Kaitlyn Real 

2023 

I am a writer, an artist, and an enthusiast in fashion and history. This piece is part of a story that I have been thinking about writing for a while; it is fantasy and all about mages, scholars, and far-away kingdoms. The protagonist's name is Rose and she is a mage and scholar in training at a formidable academy alongside her soldier/guard in training boyfriend, Zander. This particular short story is about Rose/Rosa finding out the truth about what happened to her parents many years prior, when she was just a small child. I wrote this particular piece for Creative Writing 2, and I hope you like it! 

The Truth

I entered the Academia, the formidable building towering above me – my staff in hand and a leather bag attached to my hip. Isak and I made eye contact for a split second, and we nodded at each other. Today is the day that I finally find out the truth. It has been nearly eleven years since it happened, nearly eleven years since I was brutally separated from my parents. Eleven years since Father found me, alone and terrified, in the burned-down remnants of my village. Eleven years since he took me under his wing and adopted me when my parents were nowhere to be found. I silently crept around shelves and cabinets, slowly making my way to the Lift. Isak kept the other guards distracted, pointing to an imaginary threat through the window with his sword. When he gives me the signal, I smirk. Isak has always been there for me, no matter what, and I’m glad that he stands by my side. He has been training with my father to become a knight for the Royal Guard. Only one year older than me, and his success is almost unheard of. Raven hair, crystal blue eyes, dimples, and a sharp jawline – most girls would kill just to speak with him. Surprisingly, I ended up falling for him and somehow, those feelings were reciprocated – though I don’t know why. I suppose it must have been my scarlet eyes that captured his attention. Once in the Lift, I used my staff to whisk the contraption up the building. The enchanted stone – a ruby – woven into the wood of the staff began to flicker and glow. I could feel a wave of adrenaline pumping through my veins as the Lift carried me up the building. One floor, two floors...and finally, six floors – the floor where only senior members of the Academia are permitted.

When the Lift stopped, I stepped out and scanned the plain, grey corridor for any threats before silently sneaking through. There were dim, fluorescent lights shining from the ceiling, and doors every few feet. I studied the numbers on the doors: 100, 101, 102...and finally, I made it to 108.

Room 108 – the place where my answers are. I grabbed the silver door handle, but to my frustration, it was locked. I cursed, grabbing a hairpin from my bag and inserting it into the lock. I played with it for a moment until I heard a faint clicking sound. Good. Now it’s unlocked. I gently twisted the door handle and stealthily pushed it open. The room was dark, with only a few, white lights hanging on the ceiling. There were cabinets and shelves filled with old books, scrolls, maps, and much more. Smiling and practically running over to them, I sifted through the information displayed before me. There were manuals, old records, and thick files that were methodically arranged in alphabetical order. I rarely smile, but the beam on my face stretched to my ears. Nearly thirty minutes had passed since I entered the room, but I could not find a single hint of what I was looking for. I frantically searched the shelves, shuffling through books and scrolls in every category. I flipped through each page, desperately trying to find any information about my parents, about the Bloody War, about the Crimson Order – anything uncensored that I could find.

Nothing.

“No! This can’t be possible. I thought...” My last hope had been the Archives, but no matter how meticulously I scoured the shelves – there was nothing. Enraged and running out of options, I hurled the books on the floor and slammed my fist against the stone wall.

“Looking for something?” a voice called out. 

I froze, turning around slowly, and stared wide-eyed at the figure in front of me – Lady Devereaux. “--What are you doing here? Why are you...?”

The mysterious woman, clothed in violet robes, dropped her friendly smile, her arms crossing. “I’ll answer your question as soon as you tell me what you’re doing in the Archives. You know it’s prohibited,” she prowled towards me, a stern look on her face. “You’re not supposed to be in here,” Her golden, glittering jewelry jingled as she stalked towards me. Even for the truth, I know that crossing Lady Devereaux would come with grave consequences. “I know, but I just...I need to know what happened. I need to know the truth.” Lady Devereaux’s sharp eyes softened, and my tense shoulders relaxed a bit. “I know, Rose, I know. But, the answers aren’t going to be in here. I can take you back to the Academia, where we can search together. Just...put everything back, and I’ll take you home. Okay?” I gazed at her for a moment, before reluctantly nodding in defeat. “Okay.” I grabbed my staff and aimed toward the items on the floor, which began to levitate back onto the shelves. Once everything had been put back into its proper place, Lady Devereaux escorted me into the Lift. There was an awkward silence between us and a tension that hadn’t been there before. I peered at my mentor, opening my mouth to speak – but then, I noticed something strange.

The renowned sorceress in front of me was sweating and fiddling with her nimble hands, seemingly nervous about something. But, what for? I was the one who had been caught in the Archives, not her. “How did you know I was here?”

Lady Devereaux glanced in my direction, then looked away with an ashamed look on her face. She hesitated. “I...I happened to overhear your conversation from yesterday evening in the Academia.” Now, her hands were shaking like a leaf, and her eyes were darting around the walls of the Lift.

I furrowed my eyebrows in suspicion. Why is she acting like this? “...But, why would you try to stop me? All I want to know is the truth of what happened that night. I thought you, of all people, would understand!”

“Drop it, Rose. What happened is in the past, and even if you know the truth – it won’t change anything.”

Are. You. Serious. I scoffed, my blood beginning to boil – she is clearly hiding something from me. “Why are you so damn reluctant to just give me the truth? All this time, you’ve avoided the subject like the plague, and now you’re surprised I broke into the Archives?! Wow, you truly have a gift! What are you hiding, Devereaux?”

There was a shrill ding from the Lift, an indication that we were finally at the ground floor. Lady Devereaux turned to me, her eyes dark and void of emotion. Her voice was as cold as ice. “Leave this place and never come back. Crimson will bleed again, and you will only be hurting yourself.”

Crimson will bleed again.

Wait.

“It was you,” My once steady breath became shallow and my vision began to blur. I backed into the stone wall, pressing my sweaty palms against it. Panicked and confused, I gaped at Lady  Devereaux. I remember the chant of the soldiers, the repetition of that awful phrase – how did she know it? I swallowed the lump in my throat, inhaling shakily before finally mustering up the courage to speak. “What did you do to them? How do you know that phrase? Please, tell me it isn’t true.”

Lady Devereaux gazed sorrowfully at me, regret plaguing her eyes. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. The King had given the military and the Academia orders to raid the Outer Villages. They told us that Gifted Ones were being hidden there. But, it was a complete and utter lie. The King just wanted more power and wanted to take over the Outer Villages. In the end, thousands of innocents had been wrongfully slaughtered for his gain.”

I covered my mouth with my hand, feeling a sharp wave of nausea twisting in my stomach. “Thousands...?”

She nodded solemnly. “Yes, thousands. Afterward, they forced us to cover it up and never speak of the incident again. I didn’t agree with it, but orders were orders.”

Questions whirled through my mind like the wind of a hurricane, but I couldn’t speak. My feet were frozen to the floor, my eyes wide and filling with tears. When they dropped, Lady Devereaux attempted to put her hand on my trembling shoulders. 

I slapped it away. “NO! What happened to my parents?! Are they alive, or did they suffer the same fate as everyone else? Just. Answer. The. Question.” I need to know – I can’t go any longer without knowing the truth. I remember that day – I remember the terrified screams, the splatters of blood, and the raging, choking fire. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen.

“Your parents are Alice and Otis Straumr, right? I’ve only done shallow research about them, but I think they escaped to the High Lands – and if you allow me, I can help you find them. I’m sorry Rose, I should have never withheld the truth from you.”

A relieved breath escaped me, and I sank to the floor in astonishment. My parents are alive, and they’re waiting for me. I’m going to find them. “Apologies can wait. I’m going to find my parents.”

TO BE CONTINUED