-Prologue-
"-Run! Please -- run!" My mother shouted at me. Her darkened and blistered skin is covered in droplets from the fires nearby. It's hard to hear through the shouting and screaming, but I know she's asking me to leave her. All I want is to ball up and close my eyes, to forget everything around me, to imagine I'm back in the palace with her, playing towers, but I'm pulled from the thought by a rough hand uselessly wiping tears on my face. "I promise I'll be right behind you." My mom smiles. She nudges me, her eyes glossy. it's an obvious lie, anybody could see that but her face compels me to do something, so I run. I run past the children screaming, past the corpses in the fire, past all the wagons filled with my people. I can barely see where I'm going, blurry figures are running too, but not in my direction. Away from something I can't- no I don't want to see. The harder I run the farther I get, the less I hear, the less I feel. But the more I think. What type of prince ignores his subjects? What type of coward would run away and leave their family behind? Tears are hot when they leave my face. How could I not be able to do anything? Am I really so useless? My foot gets caught on something and I meet the earth. I just lay there, not moving. My chest hurts, my legs are sore and I'm exhausted. I can feel myself black out as my vision darkens, the last thing I see is a small gold light.
