15. The Woes of My People

I stood beside a tree and looked down on my beloved kingdom. There was a little village in the distance that I could not see from here, but there was black smoke that was above it, and it filled the sky. I then looked to the city below me. It was in ruins. There were a lot of rundown buildings, and others had no roof. The buildings I could see looked abandoned and charred. Then the castle, my home, looked eerie. There was a dark purple glow from it that radiated the evil that was being done there. I felt tears drop as I looked at my home. It was in ruins. Esha came to stand by me. I thought she would say something snarky, but she placed her hand gently on my shoulder and gave me an apologetic smile. She started walking through the trees as we neared the capital. Malik took my hand and squeezed it a little. I gave him a little smile. I was glad that he was here for me.