Slightly Obsessed With Whatever

Thousands poured from the Capital, carrying all that they could in their arms and on the backs. Some only cradled their children. Others bore the burden of the elderly and the sick. The stream of pale faces and harried features was endless as they passed the three of us, most not daring to even look in our direction. A few, the youngest among them, stared with wide eyes.

The gaze of small girl with her cheek resting on her father’s shoulder met mine. I wondered what she saw. A monster? Liberator? Death?

For some, I would become all of those things before the day was done.

Then the doors closed on the massive Rise.

“That is the last of those who have chosen to leave the Capital, your Highness.”

“And those who have decided to remain?” I asked.

“They know what they have sided with. They have chosen to die.”

And so they had.

I removed the golden crown, letting it fall from my fingers, to the ground. Setti tensed under me as I lifted the helmet, sliding in on.

Deep in the woods, a murmur of unease sounded from those who fled the city. Behind us, the leaves rattled. A piercing howl penetrated the stillness, followed by another and another. Yips and grows of warning rang through the air as the wolven raced through the trees and by the frightened people as they now froze where they were, cowering close to the ground. Setti shifted, shaking his mane.

“Momma! Look!” a young child shouted as the mother tried to shush him. “Momma! Look it!”

A shadow glided silently over the forest, momentarily blocking the sun. Then Royal Guards on the Rise stopped and looked up. The sound of death roared overhead, and a funnel of fire and energy spilled forth, striking the gates on the Rise. Large sections of limestone and iron cracked and gave way, crumbling to the ground and taking the Guards with it. The gateway was, for the briefest second, a wall of flames, and then it was gone.

“My Queen?”