Disclaimer: This fic is mostly set in my mind, with some HP characters and references, which belong to JK Rowling (don't kill or sue me please; I'm just borrowing ideas!). Pretty much anything you recognize is hers. I may also accidently draw upon your fic idea, or another book/movie/anything else. This is unintentional.
The poem at the beginning is an original piece written by me for an English assignment. Please do not lynch me for my awful poetic skills.
IMPORTANT WARNING! This story is rated M. This includes some torture/rape, along with other mature themes. Please do not read this if you are not the suggested age, because some of the images are quite disturbing.
Prologue:
_
The still water of the lake: an open mouth to the beast.
The jagged silhouette of pine trees: the teeth of the maw.
The scream of eagles echoes among the crater, sharp strident shrieks.
The eerie whistle of the wind, a whetstone of on a saw.
The despondent scent of fear boils from the blackened lake.
The ash rises in the air, a reminder of the ongoing catastrophe.
The taste of freedom has long since been forsaken,
With only the bitter taste of defeat to accompany.
Old life and old love feel foreign and far,
A memory remains the only tribute to the joyful era long spent.
The desperate reaching of a lonely heart
Brings on the despair given in the last lament.
The scene was picturesque. For once, clouds fled the bright sky, and the moors were dotted with white patches of sheep. Various stone fences were found rambling in somewhat straight paths, and copses of trees littered the landscape.
For Siri, however, the scenery was wasted. The woman had a gaunt, thin look about her, and she jumped at every small noise. With the fifteen year old were two companions, a girl of twelve years, and a young girl of five. The three were banded, not with blood or love, but with necessity. Their lives ruled by terror, Fianna and Siri could hardly remember a time without the constant fear and hunger. The last of the trio, little Cadhanna, was not alive when people could live above ground, and she lived on what little could be found by Siri and Fianna.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, all activity ceased. Daylight had offered some safety to the trio, but the disappearance of the light reminded them of their disappearing time to find ample shelter. Scrambling across the moors, the girls began their arduous task of searching for a refuge.
Exhausted by their efforts, the girls found themselves hiding in the leafy branches of a tree, hopefully hidden from their hunters. With no energy or inclination to talk, the trio quickly covered all evidence of their presence and fell asleep.
In hindsight, Siri would have kicked herself. Normally the girls left a guard awake to be sure that they would not be surprised by an attack. However, the one night their diligence failed was the one night they could have used the foreknowledge of their enemies.
Dawn brought about the sight of a mangled shape lying prone on the grass and shrubbery inhabiting the ground. Upon closer inspection, the figure was a human body, mauled and tortured until death. Accompanying the gruesome sight were the hurried tracks of a young girl running with the speed of one defending her life. If a person were to follow the tracks, they would come to find another larger set behind the first, before coming across crushed leaves where a body fell upon them, only to be dragged off, unconscious.
A small scuffle marked the spot under a tree where another body was carried off to another person. The set of print of large men continued to a closed grove of bushes, where they spun around and disappeared.
However hungry the scavengers of the Scottish highland, none approached the spot where a girl had lived the last of her short, miserable life. The scent of torture and fear clung to the spot like a spider web to an insect, warning the other creatures of the danger of arriving at the small copse.
AN:
Hi guys! This is my first fic with a plot. I am anticipating that it will many chapters in the making. If ANYONE wished to be my beta, it would be much appreciated.
A few notes on Cadhanna:
The descriptions of Scottish countryside come from my week spent there a couple of years ago. Please correct this poor, American author if I ever write something that disagrees with the reality Scotland, or anything else.
This fic will probably contain mentions of slash relationships (between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman). If you have any problems with this, either hit the back button on your server, or keep them to yourself. As a bisexual person, I take any flames containing prejudice very seriously and personally.
I do not care if I receive a review telling me how much I stink at writing, as long as it describes where, and how I can improve. (that is not an invitation to regale me with rude reviews, but if your opinion is strong, who am I to stop you from stating it?)
The name Siri comes from the name Sigfrid, meaning victory and fair.
Fianna comes from an Irish myth of a man named Fionn, whose warriors were called the Fianna.
Cadhanna comes from the Gaelic cadh (warrior) and anne (eagle).
-the lone teardrop