“No!” Her hair is soaked with sweat and tears, that create deep rivers against her sooty face.
“You have to go! Now! A woman frantically pushes the girl out of the way as a burning tree cracks and falls to the ash ground. It kicks up a cloud of ashes that manage to obscure the girl’s sight.
“Mom! Mom!”
She screams. It rises into the air and falls into tune with the others that pierce the night air. They are a symphony, a chorus of pain and loss. The chorus finds a niche in the girl’s heart and ruthlessly works its way into the depths of her soul. It writhes and twists and bites every which way, creating an emotional and ragged line through her heart.
Forceful sobs rack the girl’s fragile body and throw her to the destroyed, ashen ground. She doesn’t care what type of evil finds her anymore. Now nothing matters. As she curls her body into a protective ball, she hears the sound of more screams and war cries echo through the air. They beg the fire to let their children survive, to let themselves survive, to restore what was once their home. But of course, it never does. By the time the people have ended their pleading, they are rewarded with a quick ending.
As the girl listens she shudders to herself, and thinks of her destroyed family.
“Mom-m-m” Her teeth shatter despite the heat. She thinks about her mom, the most caring person on the whole planet. A person that would sacrifice themselves to save their daughter. As this thought enters her head, fresh tears stream down her face into her mouth. Tasting the saltiness, she spits it out of her mouth. It reminds her to much of the substance that litters the ground, drowning everyone in its path.
“Blood.”
She repeats it out of contempt, “Blood.” As soon as the word slips past her lips, she knows there is something wrong.
“That’s right. Blood, my dear.” A tempting voice now joins her in the darkness. A hand clamps down on her burnt hand, and pulls it to the lips of the speaker. She knows this speaker. A person with sweet lips and a barbed tongue. “My dear, don’t you know what you are?” His breath tickles her hand in an almost affectionate way. Backing away, the girl yanks her arm from his hand, but turns to find a muscular arm barring her way. “Oh my princess, why do you run away? Don’t you know we’ve met before?”
Breathless and terrified the girl nervously shakes her head. But she already knows the answer. For she remembers this beautiful voice, that muscular arm, and a reality that was too sweet to last.
“Once upon a dream my princess. You should know that.”
Finally, the girl comes to her senses and pushes the voice away. But she doesn’t do anything more before the world swirls around her and crashes to the ground into shards of nothingness.