Screams.
That's the first thing I heard when I regained consciousness.
Smoke.
The first thing I smelled.
Shock.
This is what kept me from moving or even opening my eyes. My head throbbed.
I had the distinct impression of movement. I just laid there, feeling the uneven bump of the wheels on the gravely road leading out of my village. I didn't move or even stir for what felt like hours, but finally the stench of burning bodies dissipated. I also realized I could no longer smell the sea.
My home land, Serelyan, was the country on the coast of the Kerakin Sea. I spent my childhood at the beach with my father. After the War of Many Years ended, there was what seemed like a moment of peace and tranquility in our land after war and bloodshed tore the land apart. In reality, that "moment" was 11 years. My mother died before I was even 3 years old. Apparently, "starving and trying to feed my family" isn't a good enough reason to steal a loaf of bread. This is the world I live in. Thievery carries the same punishment as capital murder: a bullet between the eyes. A single loaf of bread.
I barely remember her. I have glimpses of memories in my dreams. The only thing I vividly remember are her eyes. They were beautiful. A bright, deep emerald green. They sparkled when she laughed. They shone when she smiled. She could convey so much with just a look. The picture of her holding me that sat on our fireplace was taken on my 2nd birthday. The way I'm looking up at her proved that I adored her, so it seems unfair that I can barely remember this woman. The woman who suffered through 9 months to carry me. The woman who gave me her rations of meals for months and months because "I needed it more than she did". I remember how beautiful she was. Everything else I remember came from the mouth of my father. After her death, my father was a quiet man, only speaking when he saw it as absolutely necessary or as something important to him. My mother was one of the few topics he could talk in length about. There were nights I remember him sitting at his desk until the sun came up, writing down his memories of her. I could never bring myself to read them. I guess I regret that. I'll never have the chance now.
As the cart bumped along the road, without even opening my eyes, I felt my head spinning and lost consciousness again, getting swallowed into darkness I knew would be more comforting than whatever hell I was headed for.
Author's Note:
Hello, party people! So this is an original piece that I've been working on and I decided to switch some names around and change up the story a little bit to make it apply to VA. I've already got around 9 chapters written and the entire story outlined, so I know where I'm going with it. I know this chapter is a bit short, but it was kind of like a prologue to make you understand what type of world this is set in. Obviously, it's AU. So please, review, give me a fav or a follow if you like it, and let me know what you think!
-Shelby