WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE

by Bramble, Casey

  Well damn, I’m in love with her.

  “I’ve always liked storms.” Sarah snuggled closer after a distant peal of thunder reverberated through the air. The wind howled like a demon outside.

  “I know what you mean. I love the moment’s right before they hit. The build up, the expectations and then they explode.”

  Sarah rested her head on Raven’s shoulder, sharing their bodies warmth as the temperature dropped. Outside, small patters of rain drummed a staccato against the window panes and a brilliant flash of lightening set off a jarring rumble that shook the house.

  “They are a little scary though.” Sarah muttered as the sound faded.

  Raven squeezed Sarah’s hand. “You don’t have to be scared of anything, Lil’bit. I’ll protect you.”

  Sarah’s heart jumped slightly as her shaved metal gray eyes stared into Raven’s. Expectation hung in the air. Electricity danced. Butterflies flew around her stomach as she reached up to stroke an alabaster cheek. The rain was coming down harder now, beating steadily against the house.

  “You promise?” Her voice was throaty and hoarse.

  Raven whispered huskily. “I promise.”

  As their lips met the storm broke overhead.

  It was almost terrifying in its intensity. Lighting licked softly rolling hills. Winds roared through the night sky twisting and bending trees. Thunder roared, the voice of a storm demanding to be heard. The earth gave herself over to passion as the maelstrom raged, opening herself willingly. Rain fell in sheets, saturating the world with a glistening sheen. The nearby river rose, swollen with the torrential downpour, at first kissing, then overflowing, its boundaries.

  The storm abated, hours later, and the world fell into a peaceful slumber. The threats of distant thunder no cause for concern.

  CHAPTER 24: NEVER AFTER

  She stared silently at the portrait over the fireplace. It was larger now than any other in the room. Unlike other pictures which were only visible thanks to the light from the three remaining windows, this one seemed to shine with a radiance of its own; a warm, gentle light she could feel caressing her skin. The young girl ran fingers trembling with sorrow against the name plate under it.

  “Sorry, Lil’bit.” was all she said.

  The shadow stayed in the back, watching. It could feel its time coming soon.

  Sarah awoke feeling refreshed and chipper, Raven’s smell still lingering like a sweet memory in her nose. She dressed quickly and hurried outside to find her lover busy in the yard, clearing the debris of last night’s storm. The mud sucked at her boots as she wrapped Raven in a happy hug.

  “Finally woke up, huh?” Raven didn’t bother turning around.

  Feeling a slight chill, Sarah asked what was wrong.

  “Nothing.” The curt reply stung Sarah more than the crisp morning air, “We need to clean this up before the Brownings get home.”

  Sarah nodded and got to work. Throughout the morning she made several attempts to start up a conversation but the normally overly gregarious Raven rebuked every one.

  Around noon the yard was finished. Sarah managed to fix the door on the chicken coop which the winds had nearly torn off its hinges, and she tried a different approach.

  Standing a few feet away from Raven, who was still making a pointed effort to ignore her, Sarah got straight to the point.

  “Are you angry about what happened between us last night?” She folded her arms crossly.

  “Last night was a mistake.” Raven’s twisted her head slightly so she could look at Sarah over her shoulder. “Let’s forget it ever happened.”

  Blonde tresses shook in annoyance, bordering on anger. “Forget that we made love? Forget everything you said to me?” The mud made soft squelching noises as it tried to suck her boots off. Sarah stomped forward and grabbed Raven by the shoulder, spinning her around. Raven stared at the earth trying not to look into Sarah’s eyes. “How is it a mistake for two people who care about each other to be with each other?”

  A sickening thought struck Sarah and her hand dropped. “You do care about me, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Raven answered as she jerked roughly away, “which is why it’s best to forget the entire thing.”

  After a moment of baffled hesitation, Sarah followed. Raven reached for the door to the house and pulled it half way open before Sarah slammed it with a resounding crash. Something fell in the house but Sarah wasn’t concerned about that now.

  “I deserve a better answer than that, Branwyen.”

  “You need to drop this right now, Sarah. I’m warning you.”

  Sarah laughed with no humor. “You’re threatening me now? After everything I’ve seen and done, you think I’m going to be scared? I’m in lo--“

  “SHUT UP!” Raven wheeled around, jabbing a finger at Sarah. “Do not say that. There is no future for us.” Their eyes locked for the first time all morning, noses within inches of each other. The redhead’s voice was low and guttural. “Stay with Daniel.”

  “Who do you think you are, Lady Branwyen Chandlish?” Sarah snapped back, anger flushing her cheeks. “You do not tell me what to do. Not now, not ever. If I do decide to stay with Daniel it will be my choice because at least he’s honest.”

  “Honest? You want honest? Fine. Exactly how do you think this is going to end?” Raven growled, but Sarah saw the tears held back by fear. “This isn’t a fairy tale, Sarah. I don’t get an ever-after, happily or otherwise.”

  Raven’s lower lip quivered. “One day, in a year or two, my sister is going to lock me in that chamber. Malleus will take over and that’s the end of Lady Branwyen Chandlish. I care too much about you to put you through that so please, let’s just forget about whatever this is between us.”

  A small muscle pulsed in Sarah’s cheek as her teeth clenched. She wanted to say something, anything, but Raven was right. Eventually, for the sake of the world, they would have to lock her away forever. The two stared at each other for a moment, searching the other’s face for signs of comfort until, finding none, Raven stormed into the house leaving Sarah alone.

  The Brownings made it home late in the afternoon. Mr. Browning informed the girls that Valentria guards were scouring the nearby towns. Mrs. Browning thanked them for cleaning the yard by baking another delicious meal with Boysenberry pie for dessert. Raven and Sarah acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened and went to sleep. This night though Raven slept in the uncomfortable chair and Sarah made no move to invite her to bed.

  The next day was clear and very chilly. Mr. Browning and the girls wore thick jackets while fixing a fence a tree had fallen on. The work was much easier thanks to Bryson, but Sarah made him promise not to drop this tree on anybody’s house. Waiting until Mr. Browning left to get some tools, Sarah spoke the words she’d been practicing in her head all morning.

  Sure they were alone, Sarah said, in a very calm manner considering who she was talking to, “You’re a coward.”

  “Excuse me?” Raven stood up from the tree she had been resting against and cocked her head to one side, certain that she had misheard.

  “You heard me. You’re a coward.” Sarah repeated herself in the tone of a parent explaining things to a small child.

  Raven chuckled. She knew Sarah would be angry and expected another argument. Years of living with Sis taught her that the last word belonged to whoever was conscious at the end of a fight. She had not, however, expected to be called a coward.

  “You think I’m joking?” Sarah fought to keep her voice calm and even.

  “I think you’re angry and you haven’t had much practice at arguing.” Raven laughed, “I’ve been in more fights than you’ve dreamed of. I’ve fought when the odds were 10-to-1 against me. I’ve jumped off of moving zeppelins. I am, most assuredly, not a coward.”

  “Those things just prove I’m right. You’re a coward.”

  Sarah’s composed demeanor, not to mention the repeated use of the word coward, was starting to irk Raven and
she felt the anger building. “How exactly does my putting my life on the line make me a coward?”

  “Because you’re running away.”

  Her voice lowering to a dangerous level, Raven was near livid. She marched up to Sarah and stood chest to chest with the blonde. “Explain to me, very carefully, how I am running away.”

  Sarah coolly gazed into Raven’s eyes, showing no signs of trepidation. “If you die, Bekah won’t have to lock you in the chamber. If you stop whatever is between us, you won’t have to lose me. So, you’re running away.”

  Raven took long, deep breaths through her nose. The pale green eyes were ablaze with conflicting emotions. Then Raven turned and sat back down under the tree.

  Sarah wasn’t finished, however, and continued as if Raven wasn’t trying to ignore her. “I didn’t know what to expect when I left Vestavia to set up shop with you. I never expected this. My life has been in danger more than once and sometimes I’m so scared I want to cry. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow but I do know that I want to spend as much time as possible with the people I care about.” With those parting words, Sarah turned and went to help Mr. Browning bring back the tools.

  They didn’t speak for the rest of the day and that night Raven again slept in the chair.

  CHAPTER 25: BEGINNING OF THE END

  Work on a farm never really stops so Raven and Sarah were kept to busy the next couple of days to have a chance to talk. A buffer of silence grew between them, even Mrs. Browning commented on it to Sarah, but neither seemed willing to budge. Sarah knew that Raven was watching her though, could feel the emerald eyes whenever she thought Sarah wasn’t looking.

  The distance hurt her more than she let on. Sarah lived alone since her father died and never really had an outgoing personality anyway. The past several months changed her, subtly but irrevocably, and now she found herself missing Raven’s constant companionship. She knew how she felt about Raven, probably since the day they broke her out of prison. Even before that if she wanted to be really honest with herself. She also had a pretty good idea how Raven felt about her but forcing the issue would do more damage than had already been done to their relationship. So, with a heart that throbbed with lonesomeness, she did her best to remain patient.

  Sarah waited for three days and eventually decided enough was enough. She and Raven hadn’t spoken since their argument and it was getting ridiculous. Steeling her resolve for the confrontation, Sarah stepped out of the small house and over to the chicken coop where Raven was busy nailing the windows shut. The first snow of the year was upon them, the air holding a damper chill than the previous days and the late afternoon sky was pearly white.

  Raven stopped mid-swing with the hammer as Sarah cleared her throat. “We need to talk.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about, Sarah. We can’t be together, you know that.”

  “No, I don’t know that and don’t walk away from me.” Sarah followed Raven around the corner of the coop and tried to say something else but a muffled, insistent sound interrupted her.

  “SIS!” A voice screamed from inside Raven’s jacket. Instantly Raven dropped the hammer and yanked the Congreve crystal from the warmth of her clothes.

  Rebekah’s anxious face stared at them. “It’s starting, Sis. A group of airships was spotted coming from the south. We expect them to be here within the hour.”

  “Is it the Protectorate?” Raven asked as Sarah stared over her shoulder.

  “We don’t know. Possibly, but there’s no way to know for sure.”

  Raven promised she would call when she got closer and dropped the crystal back into its resting spot. Seconds later Bryson lumbered into the yard, stretching his great leathery wings.

  “Did you call for more landscaping?” The dragon greeted the two girls sarcastically but Raven was in a hurry.

  “Sis is in trouble. How quick can you get us to Valentria?”

  “Quick as the wind.” Bryson lowered his head and a jet of flame shot out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Tell the Brownings where I’ve gone and I’ll come back if I can.” Raven spoke briskly to Sarah as she climbed atop the dragon’s large, scaly back.

  “To hell with that, I’m going with you.” Sarah insisted, trying to climb up behind Raven.

  “Sarah, it’s too dangerous. Stay here and I’ll come back, I promise.”

  “You bunch are the only family I have left. I’m going.” Sarah looked at the dragon, “Right, Bryson.”

  The dragon said that arguing seemed pointless and that they were wasting time. Raven considered, briefly, just leaving her but the steely gaze in Sarah’s gray eyes nixed the idea. Instead she offered the blonde a hand up. Then they were off.

  Miles away, the attack on the city of Valentria was just getting started. Hundreds of enemy soldiers flooded the city gates, the tramp of their boots shaking the ground as far away as the castle. The Valentria royal guard stood ready for the challenge however and repealed the first wave and then the second.

  Standing on top of the castle parapets with an expression carved from stone, Stephen barked orders with Elspeth beside him.

  “What are we going to do about them?” Amanda pointed to five grayish blobs, indistinct against the pale sky but growing larger by the moment.

  “We’ll have archers in the towers aiming for the balloons.”

  Behind her, where nobody could see, a thin smile twisted the corners of Brian’s lips.

  Rebekah ducked under the blade that just narrowly missed her neck. Felicity’s own sword glinted through the air as it pierced a soldier’s chest.

  “Watch your back.” The oldest Chandlish daughter reproved with a wry grin. Every where around them the sounds and smells of battle assaulted their senses. Acrid smoke dimmed the noon day sun, stinging her eyes and throat. Underneath that was a warm, coppery odor she had only experienced once before; the stench of fresh blood.

  They were sent by Stephen with a small group of soldiers to help make sure as many people as possible were in the shelters before the airships arrived but Brian’s information proved incorrect. The foot soldiers appeared before the war ships and the Valentria forces were quickly out numbered. Thankfully she used her crystal to call for backup. Stephen wanted to come but someone was needed to stay and protect their mother. The reinforcements arrived just in the nick of time.

  “You know, I don’t say this very often but I wish Sis was here.” Bekah declared as she sent a fireball into an onrushing group of enemies. The explosion catapulted them high into the air. They landed with sickening crunches and lay still.

  “You say that all the time and exactly why do you want that traitor here?” Felicity sent her own fireball at another enemy cluster.

  Bekah smiled, standing back to back with Liz. The two of them managed to form a defensive circle in a small courtyard, keeping the advancing soldiers at bay. On nearby roofs their own archers were raining death down on anybody they missed. “Sis isn’t the traitor. Never was.”

  Felicity started to say something but a small voice interrupted her. “Liz, where are y’all?” It was Mandy calling for them on the crystal.

  After a quick glance around to make sure the encroaching soldiers were still being held at bay by the archers, she answered. “We’re in front of Holzer’s department store.”

  Mandy told her she was on the way but Liz shook her head. “No, stay at the castle. We’re going to head back in a minute.” The youngest daughter argued but Liz stood firm. She wanted to discuss some things in relative private with Bekah.

  Slipping the crystal back into her shirt to be sure they wouldn’t be overheard, Liz turned to Bekah and asked her to explain why she didn’t think Branwyen had betrayed them. Just then, as if she knew what was being discussed, Raven’s voice bellowed.

  Raven and Sarah saw smoke rising above the mountains that provided the back line of defense for Chandlish Castle and they felt the pounding explosions through the freezing air. Raven reached for the Congreve crys
tal. Instantly Rebekah’s face appeared.

  “What took you so long, brat?” Sarah though Bekah looked like she was having the time of her life. “Liz is with me and we’re taking a real beating.”

  “Yeah, well we stopped for a bite on the way. Where’s Elspeth at?”

  “Daniel just told us Amanda and Brian are gonna her down to the safe room so Stephen could focus on the battle.”

  “Isn’t that a little odd?” Raven couldn’t figure out why Brian and Amanda would take Elspeth away from Stephen’s protection. Even in the thick of battle, her safest place would be at his side. It made no sense at all unless… By the Five! The pieces were starting to fall into place.

  “Sis, I know who the- SIS!” Raven screamed so loudly that it startled Sarah and Bryson. An explosion ripped from the crystal and its smooth surface only reflected Raven’s mounting worry. Then something else caught her eye. A whole swarm of enemy soldiers were standing at the secret exit to the castle safe room. They couldn’t open it because they wouldn’t have the mark of the White Rose but they were stopping her from getting in.

  Bryson seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and swooped out of the clouds. The men on the ground barely had time to realize the danger before being consumed by the dragon’s flame. The smell of burnt flesh almost made Sarah gag when they set down in front of a seemingly innocent hill.

  “Sarah, you’re with me. Bryson, bring down those damned ships and rescue my sisters.” Bryson took flight as Raven twisted her hands into a spell, revealing a set of stone stair cases leading down into an empty darkness. Her mark might not work anymore but her magic power was more than enough to get through. Raven stepped inside and snapped her fingers. Instantly torches along the wall sprang to life, illuminating the tunnel.