CHAPTER 1 - NEW W.I.P

Without further ado... here is the first chapter of the new YA PNR/ Fantasy series!!

"The night is dark and void of stars. I scream in pain as I try to run, but just stumble over my own two feet, time and time again. It is coming. No matter how many times I tried to stop it, this time, would be the last. I fall to the ground. Thick grass and twigs break the skin on my knees, but that sting cannot compare to the pain I feel.

I finally see the tree in the distance. There is a raging anger as I set my eyes on the same tree that started the mess I am in, months ago. If I can just get to it, maybe, I can offer it as a sacrifice, if anyone even cared for it. I can no longer walk, my legs are week and the pain unbearable, so I crawl my way to it. When I finally reach it, I lean my back against its rough bark, out of breath. The pain spreads through my body like lightning seeking the earth. I pull my knees to my chest, the same way my sister told me to do. 

It is coming.

After many tries, each time thinking it would be the death of me … with one last wail, I hold my breath and push the thing out of my body.

I take a deep breath. The pain is mostly gone. And so is the creature. It lies on the ground before me, squirming by my feet. After a few moments of silence, it cries. Disappointment sets in my heart. It lives.

The night is cold - a brisk breeze whipped at my skin, making me tremble. I know the creature is cold too, but I cannot find it in me to care. I watch its little limbs move, its small mouth cry for comfort. The howls slice through the open field, silencing it.

"What are you doing?" Melody is running toward the tree, a cloth between her hands, a scowl on her face. Her dres, along with her black hair billows behind her. She falls onto her knees on the ground, picking up the creature and wrapping it in the cloth. "Shhh, little one, aunt Mel is here." She pulls it close to her body, giving it warmth. Confusion crosses her eyes, as they fall on me. “What is wrong with you?” She screams at me, “He could have died!”

I was counting on it. I wanted to tell her the truth, but I am forbidden to speak of it. Even when I had tried months ago, the words just would not come out. Cursed. I had spent months lying to my sisters about how this monstrosity came to be.

It dawns on me then. She calls it a “he”.

He would be a monster just like his father.

Melody rocks the creature back and forth until the screams stop. The silence feels magical. If he hadn’t stopped, I would have smothered him myself, until he could no longer breathe. He is an abomination, and needs to be destroyed.

"Would you like to hold him?" she closes the distance between us, even though I can see the uncertainty in her eyes.

I shake my head. Disgust creeps up to my mouth, and the words almost come out. I do not want it anywhere near me. Had she not shown up, I was going to leave it right here, hoping his Father would show up and take him. Or, if we were lucky, death would have come sooner than that.

"What will you name him?" she asks, smiling at the thing. 

Is she so blind that she cannot see that I do not care for it? My eyes move from her onto the lump of bones she holds in her hands. Anger surges from deep within me, and I scream at the top of my lungs. I was now cursed to walk this earth with this creature tied to my side. 

"Florence!" She scolds me as I have made the creature start to cry again. She tries to soothe it, to no avail. "He must be hungry," she tells me, expecting me to willingly feed it. 

It made my stomach churn.

It takes her a moment, but when realization hits her that I would not be much help to the creature, Melody stands up and looks at me with disgust, before turning away and heading back to town. 

I stay there, leaning against the tree, listening as the screams melt into the night. I pray that if death won't take the creature, that at least it might take me. I cannot continue living this lie. I cannot fathom looking at that thing and treating it like my child.

Suddenly, the air grows colder- a chill that seeps into my bones, causing fear to spread from within. I close my eyes, not wanting to see what I know it’s to come.

I hear the clanking of his weapon well before he steps forward in front of me. I open my eyes. He wears the same smile that made me go mad and weak months ago. I watch him as he lowers himself beside me. His large, calloused hand grabs my face harshly, making me face him. The smile is gone; his eyes burn like fire, reaching into my soul.

"You will take care of the child, and provide it a good life." His voice is like honey- thick and sweet. It stirs feelings in me that I do not wish to feel. "Should you not comply, I would love nothing more than to take your sisters  away from you,” his smile is back and as evil as ever, “one by one. They are the ones you love the most, after all.” His lips curl in an unnatural way as he inflicts fear. It seems to come with such ease and finesse. “I will visit when I please, and if I find he's not being cared for like the true Prince that he is, I will keep my word."

I believe him. But I still don’t want his child, and would do anything to rid myself from the shackles it casts around my life.

"Take him with you," I say when I finally find my voice. "You want him, take him. I am sure you can give him a better life." 

My begging angers him, and he squeezes his hand around my throat. "You will love him, and protect him. I will make sure the two of you never have to go without. He will be powerful beyond control, and he will need to stay safe."

He lets go of my throat, and stands back up, backing away from me. His eyes never leave mine. The threat lingered unspoken between us.

"When the time is right, I will come for him." He turns to leave, his cloak dancing freely with the breeze. "Ryker shall be his name," he says without another glance my way, before disappearing into the night."