TRIGGER WARNING:
Dear reader, before you proceed with my book "Winter Is Coming", I would like to alert you that the following chapter contains gruesome and disturbing scenes including a violent death and the descriptive murder of a child. Please proceed with caution. If you can not stomach it, I advise you to skip this chapter and move on to the next which does not contain violence.
Winter
Pa would never let her play in the snow. She had never felt the cool ice against her skin or molded the tempting white sand into balls before and perhaps, she never would.
Winter watched Pa and Ava walk through the gates, giggling. She was not happy that they had gone to the market square without her and that they had enjoyed themselves without her. But what bothered her most was that even in the absence of Pa, her mother had not allowed her to play with the snow in the front yard.
Her mother had locked her inside and had forbidden her from stepping outside. Winter found that every attempt of hers to sneak outside was thwarted by the maids they kept in the house and her mother herself. When Pa pulled out the key to the front door from the pocket of his blue tunic, Winter felt somewhat betrayed.
He had known she was going to be locked in.
She pretended not to watch as Ava and her Pa shook off the snow from their dark blue coats before entering the house. She folded her arms, pushed out her mouth and turned away from the threshold of the living room. She pretended not to notice Pa when he plopped down into the seat beside her.
"What has you so angry, Win?" he asked, grabbing her elbow gently. Winter snatched her elbow out of his grip, withdrawing into a corner of the room. She did not understand why her eyes stung when she looked at Pa's face. She glared at him, hoping her scowl was as horrible as the anger she was feeling.
"You locked me up. You didn't let me play with the snow. Not even the one in the front yard," Winter cried, horrified at the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She didn't want him to see how much he had hurt her by leaving her behind and how jealous she was that her older sister had the freedom to leave the house as much as she wanted to and she didn't.
Pa let out a hearty laughter, plucking her from the corner of the room and planting her on his lap. His bright blue eyes stared down at her with amusement but Winter refused to give in. She huffed, folding her arms and avoiding his stare.
"Control, Win" he sighed, brushing a stray white lock from her face and tucking it behind her ears. "Control is everything. Once you learn to control what you are, I'll take you to the city of a thousand lamps for the white lake festival,"
Winter beamed, finally lifting her gaze to meet his.
"Really?" she asked, excitement palpable in her voice.
"I swear on the gods," he whispered, touching his forehead to hers. "Awanaki,"
"Awanaki," Winter responded, shutting her eyes.
She could barely wait for the day. She wondered what the people outside her small town were like. Were they tall like the milk man down the street or short like the baker that came by the house every evening?
She would find out.
Soon.
Winter hopped off her father's lap hurriedly, rushing to Ava and tackling her to the ground for her half-eaten sticky bun. As usual, Ava let her have it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By nighttime, the family of four had settled behind the fireplace, warming themselves up as a snowstorm brewed outside. Winter was growing less fond of sitting still. She wanted something more. Needed it. She shifted in her position over and over again, desperately searching for comfort.
Ava pinched her. "You're making me nauseous with all your moving around,"
"I'm sorry, Ave." Winter pouted. "I'm tired of sitting still," She knew Ava was terrified of fire and did not want to move closer to it because she feared she would fall into it and get burned. Ava wouldn't even go near a lit candle.
Ava shook her head with a barely concealed smile. She gave their father a knowing look and he nodded in acknowledgement. "Tell us a story, Pa" she urged, shifting closer to Winter and wrapping an arm around her neck to hold her still.
"I think it would be better to head to our respective rooms to rest. It's quite late," Ma protested, shooting her husband a warning look but he did not pay her any mind as he began to tell a tale.
He cleared his throat and then he began to speak. "Ours is a world built on blood and bone. It has been whispered through the city, through the realm, to every child born anew, to the adults desperate to remain ignorant of a decimating truth. What we can not control must not be suffered to live," he said, staring out into the fire. The orange flames cast a soft glow on his face.
Finally, he looked at Winter and spoke. "The six heads of the realm have long declared, one with two shall perish by sword and fire before their third year on earth so they do not become monsters to fear,"
"I have two" Winter whispered, fiddling with her fingers. "Will I die by sword and fire like others have? Uncle Orick says it's only a matter of time but it is my eighth year in four days and I have not been killed,"
"You have not been discovered, Winter," her mother's voice cut in harshly. "There is a difference. Your father, your sister and I have gone through great pains to hide what you are. To keep you safe. That is why you are alive,"
Winter felt her heart slam against her ribcage.
Fear.
She knew the feeling. She had felt it the first time the third watch visited town a year ago to find children like her. They found none.
What they found instead was a man, a husband and a father.
He died by the sword Winter heard. His head was cut off and his body was burnt.
That was what they were going to do to her too.
"I don't want to die," she whispered to herself, biting her nails.
"You're not going to die," Ava assured her, rubbing her shoulder. "We are all going to protect you,"
Winter looked into her sister's bluish-green eyes to see tears. Ava was only thirteen but Pa said she had the strength of a thousand tigers and determination like steel. Winter could see it now. Ava would never let any harm to her.
"I will not let you die," Ava gritted, squeezing Winter's shoulder as she tipped her chin. "I refuse to,"
Winter smiled sadly, nodding her head.
"I did not mean to ruin our night with my story," Pa said, scratching his head as his face turned a bright shade of red.
"I did not mean to ruin it either," Ma voiced, her tone apologetic.
"I'm sure you didn't mean to serve burnt turkey for dinner either, Rebecca" Pa teased. Ma rose up from her spot behind the fireplace so she could knock his head twice for teasing her.
They all laughed.
They laughed until they were red in the face with joy, they laughed until they could barely breathe, they laughed until their stomachs hurt and they laughed until the knock on the gate came.
Pa left to see to their unexpected visitor. A few minutes later, Winter and her family were lined up in front of the garden of their home. The king's guards, the third watch, they had finally come. For Winter.
"Give us the hybrid and we'll leave,"
The air was thick with tension, the cold biting at Winter's cheeks as she stood between Ava and Pa, her breath came in shallow gasps, her heart pounding in her chest. She could hear the heavy footsteps of one of the men as he drew closer to her, his armor clinking in the stillness of the night. Winter's head remained bowed; she studied the grass eagerly, counting the number of blades in the grass.
Ma, her face pale and determined, stepped forward. "There is no hybrid here," she protested, her voice steady despite the fear in her hazel eyes.
The lead guard sneered, unsheathing his sword. "We know she's here. Our informant is a close confidant of this family." he paused, staring at each one of them. "The king's orders are clear. Hand her over and we will leave."
"Before or after you murder her" Ma spat, her voice dripping with venom as she looked disgustedly at the lead guard who turned to face her. They stared each other for a few moments, both of them refused to back down until Pa spoke.
Pa stood in front of Ma, blocking her from the lead guard's view. "Please, let's talk about this. We can---"
The lead guard cut him off with a swift, brutal swing of his sword. Pa's head flew from his shoulders in one clean cut, landing with a sickening thud at Winter's feet. She stifled a scream as she stared into his dead eyes. Winter winced as Ava's grip on her hand tightened.
"Which one of your girls is it? Pick one or loose both! " another guard yelled.
Chaos ensued.
Ma lunged at the lead guard, clawing at him. He knocked her to the ground, kicking her when she fell.
Winter's mouth opened in a silent protest as Ava's grip loosened and she walked towards the lead guard. Winter wanted to scream, cry, fight but she could barely move. She feared her legs would give out if she moved an inch.
"I have two," Ava sobbed, trembling with fear. " I have two," she repeated, her voice much stronger than before.
"How old are you?" the lead guard asked, staring down at her. His face was void of any emotion.
"Thirteen," Ava answered, letting out a shaky breath.
Winter watched now, her head no longer bowed. She saw how the lead guard's grip tightened around his bloody sword as he run it through Ava's chest. The ground shifted beneath Winter's feet, she let out a horrifying scream as dark spots invaded her vision. Ava fell to the ground with a loud thud.
Her eyes never left her little sister as she gave Winter a small smile that said
'I told you I would not let you die'
"Please don't burn her," Winter squeaked, rushing to one of the three guards who already had a torch out, ready to burn Ava's corpse. She fell at his feet, holding onto feet. "Please," she cried. "She was scared of fire,"
The guard looked at his lead guard for approval. The lead guard nodded and he kicked Winter away, tossing the torch into the grass where the cherry blossom tree stood large with the blood of Pa smeared spilt against its bark. The grass caught fire, licking at the tree that Ava loved so much. The tree that had been planted the day she was born.
Winter gathered Ava in her arms as the guards of the third watch marched away and the village gathered outside the open gate, watching. Her tears however stopped when she saw her mother. Her mother lay on the ground, cradling her breast as she glared at Winter.
As Winter stared into her mother's eyes, she swore she saw what could only be hatred.
Her mother hated Winter but not more than Winter hated herself.