I'm sure most of you know who this quote is from, but for those of you who don't, it was J. R. R. Tolkien.
Right now, my story is still a draft, but I felt the need to get it out. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Also, I created the picture using Rinmaru Games' Mega Anime Couple Creator, so credit goes to the creators of that games.
Prologue
She remembered that night clearly. Probably much more so than any normal five year old should. Her parents became tense and guarded in a way she had never seen. They told her to stay in the house as they left to join all the other adults passing through the streets.
Curious, but not wanting to disobey her parents, she climbed the stairs and made her way to the highest window. It looked out over the other rooftops to allow her to view the fighting in the training grounds.
For a minute, the large, powerful beast mesmerized her as it struck down dozens of villagers. Its angry growls, however, startled her and tears formed in her eyes. Orange and red licked at the corners of her vision, but unconsciously, she knew it would not reach her. Black clouds floated up into the sky, stinging her eyes and throat.
Another red, much darker, permeated the air as it radiated from the beast. This red was much scarier than the red on the rooftops and growls that she could hear.
The chaos was disrupted as another large beast appeared. She couldn't remember what they were called, but she had seen similar creatures in and around the pond in the park. A lone figure stood atop the huge creature, and she could see he was holding something.
Not long after, the figure disappeared, probably into the forest below. The second large beast left soon after, leaving no trace it had been there.
She continued to watch despite not truly understanding what was going on. Eventually, there was a flash, and the giant creature that had terrorized the village was gone.
She just sat at the window, hoping to see her parents make their way back to the house. She waited, but there was no sign.
She heard a knock on the door, so she scrambled down from her sitting position and opened the door. There stood one of her parents' friends. He looked at her with sadness, tears trailing down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," his voice was a hoarse whisper. "Your parents are gone, and they're never coming back." She was not so little that she didn't understand the concept of death.
A child's devastated wail joined the chorus on that early morning of October 10th.