“Are you sure you want to do this now?” He questions with a very heavy accent.
“Yes, we have to,” The woman replies putting her hand on a tree, “It’s the only way to save them.”
“What about…” The man doesn’t want to say it aloud.
“She is strong,” The woman replies. She balls her hand that is on the tree, “Let’s move out!” The woman’s right-hand puts his hood back up and waves his arm to signal the others to come. The team of only about 20 men and women quickly and quietly approach the castle. They set up bombs around a tower that leads to the armory, the map room, the prisons, and the Throne room. The woman clings to a rope attached to a tower of the castle. Two of her rebel mates are on either side of her. Everyone else is scattered around the castle getting into position to attack.
“Everything and everyone is in position,” one of the men on the team whispers to the woman a walkie talkie in his hand, “On your command.” The woman takes a deep breath and looks up a moment to the sky.
“Our Gods might’ve died long ago after the Lightning Wars, but their life forces chose people on the ground to wield their powers, we must protect their descendants,” The woman says, “Now!” The man with the walkie talkie yells now into the device and loud crashes shake the castle as the bombs begin going off. The woman and her rebel mates cling to their ropes hoping they don’t fall. There are a series of more bombs and shakes before the rebels can steady themselves. Suddenly, alarms blare and shouts of terror ring out. The woman climbs up the rest of her rope to the top of a tower. They are met by guards and the King himself.
“Rosalin Quake!” the king bellows, “You have taken this too far!”
“No! Your majesty, you are the one who has taken it too far. There were innocent people in those villages you destroyed. Your need to gain full control over the ancestors is going to be the death of us all,” the woman yells back.
“We have to have all the ancestors on our side when the Eastern Kingdoms attacks!” The King yells, “And if you do not back down, we will have no choice but to kill all of you,” The King says.
“You can try,” Rosalin mutters. The Kingsmen charge at the group. A bloody battle breaks out with the rest of the rebels appearing at the roof. The Kingsmen outnumber the rebels, 100 to 10. Rosalin charges one of the guards with a sword. The guard fights back and easily gains the upper hand, being stronger and bigger. He knocks Rosalin’s sword out of her hand. He prepares to take her out when someone comes up with a shield and blocks the shot. Rosalin sees her right-hand standing before her. Her right-hand pushes the guard with his shield and runs the guard through his shoulder with a sword.
“Vincent,” Rosalin says standing up. Her right-hand looks to her, “Do it.” Her right-hand knows what she means and quickly hands her his sword.
“I will see you again my love,” Vincent nods to Rosalin. He charges through the battle, pushing away any guards in his way as he tries to make it to the edge of the tower. He has to step over one of his rebel mate’s body to get to the ropes. He reaches the edge, but a guard surprises him and pushes him off the tower. Vincent falls at a great speed towards the river below. He braces for impact as he hits the water with a deafening splash. The strong current quickly overtakes the rebel and he is dragged along the river. Vincent uses his shield to grab land and stops his body from moving through the currents. He breathes heavily as he hoists himself up onto dry land. Vincent lays down with his back to the ground to regain his breath. He was half expecting not to survive the fall, but his armor and the water cushioned the impact. He closes his eyes and hears the sounds of battle ringing in the distance. Metal on metal, cries of pain, the sounds of arrows flying is almost overwhelming. He finally regains the strength to lift himself up. Scanning his surrounding, he concludes that the river currents brought him about a mile from his destination. Walking at a staggering pace, Vincent begins his long trek through the forest.
Inside a small hut sits a woman with long auburn hair tied neatly in a side braid. She sits on a rocking chair rocking back and forth with a basket at her feet. Inside the basket, there is a baby wrapped up in a light blue blanket. The woman sings a little tune to the sleeping baby.
“Far away, where the sky is blue, I can see you, and that is true. The world is wide and full of life, but I only see you, I only see…” Her song is interrupted by a loud bang of the hut door opening. The woman stands up from her chair quickly, almost tripping over the basket. A man in deep blood red and black armor with a hood staggers into the hut.
“Vince!” The woman quickly runs to help the man and guides him to a chair beside a small square table. Vincent pulls down his hood revealing his messy brown hair and his cuts. The longest one stretches from one side of his forehead to his opposite cheek, just missing his dark brown eyes. The woman grabs medical supplies from a small cabinet near the table and begins treating Vincent’s wounds. He endures the slight pain from the treatment before grabbing the woman’s wrists, stopping her working hands. Vincent looks the woman right into her eyes and says, “Marie, we have to do it.” The woman, Marie, nods her head in acknowledgment, remembering an earlier conversation.
“Why are you leaving me behind? You need me,” Marie told her friend with frustration.
“Because you need to watch my baby,” A woman with platinum blonde hair cut just above her shoulders replied while putting on armor.
“Why can’t Grace or Charles do that? I’m much farther up in the ranks than either of them,” Marie argued. Rosalin sighs deeply running a hand through her hair.
“That is why you are the one staying behind. I trust you the most. You are the only person I trust to carry out this side mission,” Rosalin replies.
“What side mission?” Marie questions, suddenly less annoyed.
“We have to send her somewhere no one would expect that she is my daughter,” Rosalin replied, “I only trust you to transport her if this all goes to hell.” Marie put her hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Where are you planning on sending her?” Marie questioned.
“The Palace, it’s the only place,” Rosalin stated with confidence, “Someone is bound to find her at the gate.”
“But, are you really willing to send her there? She’s… she’ll never know who she is…” Marie replied with concern.
“That’s the point. If she never finds out who she really is, she won’t become a target,” Rosalin replied, “Make sure my little girl is kept safe.”
“I’ll come back to finish cleaning your wounds,” Vincent releases her wrists to allow her to retrieve the basket, “I will see you soon, don’t do anything stupid.” Vincent manages a weak smile.
“Cenod nobi cursu rus,” Vincent replies in an ancient language.
“Till we meet again,” Marie echoes quietly. She grabs the baby’s basket, grabs a note from the table, and races out of the hut. Marie runs to the town and straight for the castle gates. All lights are off and everyone is inside their homes. The bombs going off triggered the alarms that everyone recognizes as a sign that there is trouble and must stay locked away in their homes. She reaches the gates and scans the area. Surprisingly, there are no guards at the gate, so Marie takes the chance and runs to it. She swiftly but gently places the basket on the ground and makes sure the note is facing upwards. She then runs off using the cover of the night to hide her. Not soon after the basket is placed, the Queen comes to the gates to reenter the castle. During the crisis, she and her children, a son and daughter, were sent to the off palace grounds hideaway. Accompanied by two guards, the small group spots the basket and looks closer. The Queen’s son runs over to it.
“Mommy! It’s a baby!” he exclaims. The Queen, holding her baby daughter, walks slower to her son. She peers at the baby and widens her eyes. Looking around, she doesn’t see any sign of a mother anywhere.
“Mommy, look, there’s a note!” her son exclaims. He picks up the note and hands it
to his mother. Carefully, the Queen takes the note and reads it. On the note, there is a single word, Lilith.