A New Life - In editing

Chapter 4 - Fire in the valley

"SUPRISE!"

I was speechless. Before me was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. This couldn’t be real! I looked up at Robin and he smiled shyly.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it?! I love it" I practically screamed throwing my arms around his muscular shoulders.

Just outside our city up on the hill and out of sight, Robin had built me my own forest. It looked like he'd been collecting pieces of scrap metal for months welding and shaping them into silver trees that were dotted around all over the place. He'd built it around the tiny underground stream that ran into the larger river on the other side of town so it was just like a wood from a fairy tale. He took out a small whistle shaped like a bird and dipped it in the stream filling it with water. When he blew into it the sound of birds singing echoed of the silver trees. I looked around in amazement. He had done all this for me?

"Madame" He said in that strange attempt at a French accent again. I spun round and saw a raggedy old checked cloth laid on he floor and a bag with some bread and chicken in it. There was a tiny fragile flower made out of paper in an old jar in the middle of the rug. He was so sweet. This was the best birthday ever!

We talked for hours about everything and anything, watching the light from the torches shimmer and ripple on the shiny surfaces of my futuristic wood. I was getting a bit sleepy and lay down on the floor.

"What ya doing Lilly?” I turned and faced him he was looking at me confused

"Um lying down?" 

"Well why are you all the way over there?" He laughed grabbing my under my arms and pulling me over so I was pressed up against him. My heart was racing; I thought it was going to jump straight out of my chest.

"Go on lie on my lap, I'll read to you for a while" I grinned up at him and made myself comfortable. Robin was the best story teller ever. He did all the right voices and his voice was just mesmerising. He pulled out my favourite book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Robins Aslan voice sent shivers down my spine every time. Once he'd read me a few chapters we sat in comfortable silence for a while. I realised that Robin had been stroking my dark hair and I could now feel his blue eyes boring into me. I turned to face him and my breath caught in my throat. I had never seen him look at me like that before. I didn’t know how he was looking at me, but I was pretty sure he'd never done it before.

"Lilly" He said in barely more than a whisper. His voice was soft and husky and so sexy. I nodded my head, I couldn’t speak, it was as if my words had fallen into his deep eyes and I couldn’t get them back.

"Lilly I" My heart was pounding. Oh wow this was happening this was perfect!

"I" And that’s when we heard it. Cutting through the silence like a knife. One high pitched scream. Then silence for a few seconds before we heard the blast of the warning siren. Droning on and on. The Charge had attacked. We sat in silence for a minute more before what was happening sank in. Then Robin was up like a shot running towards the ominous orange glow with me hot on his heels. I was faster than him and over took him getting to the top of the hill first and looking down into the valley. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

The charge were all dressed in black with pricings all over them running through the streets like rats in a maze, shooting down men and women alike. Others were setting fire to houses laughing manically as the feeble structures feel to the ground trapping families inside. But there was one group which sickened me the most. I saw a man grabbing a child away from his mother before shoving her into a burning building. What was he doing? But then I saw others doing it what I learned made me wretch. They were gathering young children up and taking them away to be trained! I went to run down the hill into the valley to help but Robin caught me by the waist and dragged me away!

"LET ME GO YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD WE NEED TO HELP THEM LET ME GO" I screamed at him.

"NO!" He yelled back his voice was dark and strong and made me go quiet immediately. I stopped struggling and he set me down. We were back in my wood. "I have lost everything. I won’t lose you too" He pulled me to him and held me close and for the first time in ten years I cried.

Everything I had been bottling up for all that time came flooding out and I collapsed on the floor. My mother and Wistar being murdered, my home being burnt down, the fear of the Preta and the nightmares I had about them for as long as I could remember. The bullies at school, the fact that I was in love with Robin and now freshly the pain and grief of the latest attack. I knew my Father would be dead, I cried for him, I cried for the people of my town and I cried for the captured children.

And all the while Robin held me in his arms stroking my hair and kissing the top of my head until I fell asleep in his warm embrace, only to be welcomed by the faces of the dead and the feared.