So Give Me War

By: iamCAMBRIA

~Prologue~

The sandy haired boy with bright green eyes stared forlornly at the crinkled paper he held in his hands. He hated wait his whole life to read this letter. Well, perhaps his whole life was an exaggeration. He had waited almost twenty years to read this letter, and now on his fortieth birthday—it was the time he could.

His hand shook and he forced his whole arm to still. Now was not the time for cold feet. His tribe needed to know what happened. Why, everything happened the way it did. He had been chief of his tribe since he was fifteen, and he needed to know why. Only four people could answer that question.

And all four of them were dead.

This letter was the key. For better, or for worse, it was his reason. It was his reason as to why anything that happened in his little old, tired worn village. Why there were stories of beautiful fire breathing beasts, but such magnificent creatures no longer existed. It was high time he found out. Ripping the wax seal, and pulling the folding open, he poured over the black ink.

Dear Tinder Haddock,

If you are reading this, then it means that you have come of the age that your father was at the time of the events that had unfolded. I can honestly say that all of what happened was entirely my fault. I could've chosen my reactions better, I could've tried to control those of my husband as well. But, alas—as you know, that was not what happened.

In my youth, I courted chaos. I loved being free, with no one to tell me what to do, or how to do it. I would take any path I could to take my freedom, even if that meant leaving people to stumble behind me. Of course, my way of thinking changed after an incident with my mother. I decided, that even though my freedom was important, the lives of others were just so.

As I grew older, I learned the ways of justice, and truth. My husband, when I met him and long through our marriage, seemed to personify these rules. I must say, that word of Northmen conquest is what changed us. We were king and queen of a country—we needed to do what was best for our people.

Meeting your mother and father during the war was as unexpected for us as it was for them. Together, we tried to bring an end to the fighting. Alas, even our people were too afraid to stop. The knowledge that dragons still exist was by far the worst factor. How could you hope to live in peace, when another nation lives, and rides on the backs of fire breathing lizards? You can't.

It was that fact, I believe, that decided the grim fate of the outcome of the war. And it is to my sorrow that I would have to be the one to give you these words. It should have been your mother. It should have been your father.

It should have been both of them.

But no matter how much I wish, I cannot change the past. It was fate that what happened, happened. I, more than most, understand the rules that destiny plays by. They may seem tempting and wonderful, but in the end—they can be tragic and cruel. I should have trusted my instinct when I first thought of this. But in the council of my husband, and of my own war thirsty mind, the choices made sense to me.

Now, when I look back, I can only see how wrong I was.

And for that I must apologize, Tinder Haddock.

Attached to this letter, is a compilation of memoirs, they belong to myself, my husbands, your mother's and your father's. It is the story of what happened. I cannot tell you it in person, as I have been banned from your tribe and by the time you read this I most likely will be dead—and, sadly, I do not want my own children risking themselves to deliver it to you. So there was only other option. Make a composition of the different memoirs.

I hope, you find this satisfactory, even if it is not forgivable. Either way, your reasoning is justified.

Fate guide you, Tinder Haddock.

~Queen of the Four Great Clans of Scotland, Merida of DunBroch