I giggled as I played with my doll and my brother, Maxilum, played with me. He changed his voice as he talked through the doll. The large smile on his face spoke volumes as he was normally so serious but it seemed that whenever he and I were together he showed a whole other side. At the age of nine, even I knew that was something to be treasured. Nia came in with the tea for my tea party and sat on the floor to join in with us, tucking her feet up so that her skirt didn't show her legs. We played dolls for a while then I stood up and placed my favorite tiara on as well as the pink tutu Max bought me for my birthday. Maxilum laughed as he sat at the table but on the floor as he was too big to fit into one of my chairs and Nia perched herself delicately on one of the tiny chairs.
"I am Princess Levana and I shall be the holder of this tea party." I said in my best imperious voice.
I placed several of my stuffed animals and dolls at the table as well then with Nia's help began to pass out tea cups. Max took his with a posh accent and waited till everyone had theirs before sipping it with his pinky out which threw Nia and I into a fit of giggles. As we continued to play we tried to act as ridiculous as possible which had everyone in a fit of laughing with tears running down their face as they tried to catch their breath. I was refilling Max's tea cup when the alarm went off. My hands let go of the teapot to cover my ears which caused the teapot to break on the floor and spill hot tea on my feet. I cried out in shock and pain which caused both of my siblings to begin to try to ssh me. Max pulled his shirt of and, after picking me up and placing me on my bed, wrapped my feet in the shirt and began to dry them off before letting his healing magic heal the redness and sooth the pain. The alarm kept blaring and it made it hard for me to hear or think but I managed to hear Nia and Max talking.
"I thought Ada had put the island on lock down; who are our visitors?" Nia asked
"I don't think they're friendly." As he said that the alarm cut off but my ears continued to ring.
As the alarm quieted it revealed worse sounds, the sounds of fighting and screaming. I yelped as I was abruptly scooped up and disposed of on my brother's hip like a rag doll; my brother was raced out of the room, with Nia following close behind. Magic swirled around me then centered on my brother's free arm as he called his sword to him. We ran through the halls of our home and towards the library. At first I didn't understand that we were under attack but it became apparent that there was trouble when several men and women I didn't know stepped in front of us. They raised sticks at my brother which then seemed to glow as they sent magic toward us. Nia's magic swirled up around us, creating the perfect shield as my brother continued charging forward.
My brother's baritone told me to put my face in his neck and I did as I was told. Soon loud screams filled the hall and something warm and sticky landed on me. My brother continued to run down the hall and we went around a corner before he told me it was okay to look. We met several others on the way to the library and like before muindor (Brother) told me to hide my face and I did. We were just about to head around the corner of the library when more of those men and women with sticks seemed to erupt out of the floor, smoke twisting and swirling around them. Brother had me turn my head but I was curious and peeked out, watching as my brother attacked the men and women while trying to keep me out of harms way. These strange beings didn't seem to die, if anything, they seemed to multiply; when Ma landed an attack they turned to smoke and two more would appear. Finally we got to the library but Max forced my face into his chest though that didn't stop me from hearing Nia's scream of 'Ada!'(Father)
"Nia!" Max called then Nia was being pulled into a one armed hug by Max. "There is nothing we can do for him. We have to get out of here, more of those demons will come and kill us if we don't leave."
Nia nodded and together they raced down the hall with me bouncing on Max's hip slightly. I peaked over Max's shoulder and what I saw burned itself into my mind. Father was stripped of everything but his loincloth and pinned to the wall, spread eagle, by what looked like silver poles. His head was bowed like he was thanking the goddess like we always did at meal time. Blood splattered his body, oozed from large grotesque slash marks on his body, dripped down the walls, and lay in puddles around the room. Books were scattered, torn, and burned to a crisp and there were broken pieces of bookcases, tables, and chairs scattered among the bodies that also littered the floor. Tears fell from my eyes and I didn't know that I was shouting 'Ada' until Max began to rock me, trying to get me to quiet. My screams turned to loud sobs which became hiccuping sobs before turning into whimpers. After a while my tears stopped but my eyes stayed wide as I took in the blood splattered halls and body filled floor. We were racing the way we had come and as I looked at the unfamiliar people I noticed one of the women were carrying several of my dolls in her arms and mixed in among them was Calla, my rabbit.
"Muindor, she has Calla." I said after tugging on my brothers shirt to get his attention after another one of those demons disappeared in smoke. "Why does she have Calla? Why is she taking my rabbit?"
Max looked at me then at the woman I was pointing at. A dark sound came from his lips before he sent a blast of magic at the woman who went flying backwards and smacked into a wall. There was a sickening crack and the wall caved in behind her, crushing her with the fallen pieces. my toys were scattered around and Max put me down for a moment to pick up Calla. As he did so more of those demons came around the corner. One threw a spell that admitted a pretty green light. I watched it as it came closer, hypnotized by the pretty color. Moments before it hit me, I was yanked out of the way and behind a wall. I continued to watch as the light shot past and hit the vase causing it to shatter and sprayed everyone with porcelain shards; Max stood in front of me, protecting me from the sharpnel. After that he picked me up and handed me to Nia.
"Get her to the escape boat; I'm sure the others would have headed to it by now." I heard Max say then he turned to me. "Be good for Nia, okay?" I nodded my head and he smiled.
"What about you?" Nia asked
"I'll try to buy you some time, now go before they come," Max said and Nia nodded then took off down the cleared hallway, Max following up until the stairs where he turned back to fend off those who had persued us.
We raced through the halls, Nia now the one who was killing those who came at us with those strange sticks. In one of the halls Nia set me down and hid me in one of the alcoves. I felt Nia's magic swirl around me then it centered on my bracelet. It glowed gently for a moment then turned back to normal. As she turned to race down the hall she suddenly froze mid-step. There was a bright green light and as I watched Nia I saw the light fade from her eyes before she began to fall. She hit the ground hard on her left side. The way her body fell made it hard for others to see me, hiding in the alcove. I heard yells then talking close to where I was hiding. A man with a mustache walked down the hall with several others talking about checking if there were any left alive. He waved his wand at my sister and cuts appeared on her body.
I watched as blood gushed from the wounds and soaked into the floor, heading straight for me. The man started talking and brought my attention to him again. I got a good look at his face and locked it away like daddy taught me to, so that I would always remember. Finally they moved away and I slowly peaked out, looking both ways, then shakily went to Nia. I shook her shoulder but she didn't move, I sobbed as I begged her to wake up but she didn't do anything. My tears soaked her hair as I knelt there and cried. The sounds off foot steps alerted me to the possible threat and I hurriedly scrambled to my feet and hid in the alcove again. A woman dressed in pink, and who reminded me strongly of a toad, stepped through the hall and stopped before my sister. She marked a strange board in her hands as she stopped by Nia's body.
"Such a pretty thing." The woman said in a sickly sweet voice and I watched in horror as she stooped down and took my sister's necklace.
The crystal dangled from the woman's pudgy fingers as blood slid down the broken chain and dripped off the end of the crystal. More tears streamed down my face as I watched the woman place my sister's precious necklace in her pocket then casually kick my sister to the side like she was nothing and walk away with a soft 'hmp'. Finally the hall was quiet and I peaked out from the alcove again and after one last look at my sister I headed down the hall, trying to be quiet. So many things were gone, broken, or burned and the carpet was wet beneath my feet, though I wasn't sure if it was water, or blood, or a mixture of both. As I moved down the hall my eyes widened as I can upon several bodies, people I knew and people I didn't. Blood splattered the wall and I quickly pulled my hand away from where it had been resting on said wall. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I picked my way through the dead bodies, being careful not to step on any.
Creeping down the hall I stilled when I heard voices then crouched down behind the table. A voice screamed and I recognized it as mama's. On silent feet I moved closer and looked through the slits in the wooden banister. The demons had surrounded mama were throwing spells at her and bodily hurting her all the while laughing and talking like they were at a gathering rather then in a place filled with dead bodies and soaked in blood. Mama was struggling against the men but she had quite a few wounds and it made it hard for her then she finally stopped struggling and just laid there in the circle. They dumped her in front of the mustache man and the woman in pink. They spoke to mama but I was to focused on mama to really understand what they were saying. I begged her silently to get up and fight them but she just laid there and sobbed. Fresh tears filled my eyes and fell down my cheeks as her screams filled the air while her body withered on the floor. For a moment her eyes caught mine and I watch frightened as another green light surrounded my mother and she collapsed to the ground as well, the life draining from her eyes like water.
I was too shocked to say anything as I crouched there just staring lifelessly at my mother's empty eyes. The shadows began to shift uneasily as the candles flames began to waver and flicker. Storm clouds began to swirl into being above the house then lightening struck down inches from the front door had once been. The blacks of my eyes grew to swamp the rest of my eyes. My sobs got louder though I didn't know it as my eyes stayef on my mother. The wizards were looking around then trying to find out who was causing the disturbances. After a moment a the mustached man and the pink toad woman left in the same cloud of black smoke while a few stayed behind to find the disturbance and eliminate it. The storm that was my emotions became bigger until I felt that I would die right there from the tightening in my chest. Then all I saw was blackness; I swam in an endless sea of it, floating endlessly.
My eyes opened and I blurrily looked around me but for a few moments all I saw was blackness then the stars were discernible among the black. The smell of the forest filled my senses though it was heavily laden with the smell of blood and smoke. Smacking my lips I tasted blood in my mouth and gagged. Sitting up I saw body pieces laying around me that looked as if some large animal had ripped into them or had been happily gnawing on them. My stomach rolled and I was throwing up before I knew it. Finally it ended and I took notice of the chunks in the throw up. For a moment I didn't understand what I was seeing but then my shocked mind gave me the answer. Human flesh. That was what those chunks were. With a scream I backed away and desperately tried to get away from it but my hand caught on something which caused me to fall backwards and into a cold puddle of blood.
Turning my head I looked into the eyes of my brother, Ivan, whose mouth was twisted in a grimace then I saw that it was only his head and another scream left my lips. I got up and ran, tripping over bodies and sliding in slick, cold blood. Tears blurred my vision as I continued running which was pulled to a harsh stop when I tripped over another body and smacked into a pile of bodies. They wobbled precariously then began to fall. With a shriek I raced out of the way just as most of the bodies landed where I had once been standing. I kept running, not stopping to look at the faces of those I once knew or at the faces of those who had taken them from me. I ran down the stairs but tripped on the last step which sent me tumbling to my hands and knees which caused me to start crying again. Looking up I saw my mother's body only a few feet from me and I crawled to it. Tears still falling down my face I laid down and snuggled against my mother's cold side, my arms wrapping around her frozen arm. Exhausted I closed my eyes and fell into an uneasy and very light sleep, tears still pouring down my cheeks.
A sound had me bolting awake. My panicked eyes took in everything, flickering around the room until I remembered where I was and that I was safe. Every breath I took was labored and my heart pounded in remembrance of the night of the massacre. Steadily my heart rate lowered and the sweat cooled against her skin causing it to rise in goosebumps. Reaching up I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sighed as I lay there for a few moments then I remembered that today was the eight year anniversary of my people's massacre. Tears filled my eyes but I viciously pushed them down and sat up then made my way to the bathroom to wash the cold sweat off and get ready for the day. Shaking my head I got rid of the last vestiges of the dream which always seemed more vivid on this day. Stepping under the hot water I let the night terrors wash away before cleaning the sweat off. I stood there for another moment then stepped out and dried off. drying my hair with a quick wave of my hand I styled it into a french braid then plated another area and twisted it into a rose before doing it on the other side of my head. Quietly I pulled on my black dress and clasped the only piece of jewelry I had been able to find of my mother's.
It had been shoved under my bed and had hidden in the cinders of their bed. The pendent was a pretty moonstone with diamonds and amethyst worked into the metal that that held it in place. I did my make-up and picked up my high heels then walked downstairs with an easy grace that came from both practice and my second spirit. Quietly I sat at the table with the family that had taken me in after I had been found on the island. The table was reserved unlike most mornings when it was filled with chatter about plans for the day or dreams someone had the night before. After a measly breakfast of toast and jam, as that was all I felt like eating, I headed towards the front door and to the docks, to the boat that always waited to take me to the island on this day.
Okay, so here is the rewritten first chapter. I am so sorry that I haven't updated but I have been trying to make this story better and am therefore going back and rewriting it.