My heart is being ripped out. Pain cacoons my body, embracing me in itself. I try to scream, but it clamps my mouth shut. I heave and a wave of pain takes over my body. Suddenly, it stops. The pain just...disappears. An emptiness takes over me, pushing me into a spiral of darkness. My hand clutches my chest as I watch the guards take the old lady away. Her husband lays be her side, his body racked with sobs. My heart aches for him. Harold grabs onto my hand, leading me away from the scene.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPSuoflcoF
"We should've left earlier," he says as he pulls me along. I grasp onto his hand like a lifeline and our fingers intertwine. He leads me along the market place, weaving through crowds of restless people. They try peering over the other heads to get a better look at the scene. My stomach turns at them. Guards come racing the crowd, shoving people out the way. Harold pulls me along faster, his fingers hurting my hand. He glances over his shoulder over and over again. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZ2JJ0JlFj
"Harold, what's wrong?" I whisper. He shushes me. We race along the crowd until we finally arrive outside the gates. He slows to a stop fifty metres away from the gate.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuz57CtP2K
"Get home and stay there until I come and fetch you," he says as he leans down, his hands on his knees and he heaves for air.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBkxfw4asT
"Why? What's happening?" I grab onto his arms. "What's happening, Harold?"965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10O7zgYSGd
"I said, go back to your house and wait there," he says through gritted teeth. I slowly back away from him, my heart in my mouth. He glances at me again and I turn and run.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ148c7SNQ34
***965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTa1RH7WIB
Days pass and no sign of Harold. Every day I look through the window, trying to see his figure in the distance; and every day, nothing. Anger bubbles through me, suffocating me. I hate waiting for him, I hate being locked up, I hate everything. I watch Tina slowly become skinnier and skinnier each day, only surviving on the rations the Kingdom 'mercifully' gives us each week. I still go out hunting though, armed with my crossbow. I don't care if it's illegal or not.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJPMDYKWS3
I sit at the table, Mama sitting across from me. She decided to come out of her room for once without a bottle to accompany her. Her eyes skim across everything as of she's never seen it before. Well, I guess in a way, she hasn't. Tina becomes overly happy about Mama finally taking part in our family life. When Mama rises up to go back to sleep, Tina whispers to me that she hopes that maybe we'll become a normal family one again. Something twists inside my stomach. To no longer worry about Tina's food, to be able to come home to a mother who gives a shit about her kids, to be a normal family. I know that day will never come. Instead, I smile for Tina and nod my head. I'll let her dream; something I was never able to do.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yDVpuDsHi
She skips off into our room, humming to herself.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtSIsmWCRPU
A knock on the door makes me jump. I jump up, knocking the chair over as I race over. I fling the door, a smile plastered on my face. Harold is finally here. He lifts the woolly mask off of his face to fight the upcoming winter. My smile slowly fades from my face. This isn't Harold. This is a guard. Someone who killed the little, old lady. Someone who works for the Kingdom. Someone who only comes to my home to kill.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky6Yf4YmAE
He pushes me to the side and his eyes skim across the room. His fists clench and I'm sure he shudders, obviously disgusted by his surroundings. He turns and faces me. I can't see his expression because of his stupid mask that he wears over his face, as every guard is instructed to do. The black thing covers his whole head and neck, only revealing his eyes and lips. Light bounces off it, revealing the gold that decorates the silly thing. His ranks must be high, then. Probably works for the Queen. The guards around here have the same mask but without the gold. I notice the light shining off the metal clips on his breast, badges, showing his rank. He wears them like they are precious jewels. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeEVXfMGP2K
I take a ragged breath as I nod towards the guard. He sports a sword and a holster with a gun resting in it. His tunic waves in the wind, the blues and blacks reminding me of an unforgiving ocean, the waves crashing at midnight. A satchel sits across his shoulder. He opens it as he watches me, his eyes never leaving. Two other guards enter my home, their guns drawn. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunuGvMROym
"Is this the residence of Cecelia Burner?" he asks. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16xsDV4WNd
I stand up straight. If I am going to die, I'm going to die with my head held high. "Yes."965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrt1CZgfKek
His eyes flick over me before speaking. "You have been summoned to the Court of the Kingdom. If you refuse to not go with us, you will be killed. If you try to escape, you will be killed. Do you understand?" he says, his voice booming. I nod slightly. All in all, I'm dead meat. He jabs his thumb out to the other two guards. In a flash, they're behind me, clasping my hands into handcuffs. It wasn't like I was going to escape anyway. The head guard storms off and the other two follow, dragging me behind. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PgRCkGMom
"Cecelia!" I hear Tina's screams from behind me. I twist my head around; she stands at the door, tears staining her pretty, little face.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4dIl3ZnKMQ
"Tina!" I call to her. I plant my feet into the ground. "Let me say goodbye to her!" A sudden pain takes over the back of my head. Black dots blur my vision. Screams echo in the background. Searing pain shoots up my legs. The black dots take over my vision.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAaeVOJO7b
***965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEcyZAeFBB
I shoot up, my body being tossed around. Sunlight shines through the shafts of the wood, specks of dust floating in the light. I look around. My head aches horrendously, pain shooting from the back of my head. I gaze around the tiny room. Boxes bounce around next to me. I peer out the front and two men talk, one of them holding reigns. Oh. I'm in a wagon. I sit at the back, squeezing my eyes shut. Every bounce sends horrible pains up through my head. Slowly, everything comes back to me. My eyes shoot open. Tina.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcOP3JZ0GtE
I scramble to the front of the wagon, trying to balance myself with every bump. Finally, I reach the men. "Hey!" I say. One of them twists his head to me.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFOgbCRKq4
"What're you want?"965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXghD8W9BcG
The questions tumble out of my mouth, one after the other. "Where are we going? What're we doing? Why am I here?"965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskgprmDFd3
The man, who I realise to be one of the guards, snaps his head to me. "Shut up or walk." He still sports the silly mask, along with his black tunic. I shiver. Wind blows everywhere, indicating winter is coming to inflict it's pain on everyone. Tina. How will she survive? The rations barely keep us alive. 965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcheU7mseh2
I decide to try one more question. "What's going to happen to my family?"965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDBS1LVQpd
"I said, shut up." He snarls at me, bearing his teeth. I crawl back inside and curl myself up into a ball, my head on my knees, tears threatening to spill. If Tina dies, I will too.965Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8jfD2fq6X
