collapsed, he had rushed forward, arms outstretched. “Mama.” He wobbled, and Sara caught him in her waiting arms. “Please,” she cried, Michael clutching at her tunic. The feathered man hardened, and the foot soldiers exchanged glances.
“I’m sorry, Sara,” he sighed but looked none the wary as he pulled his sword from his belt.
“Oh, god! Lord Ashton, help us!” Sara screamed, yanking Michael behind her. The feathered man approached and leaped from his stallion, which bayed with anxiety. Sara was racked with sobs, her shoulders heaving. Michael hugged her knees, fearful and close to tears himself. Dara watched all with a mixture of terror and scrutiny. She knew her mother wouldn’t want to watch her children get executed but she just couldn’t leave her mother behind.
But at the sight of the sword approaching her mother’s neck, she knew she had but one choice. Making a quick calculation, she bolted forward, secured Michael’s hand in hers and raced off. She could hear her mother’s joyful sobs, urging them forward as the soldiers fumbled to catch them. “Run, Dara, run!” It was the last she heard of her mother’s voice before disappearing into the darkness with her brother.
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