QuirkyMockingjay
New member
The world was certainly a darker place in my eyes. The things I had seen...why had I been the one to witness them? Why had I not joined the corpses of the battlefield like all the rest of the people I once knew? It all seemed like a cruel joke that I was alive. I was only alive because of the aid of a valiant friend, not because of anything I'd done.
I find myself fighting back the hot tears that well up in my eyes as I remember my brave friend I'd known since childhood. He had always supported me, always. I would never forget him.
The air around me still has traces of smoke, it serves only as a reminder of the awful events that had taken place. Around me, the few sparks slowly die out, no more fuel left for them to burn. The cold, dark air seems to push at me from all sides, and I feel as if it will suffocate me if I stay here any longer. This place had been my home.
The enemy that had attacked us is gone. The small little kingdom that held so many memories is gone. My home was just an obstacle in their way, a simple stone that had to be removed.
I close my eyes to attempt to shield my mind from the awful visions. I didn't want to think about the blood-thirsty creatures nor did I want to think about the cries and screams, the cackling of fires, the sound of a kingdom in a loosing battle.
I walk through the ruins. The remaining trees resemble blackened skeletons of what they once were. The long branches create long shadows in the faint moonlight. The stars, a place I had looked to for a feeling of comfort, seem sinister in the sky. Ashes fly through the air like ghostly sparks of an ever burning fire. The stone walls of houses and buildings are stripped of all color, just a grey shadow of happier times.
Just when I think I can't take it anymore, my eyes catch on a silver glint in the ashes. I feel myself drawn to it. As I get closer I realize exactly what it is. Just seeing it there, alone and coated in ashes, makes me want to cry.
It is a silver band, a crown, decorated with a simple flower. Some might say it is just a crown, but to me it is much more. It represents the laughter, fun, the goodness of the peaceful times before. It was the crown I had worn as I had attended feasts, laughed, helped people out. It was the crown I had worn as I gave orders, trying desperately to salvage as much as I could from the quickly depleting forces. It was the crown that had fallen to the ground as my friend and I had been forced to retreat, the odds of survival slimmer every second. It was the crown I had worn as a queen.
Seeing it on the ground, I get the impulse to leave it there. Just let it stay there as a reminder of the fallen kingdom. Then I realize, I couldn't do that. As much as I want to let go, I couldn't, not completely.
I pick up the silver headpiece that had meant so little in the end. I had failed. It had been up to me to save the kingdom and I hadn't done it. Instead I had been forced to run just when my kingdom had needed me most. How could I ever forgive myself?
I stare at it in my hands for another moment. The ashes still coat some of the metal, giving me a sickening feeling. I try to clean the metal with the cloth of my robe as best as I can. I just stand there, in the silence of the eerie night, trying to come up with a plan, any plan. What would I do now? What could I do?
I look again at the silver crown in my hands. In the dim light I can just barely make out my own reflection in the silver. The metal twists and distorts my face, and after a minute of looking at the mangled reflection I am forced to look away. I had to move on.
I couldn't leave the crown here though. I hold the cold metal in my hands for a split second longer before I delicately lay the crown on my head. It feels wrong, it reminds me too much of the better days and the worst ones. Yet it is fitting somehow. This crown was left behind in the ashes as well, it was time for it to move on.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps turns my attention to the present. After so much silence the sounds seems loud and clear. I immediately equip my bow. Could the enemies be back? I cautiously make my way over to the source of the sound, careful to move in the shadows. A voice speaks out among the silence.
"Do you think there are any survivors?" I immediately stiffen. Survivors. Though there was something about the way the person talked, they didn't seem threatening, they seemed concerned. Another voice spoke and I listened again.
"This place is pretty much dead. It couldn't of been attacked too long ago, but we can take one more look around," the other person responds.
I creep closer, but I still can't make out the two. They appear only as silhouettes. I contemplate speaking in my head. They might see me as a threat, or try to attack me or worse. Immediately I realize nothing could be worse than what had happened here. I clear my throat and speak.
"They passed through here after making sure everyone was dead. Then they set fire to the forest. I only barely escaped. I am the only survivor I know of," my voice comes out soft, barely audible though little sound interrupts it. At the sound of my voice, both of the figures turn, with various weapons drawn.
"Who are you?" One of them asks, though he begins to lower his weapon when he gets a better look at me.
"I am called Quirky," as I reply I know I shall never again be able to refer to myself as a queen.
"What attacked you?"
"Strange monsters we've never seen around here before. They came in large numbers and quickly overwhelmed us."
The two share a look, and I am grateful when neither asks for a description. I was not ready to relive those memories again. They seem to be contemplating what to do with me. Finally they seem to come to an agreement because they turn to face me once again.
"I am called Cool_Col and that's Superstormfur. Both of us are in the order of the bards in Gondor. We may be able to take you there, it's much safer there than here."
I can only manage a nod. Such thing as a safe place had seemed to be getting rarer and rarer. I cannot stop the many questions from entering my mind but I feel something else as well. I was ready to move on, here was my chance.
My eyes travel around the charred landscape that had been my home. There was no turning back now. I was ready though. I turn toward the two people who claim to be bards, this could be a trap, a trick, but it could also be a new beginning. I am aware of the silver crown on my head as I walk through the empty silence of my home.
There was no turning back now.
I find myself fighting back the hot tears that well up in my eyes as I remember my brave friend I'd known since childhood. He had always supported me, always. I would never forget him.
The air around me still has traces of smoke, it serves only as a reminder of the awful events that had taken place. Around me, the few sparks slowly die out, no more fuel left for them to burn. The cold, dark air seems to push at me from all sides, and I feel as if it will suffocate me if I stay here any longer. This place had been my home.
The enemy that had attacked us is gone. The small little kingdom that held so many memories is gone. My home was just an obstacle in their way, a simple stone that had to be removed.
I close my eyes to attempt to shield my mind from the awful visions. I didn't want to think about the blood-thirsty creatures nor did I want to think about the cries and screams, the cackling of fires, the sound of a kingdom in a loosing battle.
I walk through the ruins. The remaining trees resemble blackened skeletons of what they once were. The long branches create long shadows in the faint moonlight. The stars, a place I had looked to for a feeling of comfort, seem sinister in the sky. Ashes fly through the air like ghostly sparks of an ever burning fire. The stone walls of houses and buildings are stripped of all color, just a grey shadow of happier times.
Just when I think I can't take it anymore, my eyes catch on a silver glint in the ashes. I feel myself drawn to it. As I get closer I realize exactly what it is. Just seeing it there, alone and coated in ashes, makes me want to cry.
It is a silver band, a crown, decorated with a simple flower. Some might say it is just a crown, but to me it is much more. It represents the laughter, fun, the goodness of the peaceful times before. It was the crown I had worn as I had attended feasts, laughed, helped people out. It was the crown I had worn as I gave orders, trying desperately to salvage as much as I could from the quickly depleting forces. It was the crown that had fallen to the ground as my friend and I had been forced to retreat, the odds of survival slimmer every second. It was the crown I had worn as a queen.
Seeing it on the ground, I get the impulse to leave it there. Just let it stay there as a reminder of the fallen kingdom. Then I realize, I couldn't do that. As much as I want to let go, I couldn't, not completely.
I pick up the silver headpiece that had meant so little in the end. I had failed. It had been up to me to save the kingdom and I hadn't done it. Instead I had been forced to run just when my kingdom had needed me most. How could I ever forgive myself?
I stare at it in my hands for another moment. The ashes still coat some of the metal, giving me a sickening feeling. I try to clean the metal with the cloth of my robe as best as I can. I just stand there, in the silence of the eerie night, trying to come up with a plan, any plan. What would I do now? What could I do?
I look again at the silver crown in my hands. In the dim light I can just barely make out my own reflection in the silver. The metal twists and distorts my face, and after a minute of looking at the mangled reflection I am forced to look away. I had to move on.
I couldn't leave the crown here though. I hold the cold metal in my hands for a split second longer before I delicately lay the crown on my head. It feels wrong, it reminds me too much of the better days and the worst ones. Yet it is fitting somehow. This crown was left behind in the ashes as well, it was time for it to move on.
Suddenly the sound of footsteps turns my attention to the present. After so much silence the sounds seems loud and clear. I immediately equip my bow. Could the enemies be back? I cautiously make my way over to the source of the sound, careful to move in the shadows. A voice speaks out among the silence.
"Do you think there are any survivors?" I immediately stiffen. Survivors. Though there was something about the way the person talked, they didn't seem threatening, they seemed concerned. Another voice spoke and I listened again.
"This place is pretty much dead. It couldn't of been attacked too long ago, but we can take one more look around," the other person responds.
I creep closer, but I still can't make out the two. They appear only as silhouettes. I contemplate speaking in my head. They might see me as a threat, or try to attack me or worse. Immediately I realize nothing could be worse than what had happened here. I clear my throat and speak.
"They passed through here after making sure everyone was dead. Then they set fire to the forest. I only barely escaped. I am the only survivor I know of," my voice comes out soft, barely audible though little sound interrupts it. At the sound of my voice, both of the figures turn, with various weapons drawn.
"Who are you?" One of them asks, though he begins to lower his weapon when he gets a better look at me.
"I am called Quirky," as I reply I know I shall never again be able to refer to myself as a queen.
"What attacked you?"
"Strange monsters we've never seen around here before. They came in large numbers and quickly overwhelmed us."
The two share a look, and I am grateful when neither asks for a description. I was not ready to relive those memories again. They seem to be contemplating what to do with me. Finally they seem to come to an agreement because they turn to face me once again.
"I am called Cool_Col and that's Superstormfur. Both of us are in the order of the bards in Gondor. We may be able to take you there, it's much safer there than here."
I can only manage a nod. Such thing as a safe place had seemed to be getting rarer and rarer. I cannot stop the many questions from entering my mind but I feel something else as well. I was ready to move on, here was my chance.
My eyes travel around the charred landscape that had been my home. There was no turning back now. I was ready though. I turn toward the two people who claim to be bards, this could be a trap, a trick, but it could also be a new beginning. I am aware of the silver crown on my head as I walk through the empty silence of my home.
There was no turning back now.
