Dodging the ever-increasing flames and clashing of swords, she ran for her life. Screams filled the night air and the burning of her village could be seen for miles; although no-one would come, it was an ambush and these people were here to kill them all. Her feet pounded along the well used paths amongst the blazing houses, her heart pounded in her chest threatening to burst, and her mind pounded in her head threatening to break her. Her tangled chocolate locks clung to her flushed face; only fluttering briefly every now and then as ragged breaths escaped her mouth.
"Anise!"
The girl surged forward at the sound of her mother's cries, more determined than ever to find her mother and escape from the inferno before the blue demons turned upon her. On she ran, skirting clashes of her people and the Woads, darting along the hectic lanes full of shouting and blood, her eyes scanning doorways and windows as she ran past.
"Anise!"
The call came again; strangled and urgent and the girl knew time was of the essence for if she did not reach her mother's side soon then she would be left an orphan.
"Mother!"
She could see her now. Smoke billowed out of the windows and doors of their humble household and the fire cast an intense light upon the surroundings. Her mother was desperately trying to fight off three of the Woads, her dress already torn and bloodied and her face twisted in fear and anger.
"No! Let-go of me!"
They were dragging her, and she was resisting; clawing at their arms, kicking, biting doing whatever she could to save herself. Finally her captors let go off her and she lurched forwards onto the ground before receiving a blunt kick in the ribs. This assault carried on for a few seconds before they tired of her screams and hoisted her to her feet; her head pulled back by her hair and her eyes fearful.
"These Romans are all the same, kill the bitch!"
At his words, one of the Woads pulled out a knife before bringing it full into the night air. The fiery gleam of the blaze glinted off its rough surface and reflected into the eyes of her murderer; a wicked glisten. The knife then plunged into her mother's neck; blood spurting from the wound and choking the woman before the Woad let go off her hair and pushed her forward into the mud so that the knife went in further still.
"MOTHER!"
Anise woke drenched in a cold sweat; her hair stuck to her and her breathing deep. It had been two days since that fateful night and the nightmares were haunting her. She had tried to save her mother but she hadn't reached her in time and instead had witnessed her death. She had fled the village before she'd been killed and had ventured into the woods before she finally succumbed to sleep, and she found herself now at the foot of a large pine tree.
Her body ached from her running and she moved into a huddled position before her fears finally enveloped her and her body racked with the uncontrollable sobs. She was now an orphan in all senses of the word and she had nowhere to go apart from wander the woods and the burnt remnants of her village. Finally calming herself and wiping away the tears that blurred her vision, she sighed deeply and using the tree trunk as an aid, stood in the lucid dawn of the forest. Her dress was badly torn and stained with blood and dirt and did little in the way of keeping her warm. Winter was setting in and it's chill breeze ruffled her matted tresses and flapped the torn edges of her dress around her aching and battered legs.
Anise steadied herself before taking a few tentative steps into the forest and deciding upon returning to her mother and saying her last goodbyes. She sighed again, her eyes were dark at the thought of her mother and a tear briefly rolled off her gritty cheek before she could stop it. She needed to keep it together and tried to concentrate on her surroundings to find her way back to her mother and the village. She had often played in these woods when she was a child and still remembered the signs to find her safe return on those dappled summer days; such a contrast to her life now.
It was not long before Anise stumbled out of the woods and started to pick her away amongst the litter of bodies and debris towards her house. Only a few days ago these streets would have been busy with children and merchants and now they were empty, save for the bodies and wreckage that lay amongst the churned earth and mud. No sounds escaped the houses as they usually would and a pungent silence held the air accompanied by the stench of rotting corpses and Anise found it hard to keep her composure as she slowly made her way through the village, seeking only one person.
At long last her forlorn, dark eyes gazed at the body of her mother; her face beautiful and ashen, her eyes sorrowful and her rosy lips slightly parted in a hushed prayer. Anise ran her deft fingers along her mother's tranquil features and bowed her head; her hair gently brushing against her mother's – the two intertwining, both the same chocolate brown, a reflection of the other. It was too much for Anise to take and tenderly she shut her mother's eyelids and quietly said her goodbyes before swiftly running through the village; her heartbroken sobs filling the air with a melody of despair and defeat. She didn't stop running until she reached the edge of the burnt houses and staggered forward, her knees buckling beneath her and body falling limply onto the hard ground. Tears stained her cheeks as she lay there, her dress floating gently in the chill breeze as the clouds gathered ahead, breaking the purple radiance of the dawn, and she whispered softly up to the heavens before drifting serenely into unconsciousness.
"Mother…"
A/N: This is my first try at writing a King Arthur fic and I hope it sounds promising. The knights will be in the next chapter (yay!) and I just hope I can portray them as well as some of the other King Arthur fic writers have! R&R please!
