Last Hope [VERSION I]

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--Edited (4/4/16)--

"I think the hardest part of losing someone isn't having to say goodbye, but learning to live without them. Always trying to fill up the void, the emptiness thats left inside your heart when they go."

||Nico||

The last hug we shared was warm, it was sincere, and it was sad. It was something a child never wanted to part from, but always had to let go. The warmth was overwhelming—I've never felt a sensation of love so powerful that it left my tears streaming down my cheeks. Now I knew, no matter what bad things I've said, no matter how many rebellious things I've done in my short life, I never wanted to let go.

Mother held me tight in her arms, her hair whipping into the wind and becoming a tangled mess. "My little boy... please, go."

"No mother! I won't leave you!" Young me stomped my foot on the shifting ground beneath our feet. I knew if we stood here any longer, we would surely parish beneath the crumbling rocks and sand.

Mother knew that too. "You must let go. Go somewhere far away from here, where no Erwyn can find you. Find a family, find someone who will take you in."

I wiped the tears off my cheeks. "Why can't you come with me? Come in, mama!" I tugged her hand. "We'll go and be safe together!"

"I'm afraid I cannot, Nico. I belong here, with the other Dyzeks. I shall help them. These are my—our, people."

My eyebrows furrowed. "Then, why can't I help you? Aren't they my people too?"

"Yes, Nico. But you are so young... you have so much to live for. One day, when you are older and wiser, you shall understand why I am doing this. But for now my boy, please run as fast as you can and find somewhere safe."

"But papa taught me how to be a brave, strong boy! I can do it mama!"

Her eyes averted away from me, her eyes becoming red. She sniffled. "Nico..."

With my chubby arms, I hugged my mother's waist. She touched the top of my head with her hand. "Nico, remember this before you go. Mommy loves you, daddy loves you. Daddy may not be here right now, but daddy is fighting. He loves you. Now, my son, you must leave!"

A loud sounds came from our right side. We turned our heads, our eyes making contact with the Erwyn soldiers who stormed the area, giant boulders rolling from the top of a hill to the stone ground where they smashed and rolled around.

Mother pushed me in the opposite direction. I stumbled over my feet, nearly tripping flat on my face. Mud covered my feet up to my knees. Scratches covered my hands, warm sticking blood slowly dripping out.

I turned back to my mother, who was lost in the chaos. Her blowing hair was the last thing I saw of her as sand gusting all over the area, consuming her within it.

The memorable scream came only moments later. It seared into my mind. The sound of my mother's blood curdling scream before a sword was shoved into her chest by a merciless Erwyn knight.

I would no longer get to feel the warm hugs, or the kisses on my cheek. The embrace of my mother. No longer would my mother ever be able to heal the wounds she found all over my knees when papa and I came back from adventures in the forest. No longer would I ever hear the painful lectures after I did something bad. I would no longer be able to apologize to her later and tell her how much I loved her.