Ten Years Ago

It's storming; the rain hits the little log cabin as the wind whistles and the thunder crashes. All of the kids in the tiny village are gathered into one room huddled together keeping each other safe. A few minutes pass by and a little old woman walks into the living room with some food and drinks for the kids. The woman makes a gesture with her hand and the kids grab the food and drinks eating and forgetting about the storm until the sound of thunder surrounds the cabin scaring the children. The little old woman smiles gently at the children as a few of them huddle around her.

"Children, there is no need to worry. You're inside and safe." The woman pats a few children on their heads reassuring them.

The children look around frantically as they huddle back around one another.

"How about I tell a story? It's about the gods and a war, I'm sure most of you have been told the story before."

"I think my granddaddy used to tell a story like that, but there were knights instead of gods."

"Yeah, well my grandmother knows the true story so-"

"Skye, that's enough. When I was younger my parents used to tell me this story. Let's all settle down, you may get some pillows and a blanket if you wish, but your parents will be picking you up shortly." Some of the kids go to the bedroom and get pillows and blankets while the others sit on the floor next to one another.

Once all the kids are settled the woman sits in her chair. "Now, I know there are different versions of this story, but the one I'm going to be telling you is the one I was told when I was younger. I also tell it to Skye, it's her favorite story." The children look at Skye as she's wiggling with excitement.

"Okay children, it happened hundreds of years ago the Gods, Demons, and Humans all lived together. However, they had sacred laws that they had to follow it was to keep the peace between the three races. Some laws were more important than others; some had harsher punishment while others had little to no punishment at all. Just like us they had magic-"

"Whoa, seriously that's so cool!" One of the kids says with excitement. "Were they strong? Could they do cool stuff like tricks?" The rain slowed down but the wind is still howling and there are faint sounds of thunder.

The woman smiles at the boy. "Some of the gods were very powerful; in fact, the gods divided themselves up based on how powerful they were. They were also very strict about marriage and having children; because they didn't want to tarnish their lineage. Eventually, a daughter of one of the most powerful gods had a child, but she wasn't an ordinary child. Now, I know there are a variety of different tales of this part of the story some say the goddess was tricked while others say she was cursed."

"My parents say she was tricked."

"Well, my mum says she was kidnapped and was forced to have a child with a human." The children talk among themselves about what they heard until the woman gets their attention. Just as the children settle down again, the thunder booms and the sound surrounds the cabin.

"Families have been telling this story for generations so each family will have different stories. Anyways, the King of the gods found out his daughter had a child but he did know with whom. He sentenced his daughter to never leave the castle and that she is wed immediately, and the child was to live in the dungeons for however long she was supposed to live. The king went to the humans to find out if anyone has done any harm to his daughter and they told him to ask the demons for they heard a rumor, furious he went to the demons and asked them but they said-."

There's a knock at the door and the kids jump, it's still storming but it hasn't thundered in a while. The woman gets up and answers the door; it's one of the parents asking to take their kid home. The child gets up and says bye to everyone before leaving with their mother. The woman gets back in her seat and waits for the children to calm down before continuing the story.

"The king spent years out of hatred for his daughter finding out what happened and how she could have a child. He knew right away that the child wasn't a full god and he needed to know how she came to be. The king growing angrier threatened all the races if they didn't tell him the truth. Still, no one knew and eventually war broke out and millions of people from the races died within weeks. This war lasted twelve years, and it eventually stopped when someone found a way to seal the king along with his weapon and powers. The mother and two other people performed a ritual sacrificing their lives and sealed him away."

"And no one knows what happened to the daughter."

"I do she was killed in the war like all the other gods."

"She wasn't a god though so one of the demons took her and raised her as their own."

The kids talk among themselves telling each other what happened to the girl. "Grandmother, do you know what happened to the girl?" All the kids look at the woman.

"Unfortunately I don't, my parents never said anything about the girl." The kids go back to talking until there's a knock on the door. The woman answers the door and there's a line of parents waiting for their children. One by one the children leave saying their goodbyes and hugging the woman and Skye.

As the kids are leaving a few of the parents stay and talk to the woman for a few minutes before leaving.

"Grandma?

"Yes, Dear?

"I heard what one of the parents were talking about the knights, are they not going to let commoners join?"

"I don't think they'll do that, it might be harder for people like us to join but I don't think they'll make it so we can't join. The rain has stopped and the sun is trying to come out, what say you and me go to the garden and see if there's anything to pick from?" The grandmother gets two baskets from a closet and hands one to Skye who's smiling.

The two start the fifteen-minute trek to the garden, Skye starts skipping around happily as she looks around. "It's pretty after it rains, right?"

"It's pretty all the time."

"Grandma?"

"Yes?

"I want to be a knight."

The grandmother smiles at Skye who is in front of her skipping. "That's good; it never hurts to help others."

They arrive at the garden and spend the rest of the day picking different fruits and vegetables, Skye eating half of what she picks. "It's getting late, lets head back home." Skye nods her head in agreement.

The two leave the garden after a few minutes of silence they approach the forest that separates their cabin from the village and the gardens, a breeze brushes past the grandmother and Skye as the sun starts setting. Skye starts skipping ahead with her basket full of fruits and vegetables, the grandmother shakes her head and starts walking as Skye slows down, the two walking side by side.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, Skye?"

"Do you think I can be a knight someday? Like the people in the village?"

"Of course you can sweet-" The grandmother stops in her tracks as she coughs up blood before falling to the ground. There's an arrow sticking out of her chest and Skye is frozen in place not being able to move. "Skye…run..please." The grandmother coughs but Skye doesn't move. "Skye!" Finally, she looks at her grandmother and falls to the ground sobbing uncontrollably.

"Grandma, we need to get you home."

"No please…I need you to run…and hide." Skye doesn't move instead she sobs harder as she shakes her head no. "I'm not asking…please go!" Skye gets up at the tone of her grandmothers' words but before she can run she grabs Skye's hand. "I know…you can be a knight…the best knight the kingdom…has ever seen, promise me you'll join."

Skye nods and runs away from where her grandmother is laying and towards the village. She can hear someone in the trees following her but she doesn't look to see who, she just keeps running.

Someone jumps down from one of the trees and in front of Skye. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but I have orders." The stranger walks up to her and she tries to run away, but the stranger grabs her arm. "Running won't help you." The man grabs a bow from his back and hits Skye in the head with it, knocking her out.