Thank you for taking interest in my story. Please review and leave some comments and suggestions to what I can do to improve the story.
Whitecliffe, 18th Day Month of Clans 1836:
"Milli, I'm home, how was your day love? What are the children up to?" Sedrick Hedsworth said arriving home from work and greeting his wife.
"My day was fine, nothing out of the ordinary. And as for the children," she smiled "They should be doing their studies." she mockingly yelled towards the parlor beyond the kitchen as she heard the children laughing. She gave a small smile and returned to cooking.
Sedrick crossed the back entrance toward the stove where his wife was getting dinner ready. He kissed her head and glanced to the doorway to see his 7 year old daughter Ava peeking her head into the kitchen. "Well, hello little dove, how was your day?" Sedrick said kneeling to meet Ava's smiling face.
She was adorable, and looked much like her mother. She had sandy hair and dark blue eyes as deep as the cool blue of Sedrick's Uniform jacket. Her long hair curled at the ends and had waves as deep as those upon the open sea. She had few of his features, the most obvious being his sharp angled jaw and chin line. Walter on the other hand was the spitting image of Sedrick and had his can do attitude as well. Walter had hazel colored eyes and shared the same jaw line with his father and sister. His hair was a brown color with auburn tints to it. It was wavy like his mothers and always seemed to be a bit messy. He was always in high spirits and making everyone else around him content as well. Ava, however, had her own little attitude. She was young but she was opinionated. She wasn't afraid to tell someone if she thought their opinion was stupid. But the most interesting thing about the girl was her thirst for knowledge. Her ever present quest for answers that no one could offer. She was incredibly intelligent, and even for her young age she was persistent on learning more and more. For only 7 she had a cunning that could match even the most experienced of rogues.
"Momma taught us about Bonecharms today, did you know that there are Bonecharms to make you sneaky! You don't even have to be a witch to unlock their secrets!" She said beaming with excitement. Sedrick gave her a hug and shooed her back into the parlor.
"Millie, we can't be teaching them that, I know that you grew up learning about it, worshipping it, bu... I hold a high position in Gristols army." Sedrick began, rising up and crossing the room back to his wife. "The Abbey would have a care if they found out that one of the Empires ranking officers was found to be a 'heretic'." He said with a sigh, this was not the first time they'd had this discussion and he knew it would not be the last.
Millie had grown up outside of Whitecliffe. The daughter to an unassuming Blood Ox farmer and his wife. Contrary to the Abbeys belief, not all heretics had been vanquished at the siege of Whitecliffe some had fled to the hills and made unassuming lives and passed their traditions down through generations. Millie's father had been raised opposing the Abbey and following the heretical beliefs that his ancestors not so long ago had been smite down for. Her mother the same.
Sedrick on the hand was of noble birth. Born in The capitol city of Dunwall, the middle child to Ernest and Clara Hedsworth. Ernest made his living as a barrister and Clara a socialite. His childhood was spent living amongst finery that few could dream of. But, he threw it all away for Millie.
At 18 he joined the Gristolian army serving under Emperor Euhorn Jacob Kaldwin I, he rose through the ranks and at only 22 earned a commanding position that relocated him to the barracks in Whitecliffe. That was when he met Millie. She found him to be the most interesting man to ever walk the earth, he fell for her as well. Then on the 20th Day of the month of Clans in 1823, one year after his move to Whitecliffe, the two had their first child out of wedlock. It was their son Walter, and not long after his birth the two formally wed. They had a wonderful estate in the city but Millie wasn't comfortable with a large waitstaff doing the work she'd been raised to tend to herself, so she watched their son and helped a few maids take care of the house. Then on the 28th day in the Month of Darkness 1830 the couple welcomed their second child, a baby girl named Ava.
From the outside they'd seemed like an ordinary family, perhaps odd that they didn't have a full waitstaff at their disposal, especially considering Sedrick's high rank, but that was written off to Millie's humble upbringing. What few to none knew however was that Millie was a heretic and would always teach her children not to fear the mysteries of the world and the magic plane known as the Void.
As Sedrick let out his sigh he'd embraced Millie, ashamed that the Nation he'd give his life for wouldn't give a second thought to his wife if they'd known her true beliefs. Millie relaxed into his embrace and rested her face upon the soft wool of his Commanders Uniform. She didn't think he'd ever be able to understand her insistence but she loved him for trying. She often thought how hard it must be to accept and love someone that worships what he was raised to believe was pure evil and a blight to the human race. But he did.
"I'm sorry Seddy," she began in a whisper, using the nickname that she often did. "It's just important to me that they grow up not thinking of my ancestors as monsters."
"I'm sorry it's like this." Sedrick said as they broke from their embrace. He was aware that there were people that worshiped the Void only as a means to an end, but he was also aware that that wasn't always the case. People could find comforts in the mysteries it held, just as people found comfort in the strictures, as he had as a child. If only people would be willing to accept differing ideas, ideas that challenged what was thought to be fact. But, he knew this wouldn't be the case in his lifetime, perhaps not even in his children's.
Sedrick wandered into the parlor after offering his wife one last peck on the cheek. The children were studying but rather than their maths or history they were hunched over Millie's fathers book on the effects of Bonecharms. He smiled and surrendered, at least for this one night, if Millie's family could live for generations mingling in a city full of overseers than he was confident they would be ok. He didn't care if he was labeled a heretic, he didn't care if he'd lose his rank and job, ultimately the only thing he'd cared for in the world were the two little people sitting in front of him and the woman that gave them to him.
"Ava, my little dove, could you help your mother set the table?" Sedrick said smiling at the girl. She gave a toothy smile and waltzed into the kitchen with her mother. "Walter, my little soldier, well not so little anymore!" Sedrick said with a laugh, in two days it would be his sons 13th birthday. He was growing up, and soon he could train in real techniques rather than Childs swords play. "I have something for you, son."
Sedrick crossed the room and grabbed a long box that was hidden in the linen closet. He sat it down in Walters lap and watched as his son carefully unwrapped and opened the box.
"Pa, I don't know what to say. Surely this is a mistake? Your first sword you received as a commanding officer?" Walter was shocked, the sword was quite valuable and he'd never wielded a weapon quite that fine before.
"Yes, my son, I pass it on to you. It's an early birthday present. I will be off tomorrow and would like to show you how to properly wield it. That is, if you'd like to learn of course." Sedrick gave a sly smile knowing how excited Walter was at the prospect of learning real techniques. He'd always wanted to be a soldier like his father.
"Of course, absolutely! We could start tonight if you want!" Walter beamed.
"Not tonight," Sedrick laughed "But first thing tomorrow I promise. Now I'm sure your mother and sister are done setting the table and I don't know about you but I'm quite hungry."
Walter marched upstairs to put his sword in his room and Sedrick walked back into the kitchen. Mille and Ava were sat at the small table in the kitchen, they often used this table rather than the large dining room. It was smaller, but it cut away the unnecessary space that would only cause for distance and lack of conversation. It wasn't what he had grown accustomed to as a child but for the past 13 years it had become his normal. Walter eventually found his way back downstairs into the cozy kitchen and made his way to his spot at the table. The family settled at the table and began to eat the Blood Ox Stew Millie had prepared.
"So, how was work today" Mille was the first to speak. "Didn't you say today was the day you'd be showing the barracks to the Royal Protector and Dunwall's guard captain?"
"Ah, yes." He said stirring the stew in his bowl before him. "I said I might be showing them the barracks, however it seems their mission is more dire than previously thought. I met with them but only exchanged pleasantries before they were off to meetings. I do hope they find some sort of aid." Sedrick sighed thinking of Dunwall, his childhood home. He hadn't been back since he was moved to Whitecliffe. The disdain his family had for his beloved was enough to keep him away. Still, it would be ashamed if it went to ruin.
"Do you think the Void would ever get crowded?" Ava spoke up, "you know if many people died at once. Momma says people are sick and that's why those men were visiting our city. I don't want to get sick." She was a very perceptive child.
"No, dear, the Void is large and doesn't exist as the world we know. If your souls passes to the Void as opposed to passing into nothing you don't physically exist." Millie said touching the child's shoulder in a comforting way. This seemed more like a philosophical conversation between two scholars than that of a mother and daughter. "The Void and the Outsider are nothing you need fear little dove." Millie's finished with a warm comforting smile.
"Oh I'm not scared, it's just interesting." Ava spoke with a mouthful of bread. She smiled at her mother and father. After this she remained quiet for the rest of the meal.
The family continued to eat Walter and Sedrick discussing a schedule to train and Millie interjecting that they could use practice swords all to Walters bemusement, what was the point in having a real and good quality sword if he couldn't train with it.
Ava in the other hand couldn't stop thinking about the Void. If people didn't exist there physically than how could someone live there? Was the outsider a person or was he the Void? How did people know anything about him? And as always she wondered silently to herself why it was such a crime to believe in a place that does seem to exist. She was so lost in thought that her mother had to repeat her name twice to get her to focus up and help clean up after dinner. For only 7 her mind fumbled around mazes faster than a rat looking for cheese. She was smart, perhaps even smarter than any child she'd ever met. She refocused on the task at hand and helped her mother with the dishes.
After dinner was finished the children played hide and seek it was Ava's turn to hide and she ran into her mothers library. She climbed the ladder used to get to high shelves books and hid in a cubby area that led to the attic crawl space.
She waited and waited but she never heard her Brother coming and right as she was about to flee from her hiding space she heard a gunshot ring out through the home. A moment later she heard her father screaming. She heard him screaming her mothers name through muffled sobs then it grew quiet before he yelled "Don't you dare, let him go, he's only a child." Ava then heard her brother scream. But not just any scream, it was bloodcurdling. The kind of scream someone makes while in pure agony. That scream would stay with her for her entire life time. Eventually it the shrieking sounds stopped and all she heard was crying, it was her father. She has never heard him cry and the idea of her strong father broken and sobbing shook her to the core. Eventually he said "That's all I have, you've taken everything from me." She felt tears prick the edges of her eyes but she wouldn't cry. She wouldn't risk a sound and listened as one final gunshot rang out and into the still night. And in a mere 10 minutes her family was gone. Her life as she knew it had ended.
Thanks for Listening
