The sky is pitch black, speckled with shining white stars. The moon is most certainly not full, but can still be seen. Its current shape is a thin, slick and pointy curved line; it looks like one could prick themselves on its points.
The village of Calton rests as it's as dark as the night and as silent as a sleeping mouse.
The slow creaking of a thin wooden door echoes through the wide, dirt roads that connect the community of houses, shops and everything one can find out near the woods.
"Why are we leaving Alister behind?"
"I couldn't wake him up...at least he will be there to take care of Arthur if he wakes up."
A mother and her son whisper to each other, not wanting to make any more noise than necessary. They quietly gasp, thinking they hear foreign footsteps. The mother - out of instinct - wraps her arms around her child. She then looks around and above, pushing her black witch hat further to the back of her head so it doesn't block her view. She doesn't lay her eyes upon any beings.
"Quiet love, we cannot afford to get caught..." The husband warns with a stern yet quiet and loving tone, grabbing the rim of his wizard hat and gently screwing it down on his head tighter.
"Yeah..." Their second son takes his side of choice, that side being his Father's.
Their dark capes of black, ocean blue, royal purple and a chocolate brown keep their bodies hidden, with their hats providing shade from the light of the moon and stars. Brown and mostly worn boots trot, dig into and scrape against the dusty road, headed down to the lake. The lake reflects the sky but gives it a mystical touch of fantasy to it. It's not a long trek, only a few minutes of walking at a brisk pace is needed. The lake is completely still and silent; it could be used as a mirror if one so wishes to. The family of currently four halt their march before their boots can accidentally make the water ripple.
"Go ahead Aeron. You can manage this." The mother squats down to her son's height, gently adjusting his own wizard hat that swirls to a point at the very top. Then she gently rubs his back in a slow up and down motion, providing more comfort for him so he can get into the right mindset.
The young boy looks at his reflection in the lake. He sees his bushy, thick eyebrows, his peachy-blonde hair that's combed over to the left which leaves the right side of his forehead bare. From what he can see of the back of his hair, the two visible soft 'bangs' make his whole appearance look gentle, along with his bright green eyes that look almost fluorescent. His skin is a pale peach colour that could easily reflect back light.
Tilting his head, Aeron looks up at the sky, before looking back down at the still lake. A deep yet silent breath he takes in, before breathing it back out.
From his belt, he pulls out a smooth and pointy stick; it appears to be a wand of some kind. He taps his wand against the dirt a few times, kicking up a bit of dust. He then points it straight at the stars, then flicking it downward at the lake. Suddenly, a burst of weight hits the wand which makes him flinch and crouches to the floor, just barely keeping his wand out of the water.
"Don't worry son; you can do it." His father rallies quietly, wanting his son to succeed.
Aeron crunches his face, changing it to a look with determination written all over it. With a single flick of his wrist, right up into the sky, the reflections of the stars that once lay on the lake are flung into the air; it looks like a display of fireflies.
Pulling his hat back down for a firmer grip, Aeron then looks up at the display above the lake in which he has just created. "I...I did it.." He whispers with a giggle. "I did it!" He jumps in the air, then twirling himself around on one leg with a hop to it. His family do their best to silently clap in praise.
"We've finally caught them!" A voice from afar shouts with a tired chuckle sound.
The family take a sudden turn to look behind them. There stand two adult male figures holding torches; the fire barely lights up their faces. One has shady brown eyes that make a perfect mirror for the sky, his hair is short, dark and curly, and his face a creamy olive tone if the fire doesn't lie, and his chin appears to have a short stubble. The other man has a chilling blue-green hue to his eyes that could paralyse you out of fear, the visible side of his face shows a small braid resting on his shoulder, with the rest of his blonde hair being very long, longer than some females even wear theirs, his skin tone is more peachy and bright when compared to what looks like his friend.
"You did a good job Kirklands, thinking you could practise your magic at night. And for a while, it worked!" The dark-eyed one jokingly chuckles.
"It's a shame for you that we can't take any chances. You will be burned as soon as possible...unless you stand down." The bright-eyed one continues. There is a lack of pity in both his deep voice and his glare.
The boys scramble behind their parents, shaking with fear.
The parents pull out their own wands, the mother wielding a wand that swirls to a pointy end, the father having a smooth one with a flat tip, but with the tight bandage in the centre it looks as if it has been broken before. "Stand back." The mother warns. "We will defend ourselves and our children by any means necessary." The tip of her wand glows a white colour.
"If you fire, your fate is sealed."
"Mummy...what are they talking about?"
"Burned? Are we..."
"We will be fine kids..." Their father reassures.
Running his hand across his wand with a quick and delicate flick, the father's wand starts emitting light as well, but this time, it's a sickening purple colour. "YAH!" Thrusting forward, a stream of purple light is shot at one of the men.
One of the torches falls and is extinguished upon contact with the ground, making the dark-haired man akin to invisible. He yells in pain and falls to his knees. To support himself, he forces weight on one arm by firmly pressing the palm of his hand against the dry ground, with the contrary clutching the place of impact.
"Julius!"
Julius lets out a pained cough, followed by a laugh. "Don't worry about me Conrad...I can live through this." He tries reassuring his still-standing friend. He begins shaking under his own weight. "Gotta...support the wife through another pregnancy, you hear?" With a sudden gasp for air, he gives in and collapses, head practically slamming itself against the ground.
Conrad's glare is like that of a hungry lion; out to kill. Sticking two of his fingers in his mouth, he blows out a whistle.
It echoes through the silent night.
It's as if time itself is frozen for mere seconds. No sudden movements, or movement at all.
Thunder claps in the distance, a storm is rolling in.
As if like a signal for action, footsteps of the town come marching to aid Conrad. They seem to know what's going on. Some carry torches that are doomed to extinguish, others carry rope, piles of sticks as well as sharp tools; intended for farming but can be used for something else...
"Just face it. It's all over. You've lost." Conrad folds his arms, not removing his cold stare from the family. A sudden gust of wind whips up, smacking Conrad right in the face. His torch goes out and his long hair it while it can.
"Get them."
The crowd rush at the magical family, giving little reaction time.
"Don't worry boys, I've- AYAGH!"
"DADDY!"
"HONEY! D- AIIIEEE!"
"MUMMY!"
Conrad watches as not only the downpour of rain begins but the slow, painful and horrific execution of the Kirkland family begins. The parents are stabbed in the gut with sharp tools such as dirty pitchforks and rusty rakes, rendering them too weak to defend themselves so they can't resist against anything, leaving them as mere rag dolls that can be tossed around with ease. The children are smacked around until they beg for mercy through their tears and wails.
The family is then tied up with roughly textured yet sturdy rope. Hands behind their back, legs kept together...what have they done that was such a crime?
Lightning flashes, with the thunder following.
The loud noise wakes up the redheaded Alister. His hair is unbrushed and fizzes out to the sides with a lot of loose hairs. The hair against his neck is short, thin and curls up against his skin. The top of his hair is a rather flat surface that spreads out; as if he never bothered to brush after wearing his hat. Surprisingly, his dark, thick eyebrows are neatly kept, the complete opposite of his hair.
"Ma..?" He yawns, looking around. The house seems empty, with his brothers gone. No one replies to him.
His eyes shoot wide open upon hearing the scared crying of his younger brother. Looking over at the wooden cot, Arthur has kicked away his blanket, and he's throwing his arms around. Soft tears escape his mossy green eyes, he needs comfort.
Jumping out of bed and tossing the blanket to the side, Alister rushes to the coat rack, grabbing two capes and two hats - One Cape being a rustic red, the other being a simple yet very dark green.
Turning his bare foot around, he runs straight to the crib. Forcing one side of the crib down, he grabs his brother and gently bounces him. "Shhh...we're going to go find Ma and Pa, alright?" Alister softly kisses Arthur's soft forehead, before putting the small wizard hat on him - The point of his hat is shifted to the side; as if part of it was squished. Alister's own hat point flops down to the side.
Wrapping the small green cape around his brother, then clicking it in place by pressing down on the golden button with a smooth rim. Alister does the same with his red one to himself, still holding onto Arthur with a firm and protective grip, fixing the way he holds Arthur to a supportive two-arm hold once he's done.
"Come on now...no noises."
Stepping into his ankle-high boots on his way out, he rams the door open as it hadn't even been properly locked. His boots crush the small pebbles made of mostly dirt, he runs down to the lake. Arthur doesn't make a sound, eyes half-shut.
Coming to a screeching halt, Alister digs the back of his boots into the softening ground. What stands before him is all the adults in the village, all chanting.
"No...it can't be..." His words barely escape his mouth, almost choking on them. He tries to pull them back in with a gasp, but it does nothing, for now. The words slither quietly in the wind and get drowned out by the rain.
Taking two steps back, then turning around to run the path that leads into the local forest - The Bluebell Woods.
"If I can just hide you..." Alister murmurs, pulling Arthur in close.
The heavy and panicked footsteps sound out through the rain, alerting Conrad.
"There. There's one more." He points in Alister's direction. "Take no chances."
The villagers rush after the young Alister, no questions asked.
Getting into the cover of the thick forest, the broad green leaves of the trees block out most of the pouring rain, as they bounce off of the leaves and drip down through small cracks where rays of light typically shine through.
Alister keeps running, his feet almost sinking into the softening dirt path of the forest.
He has no clear destination, so he lets his feet guide him through the woods.
Looking at the branches of the trees and near their roots where flowers and mushrooms bloom, mythical creatures of fairies and winged animals hide from the rain. Bigger animals such as unicorns take shelter in bushes. Most seem to be asleep, but some have woken up by the sound of the thunder that rolls in every minute.
"He went this way!"
The villagers that followed Alister are yelling in the distance, looking for him.
Alister holds back his loud breath, looking for openings so he can escape into the thickness of the woods and off the dirt path.
Eventually, his eyes glue to the ground before him. Blue flames flicker, curling in their flames to beckon Alister. "This way! Follow us!" They softly call.
Alister looks back, the footsteps of the villagers are getting louder. If he continues along the path any longer, Arthur and he are as good as dead. He fixates his eyes back onto the small wisps, and he takes a turn into the nearest tree gap, as the wisps lead him away from the path.
The wind picks up in both speed and strength. Alister begins to slow down due to the running making his feet feel heavy. The wind gently steers the wobbly Alister slightly off-course more than a few times.
His boots - now having sustained damage by scraping against and stepping over the floor of the forest - dragged him down to a complete halt and left him gasping for air.
The trail of wisps he was following end, as he sees no more. Just a hollowed out tree sheltering a few fairies, a minty green bunny with wings and a big, muscular green troll sits in the corner.
The fairies look at the weary Alister in pity; Alister looking back with eyes ready to snap shut.
Forcing his feet into the air to move forward just a few more steps, he makes his way into the tree. His knees give in, making his legs collapse.
He says nothing to the fairies but acknowledges their presence with a gentle nod.
From his arms, he gently shakes Arthur out of his grip and places the sleeping toddler on the soft grass, leaning in to kiss Arthur's forehead before pulling his upper half back up.
"I guess this means goodbye..." Alister mutters. One second his eyes seem completely dry, the second he blinks his eyes become waterfalls.
"You'll be safe here, away from all those nasty people in the village...they can't harm you here." He continues. He takes a deep breath before pushing against the ground to launch himself into a standing position. "Just remember...we all love you very much, Arthur...Ma, Pa, Aeron, Aidan and me." A smile grows on his face despite his tears. "E...even though you won't be with us anymore, we will still be with you." He turns one foot by 90 degrees, ready to walk away. He lets out a happy laugh only to be counteracted by more tears. "Just wait till I tell Ma and Pa! They'll be so happy you have a safe haven..." Using the back of his arm, he wipes away a chunk of the tears that have escaped his eyes. Now having rested for even just that little moment, he has enough strength to run once more. He turns around completely and runs out from inside the hollow tree.
"I wish I could stay with you...but if I don't hand myself in, they'll search until they find us both...one of us can survive, and they will." Alister mutters to himself, pretending he's talking to Arthur.
He runs back the way he came, at least he tries to.
Not watching the ground and just looking ahead, he trips over a stretched out root to a nearby tree, sounding out a loud thud upon contact with the ground.
"Over here!" Voices call out.
Alister pushes his upper body up, not bothering to stand. He's lured the hunters away from his brother; his mission is complete.
A small stampede of feet comes closer to Alister, eventually stopping when he can see a group of a dozen adults tower over him. He knows he can't fend them off. He stretches out his arms, raising them up from the elbows to signal a surrender. His head hangs low.
One of the adults from the small crowd walks forward, the ponytail he has thumps against his back as he moves. Bending his knees, he picks up the now harmless Alister.
The man can't conjure up any words to say to say to Alister, so he looks back at the group. "...time to head back then."
"Any last words?"
"..."
"Suit yourself."
The Kirkland family - all assumed to be accounted for - are tied up around a thick wooden pole. Below their feet is a pile of sticks and hay. The rain has since stopped and all is dry.
Conrad holds out his torch above the pile of flammable objects. One by one, he stretches out each finger. Soon, all five fingers are no longer gripping the torch, and it drops onto the pile. Nearby twigs set alight, with an intense domino effect as a further reaction.
Soon, the flames reach the family, and they let out their screams of pain.
Conrad's glare doesn't change. He has no mercy for these people.
As the crowd around them walks off, Conrad stays to watch. Arms folded, feet firmly planted. The scene before him reflects in his eyes. He takes it in, but not to heart.
As the flames flicker, screams of pain follow.
Back in the woods, the pained sounds of the Kirklands echo throughout. In reaction to this, Arthur wakes up as if crawling out of a nightmare. Forcing himself to sit up, he looks around to see that he is not in the comfort of his crib with no familiar face in sight.
The now worried fairies flutter over to him.
Despite the fairies, Arthur is unable to be consumed by awe or joy. All he can hear are the cries of his family. In turn, he cries along with them...unfortunately knowing what their wails mean.
