• "Mère!"

    I stood in the doorway to my mother’s room staring in horror at the sight before me. Blood covered the vanity mirror and marble floor in a splattered mass that was all too real for my eyes to process. My mother’s body lay motionless in a pool of her own blood. I did not move. I did not go to her. My mother, the queen of our Empire, was not moving.

    I took a shaking step towards her fallen form before I caught the door frame with my hands. I wanted to go to her, but could not muster the courage to step through the crimson lake surrounding her. The stagnant air filled my lungs as I heaved in one panicked breath at a time.

    Voices emerged from the hallway behind me forcing my head to reel. My father could help; he had a solution for everything. Spinning on my heel I headed for my père’s office. My father was the king of our lands. Maybe he could make her stand in that pool of drying blood.

    Running down the halls I stumbled over the hem of my dress, but quickly gathered them up in my arms and ran as fast as my small legs could carry me. I was only twelve and already my world was crashing down on me.

    “Père, mère est blessè…” My words caught in my throat as I turned the corner into my father’s office. Five bodies littered the floor, all of them wearing the armor of my father’s personal guards. Letting the fabric of my dress fall from my arms I looked into the room searching for my father’s body. Slowly I entered the room, weaving around the pools of blood so I would not stain my white dress.

    “Père?” I asked softly. My voice was ragged from my lack of breath. I drifted around the room until the door leading to my father’s private library came into view. If he was not here, he must be in there. Stepping over the last dead body I forgot about my dress as I let my shoes squish into the blood soaked carpet rug and focused only on the partially open door. My father usually left it closed for his own privacy. He had always said it was just to make me knock in our special code. 1, 3, 1, 1…

    “Père?” I asked again. I did not get an answer, but I kept walking. I lightly pressed my palm too the door and cracked it open a bit further. At first I only saw a man who was very familiar to my eyes. My betrothed stood looking down at the ground. I almost called out to him but stopped when I saw what he was looking at. I gasped loudly and quickly covered my mouth. On the floor lay my father’s battered and bloody body, his own sword rammed through his mouth and into the floor beyond creating an image that soaked my mind like water to a sponge.

    “Renée?”

    My eyes lifted to my betrothed’s shocked face. I shook my head in denial. There was no way he would kill my father, there was no reason, and we would be wed soon…

    I found myself suddenly running on air through the halls. I did not have much control of my inherited powers yet, but this was easy to do. I had been practicing for the past month so I could literally fly through the halls towards my sister’s room. I did not know what to think, but I knew I had to keep my sister safe. She was my only family besides my parents. I did not have any aunts or uncles.

    I let my wooden soled shoes touch the wooden floors as I slowed to a stop in front of the closed doors leading to my sister’s room. I took a deep breath and pressed the doors open praying that no one had found my sister. As I glanced in I saw that the room was empty except for a large crib sitting next to the far wall. I quickly went to the crib and smiled sadly down at the baby sleeping with her blankets twisted around her feet.

    “Tout petite.” I slowly lifted the sleeping child from her crib and held her against my chest.

    “Nous Devons laisser.”

    “Renée.”

    I whirled around to stare at the man in the door way. It was my betrothed. I backed towards the window while covering my sister’s head with her silk blanket, protecting her small form from the eyes of a murderer.

    “Do not come any closer.” My English was not very clear. I had started learning how to speak English three years ago, but my words were thick with my French accent.

    “Renée, let me explain.”

    I shook my head. I did not want an explanation; I wanted to see my mother and father standing where he was. I wanted to see them smile and tell me everything was going to be okay. Instead I had him to look at and curse.

    “No, I know what you did. I saw you…” Fresh tears slid down my cheeks as my throat closed up. I tensed my body and summoned my powers from my crevasse. He took a few steps closer, but stopped when he sensed what I was about to do.

    “Renée, stop this.”

    I shook my head as the glass from the window shattered inwards spraying razor sharp pieces of glass into the room. I ignored the searing pain that emerged from my arms and neck as I turned and jumped out the window. I fell from the window, a controlled fall that ended with a burst of wind that allowed me to land on the stone path below as lightly as a bird. I glanced up at the window and saw the scarlet head of my betrothed looking down at me. I sent him my best glare and turned towards the courtyard. I did not look back again as I took off towards the gates that stood guarding the portals to the lands of our allies.

    I heard voices shouting all around me as I flew past the people in the courtyard. There was a battle ensuing inside the castle walls. I did not know who was who, but I could assume it was my people versus my betrothed’s. As I came upon the gates I summoned all the power I could and burst through the wrought iron gates, ripping them from their hinges and sending them away from my body. I came to a screeching stop on my small wooden soled shoes as the massive portals loomed over me.

    I glanced back at the gates that stood half way ripped off their hinges and crooked. They would know I had come this way. They would not know what portal I took, but they would find me eventually. I knew my betrothed, he would not give up. He never did. I had not liked him at first, but after a week with him his determination had wooed me. It had been a good thing at the time, but now I was not so sure.

    I looked back to the portals and started to walk past them. Each portal went to a different kingdom. Fire, Water, Nature, Earth, and the others were all allies of our nation. We only had one enemy, but they never bothered us, so we left them alone. I could not go there, the tattoo like markings that covered my arms and shoulders would instantly give me away as a Royal of the Air Empire. I needed somewhere safe from everyone in this world. Somewhere I could take care of my sister. As I came to the last portal I stared up at it with curious eyes. I had never been told of this one.

    “Mortal Realm.” I sounded out the words, rolling them over my tongue. I had never been told of this place which meant not many people knew of it. I was not sure if it was forbidden or just not talked about, but it seemed just as good as any place to go. I stepped up to the platform in front of the portal and held out the hand that was not holding my sister to my shoulder. “Render actif.”

    The portal flared to life and a film of light that was pulsing an iridescent blue covered the space between the stone ring’s inner edges. I glanced back down the isle of portals. To my surprise my betrothed stood at the base of the platform looking up at me with pleading eyes. I stared at him in defiance.

    “De quelle façon…” My words were cut off when he started to climb the stairs leading up to where I stood. I started towards the portal keeping the space between us equal, watching him over my shoulder as I moved. I was much smaller than him and knew I could not get away if he got a hold of me.

    I paused in my steps and turned to face him once I was nearly touching the portal’s film.

    “Good-by, ma amour,” The words fell from my mouth in an awkward sound as I stepped back and let myself be engulfed by the overwhelming power stored in the portal. Just as my body passed through the film, a whisper passed my lips “Désactiver.”