Fable: The Lost Chapters
i. fire
He loved his sister dearly, in a brotherly way. She was always kind, helped others without asking any questions, and fiercely defended the helpless against bullies when they needed it. A caring, soft soul and a gentle aura hanging around her figure – he didn't want to see that – any of it – fade away.
He really admired her, aspiring to grow up into a persona just like hers.
He vowed to keep his older sister safe, whatever the cost.
Her dreams, no, nightmares, scared him, more than it probably did her. He always wondered why she was the one to suffer. She didn't deserve any of it. So now he was ready at night to comfort her, and give her a piece of chocolate to brighten her spirits, if only to ease some of her fear.
However, the day before her birthday came, it all changed. It started after midnight, when he woke up to her gasping in terrified sobs.
"Burning!" She had whispered, "All of it on fire!"
He decided to get her a big box of chocolates as a present. He thought that she needed it, since this was the first time he witnessed her actually waking up crying.. In the late morning, he runs around, determined to do good deeds to get those coins. When he finally collects enough gold, he goes up to the Trader, and gets the box of chocolates. It makes him excited, happy to make his sister smile.
He runs up to the small farming field where she was, traipsing around in the dirt.
She is ecstatic, voicing that she was pleased that he hadn't forgotten her birthday at all, like he had last time.
Then she refers to her dream.
He gets the chills for some reason. He tries shrugging it off, but the paranoia stays. His sister frowns slightly as well, but it is gone, replaced by a horribly fake smile.
"Let's go home." She says, heading for the gap in the fence. "Mother will be back any minute now."
He supposes that he should have expected something bad to happen, ever since his sister had that dream.
"Bandits!" A man runs from the pathway to Barrow Fields, but an arrow comes, seemingly out of nowhere, and strikes him in the back. The man falls to the ground, dead.
He is frozen for a split second, fear leaking into his system, but instantly reprimands himself. He has to protect his sister!
He's stubborn now, suddenly insisting to his older sister that she must hide, stay safe. She tries protesting, of course, but he is already heading off to distract the bandits that are now pouring in.
He looks back, catching sight of her blue orbs, full of concern, worry, and fear. However, she is hiding. It relieves him a little.
As he runs down the path, he sees everything in flames. He is more than a little scared, but swallows his fears, and pushes on regardless.
As he nears his home, roaring with scorching flames, he sees his father, dead, on the ground. Grief claws at his heart, and tears spills down his cheeks. The heat from the fire suddenly intensifies, stinging his eyes and singing his eyebrows.
He spots his mother, unconscious in two strange creatures' arms. He cries out, angry that they could kill her as well, and tries to tackle them down. As soon as he touches one of them, a finger brushing ice cold armour, despite being so close to the fire, the world spins wildly out of proportion, a blue light enveloping him.
He gets the sense of air rushing past him at immense speeds, and he briefly closes his eyes.
When the world finally steadies, he opens his eyes to find himself kneeling. In front of him is a red-cloaked man, with a sinister mask. The man's aura seems dangerous, and every instinct inside of him screams for him to run! That this man is a predator!
And, somehow, he knows that this man is responsible for the murder, fear and, fire.
This man is Jack of Blades.
ii. lost and found
Yes, another story. =P Sorry, had to get this out of my system. This will be a five-shot, if a short story can be called that. Please review!