PeaceMaker

Kalmin turned back to Claudia, slightly relieved when he saw that her eyes were closed and turned to leave.

"I-" Claudia muttered, forcing out words through the clouds of sleep blocking her throat and eyes. Kalmin turned around surprised she could even make up words, "I-I hope I can be granted death after this. And I hope that outtt of the many feet I have bowed down to, that loyal guard shall not suffer the ending I want."

"What?" Kalmin asked. He rushed towards Claudia and reached through the bars of her cage grabbing her by the collar of her dirtied dress, "What do you mean?" he asked again, his voice rising in anger.

"Go find him," Claudia sighed drowsily, "I will die a traitor anyways. May as well feel good about it."

"What?" Kalmin asked, his heart dropped when Claudia's eyes rolled to the back of her head and her eyes shut. He immediately put his finger under her nose and let out a small sigh of relief, then hurriedly threw her to the ground and turned around, running out of the room and up the long stairs of the dark stairway.

He skipped steps as he ran up the stairs, his heart rate spiking as he saw a dim light alerting him that there were only two floors left. But in 3 floors he could become the most trusted council remember for Boris and Dominic or in 3 floors he would be tossed away beneath the castle, tens of feet beneath the light he dreamt and lived for, automatically branded an animal locked in a cage he had tried to escape from.

∆

8 YEARS AND 10 MONTHS AGO

'Grab him!' they yelled in unison, raising their hands into the air, 'End this disease!' The words serenaded through little Kalmin as he sat pressed into the corner of a cold room.

"Alice?" Kalmin called, turning to his sister beside him who gave him no response. Kalmin's heart dropped. "Alice? ALICE!" He yelled violently, shaking her.

"ALICE!!" He yelled, his voice cracking with desperation, fear that reality had taken the last flower in his life.

Alice began to stir, the shaking grabbing her from the pleasure of her sleep. Cold, rough han- Alice's eyes flew open and she pushed Kalmin away, the skin where his hand had touched heating up.

"Alice?" Kalmin asked, clutching his chest. The cold in the room had penetrated his skin, drying any ounce of moisture and the strong push that Alice had given him felt like someone had a hammer into his chest, and the area on his back where he was pushed into the wall felt like hundreds of knives were being dragged against his skin. He could feel many of the multiple slashes on his back starting to bleed. But despite this, he tried to hide his pain from his younger sister. "Alice? Are you ok?"

Alice peeked through her tightly shut eyes and recognized her brother, "Kalmin?"