Winterfall

The ground shook, smoke billowed, and the sky turned dark. Screams of terror filled the air as citizens began to run away from the scene that was unfolding.

My heart raced, thudding against my chest. Its constant beating echoed in my ears. From a distance, the location of the disaster. ”No…no…please no!” I as I sprinted towards the commotion.

“Maria!” Théoden's voice boomed amongst the chaos. I could hear his heavy feet not too far behind me. However, I didn’t care. What I cared about at that moment were my parents.

“Maria! I command you to stop!” Théoden's authoritative voice raced across the dust filled street and pierced my ear.

I felt my muscles tighten as my body froze. Damn him and his spells. His footsteps slowed as he approached me, however I could hear the pounding of his heart over my own.

“Maria. Don’t go. It’s not safe.” Théoden's voice was soothing as he lowered his voice and calmed his own breathing.

“My parents are there…” I whimpered. I felt my body begin to shake as tears started to stain my cheeks.

I felt his cold hand brush against my cheek. “I will go check on them. However, I need you to head back to the castle. It is not safe here anymore.”

I peered over in the direction of the explosion. Debris was still falling. The smell of soot, dust, and faint burning flesh filled the air. Screams bellowed amongst the ruckus. The streets were filled with people running in pure panic.

I turned back and looked up at Théoden. He was trying so hard to keep his own breathing and demeanor calm. However, I felt the shock wave of fear, panic, and sorrow through the dragon-rider bond that we share.

“Maria please,” he begged me. “Go back to the castle.”

“My parents-” I whimpered once more.

“I know. I will go.” Théoden pulled me into his chest. As I rested my head against his cool frame, the pounding in his heart grew steadily.

I glanced up at him with a pleading stare, “Save my parents, please.” I managed to choke out as I began to feel the pain of loss grip at my heartstrings.

“I will do what I can.” He gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead and took off running towards the destruction.

He should have known I wouldn’t listen to him. I wanted to follow him. I wanted to know if my parents were alive or dead. However, I knew he would be upset with me if I sprinted after him.

Did I care at that moment? No. I sprinted after him. My feet carried me faster with each step I took, mimicking that of my racing heart.

Thud. My body smacked into his.

“Maria!” Théoden shouted at me as he glared down at me in anger. “I ordered you to go to the castle!”

Once I regained my footing I matched his stare, “Those are my parents!” I screamed at him.

“Yes and you are under my protection!” He shouted back, “I want you to go back to the castle. That’s an order!” Théoden's words carried volume as he rarely ordered me in this manner.

I froze. I couldn’t utter a single word in response.

Théoden released a few deep breaths, “Maria, please listen to me. Go back to the castle. You do not need to see any of this.”

I had no idea how he could calm himself so easily. “Alright.” I eventually agreed. “I’ll go back this time.”

“Thank you Maria.”

He waited this time before he took off. He wanted to see if I’d listen to him.

After a moment of silence I turned around and headed in the direction of the castle. Little did he know I planned to see everything that he would see.

I stopped just a few hundred feet away from the castle. I calmed my own breathing, my own thoughts and forced myself past Théoden's block on our bond and watched everything unfold.

I felt Maria pull into my mind as I moved towards the sight of the explosion. As I felt her break through, I couldn't help but sigh deeply, as the block I tried to put up between us failed, as her will overtook the block I put up in the bond.

I did not and could not let that stop me. Once I was able to determined that she at least had headed in the direction of the castle, I forced myself to move along the stone street once more. The smell of soot, dust, and burnt flesh grew stronger, as I grew closer to the disaster site.

The smells mixed together inside my nostrils did not sit well with me. Deep in my heart I feared the worst but I needed to remain optimistic. That wasn’t just for me, that was for her as well.

Damn it Maria. I grumbled through the bond. Somehow, amidst the chaos, she managed to break the invisible barrier that I put up in the bond.

With each agonizing step I found myself closer to the center of the accident. What I saw as I approached tore at my heart. Part of one of our kingdom's rings, demolished through hellfire. Countless buildings destroyed. Bodies scattered amongst the rubble.

As I approached the area I knew her parents were supposed to be at I sent a quick prayer to my deity.

Bahamut, hear me: save her parents. I don’t know if she can handle the loss. Please save them. Save them for her.

Bahamut’s response shook my core as a tidal wave of comfort washed over me.

“No!” I shouted and quickly began to pick up pace once more. “This can’t happen! Not to them! Not to her!” I shouted in pure desperation.

As I grew closer I received one final message, the beginning of an end.

With the message in my mind, I began to search the rubble for her parents. At first, I had a strike of hope. As I had not found their bodies amongst the collapsed buildings.

However, that spark of hope was quick to fade as I saw the blue and silver attire of my king burned and drenched in blood. I dropped to my knees and crawled over to his body. “King Mikail, I am sorry. I have failed you.”

I wanted to revive him but I couldn’t. The council had ordered me not to revive anyone else or there will be consequences. With that order came the confiscation of the diamond supply that I had. Otherwise, I would have broken that order right then and there no matter what would have happened to me.

I sat beside the fallen king for a brief moment as I prayed in silence. My heart churned. My eyes watered for the first time in ages. If that is the king then where is the queen? I began to search for Maria’s mother. At this point I had no hope for survival.

It only took me a few seconds to find her body as her body was smashed underneath the rubble of what was one of the kingdom’s town’s hall. Her body was charred and only recognizable by the crown that laid next to her and bits of her clothing that survived the blast. The Queen was lying next to King Mikail, still clutching his hand, so I knew it was her.

I sat on the ground next to them and sobbed. I have failed you my dear. They are gone. I had no idea how Maria would cope under these conditions as her emotions appeared unstable as is. I just knew one thing, I felt hopeless, crushed, depressed, and most of all I felt like I had failed as a protector.

Between my own wallows of sadness, my own depressed heart, my own turmoil, I began to hear Maria’s voice flood the bond with despair.

I need you. I need you. She cried over and over again. Her voice, that haunting voice, forever becoming a nightmare.

Her pull once strong in my mind grew weaker and weaker as her emotional state became unstable and her own conscious became her own once more. I felt her leave the bond which only made me hurry towards her more.

I knew now why Théoden didn’t want me to see into his mind. Why he put up the mental block. He knew deep down that my parents did not make it. That they were dead.

My sweet parents. I hugged my body tightly as I sobbed in the street. My heart sank. My mind went blank and the world appeared to slow and everything blurred together.

I felt my knees begin to buckle, causing me to fall to the ground. I wrapped my arms around my knees and pulled them to my chest.

I cried. I cried harder than I have ever cried before. Through the bond I echoed a constant plea to Théoden, I need you. I need you.

After a minute of laying on the street alone, I heard Théoden's heavy footsteps slow as he approached me. “My sweet Maria, I am so sorry.” He scooped me up in his arms gently and held me close to his cool body.

I buried my face into his chest and cried until nothing would fall. “Never leave me.” I whimpered.

“I will never leave you Maria. No matter what happens.” Théoden's voice soothed my body as he carried me off to the castle.