“Katelyn you really shouldn't speak out against the lord”,Mom pleaded. “If someone were to hear you, and I lost you-” my mom was always weary when I talked about the lord. He was an evil man. He looked old and frail. But, he wasn't. Lord Dobel had a deep, loud voice that could call attention to even the stubbornest mule. And his eyes raged with fire. Everyone feared him. Everyone but me.
Mom raised my brother and I all by herself, and she could not bear to lose us . Our dad had left us after I was born. Mom said that the thought of raising my brother and I was to much for him so, one day he just decided to leave. I never knew him.
“Mom, it's okay. How would he find out?” I replied.
“Please just promise me you'll be careful” mom begged.
“Okay”, I promised. I decided to head out for a quick jog around the perimeter. The heavy, humid, hot air felt like a damp towel as I glided through. In the distance I could hear crickets chirping to each other. And, in the reddish orange sky, I could see black birds soaring.
We were not allowed to be out at sundown but, it was my favorite time to be out. It amused me to see the sky change from red to blue in a matter of seconds. And I loved the sound of wind rustling the leaves in the trees.
I had just rounded the corner to my house when
I
saw
my
brother. I froze.
Big burly men in black armor were hauling him into a big truck.
“Derrick!” I shouted running up to the trucks. One of the men stepped up and shoved me to the floor.
“What are you doing! Mom what's happening?” Then I noticed that my mom was in tears.
“What's happening?”, I repeated myself.
Then one of the men spoke.
“We've been ordered by Lord Nenad to bring all the men in this area to his estate. He needs an army.”
Then mom began to sob more. As much as I wanted to cry, I couldn't let my brother see me weak.
“Can I at least say goodbye?”, I asked. The man gave a quiet grunt that I took for a yes. Hugging my brother, I whispered in his ear:
“Don't worry, I'm right behind you.”I stepped away and the truck drove off.
Mom had my horse and supplies. I mounted my horse and looked back at mom. She nodded a goodbye and I ride off.
Soon I was riding behind they dingy grey truck.
***
    How am I supposed to get into the military, I thought, I'm a girl. I was waiting outside the gates of the lord’s estate. The night was still. My only sources of light were the moon and stars. The only sounds were rustling of the leaves and antsy whinnying from my horse.
  After tying my horse to a tree, I jumped over the fence and snuck inside the building. The hood of my black jacket as my only disguise
    Silence hung in the air like dense fog. Nobody dared to speak; especially not in the presence of Lord Nenad. He was a very old man, with a long beard. But, even though he looked frail, he was young in the same way he was old. Lord Nenad had a deep, loud voice that could call attention to even the stubbornest mule. And his eyes raged with fire. Everyone was afraid of him. Everyone but me. I hated him.
Anger flickered inside of me. Ready to bubble over, like a steamy cauldron.
“We've selected our bravest men to fight in this war.” Lord Nenad began to speak. I I couldn't stand the sound of his voice. He tried to separate my family. I could stand I couldn't stand the thought of my brother working for him in the military. He spoke again you will all be two lanes by the finest train in the lab.I couldn't stand the thought of my brother working for him in the military. He spoke again.
“You will all be trained by the finest in the land. And, fight for our nation.” Men began to cheer senselessly. What was wrong with these people, I thought. Did they not understand that Lord Nenad want tearing apart our family?
“Shut up!” I yelled and the whole room silenced. “What is wrong with you people?”, I demanded. “Can't you see he's trying to separate our families?”
Instead of agreeing with me as I thought these men would, they began to shout out to me. Angry faces were flashing at me spitting out insults; “you know nothing, pathetic girl!”
Two men in black armor started to lift me away from the room. As we headed down a long black hallway I used all my might to kick and scream.
“Where are you taking me!” I questioned just as I was brought into a large living room. It had a warm, red fire flickering in the fireplace, and chases with huge, puffy, purple pillows. The guards sat me down in a chair by the fire. Then I noticed that someone else was there.
Lord Nenad.
“Are you comfortable, Katelyn?” Lord Nenad asked me.
“What do you want”, I fumed. “You want to make me miserable like you make everyone else?”
“Katelyn”, Lord Nenad grinned. “I only asked if you were comfortable.”
I looked down to the white marble floor. Why should I tell this evil man how I felt? He never asked how I felt when he took my father away from me. Or, when he turned our country into a dictatorship.
“I won't talk to you”, I managed to say. Then Lord Nenad stood up. He swayed around my seat. Then his hand brushed the side of my face and dragged down my chin.
“And don't touch me” I said slapping his hand away.
“Just like your mother, Angela”,  he sighed. “So strong willed”
I snapped to attention.
“You don't know anything about my mother” I spat.
“Don't I?” he said with a hint of sarcasm.
“No.”
Taking a seat, he laughed.
“But I do,you see. I know her very well. And I know you and your brother.” Lord Nenad silenced for a few seconds then spoke again. “I suppose you haven't been told yet?”
MGears started to turn in my head. What was the lord talking about? How could he know my family. He never interacted with. the citizens.
“I met your mother years before you were born. She was a maid in my estate. She used to clean this room daily, sharing a plethora of stories each day. I became entranced with her presence.” Lord Nenad explained.
“Stop. Please stop”, I pleaded.
“Put two and two together and I'm your-”
“Father” we said in unison. But how good this be possible. Mom told me that my dad had just left us. That he couldn't handle the responsibility of having children. How could this man I hated so deeply, and made me sick to my stomach just thinking about him, be my father.
I felt all my emotions, charging electrons, and  exploding like a volcano.
Fear