Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Oath

He took it out from its place from under the bookshelf and read it in the middle of night. They ran out when they heard him sobbing, throwing the bookshelf over.

Dear Mr and Mrs. Patterson,

We from the castle recognize your family as a threat to the monarchy and a threat to the peace of this land. We have careful watch over your family, and we have detailed notes of all of your activity from the last few months.

Consider yourselves lucky your son was not at the site of the riot that day. Next time, he will not be.

Sincerely,

The Kingdom of Malachite

Luke could have died from heart ache at that moment. To think it was supposed to be him and not Cassie spun him upside down and made him dizzy for weeks. It took several conversations with his mom for her to convince him that it would have been the both of them either way. It was thirty dead kids from all over the kingdom. All of their parents were organizers or very involved people.

Quiet overtook Sacrament and the surrounding towns for over a year. No uprisings. No riots. A controlling and greedy monarch and his plans returned back into place. Luke hated Sacrament then. The only thing that got him through things was playing the guitar and learning more about it. Occasionally, he'd go out with some friends again, but it was always with an explicit activity like bowling or playing soccer so that visiting guards wouldn't think they were planning anything. Luke knew he was still being watched.

Then Old Man Murray got killed. No reason to kill an old man so brutally. A guard didn't like how he looked at him and shot him through the neck.

The kingdom thought that would instill fear. They were wrong. A flame woke up in all of Sacrament. In Luke's mom who watched him mourn over his dear guitar teacher, the man who gave him some sort of smile after Cassie's death.

"Music will never lose his value," Murray used to tell Luke. "It's the one thing that can't be burned down with fire. But this kingdom can."

Luke's mom got word to everyone she knew and got word back that guards were also becoming more violent in different towns and cities. Within a month of blood shed and darkness, they were setting a date to overthrow the castle. It was the day before the first draft. There was a plan, and it required the entire kingdom. Emily Patterson was the key.

The kingdom found out and things got worse. The plan had to get moved earlier. All internet was cut out and so were phone lines. Luke's parents had gotten on a boat once to deliver information on another neighboring island and after Luke saw them off, a car drove past him and a man came out, knocking him out cold.

-

Luke woke up in a cell tied to a chair. He struggled in place, but it had been nailed to the ground. All he could hear is the surrounding lake that came in through the small barred window.

Then a bearded man walked in. In a uniform he had never seen before, and he presented himself as Robert.

"Everyone calls me Bobby," he said to Luke, ruffling his hair. Luke was almost tempted to bite his hand. But his mom had had this conversation with him before.

"If the kingdom ever takes you, play along to survive. Your life is more important."

"What if they're asking me to do something sick and twisted?"

"Luke!"

"Well?"

"Follow your gut."

"Really?"

"Just don't do anything that'd break your mama's heart."

Bobby pulled out a picture and Luke's eyes widened. His mom and dad were beat up bloody and bruised on the floor of a much darker cell. Luke fought back