Shouts of rage and of sorrow could be heard throughout the land as the war raged on. I watched as my sister and I stood from the top of a cliff watching as Angels and Demons fought along with other creatures who had joined the fight. We were losing badly, only Nymphs and Naiads would join our side to fight and we hated that they had to fight. Young boys and girls were slaughtered on the beaches. The beautiful blue water tainted with blood the sound of a small sob broke my thoughts. Tears slid from my younger sisters face like rain drops, her eyes were full of pain and her long blonde hair was falling messily out of her braid.

“Selena what are we going to do? This war is destroying our home, our friends, and our family.” her voice broke at the last word and her sobs began again, I looked back at the beach where friends were being killed my parents were already gone and my older sister missing.

“We need to find out how this all started: Why did they stat this war? I doesn’t make sense, since we always lived in peace,” I said, my voice full of frustration. Alicia nodded as she wiped her tears from her face.

“It will be dangerous won’t it sister?” she asked, looking at me with her eyes full of innocence. It was wrong to bring her with me, but unsafe to leave her here.

“Yes, you have a choice. If you wish to stay you may, but I would rather you come with me,” I said, looking at her. She rolled her eyes and then looked me straight in the eyes.

“I know it will be dangerous but I am coming with you. Maybe we will fine Belinda on our journey and she can help us,” she said, her voice sounding more optimistic then usual. I turned and started to walk to the forest. I could hear her picking up her bow and quiver of arrows before following me.

It seemed like we had been walking for days, not hours. We had not run into anything and were hoping not to. We wanted to get the Demon Queen’s castle soon so we could end this war. It began to get dark in the forest, and I noticed our dresses were torn from our walk. I could even feel the bits of leaves and other plants tangled in my dark hair. I could barely see because of the dark, but I could still hear Alicia, behind me dragging her feet. She was young only ten, and we had to stop somewhere safe, but where? I stopped and looked around, hoping there might be a sign that would show me the way to a safe cave. I noticed a tiny light from the corner of my left eye. I walked over to it, and saw seven small glowing figures that could fit in my hand. All the tiny pixies were wearing green hats and clothing, all playing in a circle.

“Hello dear pixies, my name is Selena would you help me and my sister find a cave we could stay in for the night?” I asked knowing that they would lead me somewhere though it might not be a cave as I wanted.

They spoke for a while in a tinkling bell sound that I did not understand before nodding to me and flying off to the right. We followed and finally saw, a cave with vines in front of the entrance. I walked to it and moved the vines but there was only more rock. I heard a tinkling bell sound and saw the pixies laughing at me. I frowned. They started to point around the cave and took off in that direction. I followed carrying most of Alicia’s weight on me now, since she had fallen asleep. To the side of the cave was the opening. I smiled and reached in to the small bag tied to my belt giving them each a flower seed for which they seemed happy. I dragged Alicia into the cave and put her on a soft area before lying down and falling asleep myself.

A loud shriek woke me from my sleep. I opened my eyes to the dim light shining through the cave and saw my sister Alicia against the wall, her frightened eyes directed at the entrance to the cave. I looked over and saw a withered old woman with long, wavy, gray hair and bright green eyes.

“Ah the Angel Princesses, what are you young ladies doing in a cave? Why are you not in your palace?” she said, in a crazed but dreamy voice while smiling at us. I got up and joined Alicia in the corner away from the old woman.

“What does it matter to you that we are in a cave?” I asked hoping that my voice didn’t sound as shaky to her as it did to me.

“I mean no harm to you ladies,” she said, walking closer to us. I could hear Alicia whimpering behind me at each step the old woman took.

“Then why did you come here?” I asked as my voice shook when she drew to close.

“I know why you are here, and I know your future,” she said touching my cheek before smiling. “An interesting future you have child; death lurks in it, but what you wish to do, you will fall.” she said before removing her hand and walking towards the cave’s exit.

I let out the breath I had been holding since I noticed the woman in the cave. I looked over to Alicia who was shaking with fright.

“It’s almost dawn. Let’s get out of here!” I said my voice sounded harsher than I wanted it to. Alicia nodded slowly before grabbing her bow and quiver. We walked for a few hours when I had a strange feeling we weren’t alone anymore. I could feel something’s eyes on the back of my head. We came into a clearing and I stopped right then and there Alicia walked straight into me before falling on to her back.

“Ow! Selena, could you warn me next time you’re going to make a dead stop.” she said annoyed.

“Something is following us and I want to end whatever game it’s playing. We don’t have time.” I said, turning around to circle the clearing, before noticing something in the bush to my left move. “Ok, whatever you are come out so we can fight, and then my sister and I will be on our way.” I shouted to the clearing as Alicia rolled her eyes.

“Well now, that is no fun at all. You are ruining my game,” a sweet but taunting voice said from behind me. I turned to see a girl with brown wavy hair and a smirk. She looked about nineteen.

“Oh great! Now what are you?” I said as her eyes narrowed at me and her smirked disappeared into a frown.

“My name is Catherine and what I am… Well you will just have to guess.” she said, smirking again.

I was becoming seriously annoyed with her. I drew my sword as her smirk grew. Before I knew it she was shoving me into a tree, her hand gripping my throat.

“Well now that was way too easy. You are no fun at all. Once I am finished with you I’ll deal with baby sis over there.” she said, her eyes going black and her fangs coming out. I could see Alicia moving behind her with her arrow ready. I braced myself ready to fall that would happen when Alicia’s arrow hit her. Then I hit the ground before falling and heard the vampire shriek as the arrow hit her. Her skin started to turn gray and I could see every vain through her skin. Alicia shocked slightly at the sight of the vampire’s dead body before her.

I smiled.

“Nice shot. We should get going I don’t want to be here if her mate finds her. Well if she has one.” I said, picking up my sword and walking past Alicia who just nodded before following behind me. For the next few hours we did not run into any more creatures, which was more than fine with me. By midday, there was a stream that we saw that flowed into the ocean.

“Well what do we do? There is a big chance that the mermaids might come and attack us but it is the only way across.” Alicia said, her voice breaking. I frowned , as she was right. We had o go over it if we wanted to find a way to stop the war.

“We swim. It’s the only way besides mermaids rarely come over here,” I said, hoping my voice sounded more confident to her then it did to me. She strapped her bow on to her back and took off her sandals. The water was cold as we got into it. We swam as quickly as we could before I felt something grab me and pull me under. I saw her face full of anger, she bore her sharp teeth. Her pointed nails pierced through my skin. I saw her scream though I did not hear it. I pushed to the surface, choking on the water more. I knew the mermaid was not far behind me. I swam to the edge and looked for Alicia but could not see her. I screamed and screamed her name. I looked to the water and saw a yellow daisy on the surface, the one that held her braid together. It made sense. She distracted the mermaid and was killed in the process. I cried as I saw Alicia’s body float to the surface. Bites covered her neck and cuts decorated her arms. I found a branch and pulled her body toward me and set it far from the shore edge as I could before digging a grave with my hands. It was nearly sunset when I finished. I put her body in the hole as gently as I could before throwing the dirt over her. On top I put her flower the yellow daisy before getting up and walking off. The old woman’s words came back to me as I walked alone.

Death lurks with you death lurks with you death lurks with you

The words replayed in my head over and over again. I remember back to when the war started:

“Selena, Selena come on we have to find Mom and Dad now. Would you listen to me?” Belinda shouted, pulling me as Alicia followed.]

“Why? What is happening? Why do we need to find them?” I said, frowning at her, my wrist hurt as she gripped it.

“The Demons are attacking. We need to make sure they are safe!” she said, pulling me harder down the stairs.

I remember it as clearly today as when it happened. I could see my parents’ bodies covered in blood in the along with Alicia’s lifeless body floating on the water. Tears slid down my face as I sobbed. I fell to my knees. After what felt like hours of sobbing I noticed it was dark. I walked and found a cave. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground.

I woke to light breaking through the cave. As I got up I noticed how close I was to the Demon Queen’s castle, and I saw some bit of hope that I hadn’t before. As I walked out of the cave, the forest looked the same but there was something dark and almost evil about it. I walked for hours. I knew I would be there by sunset. I was almost giddy at the thought of being able to stop the war. I got to a clearing and something felt wrong about it. When a voice said:

“Hello dear baby sister,” an almost hard version of the voice I recognized spoke from behind me.

I turned around to see my sister Belinda, smirking in a dark manor, her black hair in a high pony tail and her purple eyes glinting in the light.

“Yes, it’s me. Where is Alicia?” she said, her voice smug in a way, Why was it like that?

“She died. The mermaids got her,” I said. Her eyes widened, they were full of anger. It looked like it was directed at me.

“Well like the saying goes: if you want something done right you have to do it yourself!” she said, walking towards me in a way that made me step back from her. “You see sister, since I know you won’t make it out of here alive I want to tell how this all started, since I know you are curious. Last year mother wanted to talk to me, and you know what she wanted to tell me?” Do you Selena?” she asked, glaring at me, daring me to answer.

I just shook my head.

She frowned.

“Well she wanted to tell me that when she and Dad gave up the crown that year to their oldest daughter that it wasn’t going to happen. Instead, you were going to get the crown. Now I couldn’t let that happen, could I?” she said, smirking at me her eyes glinting with anger. “No? So I sold them out to the Demon Queen! She was more than sympathetic with me, and started the war just for me, so I could become Queen. She even let me kill Mom and Dad. Oh, I remember it. How they pleaded wit me to keep them alive and how they loved me and would give me the crown so I made it nice and slow so that they could feel the pain of what they caused.” her eyes started to glaze over as she spoke of our parents death. I felt the tears sliding down my chest.

“How could you kill them? They were our parents! How could you slaughter them?” I managed to choke out through my tears.

“I wanted power. I wanted to rule and they were in my way so I moved them out of it. Now I should continue with the next part of my story. Well when I found out later that you and Alicia were going to come here I couldn’t have that could I?” she asked, looking at me, daring me to argue with her which I didn’t. “So I got a friend, you might know her Catherine?” I nodded as she looked at me and frowned, “Well clearly she didn’t do her job. I wanted her to finish you off and bring Alicia to me.” she spoke of Alicia in a sweet voice but was still frowning at me.

“Why didn’t you want Alicia killed too?” I asked, my crying had stopped but I was still curious as to why she wanted Alicia.

“I do care about Alicia. She is innocent but, anyway, when I found out Catherine failed that you managed to kill her we-”

“Actually Alicia killed her,” I interrupted her, she rose her eyebrow at me and looked slightly shocked.


“Well anyway, so next I asked the mermaids to try and kill you and leave Alicia, but it is clear they didn’t do that. I guess I will have to kill you myself.” she said glaring at me as she pulled out her sword. I grabbed mine and got ready to fight but I knew I couldn’t kill her, she was still my sister.

She lunged at me, ready to stab. I diverted her attack and stepped out of the way. She moved to attack again and I ran.

“Belinda why do you want to kill me?” I asked, hiding behind a tree trying to catch my breath.

“Because you were going to take what was supposed to be mine,” she said, anger taking over her voice. I heard her coming and tried to move without her seeing me, but I didn’t make it. She lunged at me again and I tried to block her but barely made it. The tip of her sword cut my arm. She tried to attack again. I blocked as quickly as I could cutting her arm in the process before running towards the castle. I could hear her following me as I ran, fearing for my life, my family, and my sister’s sanity. I stopped and turned to wait for her, she lunged again ready to kill. I continued to dodge as she continued to strike. I felt like we had been fighting for hours before I failed to parry and felt the sword go through me. I looked at Belinda she was smirking as she pulled the sword form me and I fell to the ground. The pain wash through me as I lay on the cold ground I saw a yellow daisy fall to the ground as she walked away. I was numb. My senses left and all I saw was light, then nothing.