Prologue- Silent Goodbyes

Prologue- Silent Goodbyes

    It was time; time for his last resort. He had the words that were written on the small piece of parchment memorized, branded into the back of his eyes word for word:

                              Since you chose not to end the war,
                                  I end our lives forevermore.

    It sounded kind of simple, but this was the quickest thing he could come up with to end this mayhem. He looked outside of his tent. It was raining, perfect for the last events of tonight. He chuckled to himself quietly, making sure not to wake his sleeping wife and son. He looked down at the table he was standing next to, picked up the letter he wrote to his wife, and slipped it into an envelope. The letter contained love, extended apologies, and goodbyes. Thinking of the words he wrote made tears form in the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away, remembering all of the pain and suffering will soon be gone.
    As he sealed the envelope with wax and his branded seal, a young soldier entered the room. He said, “King Sarbon sir, we have located Vico and his minions hidden in the Celcium Mountains.”
    Sarbon stowed away the small piece of parchment while setting down the letter on the table and nodded. “It is time. Let us go now.” Walking out of the tent, He couldn’t help to remember the last three words at the end of the letter:

                                                    I love you…

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    Five-year old Shad Brosen awoke to oncoming sound of cheering and whistling close by. He sat up, using his hands to wipe and clear his eyes. He also heard sobbing and turned his head toward the table in the center of the tent. The source of the sound was his mother, weeping while reading what seemed like a really long letter.
    As Shad continued to look around, he noticed his father was gone. He was probably outside cheering with the rest of the crowd. He didn't know what to do. Should he comfort his mother and ask what's wrong? Or should he go ahead and see what's going on outside. Shad watched his mother with concern but his curiosity finally overcame him as he ran outside to find out what all the commotion was about.
    When he stepped out of the tent, there was a sea of people making their way toward the camp. As a soldier walked past he yelled, “We finally beat Vico!” Shad felt glee and happiness strike him. He couldn’t believe it! His father helped lead the Ramnicians to victory!
    As the last of the crowd died away, there were four men in the back, carrying what looked like to be a stretcher with a body on it. As the four men proceeded with the stretcher, all of the cheering ceased and Shad’s mother walked out of the tent with tears still rolling down her face.
    “Is that him?” she asked the lead man. The soldier nodded and walked toward her, leaving the other men to set down the stretcher. “I am General Tronec, currently the leading officer of this army.” Shad was confused. He thought that his father was the one leading this army unless… no, it couldn’t be.
    “On behalf of all of the men present at this time, I would like to thank you and let you know that we all owe you and your late husband our lives.” Madam Brosen held back a sob. “It is also confirmed that the evil Lord Vico is dead. His body was located along with King Sarbon’s Amulet of Celcium.” Madam Brosen started to wave her hand as if to tell the general to go away but she spoke saying, “That should be destroyed. He said he didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.”
    The soldier nodded, then bowed and walked away. Shad didn’t understand. If Vico was dead then where was his father? His question was answered as soon as the men went to pick up the stretcher. The blanket covering the body slipped and revealed the dead victim. Shad turned and ran, blocking out the constant calls from his mother telling him to come back. Tears were streaming down his eyes as he ran through the woods surrounding the camp, jumping logs and small streams. He glanced to his right, found a large rock, and stopped to cry.
    His father was gone. He was his mentor, teacher, and friend. Now Shad understood what General Tronec meant about him and the others owing their lives to his father. Thinking of that made him remember the image of his dead father’s face. As Shad looked back on that sad picture, he couldn’t help noticing the only weird thing that stuck out; the small grin stuck on his father’s face.