C5 She Must Be Stopped

Eight Years Later

The boy ran toward the door, but his mother blocked his way. As he fidgeted impatiently, she grinned.

She pushed his black hair out of his gray eyes, kissed his cheek, and said, “You may go out and play until lunch, but then you must wash up. Today is your seventh birthday, and tonight we will celebrate.”

He laughed in acknowledgment and dashed out the door without looking back. He had important business to take care of down by the stream. As the boy traveled, he did not chat with the other children. His mind was focused on getting to his experiment so he could record today’s findings. Although the other kids were nice enough, he had very little in common with them.

Once everything was documented, the boy leaned back against a willow tree. He felt his body relax as he watched the tiny fairies dance across the current, lighting up the blue-green water like a thousand fireflies drifting in the wind. He waited patiently, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two unicorns that sometimes drank from the flowing stream.

His mother had taken him to other places in their homeland, but she would always say proudly, “We have the most wondrous and enchanting township in all the region. We will consistently thrive as long as we never lose sight of the simple charm of this place.”

He took those words to heart and regularly noticed the grace that so many people seemed to overlook.

Suddenly he heard a blood-curdling scream from town, and his body became paralyzed with dread. He finally managed to stand up and take a step in the direction of the scream, when he spotted the flames shooting up over the tree line. The worry disappeared, and in its place came a steely determination. He crept silently toward town, concealing himself behind the trees and the tall grass.

When he had traveled as far as he could without being seen, he noticed that his beloved city was crumbling. All the huts were ablaze, and the townsfolk were chained and being herded into a hastily made prison surrounded by guards. The boy was smart, so he understood that his only chance to save his mother was to race away. Too young and too small to make any difference right now, if he tried to intervene he would be caught and become a prisoner with the others.

Before he spun to rush away, the youth noticed a golden chariot pull up. A beautiful woman with long, flowing red hair emerged. Listening to her as she screamed at her guards, the boy mentally cataloged the sound of her voice. He took his time and memorized every detail about her appearance, then turned and vanished into the woods, silently mouthing, “We will one day meet again–of that I am sure

Orion jumped out of the golden chariot. He was tired from the long trip and wanted to explore. He glanced up at his mother and noticed that she was throwing yet another tantrum. It made him sad that, at the mere age of eight, he behaved far more grown-up than his mother. Once again, he looked to the sky and wished that his father was still alive. He was sure that if his father lived, he would rescue the boy from his mother’s callous rampages.

Orion peeked around at the destruction, and his heart grew heavy. As a child, there was nothing he could do to save these people, but he vowed to himself that one day he would help this town return to its original glory.

He wandered out toward the forest to get away from his maternal influence, her constant screeching, and the terrified cries of the townsfolk. As he trudged away, he noticed a boy about his age staring up at Orion’s mother with unabashed hatred on his face.

Orion did not want to call attention to the boy, so he shifted around to find somewhere else to explore. As he ambled elsewhere, he looked back and saw the child disappear into the timbers. Orion let out a breath.

He consoled himself by whispering, “At least one boy got away. Maybe there are more that I have not seen.”

As he strode toward his mother, Orion couldn’t help but notice the destruction. The townspeople were being herded into camps that his mother’s guards were hastily putting together. If they tried to escape, his mother, Genève, killed them immediately.

So many bodies lie scattered on the dirt road and in the grass that he could not possibly have kept count. The smell of smoke and death permeated his nostrils. His stomach felt sick, and his heart seemed like it would burst from sadness.

He went to his mother as she flogged a young troll with a whip. The troll cried and begged for his life.

“I will go quietly, I will do your bidding-please just stop hitting me.”

Genève looked up with a sinister grin and said, “You disobeyed me. You will die. I will use you as an example so that everyone else will know that I am not to be defied.”

Orion had seen so much pain and death, but this he could not accept. The troll was only a child. He stepped in between his mother and the troll. As the whip snapped, it hit Orion’s arm, and a bloody welt formed.

He stared into his mother’s eyes and said, “Do not kill this child. You have proven to everyone that they must obey you. Look around you, Mother. What is one more body in the scheme of things? I will gladly take his punishment.”

Genève looked at her son with disappointment, but she lowered the whip and pointed at the troll. “Leave my sight. I have spared your life for now. I better not see you again.”

She handed the whip to the patrol standing closest to her. “Orion wishes to be punished to spare one insignificant life. Give him ten lashes on his rear end.”

Orion turned his back toward the guard and felt the first smack open the skin on his back. Lash after lash, he stood with a determined look on his face. He did not cry out or shed a tear. By the tenth lash, his rear looked like raw meat and felt as if it were on fire. The blood flowed freely. He grew more determined than ever to end his mother’s reign of terror.